Consequences of Learning About the International Early Childhood Field

     This course has shown me that I have been living in a box.  Over the past seven weeks, I have learned to see the larger picture regarding the field of  early childhood education.  There are several things that have stood out to me:
 
1.  The effects of poverty on children and families.  The levels and types of poverty may vary from country to country, but poverty is everywhere.  The numbers are alarming!  Poverty is extremely detrimental to the healthy development of all children.

2.  The accessibility to quality early childhood programs.  It saddens me that every child cannot participate in early childhood programs.  This may be because there are no programs, the programs may be unaffordable, the programs may be to far away from home, there may be a lack of teachers, etc.

3.  The lack of quality programs.  Programs, curriculum, teacher credentials, and lack of teachers also vary from country to country.  More must be done to build up these programs.

I firmly believe that every child in this world should be able to attend quality early childhood programs.  Research clearly shows the benefits of quality early childhood programs for children.  If everyone could work together not only to get programs funded, but to advocate the importance of early childhood development, poverty will decrease and countries economies will be better.

I have learned a tremendous amount from all of my fellow bloggers!  I would like to thank each and every one of you for helping me be successful in this journey.  I would like to wish all of you continued success and look forward to writing to you in our next course!

Christina

Getting to Know Your International Contacts - Part 3

There has been a lot going on at the orphanage.  There is only 3 more weeks until the children go back to school, and they are hoping that their new building we be complete by then.  They seem very focused on the issue of quality.  This summer, a volunteer has been developing child assessments based on Haiti's Ministry of Education Learning Objectives for each level.  The goal is to assess each child, take the results of the assessments (taking into account: trauma, education level, past quality education, and developmental delays), and formulate individual life plans for each child.  These life plans will include three short term educational goals and three short term like skill goals.  It is hoped that the children will meet their goals in six month time increments.

They rely heavily on volunteers from the United States.  Professional development comes from the knowledge of the volunteers.  Their professional goals include training teachers the importance of developmentally appropriate practices for the varying age groups and the importance of play developmentally and socially.  They have been adjusting their play spaces to accomodate these goals.

The hopes and dreams are for quality education for all children of Haiti, but the biggest challenge is the poverty!

Sharing Web Resources

During the past few weeks I have been researching the Association for Childhood Education International (www.acei.org).  I have found a link on this website that definitely adds to the information I have learned on equity and excellence.  The link is for the Global Education Initiative (http://www.globaleducationfirst.org/)

This initiative was created by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  This initiative focuses on three items.  Every child should have access to learning.  The quality of learning should be continuously improved, and the fostering of global citizenship.  This website discussed that there are barriers with accessibility.  They include cost and availability.  The barriers with improving quality include: teacher shortages, shortage of learning materials, language, hunger and poor nutrition, and ineffective methods for evaluation.

This website, went along with the readings from this week.  I was extremely empowered by the video clip of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. " When we put education first, we can reduce poverty and hunger, end wasted-potential-and look forward to stronger and better societies for all." 

Gettingto Know Your International Contacts- Part 2

I have learned more regarding the children living at the orphanage in Haiti.  First, they do attend school that is located up the road.  However, the orphanage must pay for each child that attends the school.  The Mission of Hope School focuses on reading, writing, and math.   Ninety percent of the schools in Haiti are private.  These schools charge tuition.  There are very few public schools with very little funding.  This means the schools are not accessible to everyone.  I have not gained any knowledge regarding educational standards in Haiti.

At the orphanage, volunteers that have been coming for a few weeks at a time, have been starting some great things.  The staff and volunteers are working to set up classrooms that are more age-appropriate.  The director of the orphanage, Jon Lamare, is working on the children's educational goals for the upcoming year.  These plans help to develop each child's individual life plan and helps them adjust the programming to meet the  individual needs of the children.  They are trying to engage children in developmentally appropriate play which we all know with help foster many skills.  They have started a positive reinforcement behavior program.  One volunteer has started memory books with the children.  The children add an entry to their books every afternoon.  These entries include things like favorite food, favorite color, favorite subject in school, what they want to be when they get older, etc.  This book is not only helping to build a sense of identity, but is also a great form of assessment for the staff.

The orphanage has also been providing 2 healthy meals, education, medical care, clothes, shoes, and school tuition/enrollment for an additional 7-10 children in the community daily.