Final Blog for Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field course

I really am enjoying learning and advancing my career with Walden University in the MSEC program. The practical, timely, and relevant information has enhanced my personal and professional life. During this 8 week course three positive consequences of learning about the international early childhood field are:
     1.  Phone conversations with professionals in my field in other countries and realizing that that they have the same concerns and desires as I do - to assist in improving young children's lives by giving them an advantage through education.
     2.  An increased drive to improve our child care facility to assist our care givers in working toward a more cohesive unit to educate dual language learners.
     3.  New friendships formed with EC providers where we can share more ideas and concerns in the future.

The EC field needs to have avenues where EC professionals can more easily communicate with each other and learn from each country's culture, practicing, and accomplishments in the field. Books, articles, and journals are published but there is nothing like one on one contaact with a colleague in your field.

I've enjoyed interacting with my classmates and appreciate the information I have received from them. Thank you all. Congratulations on accomplishing another task working towards your goals. Thanks Dr. Dartt for your guidance through this course. Grace and peace be with you all.

More from Kenya and Liberia

Early childhood concerns for quality and early childhood professionals in other countries besides the U.S. parallel those concerns of our country. Both in Kenya and in Liberia the administrators expressed to me that EC teachers must have education higher than the equivalent of our High School. Kenya also has a certification course similar to our CDA training if the person chooses not to go to college. The concerns that both contacts had were the specialized training for the early learners coming to school with languages and cultures differing from their classmates. As mentioned before the school in Kenya has six tribal languages in the area along with the taught language. Liberia’s school has three tribal languages in the area along with English.

Both administrators were concerned with building more schools in different areas of their state. They also expressed goals to seek ways to provide early education to more poor children. In Kenya, children who have become orphaned due to drug and alcohol abuse or aids are increasing in numbers. If they went to EC programs they would have a better chance to not repeat the cycle that made them orphaned.

What is most interesting to me is that both administrators understood and were concerned about poor children and that education would improve their statuses in life. Why do we in the U.S. have trouble convincing our fellow citizens that investing in the children benefits them for the future and society as a whole.  

WebSite Study For Week Six Assignment

The website I had previously chosen to study during this course has not posted anything new pertaining to EC in the six weeks. Although the intended information will benefit Illinois practitioners, there must be communication in order for this to occur.  Therefore, I have chosen to review another website that caters to the Illinois populous; to be more specific, Will County: Child Care Resources and Referral (CCRR).

http://www.childcarehelp.com/

Links on the home page lead to Dept of Human Services in Illinois and United Way of Will County. However, there is a page for childcare linking to several non-profits, national organizations, advocate groups, and government agencies.

I signed up for the news blasts. They cover updates with the subsidy payments, grants, training for practitioners and parents, childcare news. One link was on an organization that focused on parent awareness and involvement in early learning.

CCRR in Will County is known to provide information for parents and praactitioners on area improvements of equity and excellence. The personnel in the childcare department have a drive for EC advocacy and makes every person feel at home in their offices when making inquiries or using the resources. The website captures their drive. Many times an organization is very much different than the ‘printed’ mission. CCRR is not the case.

CCRR’s site stays abreast of EC news and trainings. One of the downloads on the home page is the statistics of children in poverty for 2010. I could have completed one of the previous week’s assignments by just studying this site.

Equity and Excellence in Africa

My early childhood contacts D/E Gaye and D/E Madegwa are from different countries in African. However, they have the same concerns as we do here in the United States. As I stated on a previous blog one contact is from Kenya and the other from Liberia. What is most interesting in speaking with both of them concerning inequity include, English as a second or third language, low income, and parent education.

In Kenya the location of the school is in an area of 6 different tribes the area language is Swahele. When the children go to pre-school there may be 6 differnt laguages children speak outside of the languages taught Swahele and English. Children may also have tribal differences that may cause some inequity in some schools. The Kenyan principle conveys that teachers are trained specifically for these types of issues in the class room.  D/E Madegwa's schools strive for excellence. He informed me that the fame of the schools go out because of the test scores of the children entering the primary grades. Parents without education spend all their extra money to send children to their schools even though there are public schools available. Parents who send their children to his schools want a better oppurtunity in life for them.

In Liberia, D/E Gaye's schools concerns parallel those in Kenya. His teachers will encounter up to 3 languages in the classroom. His schools are also private and advertise themselves by the test scores of the children entering into the primary grades.

Both principles are concerned about teaching the children that come from homes of abuse, and poverty. One empahtically stated that children can't learn when their stomachs speak louder than the teacher's voice.

Questions Answered

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

I chose the news and events page for Heartland Community College. The page introduces the Heartland Equity and Inclusion Project that will focus on EC professionals having the tools needed to support young children's development of all abilities.

• 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?

This portion of the news posts had not been updated. I found that controversial in that the project should post its progression. Other news was concerned about campus events, registration, or info for the students.

• 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?

I believe that the HEIP will eventually give EC professionals information from these groups of professionals. I'm rather disappointed there has not been any news on the project posted for weeks. 

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

Nothing new since my previous post concerning the site.