Getting to Know Your INternational Contacts -- Part 3

My post http://stuckngermany.blogspot.com

For this assignment I asked both of my contacts for information on the four questions.

1.      1. What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?   My contact (#1) from Italy said that there are so many children who would benefit from a quality program but there just aren’t enough there to help all the children.  My contact in UAE (Abu Dhabi, #2) said that until recently early childhood was not given much importance, as it was regarded as merely babysitting.  She said that everyone there has to have a labor card or work permit to work in any organization.

 

2.      2. What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?  Contact #1 said she believes there is a lot of information and research but too often she has seen people with knowledge at their finger tips and ignore it.  There are special trainings designed around the curriculum and yet when the teachers return to their classrooms they fail to implement or even more frustrating when the administration does not let you implement the program correctly, as they never attended the training.  Contact #2 said that the education ministry has realized that ECE is equally an important field and therefore teachers have to have at least teacher training to work as a preschool teacher. For this reason the ministry of education offers training program which they are insistent that every unqualified teacher must take.  

3.      3. What are some of your professional goals?  Contact #1 Promote early identification of developmental delays and to help teachers not be afraid to mention their concerns to parents.  Contact #2 – The ministry of education has also begun to realize the need for standard curriculums that cater to the developmental needs of the children.  Companies are now hiring qualified individuals in education and curriculum to develop and prepare the curriculum, this is where I would like to work.

4.      4. What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?  Contact #1 she wants to change children’s lives for the better and to know at the end of the year that I have done my very best to teach them.  Her dream is to find a way to make districts provide more than just the minimum services for special needs children and to ensure that their services are not based on funding but rather on need. Contact #2 stated that she loves teaching, but somewhere down the line I would like to get to the things behind the desk and be part of the preparation and building a curriculum that is developmentally appropriate based on all the knowledge and learning that I am getting.

The conversations that I have had with my contact in Italy, I can tell she and I have the same passion for working with special needs children and that she wants all of her children to be successful.  My contact in UAE has given me the opportunity to look at the education system of another country that is totally different from what one is a custom.  I would like to say thank you to both of my international contacts for their support during this course.

Sharing Web Resources Week 6

Upon exploring some of the outside links I found one on titled "Military Family Projects" which works to provide awareness with military families and communities.  The link lead me to various articles and topics that offer support and suggestions for the military families, child care and how to deal with a wide range of stressful topics, such as deployment. 

Another link lead me to the Early Head Start Resource Center.  Upon thoroughly searching this site there were links to such topics as: birth to three (offers information on best practices and research in the field), tip sheets (on challenging behaviors, curriculum, screening & assessment, family engagement & relationships,etc), webcasts, TA papers (News you can use, EHS program strategies, and home based program options), news you can use (this months discussed working with children and music), EHS program strategies (five reports illustrating the experiences of Early Head Start programs in meeting the challenges of planning), home-based program options (four publications are for different audiences and address different aspects of the home-based program option; they are intended to be used collaboratively).   I also found a early moments matter toolkit that offered a training program for professionals/trainers with parents and/or staff such as: home visitors, teachers, or family advocates.  There was so much information that after an hour of reading and searching I still had not looked at all the topics. The web address for this site is http://ehsnrc.org

The site zero to three offers information on equity and excellence in early care and education.  The studies showed that this is an on going issue and the it is becoming more and more in demand as both parents are having to work to support the family.

Once issue that was discussed this week was knowing how to best support young children through seperation or divorce. The article offered strategies to help babies, toddlers, and preschoolers navigate this major life change, with the support of loving adults they can continue to feel feel safe and secure throughout the divorce and make a good adaptation to their new family dynamic.

http://www.zerotothree.org

Getting to Know Your International Contacts--Part 2

One insight that I have learned through conversations with my international contacts is that there seems to be some common issues when it comes to including immigrant children into the countries early childhood program.   Both contacts have said that the UAE and Italy are not receptive to supporting non-nationals.

Another insight is the Reggio Emilia schools were founded in Italy and are used as models ffor many countries, especially the United States.  The philosophical model of her nursery school and kindergartens focused on constructive theoretical foundations with a learner-centered curriculum.

My international contact in Italy said that if all the countries would look at the Reggio Emilia program that uses the child’s natural curiosity of learning and implement this into the early childhood program then we would have well rounded children.  We should be addressing the holistic child and not what is best for the politicians.

My contact in the UAE does not have a standard curriculum being used at this time.  They have some basic standards that are very open to interpretations.  There are apparently ‘new’ standards currently being written in Dubai (one of he seven emirates, UAE comprises of) with the aim for ALL private Nursery Schools to be inspected and graded on a Rainbow system.  She feels that there are huge gaps between private nurseries and school expectations: no standards being enforced; unrealistic expectations of Primary Schools due to high competition and lack of school places; and many different Nationalities living in the UAE all with their own curriculums, standards and expectations.

Sharing Web Resources

Relevant information to my current professional development on the zero to three website was the availability of Federal agencies that work with implementing programs for children with special needs in this age group, while providing an overview of the agency.  The information that is provided is current and up to date, providing valid resources for early childhood.

On the site was a new video titled “Starting Life Without a Home” that caught my attention.  This video brought tears learning that 1 in 4 infants and toddlers are homeless or born into homelessness.  This is heart breaking and yet at the same time makes me angry.  Our country is spending so much money on re-establishing a country that we went to war with instead of spending that money on our own children and families.  There should be no reason that we have homeless if we (country) can afford to spend that amount of money on a war.  Stop the war and start loving our own!  This video was created off of a Congressional briefing where Congresswoman Judy Biggert is fighting to protect infant and toddlers that are homeless or living in or at poverty.  Her information is provided by the National Center on Family Homelessness.

The zero to three website has a section called Action Center where you can join policy networks, advocacy alerts and tools that can be used to assist educators or parents, a contact source with other advocates, and policy video library.  There is a lot of information on this site regarding trends and issue along with the information how to help fight for early childhood rights.  I find something new every time I look at this site.

Getting to Know International Contacts Part 1

My contacts for this assignment are depending on who is available to respond back in time.  This is summer vacation for most of my friends and they are in between places where they can access the internet.  I was able to contact a colleague (Deepa) from a previous course and ask her about the area in which she lives.  She lives in the United Arab Emirates.  Per our conversation the area that she lives in does not have any issues dealing with poverty nor do the children face any challenges. 

My other contact is Jen who lives in Italy.  She has been working in education for 16 years.  Her career started with working with the children on an Indian reservation.  She has worked as an assessor, sure start, kindergarten and 1st grade teacher.  She is a single mom with four children all of whom have special needs.  She is an amazing lady.  Before she left for vacation she told me that Italy has the highest rate of poverty in Europe.  They have garbage piled on the streets and rats as big as cats.  She said the economy is very different.

Sharing Web Resources

The link I like to use is http://www.zerotothree.org

Zero to three site is a non-profit organization that offers support, training and information on the various topics for children in this age range. You can find topics on brain and child development, how to assist children in dealing with separation or divorce, parent separation from the child and many more topics. Most of these topics can also be implemented with a few modifications for older children as well. This is one of the reason I like this web site. There are links to review called “Military Family Projects.” The issue that caught my eye on this site is information it provides from the Early Head Start National Resource Center that deals with caring for infants and toddlers with disabilities and special needs in inclusive setting. The information on the site stays current with the new trends and issues surrounding our children. The site also offers scholarly articles.

One item I found of interest while exploring this site was the “Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Recommendation for States.” This document assists in guiding states in creating or revising their early learning guidelines for children ages zero to three. Zero to three is a commented organization in working with organizations to create an environment that is productive and healthy for children.

My Supports

Factors within my daily life that offer support are my daughter and boyfriend.  My daughter is my biggest support daily.  We talk several times a day, even with her living stateside.  She has been my motivation for years; now that she is grown she encourages me to continue to be my best.  We are a support system for each other.  With each new task that arises we inspire each other to do our best to be successful.  My boyfriend of many years reminds me of how far I have come over the past few years.  He lets me be me, no matter what challenge I take on.  He continues to boost my motivation in advancing my education to open my own early childhood facility.  I can’t even image what life would be like without either of them.  Life would not be complete without either my daughter or boyfriend.

Living abroad my students and colleagues are my adopted family.  They offer support where my family is not able to due to the distance between us.   My students keep my job interesting, as each day provides a new challenge and new outcome.   My students are like my own child, and I set high expectations for them in turn motivating me to stay current will new trends and issues in special education.  My student’s parents are willing to assist in and out of school.

A challenge that I would not want to have is the same heart condition that my father and grandmother have had for many years.  Living abroad to be diagnosed with this type of condition would be detrimental to me, as my daughter and boyfriend are stateside.  This condition would limit my abilities to participate in the activities I enjoy with my students.  I would not want to be on medication for the rest of my life or have to be treated in a country that I don’t fully understand the language.  My adopted family support is amazing, without them I would be lost.