Getting to know your international contacts part 3

I was never able to get into contact with anyone over seas, but I did enjoy hearing the podcasts.

The podcast that I listened to was Staying motivated, Passionate and excited about teaching With Rae Pica on bam radio from September 30, 2013. Some other people that joined her are, Rafe Esquith, Dr. Allen Mendler, Lee Kolbert, Nancy Flanagan. They talk in the podcast how teachers can stay motivated in the classroom and in their profession. They mentioned that only 30.9% of teachers are deeply involved and actively engaged in their career. Some of they things that were mentioned in the podcast are: that you can do what the system asks you to do , but if you don’t bring some of your own passions into the classroom, you are going to get bored. Also if you are paying attention to all the negative stuff that happens throughout your day, that is just going to bring you down. It would be better for you and your students if you focused on what is going right. They also talked a lot about collaboration with your peers and other professionals. When your students see you working with others, they pick up on that and learn from it. Bad days are gonna happen but it is up to you to learn form them and be a role model to your kids and show them that you can move past a bad day. No matter what try to have some fun!

I really liked this podcast because it relates to what we have been discussing in class, and it gave me a lot of good ideas to keep myself motivated in my job. 

When I went to the http://www.unesco.org site I found a look of great information. One thing that stood out to me was the fact that it mentioned “There are no universally agreed criteria for quantifying ECCE quality but useful factors to consider include pedagogy materials, personnel training, service setting and parental education and involvement” (http://www.unesco.org, para.2, 2014).

I also read that it is very difficult for coordination within different sectors to help promote early childhood education. “Cross-sectoral coordination is difficult, especially at the national level. It is one of the main challenges facing governments of both developed and developing countries trying to promote a holistic approach to early childhood”(http://www.unesco.org, para.3, 2014). I found this interesting, because so many sectors want to be involved its hard to effectively get polices in order. 

Another thing that stood out to me was “A policy of universalization with targeting can minimize inequity where governments aim for universal access among the target age group, but simultaneously prioritize the poor” (http://www.unesco.org, para.5, 2014).  I think this policy would be 2000 Dakar Framework for Action that help reaffirm the importance of early childhood care. Countries that participated “Governments were particularly urged to expand equitable access to quality early childhood services underscoring the importance of instituting policy in favor of the poor” (http://www.unesco.org, para.2, 2014).  

Resources: 

http://www.unesco.org Retrieved on February 22, 2014

Rafe Esquith, Dr. Allen Mendler, Lee Kolbert, Nancy Flanagan and Rae Pica, Staying motivated, Passionate and excited about teaching  September 30, 2013.  Retrieved from http://www.bamradionetwork.com Retrieved on February 21, 2014. 

Sharing Web Resources

Some of the links that I followed are the ResearchNets link that would be useful if you wanted to be part of a research project that the NAECTE is involved in. I also checked out the affiliates link. This is useful so you can see who is close to your area if you needed any additional information. 

I really liked the link for the additional resources. This would save someone a lot of time searching on the internet for valuable resources. You know that these resources are all educational without having to go through other avenues. This link is very useful because all these links are in one spot, and it has what they are all related to. 

On the e-newsletter I got, there was no other link on there to go to another page. As I looked through the NAECTE website and there is a lot of journal articles and books that are related to the issue of equity. There wasn’t anything in the recent newsletter about the issue this week but I have seen it on some of the older journal articles, so I know that the information is out there. From the website I know that there is a lot of information on the website available to me, when I need to do research. There are journals that I can access and links that will lead to me other resources that I can use. I am looking forward to using these resources throughout the rest of my time in school as a continue my way towards my degree. 

Issues and Trends

The Podcast that I listened to was Who Will Save Kindergarten? Posted on October 3, 2011 from NAEYC Radio by BAM Radio. By Jerlean Daniel, and Rae Pica with Vivian Gussin Paley . This stood out to me because I am a Kindergarten teacher. The speaker in the podcasts talks about some of her concerns for kindergarten and preschool teachers. Her main concern was that play is being taken away in Kindergarten because of the academics that are having to be taught. The speaker Vivian Gussin Paley talk about how, play is a natural way for children to express themselves. I think that this is very true. They are learning to use their imagination and if they don’t know how to express themselves through words they can use play. She also mentioned that teachers need to be able to figure out how to incorporate play into the classroom.This goes back to also finding a balance with what you have to teach to how can you teach it.  Some resources that can help you are your colleagues that teach the same grade that you do. 

The Global Children’s Initiative is a great. Looking at the website and all the programs that they are trying to set up and work with leaders of other organizations to get these programs started and running in other countries. One essential, cross-cutting aspect of the Center’s approach is its commitment to work collaboratively across disciplines and institutions, drawing together the best and most creative expertise available to achieve the Initiative’s goals. (www.Developingchild.harvard.edu, para 2, 2014)

One thing that stood out are the programs that they are setting up to help children's mental health. On the Global Children’s Initiative Fact Sheet it says, “Mental health concerns constitute a massively under- addressed issue that has significant implications for the broader health and development of children and societies ( www.Developingchild.harvard.edu, pg 2, 2014).  Some things that they are doing to help in other countries with regard to mental health is, assessing in China, the mental health services.  In Rwanda they are helping to evaluate mental health problems in children affected by HIV/AIDS.  They are also working with three Caribbean Nations to address maltreatment and mental health.  Mental Health is an area that doesn’t get a lot of attention, especially when dealing with children, because a lot of people don’t know what to do to help children. 

  Another issue that stood out to me that the Global Children’s Initiative is helping with is helping children dealing with a crisis. This stands out to me because in 2011 we had a huge flood come through my hometown and surrounding areas and my niece still talks about it.  Also on the Global Children’s Initiative Fact Sheet it says,  “The goal of this effort is to foster interdisciplinary collaboration that incorporates a science-based, developmental perspective into the assessment and management of child well-being in a range of natural and man-made crises, focusing on both immediate circumstances and long-term adaptation” ( www.Developingchild.harvard.edu, pg 2, 2014). They are setting up programs in Haiti and Chile to see how children are doing after the earthquakes. 

Another thing that stood out to me was the fact that they are open to collaboration and using science and research to help their programs and they are wanting to help leaders in other programs. They are not coming in and taking over. This organization is wanting to share their information. 

Resources: 

http://developingchild.harvard.edu Retrieved on February 8, 2014

Daniel, J. , Pica, R. , and Gussin Paley, V.  Who Will Save Kindergarten? http://www.bamradionetwork.com Retreived on February 8, 2014.

NAECTE

I think right now, the issues that I feel applies to me. Is having teachers that are highly educated. The position statement that the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), Just reinforces this. When we talk about children being in Early Childhood programs they need to have educators that are trained in early childhood. “The teacher certification/endorsement required in state funded pre-kindergarten programs, kindergartens, and primary grade classrooms should be specific to early childhood education” (http://www.naecte.org/, para. 1, 2014). In many places people are being hired without a clue what is developmentally appropriate for young children. 

Just reading the position statement made me that much more aware that if anyone is working with young children in the classroom or in an early childhood facility that they need to have a degree that is meant for young children. Also on the website it talks about the annual conference that was held in November, and that the speaker was Dr. Patricia Cooper, and that she was gonna focus on the role that research plays in our profession. I didn’t see any specific information or issues that talks about how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support or field.