“The greatest difficulty faced by countries in their efforts to expand and improve the quality of early childhood care and education is the mobilization of resources. This is particularly daunting in developing countries, where early childhood may be overshadowed by other pressing priorities, such as universal primary education” (UNESCO, 2014).  I find this is true in multiple countries, even the United States.  Having the proper funding is something that is hard to come by.  Fortunately, the schools that I currently work for are family owned early childhood learning schools.  Everything for the children is top of the line.  The owners never look at prices.  They order whatever is best for the children.  The children and classrooms always have everything they need.  This is the first place I have been employed that is like this.  It seems that every other place I have been in is all about making money.  The staff is very well qualified, a number with bachelor degrees.  The only thing I feel that is lacking is staff wages and compensation.  I do make more here than I have before, but it is still not enough.  I have two degrees and many years of experience.  I am not offered even health insurance.  I do understand that I will never be a millionaire in this profession, but I do feel early education teachers deserve much more than they currently get.  My goal is to keep working for Kensington Schools and move higher up in the company.  I want to fight harder for those of us in this field to get the compensation that we deserve.  I chose to pursue a master’s degree in this field to show parents and communities how important the early years truly are. 

 

References:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/investment-and-financing/

UNICEF

In the recent months, children in Gaza were greatly affected by violence and trauma.  More than 500 children were killed and approximately 3,300 severly injured.  This is not to mention the thousands that suffer from emotional trauma.  The community and UNICEF is working hard to make schools safe and up and running again.  “Investing in education is an investment for the future,’ says UNICEF-State of Palestine Special Representative, June Kunugi.  ‘Without increased support and commitment to their education and protection, an entire generation in Gaza could be lost. It is our collective moral obligation to prevent this,’ she adds” (UNICEF, 2014).  UNICEF is reaching out and delivering vaccines to the community and medical supplies for hospitals. 

References:

UNICEF. (2014). Children at risk in the Gaza conflict. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/oPt_74620.html

                 Global Children's Initiative

 

         This website really makes you think about how good we have it in the United States.  Some countries are worried about short term survival effects, such as food and shelter.  Some countries are suffering from natural disasters, keeping them from living normal lives and having the proper care and education.  In Chile, children do not even learn the letters of the alphabet until first grade.  By first grade in the United States, most of our children are reading.  I know my son knew his letters at least by the age of three.  It makes me wonder why other countries wait longer to teach their children the alphabet?  What are they focusing on that they feel is more important?  Another thing I found interesting was the lack of parental involvement in their children’s education in some countries.  I have always been a firm believer that it takes everyone involved to make a child successful.  Parents need to be aware of and involved in their children’s education.  Everyone needs to work together.   

The Harlem Children's Zone had a recent article about how they are providing free WIFI through a neighborhood to try and close the gap between the digital world and those who cannot afford it.  There is so much that can be learned though the internet.  Also, some teachers are requiring research and work that is to be done through the internet and some families cannot afford that.  If these children are offered free WIFI, they will be able to be as advanced as any other children in the country.  They will not fall behind, causing them to be more successful.  

Reference:

http://hcz.org/news/

During the past few weeks we were asked to contact other professionals in different countries.  I have unfortunately not heard from anyone that I reached out to.  Which disappoints me because I was really looking forward to the communication I could have experienced.  Poverty can cause children to suffer from health issues, have poor diets and a poor education.  UNICEF is an organization that advocates for children and their overall well-being.  The health and rights of children are attempted to be carried out through UNICEF.  It is a great organization that genuinely care about children and does their best to provide for those in need.     

I chose to read a little bit into the poverty information about Egypt.  When I first hear Egypt it is not typically an area that I think would have a lot of poverty.  In reality, there is evidence of poverty in all places all over the world.  “Children are one-third of Egypt’s population today and over one-fifth of Egypt’s children are growing up in poverty” (UNICEF, 2010).

 

Table 28: incidence of severe deprivation, absolute poverty and income poverty, by household size

Household size                 Severe Deprivation        Absolute poverty            Income poverty

less than 3                           15.52                                     3.45                                        1.55

3-4 members                     18.76                                     2.36                                        6.02

5-6 members                     19.95                                     3.20                                        17.71

More than 7                       37.16                                     7.60                                        44.53

Source: authors calculations using Egypt demographic and health

Survey, 2008 and household Income, Expenditure and consumption Survey 2008-09

Every Child is Worth Something!

           So, every person/organization I emailed has not responded to me.  I am not exactly sure what to do when that happens… I have looked into a variety of sources including:  The National Institute for Early Education Research, The Global Fund for Children, The Harlem Children’s Zone, and The Society for Research in Child Development.  After reading through these websites, there is only one that has caught my attention and am able to read their newsletters and have them mean anything is the Global Fund for Children.  I signed up for their newsletter and am interested in what their corporation is capable of.  I still await to hear from someone that I tried to contact.  I feel I could learn a lot more if I talk to a specific person, but learning about children can be done in a number of ways.  I am going to try and focus on the Global Fund for Children and see where that gets me!  This organization takes children that could be sold into slavery and gives them better opportunities.  Children are my life and my passion.  If there is anything that I can do to give them equal opportunities, I will!

Part 1: Establishing Professional Contacts

I chose to contact a variety of individuals from various countries.  Learning about child development in other countries something that I am very excited about and looking forward to.  I hope I get a response from at least one in the next week.  Here are the individuals I chose to reach out to:

Haiti

Step by Step Program / Tipa Tipa
Dominique Hudicourt
Email: tipatipa@hainet.net

Romania

Step by Step Centre for Education and Professional Development
Carmin Lica
Email: carmenlia@dnt.ro

 Armenia

Step By Step Benevolent Foundation
Ruzanna Tsarukyan
Email: ruzanna@sbsbf.am

Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association
Dr. Betty Chan Po-king
20 Somerset Rd. Kowloon Tong, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel: 852-23396005
 Email: sannas@ycef.com

 Belarus
 Belorussian Parents' and Teachers' League "Step by Step"
 Iryna Lapitskaya
 Email: sbtbyst@openby.com

Croatia
Open Academy "Step By Step" "KorakpoKorack"
Nives Milinovic
Email: nives@korakpokorak.hr


Part 2: Expanding Professional Contacts

The resource that I chose to read through and subscribe to a newsletter from is NIEER- National Institute for Early Education Research.  The website is: www.nieer.org.
I chose this resources because it seems to have a number of things that interest me and could help me in my career every day. 

Some of the issues it discusses are:

• Assessment
• Special Education
• State Pre-K Evaluations
• English Language Learners
• Governance and Accountability
• Quality and Curriculum
• Economics and Finance