My Take Aways: The International Early Education Field

                                                                   By Lisa Martin

Learning about the early education field on an international level has really opened my eyes, not only to the struggle but the promise as well. Sure, I knew that in many of the poorer countries the opportunity to attend school – let alone preschool, was a huge privilege, but I did not realize that this sense of luxury was not limited to developing countries. It surprised me that in countries with a decent gross national product early education is still rare, and definitely only available to those who could afford the honor. It really disturbed me to discover that the United States is falling further behind in education, and far from being a leader. It gave me hope and promise to see that the countries that value their young children as their future invest well in early education and consider it a matter of national consequence. It was also interesting that in countries that saw the importance of early education, the teaching profession is viewed with respect and teachers well paid. This realization made me a bit sad, because it said to me that my country does not fully value children and their education. Teaching in the United States is viewed as what you do when you cannot get into medical school or law school.

I found myself drawing correlations between the poverty in Paraguay and the United States, and I was ashamed for my country. I begin to think how great it was that here in the United States we had finally come to realize the importance of investing in our young children from birth, and began to imagine an American early education system that would outshine and outperform countries like Finland and the Netherlands. I read of all the tremendous efforts and dedication of organizations like the Children’s Defense Fund, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Center on the Developing Child and I felt encouraged, because I know that this work shall bear fruit and not be in vain. I believe we must come together and adopt the best practices based on outcomes from around the world. I am excited about the joining of minds and ideas that will lead to an overhaul of the early education system from the outside in – hopefully the United States will lead the way, and provide a road map for all countries to follow; knowing this is the pathway to national growth and strength. In the process, we will alleviate poverty, increase opportunities for all families, and give each child his human and civil right to a quality early education; and in the process we will create a better stronger global community.  Studying early education internationally made it clear to me that we must be our brothers and sisters keepers all around the world.

More from My International Contacts

                                        By Lisa Martin

Liberty Children’s Home wants and needs to expand their services, and increase staff, but funding remains a critical issue. They really need donations and funding to continue helping at risk and forgotten children. Delfina Mitchell, the Director, spends most of her time trying to raise money and maintain budgets. Although, Liberty Children’s Home is in a poor part of Belize, I am sure that there are directors and administrators right here in New York or New Jersey with the same concerns. If you cannot charge more for your services, and the grants are getting smaller, how do you maintain your program, more importantly how do you maintain quality? In those cases where cost increases are passed along to the families, what happens when the family can no longer afford early childhood care and education? Like the program, their income is not growing and they are barely able to maintain food and shelter, yet there is no subsidy or government assistance available to them.

I visited the UNESCO website and they had an article that talked about how both under developed and developed countries have trouble financing early education. It seems every website I visited had articles related to funding and financial issues facing early childhood education or preventing the implementation of early education, and I realized the US is no exception. So, while I appreciate the international challenges facing early education across the globe, I feel I must be in tuned to what is happening right here. The Children’s Defense Fund discussed the potentially devastating cuts that may be facing education in the US with the fiscal cliff negotiations. These issues also affect children in broader ways. Medicaid is likely to be one of the entitlement programs looked at for cuts to decrease the deficit. “Medicaid is the health program that covers more than one third of the children in America” (Children’s Defense Fund, 2012).  We have discussed the implications of poverty on children and families, and hence early childhood care and education, but we have also of late discussed increased investment in early childhood. Right now we are in a position where it could go either way; things can get better or much worse.

Children’s Defense Fund. (2012). Children’s budget watch. Retrieved December 14, 2012, from http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/budget-watch/

More to Share: Delving Deeper Into My Web Resources

                                                                          By Lisa Martin

This week I made it a point to dig deeper into my web resources in search of articles related to this week’s topic – excellence and equity, especially as it pertains to the three main barriers awareness, accessibility and responsiveness. I chose to search for articles regarding accessibility as that has been my focus this week. I was surprised by the layers of articles I could uncover just by asking for more information or clicking on a link within an article. I visited my main web resource www.unesco.org and uncovered two interesting articles pertaining to access and quality. The first article dealt with a subject that we are all too familiar with, and that is gender disparity in education as it pertains to girls having equal access to schooling. However, what was most interesting was learning how in both developing and industrialized countries girls are so easily denied their right to education, leaving them illiterate and their countries unable to achieve the type of success attributed to a strong, skilled and educated workforce. It is so sad that well into the twenty-first century an organization like the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural organization (UNESCO) has gender equality as one of their two main global priorities. “When girls go to school or participate in literacy program, they not only acquire fundamental literacy skills and academic knowledge. They are empowered to make key decisions and take charge of their lives” (UNESCO, 2012).

The other UNESCO article concerned improving access to education for the world’s most disadvantaged and needy, like the children in Asia-Pacific region – Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia. Over the past decade UNESCO has implemented initiatives that have resulted in some improvement, but still governments fail to properly fund early education, and there seems to be a lack of understanding or acceptance of the importance of quality care and education from birth to eight years for a child. The article that took me most by surprise was one I uncovered on the Children’s Defense Fund website www.childrensdefensefund.org.  It was actually about legislation written by Senator Bernie Sanders, a politician I really respect, called the Foundations for Success Act, which he developed working with the Children’s Defense Fund. It touches on all the things that contribute to our inability to give our children access to the type of early start they are entitled to, poverty and a shrinking middle class. It also talks about how we were once a leader in education and now have fallen far behind. “The United States ranks 17^th in reading, 31^st in math, 23^rd in science, and 18^th overall in secondary education out of 36 nations” (Sanders, 2011, p. 3). The bill proposes to provide early child care for all children from 6 weeks old through kindergarten. Let’s hope it gets passed into law.

I think the most alarming discovery in searching for article on my web resources that dealt with access to early childhood care and education was learning just how detrimental lack of access is, and the toll it takes on children and families. We have discussed the importance of investing in our children from birth and the benefits it yields down the road, in comparison to investing in unproductive adults. However, after reading and browsing through half a dozen or so articles I realize failure to invest in our children is about more than just paying for incarcerations and drug rehab programs. It is about saving our environment, putting people on the moon, restoring the United States place as the true leader of the civilized world in everything from education to invention. We must continue to advocate for access to quality early education programs for all children.

References

Sanders, Bernard. (2011). The early care and education crisis in America: The benefits if investing in our children. Retrieved December 7, 2012 from, http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/early-childhood- education-care/legislative-update.html

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2012). From access to             equality: Empowering girls and women through literacy and secondary education. Retrieved December 7, 2012 from, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002184/218450e.pdf

 

 

 

Getting to Know My International Contacts

                                                                       By Lisa Martin

My pen pal, Delfina Mitchell, has been extremely busy of late, so I have no real updates on things at Liberty Children’s Home, other than their continued efforts to raise funds. However, I have been reading about other early childhood initiatives taking place on the global scene. The World Forum has one on a subject close to my heart – inclusion. They have developed a permanent initiative on the inclusion of children with special needs based on information provided by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). According to the UNESCO policy brief on Early Childhood (2009):

“Worldwide, there are about 650 million persons with disabilities. This accounts for 10% of the global population, and constitutes more than 20% of the world’s poorest people. Children with disabilities experience stigma from birth and are more prone to exclusion, concealment, abandonment, institutionalization, and abuse. Mortality rates among children with disabilities are 80%, even in countries where under-five mortality has declined below 20%. Strikingly, 98% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school.”

Needless to say, I found this information extremely depressing and heart breaking. Equity and excellence cannot exist in the absence of inclusion. I then went over to the Center for the Developing Child website and checked out their global initiatives and was immediately filled with a sense of hope again as they discussed the “moral responsibility to meet the needs of all children and a critical investment in the roots of economic productivity, positive health outcomes, and strong civil society in all nations, from the poorest to the most affluent” (Center for the Developing Child, 2012). I enjoyed reading about the improvement of early education in Chile through professional development. After all we owe it to all children to provide them with well qualified early education professionals. Teacher training and education is a key cause of educational inequality, when it should be a major factor in equity and excellence.

The care of children during and after war and other catastrophes is also of interest to me, so I listened to the podcasts of Maysoun Chehab, the Regional Early Childhood Care and Development Program Coordinator at the Arab Resource Collective (ARC), a not-for-profit non-governmental organization based in Beirut, Lebanon. She coordinates with and trains early childhood professionals in best practices in areas of conflict like Syria and Egypt. They provide psychosocial interventions and support to children and families post conflict. I was quite impressed with Ms. Chehab and her dedication, realizing the challenges she must face and the reward she must gain each time she positively impacts the life of a child and their family.

Center for the Developing Child. (2012). Global children’s initiative: A good start. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/ubc/

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. (2009). Policy brief on early childhood. Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/initiatives/inclusion/    

 

Sharing My Web Resources

                                                          By Lisa Martin

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) website provides me with a wealth of relevant information pertaining to education around the globe. Recently, I was pleased to see the world adopting a we are all in this together attitude regarding education as the  Director-General of UNESCO called for world leaders to unite for education for all, and Finland quickly donated two and a half million Euros. It is only through this type of global initiative and commitment that we can see the rights of every young child to a quality education realized. Another item that caught my attention, as I had recently written about it in regards to gender diversity and anti-bias, was an event to fight homophobia in educational settings. I started to compare the life of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) teachers and students with the LGBT military members and thinking there should be a way to allow teachers and students to be themselves inside the classroom. I can only imagine the stress, and inner turmoil caused by having to hide who you are in some cases while taking part in such an important part of your life. In education it is not “don’t ask don’t tell” it is more like there is no place for that here.

There was also a report that I correlated to our initiative in the United States to invest in early education as a means of improving our workforce and ability to compete in the global market. The report was based on the interpretation of 600 young people of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report, which they summed up with the slogan “Be Skilled, Be Employed, Be the Change Generation” (UNESCO, 2012). I thought this was rather in keeping with the quest of the economists and business people in the United States, the idea of children being skilled, employable, making for a strong workforce. Knowing the work and objectives of UNESCO, including education equality for girls and women, I felt this approach to be a way of getting more funding and attracting more support; not that I find anything wrong with wanting children to acquire skills and get jobs. It is almost as if science must be validated by big business and finance, thus it comes down to dollar and cents; which I guess is true because the science behind the Apple products would not be so touted if it did not produce billions in revenue. I just view education in a more ideological manner, the idea that all children have access to quality learning and the opportunity to stimulate their minds and develop a hunger and thirst for knowledge through curiosity and inquiry.

This week we have been looking at how economists, neuroscientists, and politicians support the early childhood field, for UNESCO education is always viewed from all three perspectives to promote global change and outreach. They use the science to figure out what must be done, and then they calculate the cost of not making changes as well as the cost of implementing improvements (economics), and present it to the global leaders for support and approval (politics). The UNESCO website continues to offer me new insights and challenges facing the education field.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2012). The 2012 EFA Global Monitoring Report. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/resources/online-materials/single-view/news/three_major_new_education_reports_launched_at_gem/

My International Contacts and Resources

                                                                        By Lisa Martin

I reached out to a few potential conversation partners. I have yet to actually hear from an early education professional in the Netherlands, though I received an initial response saying I would. My pen pal, Delfina Mitchell, Director of the Liberty Children’s Home in Belize, said that her schedule is extremely hectic, but she would try to answer any specific questions I posed to her. I asked her about the aspects of poverty that are the greatest challenge to her work, but she has not responded yet. I have vacationed in Belize and it is one of those beautiful places, where once you leave the main tourist attractions behind you are shocked by the poverty and despair in which some of the people live. “While Belize has achieved significant economic growth in recent years, its progress masks steep economic inequities. In addition to a monetary poverty rate that increased to 41.9% in 2009, there are great economic, spatial, and cultural inequalities” (UNICEF, 2011). It is also a country with a high incidence of violence. Liberty Children’s Home in Belize takes in young children who have been abandoned, abused, and stricken with HIV. Ms. Mitchell is very proud of the work they are doing, but they need more funding. You can visit their website at http://www.libertychildrenbelize.org/ and learn more about the program and make a donation.  

In her podcast, Delfina Mitchell talks about a “nine year old boy, Joseph, who came to them from an abusive home, where in addition to being abused himself, he witnessed the abuse of his siblings. As a result, he did not speak for over a year – a voluntary mute. Within weeks of being nurtured and cared for at Liberty Children’s Home Joseph began to talk” (World Forum Foundation, 2011). I am sure she has hundreds of other stories like this to tell as they continue to help children overcome their rough beginnings.

There seems to be correlations between lack of education and thus opportunity, and substance abuse and violence. Many will argue that these are the things that promote or cause poverty. Whereas, I would argue that it is economic inequality, and the failure of governments to provide safety nets and improve opportunities for their poorest citizens that cause poverty. If the parents had the opportunity to go to school and learn a marketable skill and get a job, they would be less likely to turn to drugs or alcohol, without the addiction they would not resort to violence; without the sense of hopeless despair and anger, they would not resort to abuse. I know I sound like a bleeding heart Liberal government can and should fix everything. I am not and I do not believe government can or should do all things. However, I believe no country, the United States included, can eradicate poverty without a meaningful and focused initiative by the government.

United Nations Children’s Fund. (2012, April, 11^th). Draft country programme document –Belize. Retrieved November 14, 2012 from  http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/2012-PL14-CPD_BELIZE-FINAL_ODS.pdf

World Forum Foundation. (2011). Episode 3: Delfina Mitchell. Retrieved November 2, 2012 from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio/

 

 

My Global Resource of Choice

                                                          By Lisa Martin

The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is committed to bringing countries together to identify ways to improve education, promote global peace, preserve the environment, and so many other important issues. You can read about their mission and goals at their website http://www.unesco.org/.  I chose UNESCO as a resource because I believe that there are many challenges facing the world and young children that require unified and focused resolutions, which take into consideration all people, and it all starts with education. It has taken us some time to reach the point where we realize education is the key to global economic growth and progress. I read this very interesting article on the UNESCO website regarding the importance of educating children on biodiversity. “Biodiversity is the foundation for healthy ecosystems and sustainable human development. It touches on all aspects of our lives - from our security to our welfare, from our social relations to our health” (UNESCO, 2012). We have been talking about and stressing the importance of teaching children about human diversity, but they also need to be aware of diversity among all living things. The biodiversity component is a part of a much larger initiative concerning education for sustainable development. “Education for Sustainable Development means including key sustainable development issues into teaching and learning; for example, climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, poverty reduction, and sustainable consumption” (UNESCO, 2012).

I believe just as we teach our young children to recycle, we should teach them how to take care of the planet on a whole. We should teach them about the importance of respecting life in all forms and preserving it. One of the primary purposes of education is socialization, creating socially responsible, productive individuals able to contribute to society. In many ways this is one of the major goals of UNESCO to protect the rights of children and families everywhere and contribute to a better quality of life for all, as well as a more productive and sustainable global population.  Although, UNESCO functions on an international stage, I believe some of their core values can assist the United States in dealing with the changing demographics. Ideas like greater intercultural communications and increased teacher training can help us improve our early education system. I recommend you check out the UNESCO website and read their education goals for 2015.

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and cultural Organization. (2012). Biodiversity and education. Retrieved November 8, 2012 from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/special-themes/biodiversity-initiative/biodiversity-education/

EXPANDING MY RESOURCES

                                                                        By Lisa Martin                      

It is important to me that I remain informed of advances and current research in the field of early childhood care and education. It is equally important to me that I am aware of what is happening in the field globally, so I like this new direction my blog will be taking. I am excited about having the opportunity to share information and gain insights from early education professionals from other countries, not that I do not currently have such opportunity with my international classmates at Walden University. I really want to be “pen pals” with a professional from the Netherlands, because of their government’s commitment to early education. “The Netherland government considers child care as an integral and essential part of economic growth” (Neugebauer, 2007, p. 58); a notion the United States seems to be finally adopting. To this end, I contacted UNICEF and asked to be put in contact with an early childhood professional from the Netherlands, and immediately received a response in Dutch – which thanks to Google I quickly translated, stating they will address my request and needed my actual address. I have not heard anything further, but am hopeful I will make contact with a dedicated professional from the Netherlands.

I also emailed Marcelle Delahaye Camping, the CEO and Founder of Liberty Foundation and Delfena Mitchell, the Director of the Liberty Foundation Children’s Home in Belize. This program opened in the summer of 2005 and takes in children who have been abandoned, abused or orphaned and many have disabilities, special needs or are HIV positive, predominantly between birth to 5 years of age. I discovered them at the World Forum website. I received an auto response from Delfena, but nothing more. I also signed up with UNESCO because they do so much for children around the world, and I was interested in following issues and trends on a global level. I will receive weekly updates from them, and be able to share any really interesting or insightful stories with you.

If I do not get a response from the people I reached out to, I will have to use the alternative method of gathering and exchanging, which I would prefer not to.

Reference

Neugebauer, R. (2007). Early childhood trends around the world. Exchange, (175), 58–63.

 

MY SUPPORTS

BY LISA MARTIN

I had to really think about my daily supports. The most obvious one was my husband, who often handles tasks and runs errands for me if I do not have time. He cooks dinner sometimes, picks up the dry cleaning, and remembers things that I somehow forget. Then I considered my staff, my co-workers who contribute to the success of the branch, by collaborating with me to get things done. I have other supports that I rely on daily; among them are my car and money. Both the car and the money allow me to get where I need to be and do what I need to do.  I also rely a great deal on my sister. She serves as a sounding board, confidante, and event and shopping companion.

I remember once my car had to stay at the dealer for repair, and I opted not to take the loaner. I felt confined and at the mercy of others for the weekend without my car. I was restricted in what I could do because of where I could go. Once I gave the entire staff the day off to attend some event, and had to man the office alone. It was challenging and lonely. I got through the day, but I could not imagine running the branch on my own. I also remember going through a sort of withdrawal when my sister was on an extended business trip. I could still call and speak to her, but we could not do anything together. I had to run my Saturday errands alone, go to the mall alone, in the end I spent more time at home for those three months. My husband has never been sick or away on business, so I can only imagine how lost I would be if he were not around.  I would definitely eat a lot more unhealthy crap and sleep poorly.

If I were to choose a challenge or disability to imagine myself having and how this would affect my current supports and force me to rely on new supports, I would select blindness. If I could not see, I would be unable to drive and the lack of freedom I felt that one weekend my car was being repaired would become a constant. My reliance on my husband and sister would greatly increase. The branch would cease to exist for me, as my staff would have a new leader; and the job that plays such a big role in my life and how I view myself and perhaps am viewed would be no more. I am sure I would identify new supports, like audio books or a seeing-eye dog.

I would have to move to a one level, ranch style house, trust someone else to coordinate my outfits, and eat even more of my husband’s cooking. I wonder if I would be able to enjoy my favorite programs and movies when only able to hear them. In the end I believe my husband and my sister would do everything possible to help me enjoy the quality of life I knew before losing my sight. They would do things like find cooking classes for the blind, so I could still cook and bake. My sister would probably organize my closet so I could dress myself, and she would definitely make sure I made it to service every Sunday. On the bright side I would finally have a dog – to which my husband could no longer object.

My Connections to Play

By Lisa Martin

                                                                                       

“Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.”              

                                                         Diane Ackerman

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.”

                                                  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A child loves his play, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard.”

                                                     Dr. Benjamin Spock



MUD PIE

I cannot begin to tell you how important play was in my childhood. It was a time when we could be free, when the adults weren’t telling you what to do or watching your every move. My grandmother would facilitate our backyard play by giving us old muffin and pie pans in which to make our mud pies. Looking back I cannot believe I used to enjoy digging up dirt; today I have no desire to garden or do anything that involves putting my hands in mud. I guess in childhood we are more uninhibited and rather fearless.

  

I remember my sisters and I would dress up and play house with our dolls pretending our husbands were at work and we were shopping with our babies. Sometimes, we would pretend the baby was sick or we were having a big party. As we got older we traded our baby dolls for Barbie dolls.        

 

We would often take our Barbie Dream House into the front yard and set it up on the cellar door, and all of our friends would come to the yard with their dolls and we would play all day. We would pretend to be teachers, lawyers, doctors, astronauts, you name it we wanted to be it and through our Barbie dolls we were if only for a few hours. We were happy children who laughed and smiled a lot. Today I know that “children who engage in make believe play are more joyful, and smile and laugh more often than those who seem at odds with themselves” (Almon, 2002, p. 4). 

 As I got older into the world of double digits I definitely preferred more physical play. Perhaps, one of the most fun things for me was jumping rope. I was really good at it, and to this day if I see a group of girls playing Double Dutch I always ask for a turn. Unfortunately, I hardly ever see little girls jumping rope anymore, even when I go back to Brooklyn. I totally see why our children are overweight, they do not run, jump, climb or play outdoors nearly as much as we did. I grew up in a time when you went outside and did not come back in the house until the streetlight came on.  

I wish children today knew the joys of stoop ball and stick ball; of double-dutch competitions with their girlfriends – and perhaps a boy or two. The joy of riding  your bikes around the neighborhood together; and in my case, having your uncle teach you to ride on Christmas morning on a playground covered by sheet of ice. Learning to ride my new princess bike on that freezing winter morning was one of the most memorable days of my childhood.

I understand the world is not quite the same as when I was a child, but I feel sorry for children who do not get to roam their neighborhoods and explore their communities, and simply be a child – playing made up games and having fun. Even as teenagers we played touch football and Ring Olivio on our Brooklyn street. To this day, I enjoy my play. I work hard, and nothing makes me feel more relaxed than a game night with friends, or getting out my Super Soaker on a hot summer night for a good water fight with my neighbor’s sons and their friend. I realize that it is my spirit of play that has survived childhood and carried well into middle-age that is responsible for my competitive nature and the self-confidence that makes me successful in the workplace. 

 

Almon, K. (2002). The vital role of play in early childhood education. Gateways, 43. Retrieved                from http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/GW43almon.pdf

 

 

 

 

Relationship Reflection

My Adult Web

(better known as my support system)

As I write this I am surrounded by my people or ‘peeps’ as I call them. These are the people with whom I have solid, tried and tested relationships; those who have been with me on the mountaintops and in the valleys. It is a small group consisting of my husband, sister, two cousins, two girlfriends and an aunt. I have never been one who thinks we do anything all on our own. I listened to the Republican convention and was amazed at the way they acted as if they lifted themselves up by their bootstraps without any help from anyone. I have achieved a great deal during my lifetime thus far, but not without guidance and inspiration, and sometimes financial help. I have been through some very rough times and again I did not go through them alone. I value the relationships in my life more and more as I get older, and I like to believe that I serve as important a role in the lives of my support network as they do in mine. I am a firm believer like our President that we are better together, looking out for each other.

Let me tell you about my peeps. Someone once said that “A friend is someone who, upon seeing another friend in immense pain, would rather be the one experiencing the pain than to have to watch their friend suffer”, these are the people I am talking about. First there is my husband, this strong, generous and compassionate man who has never let me down – and I am one of those do not put your trust in a man women. We have been married twenty-two years and experienced the type of devastating loss that usually tear couples apart, but they only made us stronger and brought us closer together. Then there is my sister Roz, who is the Thelma to my Louise, the Shirley to my Laverne, with whom I am always on the phone or out gallivanting. She sees the world the way I do, and though we are very different, we are very much the same in the ways that really matter. Then I have my two favorite cousins, who are more like sisters. Together the four of us have done much laughing and crying, but we focus on the laughter. 

Then there are my girlfriends – the main two being Theresa and Veta. Veta was my college roommate, and though we rarely see each other we can pick up the phone and it’s like we just spoke yesterday. Theresa has had a rough past year, but I have tried to be there for her. Did I mention that these strong, successful women are terrific mothers also, and help fill a void in my life, as I share in their children’s lives. My mother died when I was very young and my aunt, who was an important part of my childhood web, continues to fulfill that role for me. It is at her home I spend the holidays, with her I spend Mother’s Day. She is the one that is constantly whispering or shouting I can do whatever I desire to do. She is the one who takes pride in my accomplishments. Whenever I have needed anything I have been able to turn to any of these people, and they have always come through for me.

I used to joke that a relationship was two people waiting for someone better to come along and then I met my husband. I used to wish I was an only child, and then I grew to appreciate my sister.

“Even though we’ve changed and we’re all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we’ll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we’re not all still friends.”  Anonymous

 

THANK YOU

I would like to take a moment to thank all of my classmates for contributing to my learning and professional development. Sharing thoughts and ideas with each of you has been a priceless experience. I respect and admire your passion and dedication. I thought I would leave you with this quote to further inspire your professionalism, advocacy and leadership.

                    
                           

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

                                                                              

                                      Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa

Examining Our Code of Ethics

I firmly believe that all professionals should have a code of ethics that guides and influence their personal behavior as well as their practice. This code of ethics should provide a bond among those adhering to it and act as a sort of calling card – a form of identification. Perhaps, nowhere is this more true and necessary than the field of early education. In a profession of such broad responsibility and global importance there should be a strong and definitive code of ethics to help us through each day. I am happy to know we have such a code thanks to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Division of Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children.

The code of ethics “recognizes that those who work with young children face many daily decisions that have moral and ethical implications, and offers guidelines for responsible behavior and sets forth a common basis for resolving the principal ethical dilemmas encountered” (NAEYC, 2005, p. 1). This code covers professional practice, professional development, responsiveness to families and evidence based practice. It governs our ethical responsibilities to children, families, colleagues, communities and society. “It uses principles to guide conduct and assist us in resolving ethical dilemmas and it uses ideals to reflect our aspirations” (NAEYC, 2005, p. 2). As a passionate member of the early education field, in whose conscience the code is engraved, I would like to share the three ideals I value most; the first pertains to children, the second pertains to families, and the third is a collective ideal pertaining to society.

I.                   “To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the needs of children with and without disabilities” (NAEYC, 2005, p. 2).

II.                “To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families I serve” (NAEYC, 2005, p. 3)

III.             “To promote knowledge and understanding of young children and their needs. To work toward greater societal acknowledgement of children’s rights and greater social acceptance of responsibility for the well-being of all children” (NAEYC, 2005, p. 7).

My reasons for choosing these three ideals comes from my commitment to inclusive early education, as I believe children benefit from diversity and especially when they learn side by side with children of varying abilities. I further believe that I cannot successfully do my job without the help of the family, nor can a child achieve optimal learning and development without the participation and influence of those who know and care for him best. We also seem to have forgotten that it takes a village to raise a child. It is extremely important that we educate everyone on the needs of children and the importance of early education. It is going to take a supreme and global effort to eradicate all the obstacles to a child’s safe and healthy development. We must act collectively to make sure children have adequate nutrition, clean drinking water, healthcare, safe homes, and access to the quality education to which they are entitled; that they are protected from neglect, maltreatment, and abuse, allowed to thrive and enjoy this wonderful time called childhood. These are their rights, and we must be the guarantor of such rights. This is not a parental issue, a community issue, or a race issue; it is an issue to be solved by humankind.

References:

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved August 6, 2012 from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved August 6, 2012 from http://www.dec-sped.org/

Let’s Talk About Assessment

I will begin my blog on testing for intelligence by quoting the Prime Minister of Singapore, who when asked to explain the high performance level of their children replied, “I think we should do more to nurture the whole child, develop their physical robustness, enhance their creativity, shape their personal and cultural and social identity, so they are fit, they are confident, they are imaginative and they know who they are” (ASCD, 2010, p. 1). I believe that used to be the United States philosophy for educating their children. I cannot say with certainty how we should assess our school children, but I know that we should be assessing them as a whole individual. We need to find a way to look at the whole child, and assess not only cognitive ability, but social-emotional competency as well. We want to measure a child’s degree of socialization. After all, one of our main goals is to guide the child on their journey from childhood to adulthood as a productive, contributing member of society. We also need to assess their self-image and psychological state – perhaps then we can decrease the number of adolescent and teen suicides.

I can tell you what we should not do, and that is continue to measure children’s learning, along with teacher and school performance, based on standardized tests. “If a school’s standardized test score are high, people think the school’s staff is effective” (Popham, 1999, p. 8). We must stop trying to equate random test scores with performance and quality. We also need to stop taking monies that could be used to improve schools, and contribute to professional development and more qualified teachers and giving it to big corporations to design and implement testing that tells us very little about a child. Parents should stop allowing themselves to be brainwashed into believing that their child’s high score on a reading test means they are ready to take on the world.

Whenever I want to compare education in the United States to what occurs around the world, I look at those countries whose children outperform us; this would include China, Finland, and Switzerland among others. You know what, they do not use standardized tests in those countries the way we do. The head of education for Finland, Dr. Sahlberg, when asked to explain their superior results in education replied, “We are not actually talking a lot about numeracy or literacy, the agenda for change is more about increase of the arts and physical education into curriculum, and the highlight of 21^st century skills or as we call them citizen skills” (ASCD, 2010).  In the United States we have done the opposite, removing the arts, recess and physical education.

What is even more ironic is that Dr Sahlberg says most of what they are doing in Finland originated here in the United States. I believe it is time for us to trust our education professionals to assess students’ learning – like they do in Switzerland, and reinvest all the money spent on standardized testing into putting the arts and physical education back in our schools. Dr. Sahlberg also said, “If you want to learn something from Finland, it is the implementation of ideas. It is looking at education as nation-building. We have carefully kept the business of education in the hands of educators” (Snider, 2010, p. 2).  Again in the United States we have done the opposite, causing some of our best educators to walk away from the field. In a major city, with one of the most troubled public school systems, we have the mayor appointing lay people to run it; whereas in Finland you have to have a background in teaching to advance.

A properly educated teacher knows how to assess the learning being done by every child in their classroom; this was part of their training. A quality school will have in its employ a well-trained child psychologist. I know that we can devise effective and accurate means of assessing students’ knowledge and abilities without the primary use of standardized tests.

References:

ASCD. (2010, December 14). What other countries are really doing, take two. The ASCD            Community Blog – Inservice. Retrieved August 3, 2012 from                                                      http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/2010/12/what-other-countries-are-really-doing-take-two.html

Popham, J. (1999, March). Why standardized tests don’t measure educational quality. ASCD.Educational Leadership 56 (6). Retrieved August 3, 2012 from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/

Snider, J. (2010, December 13). Lessons from Finland’s education system. The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 3, 2012 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/justin-snider/finland-education-system_b_794644.html

COURSE RESOURCES

Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
  
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
  
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.

Part 2: Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
  
• Websites:
  
• • World Forum Foundation
    http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage
    
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep-usnc.org/
    Read about OMEP's mission.
    
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/
    Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week's Application assignment.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
  
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
  
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
  
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
  
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
  
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
  
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
  
• Children's Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
  
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
  
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
  
• Institute for Women's Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/
  
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
  
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
  
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
  
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
  
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
  
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/
  

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to "How Do I...?", select "Tips for Specific Formats and Resources," and then "e-journals" to find this search interface.)

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal

• International Journal of Early Years Education