Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Exploring UNESCO website @ http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Three new ideas/insights gained from exploring the UNESCO web site include a vast amount of information regarding early childhood education internationally, improvements being made for education interantionally and information regarding various cultures across the globe.

The section that I explored for early childhood education covered areas such as Africa, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Each section gave a brief statement on what different organizations where doing to help improve the quality of education for children and then several news articles regarding teaching in those regions and what is being done to help make improvements.

One of the improvements trying to be implemented is the use of mobile technologies and learning. According to the Education Sector, “at the end of 2012 there were an estimated six billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world. The unprecedented uptake of mobile phones in particular, in both developed and developing countries opens up new possibilities for increasing education access, equity and quality. Mobile learning, a growing field of ICT in education, has the potential to significantly impact the delivery of education” (2013).

The section that I explored for culture was my favorite. You can access this section here http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/

I watched a video regarding saving Mausoleums in Africa that had contained thousands of manuscripts. They discussed trying to reconstruct many of the buildings and the loss of the manuscripts. There was so much information on various cultures and items from around the world and articles for different cultures. I spent an hour just reading about treasures, artifacts, and heritages. It was very interesting as well as informative. Here are some of the manuscripts from the 12^th to 15^th centuries.

  

“Subjects treated in those works span a vast range of ancient learning: from theology to mathematics, medicine, astronomy, music, literature, poetry, architecture, as well as esoteric practices. Together they bear a unique testimony to the cultural past of the city as a centre of learning and crossroad of trade and cultural exchanges. They also contain invaluable information about the pre-colonial history of Muslim Africa” (UNESCOPRESS, 2013).

This section of the UNESCO web site was just so wonderful, and I am glad to have been able to

explore this segment and learn more about what UNESCO does. This was interesting to me also because it gave a glimpse of heritage, culture and background of the children who UNESCO helps with education.

 

Education Sector (February 2013). ICT in Education. Learning with mobile technologies. Retrieved from  http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/single-view/news/learning_with_mobile_technologies/

UNESCOPRESS (January 2013). Timbuku’s documentary treasures. Building Peace in the minds of men and women. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/resources/preserving-the-moslem-cultural-heritage-of-mali-and-africa/

 

Sharing Web Resources

Follow some of the outside links that you have not yet explored. Where do they lead?

The first link I clicked on led to an article about Obama and his plan for expanding preschool for children below the poverty level. The article Obama pushes preschool plan in GA visit was published in the Associated Press February 15, 2013.

http://valdostadailytimes.com/todays-top-stories/x766088339/Obama-pushes-preschool-plan-in-Ga-visit

The second link led to another article that was an extension of the Obama push for preschool education but it discussed why it is important for preschool children to go to school so young. Brain studies fuel push for early education was published February 15, 2013 and discussed how children learn more in the early years and the price of the funding. http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/latestnational/839067-8/brain-studies-fuel-push-for-early-education

 

Thoroughly search one area of the site. What do you find?

I have found that a conference is coming up from April 30-May 3, 2013 in Washington DC that I would love to attend.

If you receive an e-newsletter, follow a link related to one of the issues you have been studying. What new information is available?

Through the e-newsletter information is available for government affairs updates, innovation for Head Start and how the program works, and a policy agenda which we have been discussing in class through discussions and applications.

 

Additionally, find out if the site you selected at the beginning of this course offers any information about the issue of this week:

Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education?

The website does add to my understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education by allowing me to learn about the current trends and issues and what is being done to help children, families, and educators in the early childhood field.

 

What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain this week from exploring the website and/or the e-newsletter?

 

New insights I gained were definitely about the push for the expanding of free preschool programs, I missed the President’s state of the union address earlier this week, however, the website was filled with information and articles discussing the issues of a nationwide free program for preschool children.

http://www.nhsa.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

World Forum

From the World Forum Foundation Video by Tori Hogan, I have learned that the World Forum gather together and collaborate on early childhood issues. This has been taking place for over a decade and each year it gains more people and attention to address the issues of the early childhood field across the globe. Hogan states that in doing a workshop, it empowers people to take action. Anyone involved or interested in early childhood may attend and walk away with so much more knowledge and resources to help continue the plight for quality for our children. It is a shame I cannot be a part of this project, it sounds amazing!

 http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us/

 Harvard Web

Three new ideas/insights found from the Harvard web site include a project in Brazil where they are going to try to use science to help create stronger policies to generate larger investments into their child development programs. Another project I have found from the site is one from Africa that includes the launch of the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project in 2009. This program was created to measure the effects of the anti-malaria on child development. The last new idea I have found from the site includes the world’s policymakers have increased their attention to early childhood health and development stating that “the foundations for successful adulthood are established early in life” I thought this appropriate considering we have been discussing this same this in class.

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/topics/global_child_development/

Sharing Web Resources

What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

In the first week of this class one of the sites that I used was the National Head Start Association. This is relevant to my current professional development because I work for a Head Start agency and it is nice to see how Head Start is on a national level instead of just local. I joined their blog and I read some of the “news” articles to see what is happening through their prospective.

Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

One of the articles on the website that was a bit controversial was that fact that after a 3^rd grade follow up of 5000 students, it was implying that Head Start does not work, however, “Yasmina Vinci just wrote an article for Reuter’s which puts the findings in clear perspective, laying out more than 45 years of evidence that Head Start works!” (Let’s Keep Things in Perspective, 2012).

What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

 The website contains so much information that it is hard to pinpoint just one area; however, there is a section now about a seminar that was held on January 31 that fits with what we are discussing in class. Here is the pre write up for the event:

 

The number of children in poverty is nearing a level not seen since the Great Depression. At the same time, dollars for public programs have stagnated or been cut and public sentiment is focused elsewhere. This opening session will start a dialogue about getting off to the “right start” for Head Start in this New Year, new Congress, and new Administration. Led by Ralph Smith from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, it will address where we can refocus our priorities, conversations, and work in order to make a real change for the children and families touched by poverty. (National Head Start Association, 2012)

 

What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

I have found that these issues that we have been discussing on our local levels are discussed on a national level through this site. I am able to read about policy makers and what they are trying to do to help low income families.

News you can use. (2012, January 11). Let’s Keep Things in Perspective: Release of the Head Start Impact Study Third Grade Follow-up. National Head Start Association. Retrieved from http://www.nhsa.org/news_you_can_use_week_of_january_11_2013

Podcasts/link

Podcasts

This has been a very hard and trying assignment, this is my forth class working on this blog and I have never had this much difficulties with completing an assignment, but I have not given up. Because I had several problems with trying to complete this assignment using the first option, I finally gave up and went to this site http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php to listen to some podcasts on issues around the world and early childhood. I first listened to Episode 3: Delfena Mitchell discuss issues about children that have been abandoned, abused, and have disabilities including HIV/AIDS. The center has been open for about 8 years and is mainly for children birth to about 5. Mitchell discussed in the podcast a boy who did not speak for the first year he was here and also was having difficulties with schooling. Mitchell stated that he has made progress since he opened up and continues to talk about the abuse he and his siblings suffered before going to the center.

Another podcast I listened to was Episode 1: Barnabas Otaala. Otaala discussed the problems of HIV in early childhood and the need for partnerships between parents, doctors and the villages that they live in. Otaala stated that teachers and parents need to communicate about the children and work together so that the young children are able to receive the help they need and the support they need to become succeful.

Extra link

I also went to this site http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/ and clicked on the Chip International Activities to find what I could for poverty outside the US. I was reading about poverty in India and found three insights that caught my attention, they include:

1.      Many children do not finish school because of poverty and ill health

2.      Some young girls are married at the age of 10

3.      Young boys will take jobs at young ages to help support their family even doing something like selling ice cream.

Although we have poverty issues here in the US, it was hard to read about the problems in other countries, I cannot fathom having one of my children married at 10, or even taking a job to help support the family. It was hard to read about the problems in India and I only read a few from the list. Other information that I found from the site include:

A 1% reduction in world military spending could provide primary schooling to all the world's children. A 10% reduction could eliminate illiteracy completely for a decade. If 0.5% of world military spending were diverted to immunisation, all children could be vaccinated against preventable diseases for the next 10 years (UNICEF, 2004)

40 % of children in developing countries suffer from malnutrition. At current rates of improvement, 1 billion children's mental development will be affected by malnutrition by 2020 (UN James Commission).

Insights

After listening to the podcasts and viewing the link to CHIP, I have discovered a few new things related to poverty and young children around the world. Although the US also has its own issues with poverty and early childhood, the world around us is also struggling with poverty and from what I have found the circumstances seem to be on a larger scale with children not even being in school past the age of 10 in many cases. Children are working to help support their families, young girls are married around this age and having families of their own to have to support and feed. The cycle of poverty at this rate will only grow and continue to worsen. Children in many of these countries are also dealing with natural disasters and the countries do not have to means to step in help like we do here in the US with are programs such as Red Cross and FEMA. It was insightful to learn about the differences and how even though poverty still exists here in the US there are programs to help unlike many countries who do not have the means.

Sharing Web Resources

World Organization For Early Childhood Education

http://www.omep-usnc.org/

This is from the OMEP web site that I did research on. It is an international web site; however, I also have access their newsletters. This tells you a little about what they do and who they serve:

“Welcome to the OMEP-USA website. We are part of an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization with members in more than 70 countries.

We are college professors, preschool teachers, primary-grade teachers, school administrators, social workers, psychologists, doctors, nurses, policy makers, administrators, journalists, physical therapists, librarians, lawyers, policymakers, college students, volunteers, parents, grandparents, advocates, and activists.

Our goal is to ensure the wellbeing, rights, and education of children (birth – age 8) and their families in the U.S.A. and around the world -- today and in the future.

OMEP is the oldest and largest international organization focusing on early childhood. OMEP has Consultative Status with the United Nations, UNICEF, and UNESCO. ” (OMEP, 2010)

Issues that caught my attention:

Because this is an international web site, they deal with many problems around the world that effect children because of where they live. Issues that we here in America may never deal with, or that we do not have the severity of what the children in other parts of the world live with. Some of those issues include:

Participating in World OMEP's Haiti Earthquake Relief and Japan Earthquake Relief Projects

Contributing to a professional library for a new early childhood program at MICO University in Jamaica — OMEP-USA members have sent child development texts and other professional books

Supporting a preschool in Jamaica — OMEP-USA has sent books and school materials

Collaborating with UNICEF in the development of OMEP's Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives in early childhood settings in the developing world.

The one that really stands out to me is collaborating with UNICEF for WASH in the early childhood settings in the developing world. We take for granted what comes so naturally for us here in the US, we do not think about the young children across the globe who does not have the means to jump up and wash their hands before snack every day. We teach our children on a daily basis about germs and how to keep from spreading them to remain healthy, but we do not think about the fact that the water just comes to us, that we do not need special projects such as WASH for our children in our own classrooms. This makes me think about the things I do complain about not having for my children and they seem insignificant in comparison.

Establishing Professional Contacts/Expanding Resources

So far this week I have tried to establish contact with 2 agencies outside the US for professional contacts. The first one was with an agency in the Philippines and the second was with an agency in Ireland. I am excited to see if I will receive any responses. I went through the list in the blog resources and chose 2 that stood out to me. I used the email addresses provided and sent emails to the contact person listed. I hope to hear something soon!!

For the second part of my blog assignment, I explored the National Head Start Association. I did this because I have worked for Head Start for many years and although I am an employee, I never spent time exploring our own web site. This is an opportunity for me to learn more about the agency I work for. The site includes many areas including services, research, news & advocacy, and events & conferences to name a few. I had explored much of the site and was impressed with the amount of information given plus what is going on around the US in Head Start. I look forward to learning more. I also added myself to their blog.