Issues and Trends: Economists,Neuroscientists, and Politicians as Early Childhood Advocates

Information from Save the children- International
 
The sections relevant to my current professional development include the following:

Policies on the issue of Undernutrition: The invisible killer of 3 million children a year.

Lawerence Haddad posted an article about undernutrition of millions of children in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africia. Undernutrition remains one of the biggest development challenges because of the long lasting effects it causes to children.  The EU set out policies on the issue. The media focus is on children who are desperately  thin and wasting away means that chronic undernutrition ( Haddad,2013).

 Although the children appear to look healthy and normal their brain development and immune systems are not. 40% of all children under 5 in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africia are short for their age. Their stunted height is a indication of deprivations regarding food intake, care and play, clean  water, good sanitation and health care. Stunting and wasting in the first 1000 days after conception represents a squandering of human potential. Undernourished children are more likely to get sick, resulting in death. Undernourished children of five years or over are more likely to be overweight and to develop chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease later in life.  Having access to this information will help me to become more effectively in advocating for the well-being of children.

Something I found controversial was if it is a known fact that undernutrition of children leads to all types of problems, and what is needed as a prevention measure is leadership, why is it not being established. The article goes on to expalin that the prevention of stunting improves school performance  for children,it improves wages, earned income,employment rates, and  reduces poverty, and adds to economic growth. So my question still remains, if you can head off a problem from occuring, why not use the information to make things better?

Leadership is needed if the problem is going to get better, malnutrition in children is a silent wrecker, it is said to be no one's responsibility everyone in society, but we must make it our business if we want to save our children from wasting away. Leadership is needed in these countries if the survival of children is one of the leading important things for the people especially for the first 1000 days of life.

Reference:

Haddah,L (2013). Undernutrition: the invisible killer of 3 million children a year. Retrieved from Save the children international website. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/13/undernutrition-invisible-killer-chil....

Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 1

These are my international partners, I am learning a lot by talking with them about the many issues in the Early childhood field. 
Jesse Loughman teaches an after school progam in Shanghai, China. The children he teaches are all Chinese children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. He says that all schools in China are not like his; there are some international schools, they pay a lot of money for their children to attend. His school is basically a private school, they pay a lot of money for their children schooling. The more Chinese parents like you as a teacher, the more they pay for classes. He says that it's an interesting role of school between kindergarten teachers and summer camp leaders. He enjoys his role as a leader, the children are rreally fun to teach.

Kitara Jordan teaches in Japan. She teachers kindergarten students on the military base. She says that the children she teaches are all American children. I asked her about the issue of poverty with her children and their families, she states that a lot of the families recieve assistance, especially WIC. Most military families do not make a lot of money. She says that there are a lot of programs but she is not sure of how they help. She plans to connect me with another person who teaches Japanese children, I can't wait.

My last contact is Kayla Ellington. Kayla teaches kindergarten in Abu Dhabi, which is in the United Arab Emirates. She says her children are very much like the children in America. Her class consist of 23 children. They vary in ability levels as well as behavior. Her goals for the children are similiar to the outcomes in the states. She shares her classroom with a native Arabic speaking teacher. They have themes they teach each week and they co-teach based on that theme. Her students then recieve literacy instruction in both English and Arabic in small groups. Ther also teach for numeracy.

These are my three contacts. I am enjoying chatting with them and learning so many great things about the children and families they are serving. When I was reading the article on The myths of the culture of poverty, this atatement stood out for me. It says to continue reaching out to low-income families even when they appear unresponsive ( and without assuming. If they are unresponsive, that we know why) ( Gorski,2008).

My insights about the issues of poverty have been very enlighten. I have learned that not all things that we see are not always what they seem to be. One thing I do know is that no matter how poor parents are they will alwys strive to do the very best for their children. As educators it is our job to help them to become better parents, and to do all we can when teaching their children.

                                                                       Resources
     Gorski, P. (2008). The myth of the culture of poverty. "Educational Leadership, 65 (36). Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I selected was Save the Children:
The link to this website is http://www.savethechildren.org

  Save the children is the leading independent organization creating lasting changein the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. Save the children work with other organizations, governments, non-profits and a variety of local partners while maintaining their own independence without political agenda or religious orientation.

The issue that caught my attention was Education.

Education is the road that children follow to reach their full potential in life ( save the children). Many children in need around the world don not get a quality education where they can learn and develop. To advance learning, Save the children supports education programs for children in the classroom and at home.

In, 2011, Save the children's education programs reached nearly 10 million children, thanks to the many families, teachers, government officials and community volunteers who help inspire these learners.

Results of the Education Programs:
Beatrice Learns to read. 11 year old Beatrice could not read. The teachers realize that she was sensitive and embarassed by her failure. She was frustrated and angry, which caused her to refused their offer of help., she withdrew into a shell. If only Beatrice knew she was not alone. In Ethiopia, 23 percent of children in third grade could not read a single word in one minute, in Nepal, that number was 50%. One person, Mai was determined to help Beatrice. She invited Beatrice to a reading camp , Beatrice refused. Mai visited Beatrice at home to read to her. Beatrice began to be interested in the stories. Mai told Beatrice the stories could only continue at camp, because of her ionterest in the stories Beatrice decided to come to camp. Today Beatrice is a 4th, grader, and a group leader at the reading camp.

Tererai' Dream come True: Dr. Tererai Trent had a dream that one day she would have the opportunity to pursue the education she longed for as a child so that she could help all the boys and girls of her village. Born  in an impoverished family in a remote village in Matau, Zimbabwe, she was not allowed to go to school. married at 11, soon to become the mother of five children. In 2011, she was selected by Oprah, as a all time favorite guest and honored with a favorite gift; 1.5 million donation from the Oprah Winfrey Foundation for Save the Children to rebuild the Matau Primary School and improve learning for children. Today her dream is coming true  for teaching children and improving training for teachers and supplying books.  " Education states Tererai is the pathway to progress and the gateway out of poverty" ( Tererai Trent, save the children, 2013).

                                             Tererai's Dream: Coming True for Children.  

Late Breaking News!

I came in contact with Jesse Loughman who teaches in Shanghai, China. He teaches Chinese children ages 5-10 in a after-school private program. He moved there in December, and he loves the children. He says that the families are very much involved with their children learning. They watch from the window after they drop their children off, just to see what he is teaching. I will be posting comments from Jesse as I speak with him and he shares something new.   

Getting Ready-Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources:


Steps I have taken to locate two professionals:

First of all let me say that this assignment is a real challenge. The first step I took was to visit the two web sites:
1. The Global Alliance of NAEYC- I probably will re-visit it later
2. UNICEF
 * I am not really understanding how to do contacts for these.

My second step was to ask my co-workers and friends if they could help me, and this is what I recieve from them.
1. I did come in contact with someone who is over in Japan. His wife teaches American children on the military base. They are going to put me in contact with a friend who is there that teaches Japanese children. I sure hope so, this sounds exciting.

2. A former co-worker has a friend who teaches in Africa, I am waiting to hear back from this one.

My alternative for this assignment would be to visit the Global fund for children website or Save the children and try to contact two early childhood professionals from listening to the podcasts.

I  chose about 3 Resources to recieve information and newsletters.
   1. I really like Zero to three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, so this will be the main source of information for my blog.

   2. National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators

   3. The Global Fun for Children and also Save the Children

I would gladly appreciate some help or tips for Part 1 assignment.

1. How did you locate two people to contact, if you used the two websites given in the resources.