Final Blog Assignment

10:44 PM by Cortnee Ingram
The first consequence of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development is that I have had a chance to widen my lens as an early childhood professional. I feel that looking at outside sources has broaden my knowledge base and deepened my understanding of early childhood development programs in other areas of the world. 

The second consequence of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development is that not all countries value early childhood education or do not value it high enough. In my experience I learned that the United States is one that does not value early childhood education enough. Little did I know that there were other countries that valued it more than we do and do a much better job at creating programs to help immigrant families get acclimated to their surroundings which includes the offering of early childhood education. 

The third consequence of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development is that a lot of second and third world countries are not able to provide safety for children, let alone early childhood education. The one podcast I listened to broke my heart that children are mistreated physically and may never have an opportunity for learning, let alone treatment, care, love, and food.

One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations is to create a better connecting point for early childhood educators internationally. I had a difficult time trying to talk to educators outside of the U.S. It would be nice if there were a website or organization that brings international contacts together in a better way. Some place they could talk, collaborate, and network. Hmmm...

Thanks,
Cortnee :)
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Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

4:24 PM by Cortnee Ingram
One of my professional hopes is to see that every child be able to attend an early childhood program. I found three articles on the UNESCO website. The first one is about Libya's willing to change and reform their education system. They are re-building their educational system by improving the quality and relevance/type of education needed. This is a wonderful thing since so many countries still do not understand the benefits of education.

Another article I really enjoyed in regard to every child getting early childhood education is about the difference between ratification's for policies where children all around the world will get education but there are still so many gaps.

The last article I read were statistics on the difference between the years of pre-primary education that are available and how many they actually get. The graph shows different statistics for every country from 2010 or the latest information available. You can click on the countries bar to see the difference. If you would like to check it out you can do it here.

Thanks,
Cortnee :)


Resource:

 UNESCO. (2012). Education. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/



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Sharing Web Resources

12:30 PM by Cortnee Ingram
The early childhood organization I have been researching and enjoying getting to know is the Early Childhood Council in New Zealand. This website has been wonderful in getting to see a glimpse into another area of the world. If you want to check them out you can do it here. 


When looking at the outside links I noticed they all revolve around early childhood education government resources, other professional resources, technology resources, teacher resources, and other interesting websites. This is also the area I chose to explore more. One of the resources in their interesting websites category is called the Child Care Exchange. They are a collaborative website that offers magazines, books, and training resources. 


I followed a link related to the issue of children's equity when starting preschool. The link I followed was for a website that encourages centers when starting out. They provide assistance to these centers and believe that faith, hope, and love will be the sustaining force in their help with children. The website is the Living and Learning Foundation. They are also located in New Zealand and help their community. 


Something else I found really interesting in their e-newsletter was an article about a music teacher who had been teaching for 25 years. Because of her experience she decided to create a curriculum based on music. She had seen the positive affects of children learning through music and decided to implement it into her curriculum. The results were amazing and helped with social skills, attention, language, listening skills, and gross motor skills, to name a few.


Thanks,
Cortnee :)
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