: Issues and Trends: Excellence and Equity of Care and Education for Children and Families

http://www.naeyc.org/

I tried to find an outside like through this website. You have to be a member to access a lot of this information. But while I was exploring the naeyc website I did come across an article they posted by Deborah J. Leong and Elena Bodrova.  The article is titled Assessing and Scaffolding Make-Believe Play.

After exploring Young Children January 2012 issue, I found out that there are five stages in a child’s make-believe play:

1.  First Scripts

2.  Roles in Action

3.  Roles with Rules and Beginning

4.  Mature Roles, Planned Scenarios, and Symbolic Props

5.  Dramatization, Multiple Themes, Multiple Roles, and Director’s Play

I receive weekly emails but it does not any links about issues I have been studying.  It does however information about joining their organization and would like me to give them feedback about a program alignment project.

The Naecy website has an abundance of information about equity and excellence in early care and education. This website is for improving early childhood education and making sure each daycare is continuing to deliver a high quality Early Childhood Education.

After exploring the Naecy website more thoroughly I have gained more insight about children and play. It is so important that we allow children to play and explore their surroundings. It is important for us to fight those who want to take art, recess, and music out of public schools.  I know some who regulate the public school districts and those who own daycares really need to evaluate the importance of play. 

“Many of the play skills that children learned in the past by observing and imitating their older playmates now have to be taught directly by teachers or learned from behaviors that teacher’s model.”

Knowledge for Tackling Childhood Poverty

After reading “Knowledge for Tackling Childhood Poverty”, I was in shock. I was unaware how many children grow up living in poverty.  1 out of 4 children will experience living in poverty worldwide.  That is over 600 million children in this world.

When a child grows up in poverty they often will repeat the life of their parents. They will continue this same system and continue this horrible circle. A child growing up in poverty will start life at a disadvantage. Most children living in poverty will not have a high quality childcare center in their area. They will not have a good school district that will have additional resources to help children do better in school.

I heard this saying “Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn’t commit”. These children grow up in poverty and it is not their fault. I know you can’t solve poverty in a day but after reading this article I do feel I can make a difference.

After reading this information, I have learned that as an educator we need to understand what the cause of poverty in an area is. Try to get to the root of the issue then tackle it head on. We should not treat every child who lives in the poverty the same. We should do our research and inform others like policy makers, congress, etc…

We as a people, we should want to change the life of a child. I stated this before, it is not their fault but we can help create a better life for them day by day. Children are our future and we need to invest in them now so they can change tomorrow.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resrouces

Trying to contact two professionals and establish communication was harder than I thought. I have continuously sent emails from our resource list that was given to us. A lot of email addresses were not working. After a long disappointing search I came up empty handed. I have come to the realization choosing the alternate assignment. 

During my undergrad I took some Early Childhood classes and one organization was always a topic of conversation.  The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) http://www.naeyc.org, this organization has been around since 1926.  We never talked about this organization in a whole and I’m curious of everything it offers.

I would like to know if anyone has contacted any professionals overseas.  If you were able to connect with anyone, can you please give me any suggestions how?

International Contacts

After exploring the Harvard website http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/. I’ve learned that the Center for Developing Child at Harvard has launched a Global Children’s Initiative and they are focusing on three main objectives:

1. To Reframe public discourse about the early childhood period.
2. To support innovative, multidisciplinary research and demonstration projects in selected countries or regions.
3. To build leadership capacity in child development research and policy among individuals and institutions in low and middle income countries.

What I like about this center is that they are morally committed to all needs of children globally.   For example the new Brazil Initiative is for highly motivated students to participate in the Executive Leadership Program in the Early Childhood Development for Brazilian policymakers. 

This website is very informative and is committed to connecting with other countries and learning from one another.  Harvard is using their knowledge to create a better early childhood program globally.   Overall I have gained that Harvard has created a program to connect globally to increase the knowledge of child health and development agenda’s beyond the Harvard community.

Sharing Web Resources

When I received the naeyc newsletter every month I always go to the Overview tab and then select Local Support.  I particularly like this because I can connect with someone in my area and who is experiencing the same issues.  I would feel more comfortable calling them or maybe go to lunch and I’m able to have a face to face conversation.

On the naeyc website I didn’t find anything too controversial but I did find something very interesting.  There is a Bright Horizons link and they spoke about “Children and Stress” They show common reactions and how to help children cope with stress.  I didn’t realize children carried their parents stress.

Children and Stress article ties to the beliefs of the Economists theory. We need to invest in children at an early age.  Funding to support children with certain issues would be viable to their future. A child dealing with stress is more common than what I realized.  Some of the ways we as teachers can invest in children is:

1. Be available.
2. Provide a peaceful household.
3. Listen, listen, and listen some more.
4. Be honest and answer their questions – at their level.
5. Respect differences in children – individual and age based.
6. Encourage consistency, everyday routines, and favorite rituals.
7. Make the environment safe for talking about feelings and thoughts.
8. Expect and allow for all kinds of emotion.
9. Give choices and be flexible – avoid power struggles.
10. Allow a lot of opportunities and different media for expression.
11. Encourage activity and play.
12. Support the child’s friendships and social network.
13. Be a model as a human being.
14. Hug with permission.
15. Practice patience.
16. Support children – at their worst.
17. Expect behavior that is typical of a younger child.
18. Expect behavior that is beyond the child’s years.
19. Live right – eat, rest, sleep.
20. Make bedtime special.
21. Resist overprotection.
22. Don’t force talk and interaction.
23. Understand that playing is a way to grieve and sort through fears and confusion.
24. Attend to the physical symptoms.
25. Reassure the child that he or she is not alone.
26. Set limits on acceptable behavior, and enforce them.
27. Remember triggers that will cause distress.
28. Plan family time together.
29. Be available for help if needed.
30. Take care of yourself.

I couldn’t choose one so I posted them all for you to look at.  I believe this all boils down to what the Economist’s believe. . By investing in children at an early age, we are creating a monetary payoff. Meaning we will create a better outcome when they are older.

What I gained from exploring the naeyc website is children are like sponges and they absorb their surrounding.  Children will mimic what they see or hear.  As an Early Childhood Educator we need to allow children to be children. This week Dr. Grace talked about children and their loss of innocence.  Children don’t play, explore and be creative like we use to at their age.  

Web Resources

The web organization I chose is The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

This organization works on behalf of young children.  Naeyc focuses on high-quality early childhood education programs and make sure Day Care Centers maintain these standards.  They also offer training, professional resources and created a outstanding curriculum with high standards.

http://www.naeyc.org/

After viewing this website I have noticed that they provide a lot of resources. Even though you have to pay dues to be a member, they still allow people like me and you access to their resources.

When I was on the NAEYC website I typed in Diversity and a lot of information came up here is the link to view.

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf

When I open my daycare I will consider NAEYC and becoming a member of such a great organization

 

Accreditation of Higher Education Programs

The NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards describe what early childhood professionals are expected to know and be able to do, defining essential learning outcomes in professional preparation and development programs and creating a shared national vision of excellence. These standards provide a national framework for the development of curriculum, instruction, and assessment in professional development and preparation programs.