Final Blog Assignment

I have really enjoyed learning about early childhood education in other countries.  I was disappointed at not being able establish communication with one of the contacts because I was really looking forward to that aspect of the class; however, I still learned a lot through the readings.  The consequences of learning about the international early childhood field helped me in both my professional and personal development.  On the first assignment, I learned about the situation of poverty in Africa.  Those children will continue to live in those circumstances if they are not educated and taught how to rise out of poverty.  Some places such as Kenya and Tanzania are making improvements such as making education free which has opened the door to millions of children and more schools are opening up in Tanzania.  The situation of poverty is bad regardless of where it is but the children in Africa have it far worse than those in America.  Another interesting country was Bangkok.  I liked how they place more of an emphasis on the child learning about their culture, history, and to have respect and values.  These are more important for the citizens of Bangkok than the education.  It was also great reading about Zambia and how they are beginning to realize the importance of EC education and are taking the necessary steps to test the children for malaria which affects a lot of the children there and their development.  Zambia is known for their children being the furthest behind; malaria is a primary cause of it.  I love it when people take steps to help children in particular.  I am hoping that all international countries will realize the importance of EC and take the necessary steps to ensure that their children have a chance at the best future possible for them.

My reference for the last post:

Jo-Kim, G. (2013, 25 March).Vox Pop: What are some of the three most important skills a child should learn?  UNESCO.

International Contacts-Part 3

This week I chose to research UNESCO's "Early Childhood and Care and Education" webpage.  There was an interesting article by Jo-Kim of Bangkok about his opinion the the three important things that a child should learn.  “Firstly, they need to learn about culture – culture is a kind of glue, it keeps us together. It’s like tea with sugar – it creates flavor and the color we need. Secondly, values and respect. Do we respect our parents and elders enough? Are the gaps here increasing? We need to keep in mind that education comes from home – our families are the first “teachers” in our lives. They are crucial to us so respect and values are important. Thirdly, history – we should know our past so we can improve our future" (Jo-Kim, 2013).  Most of the opinions on the educators from Bangkok were similar.  They believe that character and respect are very important to being a good human being.  Basic educational skills and communication skills for working are also needed, but the child must understand their history so that they know where they fit in in the world.  I actually agree with them.  Every person should know their culture and understand who they really are and they need to know how to cope in the world in which they live .  Education is important, but it is also important to be a good person.  All of this ties into the battle that we are currently facing with our preschools.  Some think that education is everything, and forget that the child also needs to learn how to cope in the world.  It is primarily up to the parents to teach children that aspect of life, but it helps when teacher reinforce those rules from home.

Some of my professional goals are to open a preschool and hire quality teachers to work for me.  I believe that there has to be a balance of education, play time, and teaching children how to be good people who treats everyone with respect.  I volunteer at my church in the children's ministry and although we teach them about stories in the Bible, we also teach them things like sharing, apologizing when they have hurt someone or their feelings, and placing them in time out if needed.  They are learning how to get along with others which is important during the younger years as well as how to sit and listen, raise hands to speak, and so forth.  I think about every moment as if I were in my future classroom and handle each situation accordingly.

Sharing Web Resources- Part III

This week I chose an article from my organization NAEYC.  There was an interesting article in the Young Children (YC) magazine called, Supporting Peer Relationships and Social Competence in Inclusive Preschool Programs.  This article was so amazing because it described how teachers can use situations that arise in the classrooms among peers as teaching moments.  There were a couple of situations that occurred such as this 3 1/2 year old little boy with autism run into the block station excitedly and kicks the blocks in all directions.  One kid yelled, "you're stupid."  Another child with cerebral palsy issues was using a prism to draw a rainbow and got interrupted by another student by the prism getting snatched from her so that the other girl could draw it better.  These are the types of conflicts that take place in preschool settings.  In this inclusive preschool setting, the teachers helped them to iron out the situation. Situations that involve young children with special needs serve as windows into children's social-emotional skills and needs.  They also highlight teaching opportunities.  Teachers play an essential role in showing preschoolers how to manage peer relationships successfully.  Peer conflict is typical for young children but it still requires the assessment of a teacher (NAEYC, 2013).  The goal of inclusive programs are to create an atmosphere in which positive peer relationships can flourish.  In these programs, children with special needs have full access to all aspects of the learning environment, opportunities to actively participate and adequate supports for success.  The main thing of importance are the social skills and social competence of teaching and learning.  Children learn how to navigate a complex world of friendships and adult relationships in environments of new rules, routines, and expectations for such behaviors as waiting, conversing, sharing small and large group spaces, and taking turns.  All of these are important to a child's social abilities.  Inclusive preschools are great because the teachers are involved more with the students which is exactly how it should be when children are this young.