United Nations and Early Childhood Education

This week I have been struggling with the idea of quality in early childhood programs. As a nation we the United States has not developed an agreed upon standard that defines quality in early childhood education. If we as a developed nation can not agree what quality care looks like how can we help develop policies and support developing countries in providing quality early care and education. The United Nations has a website dedicated to Early Child Care and Education at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/.

The United Nations website discusses the lack of a universally agreed upon criteria for quality in early care.The greatest hindrance for including the United States in increase access to quality care bringing together resources both public and private to support services as is the case in Singapore, where most preschools are run by for-profit corporations and registered with the Ministry of Education that provides support for low income families. Most children in grade 1 in Singapore have had at least one year of preschool. There needs to be some degree of collaboration between the public and private sectors.


While exploring the United Nations website I came across a policy brief that really made me think about how we determine the value we place on early care and education. The Brief entitled What is your image of the child? discusses how our view on children shape ideas and policies on early childhood education. If we don't view the child as whole, able, and complete then we approach early care different and place lower value on the investment of early care. 

I do feel that the view of early care is changing around the world, but it needs to start in the field itself. Teachers need to look at what their views of children are and the value they place on children and early childhood education. If we view ourselves as more than mere babysitters, then we will raise the quality in our own classroom and then we can begin to change the field.

Digging deeper in the field

I often ask myself, am I doing enough for the children and families I serve on a daily basis, lately this I have changed this to wonder if I am doing enough to help the field of early childhood education? What contributions an I making and how can I become an advocate for change? As I searched deeper into the NIEER website I had those thoughts and questions in mind. This week I looked at the videos on the website and watched several videos on the benefits of and barriers to quality preschool education. There was one video that really struck me, it was titled The State of preschool 2011: On the edge of crisis, this short video showed that while enrollment in preschool has increased funding has decreased. This lack of funding means lack of access and a limit to quality. This has been a key area that needs to be addressed by individuals working directly with children daily. Teachers and program administrators need to follow quality standards and become strong advocates for Universal preschool and national standards for quality.

Here is the link to the video

http://nieer.org/publications/nieer-videos/state-preschool-2011-edge-crisis

Global Initiatives

The Global Children's  Initiative is an organization that was established to use a collaborative science-based research  base to help improve the lives of children around the world. They have several partnerships with organizations  around the world. One of the partnerships  they have is with Nucleo  Clencia Pela Infancia  (NCPI). The NCPI is a Brazilian initiative to increase the knowledge of how lifelong health and wellness begins in early childhood.  The NCPI is working to build a scientific  community around child development  to work with with policy makers to improve the lives of all young children  in Brazil. The other important two task that  the NCPI is working on is to take the research to build social policy and build leaders in the field, also since it is a global partnership  they have to translate all research to Portuguese so it is accessible  to all Brazilians.

Being an early childhood  educator  in the United States it is easy to get caught up in the needs of our own communities, which is important,  but we need to become a global community and be part of a global  conversation about addressing the needs of young children around the world.

Politcs of Preschool- Web Resources

This week the National Institute for Early Childhood Research had a link to an article written in the Atlantic written by Alia Wong. In her article titled The Politics of 'Pre-K', Wong discusses the push for universal Pre-K programs, and how politicians use the word Pre-K as opposed to preschool because it signifies the one year prior to kindergarten entry. Many pre-k programs that are funded by government agencies will only fund children for one year, but many state and federal politicians are really beginning to view early childhood as an investment, as are businesses who are looking for skilled workforce.

As I looked through the website I saw that there were several articles from several newspapers and other publications discussing  the need for expansion of universal preschool programs, the more that the topic is making mainstream media the more traction the movement gets.

References

Wong, A. (2014, November 19). The politics of ‘Pre-K’, preschool and prekindergarten are the same thing—aren’t they? The Atlantic. Retrieved from: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/11/the-politics-of-pre-k/382878/?single_page=true.

Childhood Poverty in Ethiopia

This week I have been exploring the issue of childhood poverty around the world. While my primary focus is on childhood poverty in the United States and specifically in my community, but in order to be an advocate for the field of early childhood it is important be aware of the needs of children around the world. During my reading about poverty and child nutrition I came across a paper written by Catherine Porter of Oxford University on child nutrition in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in Africa and 44% of the population is suffers from under-nutrition. The children in the study they conducted lived in families that had less than a dollar a day to spend, but they did find that children who had even a small amount more money had a a greater chance of catching up and refusing some of the effects of malnutrition even if they were underweight. The earlier that they are lifted out of poverty the better the chance they have of catching up developmentally and physically. Throughout the years of following the children the researchers learned that family wealth was a direct indicator of child health even in the poorest country where the wealthiest families are still far below the global poverty lines.

References

Porter, C. (2013, January). Nutrition in Early Childhood: Insights from rural Ethiopia. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/files/Catherine_Porter_CPI_Jan2013.pdf

Sharing Web Resources

There are several resources that support teachers in the field of early childhood education. As a professional I am very familiar with a few of these, but have recently looked to expanding my resource library and becoming more familiar with other resources to not only support my professional growth, but also to help me support to professional growth of my staff.

One of the websites that I have been exploring over the last few weeks is the National Institute for Early Education Research or NIEER (www.nieer.org). The NIEER conducts research in the field of early childhood to help enhance the quality and effectiveness of programing for young children in all domains of development. The NIEER also provides research results to policy makers in order to influence positive change in the care and education of young children.

One of the first things that caught my attention on the website was the Annual State Pre-K Yearbook. The yearbook is a comprehensive report on how each state is doing meeting the needs of 3 and 4 year olds. The NIEER looks at enrollment, spending amounts per child, and government subsidies as well as what each new legislative measures have taken place over the last year. In CA one of the biggest moves the state has seen is a move to developing a statewide quality rating system using the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant, proving that this is an exciting time to be an early childhood professional in California.

Global Perspectives and expanding resources

It is important as an early childhood professional to make connections and become advocates for children around the world, and to reach out and create a global network. This week I reached out to a few resources for global connections with no reply. Still wanting to be as informed about what is happening in early childhood education around the world I began looking into professional global organizations that support early childhood professionals around the world. As I searched for the podcasts of the World Forum Organization with no luck I came across Bonnie's Blog (http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/bonnie/) on their website. As I read her recent blog post I was struck again on the importance of  thinking about the and taking action for young children and early childhood professional around the world.

I have spent time looking for and expanding my resource library and have found that the Zero to Three website www.zerotothree.org is a very valuable resource for early childhood educators and one that while I have gone to to find specific resources or articles I have not fully immersed myself in it and can not yet easily navigate it, so I look forward to spending time learning more about it.

My Supports

I look at my life like a house, it needs several things in order to stay standing and weather any storm that comes my way. The first support in any house is the foundation, for me this is my husband. He is my foundation, I lean on him so often both physically and emotionally. He is  my second half, he anticipates sometimes before me. My husband and I have been apart more often this year then ever before and I have wavered more and come through storms a little more beaten then when he is by my side.

On top of the foundation is the the frame for me the frame is my assistant. She lays out the structure of my day, sets my appointments and is the keeper of my schedule. She knows when to and when not to set appointments. She handles little details of my day and keeps me organized.  Without her I end my day more tired and disheveled.

Then we have the plumbing and wiring this in my technology that allows me to complete my day. I rely on email and phone calls as a means of conducting business. Email connects me to parents and families. Busy families need to be able to quickly communicate and receive replies when I lose my technology I struggle with my day to day operations.

The other parts of the house that is my life are the walls,my morning routine is a key part of my day and sets the tone for the rest of it, each morning I walk the dog, workout, prepare my meals for the day and spend time looking over my schedule and making notes on how to tackle each item. When I do not have the time to complete these task I am a little off during the day. It is hard to describe, but when my morning is off the whole day is off.

Every good home needs comfort, and I am no different, my dog and cats are a huge comfort and support to me. Walking the dog in the evening grounds me and reconnects me to home after my day at work. When I am stressed or overwhelmed my cats know to come and curl up on me and help me to relax and unwind.   

Each of these are important supports to me and I need each of them to create a support system that allows me to make it through each and everyday.

My Connections to Play

"Almost all creativity involves purposeful play. "

-Albert Maslow

Growing up I was always in roller skates, everywhere I went skates were my main means of transportation. When I was wearing skates I was happy I felt that they were connected to me. When I didn't have my skates on it was like a piece of myself was missing. The second I got home from school my skates would go on, my mom would continually send me outside because I would be skating in the house. When she sent me outside it was not only to get me out of the house it was to get me to play and explore. My  mom bought me pair after pair of roller skates, and never questioned why I was wearing them. I could skate around the block, to the park, friends house and school without concern or worry. I did not have a cellphone and was not required to be supervised every second of the day.

 

 

The second item that I played with on a regular basis was Legos. I played with my Legos almost every day. I would sit on the floor (in my roller skates) and build with Legos for hours. Legos provided me with a way to explore design and building because when I was a child Legos did not come in kits with complex instructions or a right way to build a building or car. I was not limited by the instructions, I could create using a variety of little bricks in a multitude of colors.

Today most toys or play items have a purpose or a correct way to use then. Children are given kits to create an certain item or object. We are not giving children the time to explore and create on their own without rules or instructions. Children need to be given materials and told to create.

"Play fosters belonging and encourages cooperation."

-Stuart Brown M.D.

Relationship Reflection

Each one of us is shaped by the people in our lives that we interact with, some on a daily basis some less frequently. I have at times felt like I am an island all alone in my journey but when I look and reflect I know that I have so many relationships that help me along the road. Some I interact with daily and others less frequently but they are still important to not only my professional journey, but also my personal journey.

My husband and partner is life is one of the most positive relationships that I have, he is my sounding board and know when I need him to be a coach or a cheerleader and supports me in all decisions that I make. He provides constructive criticism and keeps my spirits up when I am feeling overwhelmed. This relationship has taken years to develop and nourish with open communicative and while we have struggled and had many growing pains we have always found common ground in our love and respect for another. 

My children are another positive relationship that has continually grown and evolved throughout the years, from tiny babies to adulthood my relationship with them has changed based on what they needed from me and what I could provide. As a parent it is hard always keep positive and support you children when they are challenging you at every turn, but after each period of disequilibrium come balance and peace. It is the knowledge that they will be at peace and will one day understand why I said no, or required a certain action from them that allows me to push forward and strive to maintain a relationship with my children. I once told someone that it is the parent's responsibility to seek their child out and meet them where they are, I have found that this is true for all relationships. Each of my children have different needs from me on different days and I need to be available to them and try (I may not always succeed) to meet their needs.

In my professional life I have a team  of teachers that I can look to for support, suggestions, and collaboration.The staff and I have the same goals which is to provide the highest quality care and education to the families we serve, they cannot do it without me and I cannot do it without them. This is a partnership and while my interactions with each of them are different and unique it is important that they are treated equally and with the same level of respect. 

Working with a variety of personalities and often times struggling to put my own personal agenda aside has allowed me to be able to work with families in order to be their coach or cheerleader, maintain open communication, meet them where they are and treat all of them with the same level of respect.