Consequences

When it comes to learning about the international field of early childhood education as a professional you learn about how other countries embrace the importance of early care.  As a professional you learn about different international organizations, what they stand for, how various issues are being addressed, and contributions made towards their country.  Learning about the international early childhood field regarding personal development makes me appreciate having the opportunity to have a good education and become the woman I am today.  In other countries many children aren't able to receive an education due to circumstances such as funding, geographic location, and lack of resources. In the spirit of collegial relations I hope that international childhood education organizations can develop long lasting relationships with colleges in the U.S. so that the awareness of international early childhood education can continue to be acknowledged.

UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education

This week I chose to do the alternate blog posting because I still haven't heard from any of my international contacts. On the UNESCO's Early Childhood Care and Education website there is a lot of information but the one thing that stood out to me was the article on "Quality Inclusive Education in Colombia Initiative".  In Colombia, inclusive education is generally understood as giving special attention to children that are vulnerable to social exclusion, such as populations displaced by violence, indigenous people, working children, children with disabilities and people from rural areas (UNESCO.org).   Inclusion is very important especially in the field of education. As a professional I mainly want to work with all children including those with special needs. I believe that every child has the right to have high quality education and no child should be excluded because of a disability. The Colombian Government is addressing educational practices that are exclusionary in relation to economic, cultural and ethnic differences of the population, using inclusion as a mechanism to avoid any kind of discrimination (UNESCO.org). I feel the Colombian Government is off to a great start in addressing inclusion as well as understanding the importance of everyone's right to quality education.  If you want to read the story here is the link I used and tell me what you think.

http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/global-news-archive/single-news/news/quality-inclusive-education-in-colombia-initiative/106.html

 

Sharing Web Resources

This week I am going to share my findings from the World Association of Early Childhood Educator (WAECE). I chose to follow the link on the WAECE to the Sesame Workshop website, which is a non-profit sector of Sesame Street.  This website provides a lot of information on what they are about and what they do for children all over the world. The website does have a e-newsletter and I have submitted my email for it but haven't received anything just yet, but I will be sure to keep you posted.  The mission for the Sesame Workshop is to use the educational power of media to help children everywhere to reach their highest potential (sesameworkshop.org).  I have been very familiar with Sesame Street because I always watched it growing up. Actually learning about the impact Sesame Street  makes all over the world, is something that is very new to me and I was excited to see the articles and information provided on Early Childhood Education around the globe.

 

Check out sesameworkshop.org!!!

Global Children's Initiative

This week I am going to discuss the Global Children's Initiative at Harvard University. I am already familiar with the Global Children's Initiative. I am very intrigued by the projects the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard have created to help children in other countries.  The Zambia Project is a project I am interested in because it's a collaborative project that includes the Zambian Ministry of Education, and the Examination Council of Zambia to measure the effects of ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children's development in Zambia.

Another project that interests me is the "Un Buen Comienzo" which means "A good start". Which is a collaborative project in Santiago, Chile. This project focuses on improving early childhood development through teacher professional development as well as language development for children ages 4 to 6.

Applying the Science of Early Childhood in Brazil is another project within the Global Children's Initiative. The Nucleo Ciencia Pela Infancio is a collaboration between the Center, the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, Fundação Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of São Paulo, and Insper. This project represents a unique opportunity for the Center to work with Brazilian scholars, policymakers, and civil society leaders to adapt the Center’s programmatic model for the local context in order to catalyze more effective policies and programs that will, ultimately, foster a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable society (developingchild.harvard.edu).

Overall, I find all of these projects to be an amazing start to addressing global issues regarding early childhood.

Children's Rights International Network

This week I chose to focus on the Child Right's International Network (www.crin.org). This website is a global website that discusses the issues of children all over the world. As an early childhood educator I find it very important to have knowledge from a global aspect on what is going on when it comes to the care for children in other countries.  I find this website very resourceful because it provides information on other organizations that are helping children and families within their country. When looking at this website it provides the latest news on what's going on around the world about children whether it's abuse, education or murder. One thing that did stand out to me is the discrimination issue going on in Greece in regards to Roma School Children. This discrimination issue is denying children's right to education and the European courts have ruled in this case to stop segregation in the schools against Roma Children.  If you want to check out this website and this information here is the website http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=31050