Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 2

 Once again I contacted Dr. Susan Lyon.  I posed the following questions to her and she was happy to share her views on the issues.

Which issues related to excellence and equity are at the forefront of professional discussions in your country? Why do you think those issues are at the forefront of discussion at this time.  How are you addressing one or two of those issues?

In my opinion both topics have been at the forefront in the US for a long time.  They are the issues that we must always be interested in for all the children in the world deserve excellence and access to education and the realization of their potentials.  In my work the Innovative Teacher Project (ITP) is more of a local project even though it is recognized nationally and several places have replicated the project in their own context.  This project is focused on quality and excellence in Early Childhood Education in all the schools in the network as well as including public schools that usually have more of a struggle for quality due to many requirement from the state licensing in California that have a low image of the child and their main concern is safety.  Also ITP is a project of professional development for teachers that is not always taken into consideration as a value and an essential in education.  We are experiencing difficulties with our state budget that impacts the $$ available to teachers for their participation in furthering their professional development.  Much of the existing professional development for teachers has been based in the image of teachers as empty vessels so we include alot of discussion time for teachers to dialogue and learn together... co-constructive approach this then hopefully translates to the children. 

In my work I always see working with teachers, administration, as a local, national and international endeavor as creating opportunities and initiatives to focus on excellence and access.   Here we have strong reference points both in the public and private sectors in preschools with multicultural families.

Am I to believe that the state of California is seeking to obtain more from the children than what is possible?  Are standards being forced down to the early childhood institutions in an effort to fulfill the requirements from the various assessments at the elementary level? Why does the state possess a low image of the child?

Our state is becoming test driven so yes things are being pushed down and assessments for teachers and children are on a high priority.  This is also driven by the state of California economy which is in bad shape.  Another issue is the low pay for teachers at every level.  Many are leaving the field because the salary is too low.  For ECE this is a real issue the salary is the lowest.  There is a new film that was shown at the International Film Festival called “American Teacher " by actor Matt Damon.  The film is about this issue of low teacher pay in the US.  The long researched view of children learning thru play especially 0-8 years old is still very controversial even all the brain research shows that children learn through play encounters with materials, objects etc and an interesting well thought out environment based on relationships.

The investment in the child is the most important investment we can make however when it is viewed thru a $ return this is where the words do not translate into action and the daily life of schools.  In San Francisco many private schools have been created to create environments for children that the parents believe in..  parents also bow to the pressures of the image of the child as an empty vessel filling their lives with many appointments after school violin, dance...etc later having hours of homework. In my opinion our fast paced life is rushing the children into adulthood and this is where the image of the child is a lens that must be explored.

Describe the additional information obtained from your international sources

It is quite unfortunate, sad and demeaning when one considers how persons like Marian Wright Edelman advocated for the field of early childhood to gain recognition and today that struggle continues in order to ensure that excellence and equity exist.  Many policy makers are paying little attention to what professionals in the field have been saying for years.  They possess little value of the child at this stage; they expect the best returns none-the-less with little investment in the field.  Greater focus must be given to our early childhood teachers – recognition, training and remuneration are only some of the areas which require immediate attention.  Teachers need support; they cannot do it alone if they are to meaningfully impact on the lives of the children and the families which they serve.

Sharing Web Resources

As I explored The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) website: http://nieer.org/ the  section that held tremendous interest for me was the initiative section that focused on early childhood education, education, health & nutrition and literary.  Among the wealth of information available is an article that centers on Prek-3^rd in the education section.  The NBCDI with support from the Foundation for Child Development is pursuing a campaign to improve children’s chances at school through a series of policy initiative aimed at improving systems for children up to age 8.  Their aim is to make the transition process from preK to elementary school as smooth as possible to ensure continuity for children and families through child care as well as facilitate the seamless movement from high-quality preschool to high-quality elementary school.  This is critical in order to ensure that children educational path progresses along the course that will lead to higher achievement.  It is necessary to provide support to children and families especially those who may have started off with the odds set against them in order to improve their chances of success.

With regards to resources on the website that provided greater insight in child development , there are the Parent Empowering Project (PEP) and the Child Health Talk.  PEP is a great idea that effectively works in tandem with the efforts of the school to ensure that parents view themselves as their children’s first teacher.  By strategically planning empowerment projects for parents, it indicates that NBCDI understands Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human development (bronfenbrenner and Evans, 2000; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998).  The child forms part of that nested structure that should facilitate his/her successful development and since the school also constitute an arm of this structure and they are already on the path to promote children’s development then it makes sense to ensure that parents who are the other vital entity get on board. 

An article in the NBCDI’s quarterly publication Child Health Talk entitled: What Happens “Between the Covers’?  http://nbcdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/CHT-Spring-2011.pdf      where it is stated that low income children hear 30 million fewer words than higher income children by the time they are 3 years old so it is critical that low income children be immersed in books and spoken to in order to reduce its effect.  Low income families are so focused on their daily circumstances, they are unable to direct attention to issues that pertain to building self confidence and self-esteem which are contributors to higher achievement.  Teachers who teach children from low-income background must cater to address these children literary development since its consequences are devastating.  Parents need to be told of the various measures they can implement in order to reduce its effects.

In terms of additional information from the newsletter that added to my understanding of how economics support the early childhood field, here is a classic case. In an effort to encourage our children to eat healthy NBCDI in collaboration with Wal-Mart and other entities have implemented Project FUN (Families Understanding Nutrition).  They are attempting to convince one and all that “fighting obesity should be a family event where making healthy choices can be affordable and fun.” It is all features in the newsletter http://nbcdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/CHT-Spring-2011.pdf  under the heading: Being Healthy is Fun.

In terms of seeking to acquire excellence and equity there is a literacy article, under the initiatives link entitled: Love to Read that is the National Black Child Development Institute’s (NBCDI) national early literacy public education initiative designed to build caregivers capacity so that they can improve children of color academic performance. The link http://www.rif.org/   takes you to an exciting page where children are provided with free books in order to awaken their curiosity for books.  The site is very attractive with cartoon like images and exciting resources to advance children of color development.

There is a wealth of resources available on this website.  There is a saying that goes like this: “The people perish for a lack of knowledge” I hope that will not be the case but we will all seek to share the information to all caregivers and others with vested interest in child development so that our children will achieve their fullest potential.

Reference
Keenan, T., & Evans, S. (2009). Theories of development. In An introduction to child development (pp. 35–43). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

National Black Child Development Institute  http://nbcdi.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 1

I have been fortunate to establish contact with Susan Lyon, one of the professionals listed in the podcast of the World Forum.  Susan Lyons initiated the Innovative Teacher Project in order to create meaningful dialogue among teachers in the context of their work… the school.  They use the school as a place of research and to learn through walking the environment with questions, discussion about specific topics all focused on creating high quality of ECE inspired by Reggio Emilia.  There is a network of schools where the directors of these schools also meet with her once a month to discuss ideas, challenges and learning from colleagues.  The roundtables once a month are a great resource to teachers for ideas, understandings between teachers and schools, common interest etc all having in mind the creativity and research with children that is so important.  The project offers 2x a year Fall and Spring professional development from educators from Reggio or the US that have expertise in areas of interest to teachers  for example... environment, materials, group learning, teacher as researcher, image of the child, parent involvement, documentation, collaboration, organization .... 

I also took the time to discuss with her the issue of poverty.  The following is what she had to say on the issue.

Is your work affected by poverty?

My work includes schools both private and public.  Several of our centers have children from low-income families.  I cannot really say specifically about poverty of the families but we know from the families many are struggling and have difficulties raising the children. 

If so, what measures have been instituted to assist families?

All schools provide breakfast and lunch.  Our solution is to provide the highest quality of care and education in the school for children and always include the dialogue with the families.  We pay close attention to the children in relation to their families.  The teachers plan many initiatives to include the families and this is very successful.  We want the families to feel welcome in the school and use it for dialogue and exchange. There are many different services in the schools that include a nurse, special education teacher and counselor.  However, these are not available in all schools. In my opinion the best measure that one can implement to arrest poverty is to create high quality school or center.

How is it working?

Use that concept of education based on relationship and with each child, each family we develop a strong relationship and in that hopefully the issues of poverty can be addressed ..isolation. 

Is there any other information, you will like to share?

Children in the school deserve interesting environments and engaging projects and play to combat the poverty in their home.  Poverty is not only $$ it is emotional and physical environment.  Our school environments are rich with materials and engagement with the children.  The school can become the place for the family as well as the children.  Maria Montessori created her method of the poorest children in Italy. 

Sharing My Thoughts

It is clear that Ms. Susan Lyons is deeply involved in changing the lives of children, families and by extension society.  I think she is strategically poised to effect change and meeting monthly with fellow professionals is a powerful strategy that will definitely improve practice.  We cannot do it alone so it is a great idea to adopt, utilizing best practices to impact teaching and learning. Poverty seems to affect us all in some measure.  I realize that the problems I encounter here in Tobago are not unique to us.  Ms. Lyons spoke of the unavailability of support services at some of the centers.  It indicates to me that as persons in the field of early childhood, we must be unrelenting in our advocacy drive for improvement in the services our children and families receive.  Providing for the emotional and physical environment is critical in order to minimize the effects of poverty and at the same time assist children in achieving their fullest potential. Moore, Redd, Burkhauser, Mbwana, & Collins (2009) noted that children in poverty are more prone to display behaviorial and emotional problems such as impulsiveness, disobedience and difficulty connecting with peers.

Reference

Moore, K. A., Redd, Z., Burkhauser, M., Mbwana, K., & Collins, A. (2009). Children in poverty: Trends, consequences, and policy options (Research Brief Publication No. 2009-11). Retrieved from Child Trends website: http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2009_04_07_RB_ChildreninPoverty.pdf

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I have selected  is the: National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) and the link to the website is: http://nbcdi.org/

The organization’s focus is on enhancing the quality of life for children of color and their families.  To achieve this goal the organization focuses on early childhood education, child welfare, elementary and secondary education and health.

The institute accomplishes its mission by:

• Being a form of vital resource to all persons who work with children especially child care professionals, educators, parents, social workers and academicians

• Provide direct services locally through its affiliate alliances composed of volunteers who work with the institute to enhance child welfare services, make universal early childhood feasible, build family support services as well as improve children’s health.

The NBCDI in collaboration with the Foundation for Child Development has launched a campaign to improve children’s educational attainment through a PreK-3^rd policy initiative that includes a range of activities focused in the District of Columbia, with implications for our affiliate communities.  Dr. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education noted that all children born in America should have equal chances of attainment but equality of opportunities do not exist.  Dr. Bette Hyde, Director, Washington State Department of Learning stated that she has been in the field of education for over thirty years and for 30 years the achievement gap has been an issue and it still of concern today.  She noted that one strategy for closing the achievement gap is early learning which should not be left to chance.  Dr. Debra Sullivan, President of Praxis Institute of Early Childhood Education posited that young children are in a very fluid state, they would have acquired some content but if it is not continued to grade 3 it will elude them. It is felt that there is more to gain by preparing children from pre-K –grade 3- high quality program than for pre-K only.  When the alignment from pre-K – grade 3 is happening well, children know what is expected of them, the teachers continuously make reference to the alignment; they do not speak of their classroom, their curriculum and their children but rather our classroom, our curriculum and our children. 

After 7 years of partnering with South Shore, research shows that children from South Shore are outperforming other children from demographically similar school in the area of reading and mathematics. Children at South Shore are provided with quality education from preK and it continues to grade 3 by which time children are able to apply effectively what they have learnt. The principal noted that it is important to treat children as mathematicians, writers as strong leaders also paying attention to the social and emotional needs.  Every two weeks the wellness representative sits with the grade level team were they plan for children’s development then the wellness team meets each child to plan for his or her development.   

The video can be viewed on the following website: http://prek-3rd.org/

There are other very interesting articles on the website.  Significant emphasis is placed on health because a child’s health is a nation’s wealth.  There is an interesting article on childhood obesity.  Many factors have contributed to its upsurge such as income, access to grocery stores that provide healthy choices, neighborhood safety and education which have continued to reduce opportunities for physical education and increase the affordability and availability of snacks. http://nbcdi.org/blog/2010/08/27/nbcdi-child-health-talk/

Getting Ready-Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Colleagues, this week I tried establishing professional contacts outside of the United States as was suggested for Part 1 of the assignment but unfortunately I was unsuccessful. I contacted 9 different websites or personnel but unfortunately I have been told that a permanent fatal error has occurred or the mail could not be delivered. I got a response from 1 of the contacts I made; however, I was told that no one was willing to take up the challenge of communicating with me at least one per week.  This led me to focus my attention on the alternative to part 1. I have since contacted two persons from the world foundation website. I accessed the World Forum Radio where I listened to their audio podcast. Some of the persons have not provided an email contact; some who provided email contact were not so accessible. However, I tried emailing Ms. T. J. Skalski at tjskalski@meccs.organd Ms. Delfina Mitchell at delfena@libertyfoundation.org.uk. I am hoping for the best.

Part 2

I must say that the wealth of professional resources we have at our disposal will certainly enhance our practice. I am overwhelmed by quality resources that are available and they can go along way in improving the teaching learning environment. I selected the National Black Child Development Institute

http://nbcdi.org/

because several research have noted that black children are lagging behind academically and as such I want to explore this site to see how effectively they have catered for the black child because the very title would suggest to me that persons with special interest in the black child would have made valuable contribution that can effectively impact on the black child's performance. I am eager to find out whether that is so. I have subscribed to their newsletter and as such I am awaiting a response. Colleagues, how do so you feel at this time, having access to all these professional websites?