Professional and Personal development (Trends/Issues)

 

 

In this course we covered a wide range of (trends and issues) useful information that will be beneficial for me in my professional life.  However I was never initially able to make contact internationally but I will continue to make this my purpose.  Because I feel this will be beneficial for my career as well.  It will give me a vivid picture of other countries early childhood learning experience.  That will allow me to compare, improve, and share ideas of my early childhood learning experience.  It will serve as collaboration between two individuals with one common goal.  Through this collaboration we can also tackle some trends and issues that we are faced with as well.  I think that it’s so vital as early childhood educator to have a forum of sort where you can share information, exchange ideas and offer encouragement.

Sharing Web Resources- Part 3

   

The website that I have been researching over the course of this class is the Children Defense Fund.  The Children Defense Fund is dedicated to been a voice for all children by improving policies and programs for children. However I didn’t see any links on this site nevertheless in researching this site more in-dept I found out some interesting information.  The Children Defense Fund grew out of the Civil Rights Movement.  I found this to be interesting since this month is Black History Month- something that makes you go really how fascinating!!

 
www.childrensdefensefund.org

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

In reading the “Global Children’s Initiative” website there focus was based on three initiatives. 

 

• reframing the discourse around child health and development in the global policy arena by educating high-level decision-makers about the underlying science of learning, behavior, and health, beginning in the earliest years of life;
• supporting innovative, multi-disciplinary research and demonstration projects to expand global understanding of how healthy development happens, how it can be derailed, and how to get it back on track; and
• building leadership capacity in child development research and policy—focused on both individuals and institutions—in low- and middle-income countries to increase the number and influence of diverse voices and perspectives that are contributing to the growing global movement on behalf of young children.

And from these initiatives derives three objectives to assist in shaping activities for a portfolio in the following areas:

• early childhood development;
• child mental health; and
• children in crisis and conflict situations.

These objectives are design to focus on the developing child.  From reading this initiative it is good to know that measures are being put in place to address mental health issues as well as children in crisis and conflict situations.  Because little emphasis is given to these types of issues as they relate to healthy child development. 

Sharing Web Resources

 

 

The website that I have chosen to study is The Children’s Defense Fund who’s mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.  I would say that all the information shared this week is beneficial and relevant to my professional development because any issue that children are faced with is momentous to my professional growth.  There haven’t been any information ideas, resources or statements shared that have made me look at issues or situations in a new way.    I have not gain any information from the website/newsletter that has given me a better understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field.  I am still trying to acquire other means that will provide me with a better understanding of the responsibility of economists, neuroscientists and politicians to support the early childhood field.  I presently have not gained any new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field via exploring the website or newsletter.  This week has proven to be a challenging week for me because of my lack of understanding of the role economists, neuroscientist, and politicians play in the early childhood field.

 

Geeting to Know Your International Contacts

This week our adventures in learning introduced us to the poverty.  I decided to explore poverty in China. Through my reading I discovered that  China has made major gains in reducing poverty in the current years.  This reduction to poverty can be attributed  to the far-reaching development of economic and social transition.   Even though 4.2 million Chinese children live in absolute poverty and 8.7 million live in disadvantaged conditions.  Education levels are higher there than in many countries with equivalent incomes.  This struck  me as odd because poverty does affect children educational outcomes I was surprised to see that poverty had little affect on children educational outcome there.   The majority of poor families said they would not let poverty prevent their children from attending school or entering higher education, and in my opinion that is why poverty had very little or no affect on their educational outcome.

China has made major stride in reducing poverty by the following recommendations:

o                          increasing parents’ ability to guarantee a better current standard of living through enhanced retraining opportunities, and business development support and increasing the minimum wage.

o                          providing good quality education for all children. This requires removing cost barriers to education, and would eliminate the need for extra tuition.

o                          ensuring that the health insurance system involves all elements of the social security system, to meet the health-related needs of all poverty-affected children.

improving migrant families’ access to government and community assistance by granting them equal access to urban services as long-term urban residents; making it easier to apply for urban registration would contribute to this.

Sharing Web Resources

 

It is so imperative as educators to keep up with the current trends and issues related to early childhood.  Since educational leaders are continuously face with choices about what to do to enhance student learning and motivation.  They need high-quality information on which to support these choices.    By keeping current with trends and issues they learn the most significant plan of action that should be assessed to determine whether they will work as intended and how the plans of action could be better. I chose to explore the Children’s Defense Fund to find out more about it’s mission because I feel it would support my quest to stay abreast with the latest trends and changing demographics.  

 

http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/

Getting Ready—Establishing Professional Contacts

I am still trying to get a better understanding of this assignment but the country that I would like to establish professional contact with is Africa, because I heard that children there struggle for an education.  And if I would launch a professional connection I would get a first hand account on their educational journey.