Getting To Know Your International Contacts-Part 2

This week the topic of our studies was educational excellence and equity in early childhood education. I told my international contact (Ramon) about the early childhood educational system in America, and in turn he told me about some characteristics of early childhood education in France. He started the conversation by telling me that his mom said that education has changed a lot in France over the last 20 years.

All children in France are required to start school by the age of three and it is paid for by the government. Some parents do pay for their children to attend private schools, but Ramon says they all get the same education. From ages three-five, the focus of their education is on social skills, which is quite different from early childhood education in America. Children in France learn poems, eat hot meals, sleep in small beds, and learn how to be good citizens and students. They learn how to be a good friend. Most of their day consists of active play and the teachers are very involved with the children during this time. Additionally, they visit the museum often to learn about history. When children turn six they start to learn academics such as numbers and letters. Ramon said that young children in France learn social skills first then letters. He describes the days as fun, fun, fun! The children use their imagination, play fun games, and exercise.

He thinks that it is sad that all children do not receive the same care in America. He said that no matter what your socioeconomic status is in France, every child receives a quality education. He believes that American children would benefit from learning more social skills, so that they can learn how to be a friend. He thinks that American children can be mean and think only about themselves. I have to agree with Ramon. I think there would be a lot less bullying in America if children learn proper social skills early in life. In America we focus so much on academics that we forget about other areas of development. In France, they seem to focus on the development of the whole child, and we need to do the same in the U.S.

Sharing Web Resources (CCW)

The Center for the Child Care Workforce (CCW) has a wealth of information for early childhood educators. Professionally, I want to develop as an advocate for state policies that contribute to the improvement of early childhood education. The CCW provides a link that lists state compensation initiatives for early childhood educators.Some of these initiatives include scholarship programs, apprenticeships, and health initiatives. I was surprised to see that my home state of Missouri participates in many of the initiatives. One initiative that  I would like to advocate for in my state is the mentoring program. A mentoring program would offer experienced early childhood professionals growth, while sharing their knowledge with others. They would also be compensated for participating in the program. New early childhood professionals would benefit from a supportive relationship.

I gained much insight from an article posted on the CCW's website. Heckman's (2011) article, "The Economics of Inequaltiy" points out that high qualtiy education is the equalizer for a lot of children who are a result of low-quality parenting. The economist believes that many children are disadvantaged because single-parents are spending long hours working to provide for their families. As a result, their parenting is not the best to support their child's development. Providing these children with high-quality education will help them develop not only cognitively, but pyschosocially as well. Heckman believes that the economy suffers when children do not learn certain character traits when they are young. These children are likely to grow up not having a good work ethic and impulse control, which would make it hard for them to obtain and keep a job. From this article, I learned that economists are focused on building a strong workforce to secure the future economy. They believe the best way to do this is by providing children with high quality early education because it can correct inequalities from birth (Heckman, 2011).

The most significant insight gained from the CCW website this week is that a quality education includes healthy social/emotional development as well. Many times as educators we focus on cognitive abilities because that is what is measured by state assessments. After viewing the website, I saw many articles reminding me of the importance of a child's mental health. Early childhood professionals must remember that mental health is just as important as physical health and cognitive abilities.

References

The Center for the Child  Care Workforce http://www.ccw.org/

Heckman, J. (2011). The economics of inequality: The value of early childhood education. Retrieved from
http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/spring2011/Heckman.pdf

Supporting Children's Mental Health: Tips for Parents and Educators Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/resources/mentalhealth/mhtips.aspx

International Contact (Poverty)

I am so grateful to have established a contact that is more than willing to communicate with me on a regular basis. His name is Ramon, and although he was born in the United States of America he has lived in Paris, France all of his life. Currently he works in a creches which seems to be like a child care center. They care for children from 3months to school age. The creches has strict rules and all the minders/caregivers must have a childcare diploma. This is a private school, so the parents pay all the fees. Ramon stated that there is no poverty at his school, and the children's parents are "rich business people." However, Ramon does experience poverty in Paris, France. Since the rent is too expensive by his school, he lives in another part of the city where families experience poverty. The children go to a school funded by the government.

Ramon said that he has worked with families in rural areas in France who needed help with school fees and supplies. He mentioned that there are many good groups in France that help children so they won't fall behind on their studies. Ramon has also seen how poverty affects children in other countries. He took a trip to Africa and was saddened by the lack of food and money for families. He noticed that the last thing on their minds was education, and he worries about their future.

Ramon is on vacation here in the United States until May. He is staying with his parents in Ohio. I asked him is he is surprised by the amount of poverty in the U.S. because of the wealthy image that the country has around the world. He said that he is very much surprised to see children playing in dirt as he passes along the streets of Ohio. It reminds him of a third world country. Ramon's parents have told him about the poverty issues in America, but he thought they were exaggerating. He said he never knew America has issues with poverty.

After my conversation with Ramon and this week's studies, I realize that poverty is an issues that is present everywhere. I am committed to dealing with this issue by providing resources to families in my area. Everyone can make a difference right where they are.

Web Resource

The Center for the Child Care Workforce (CCW) started as the Child Care Employee Project in 1978.  In the 1980's this project's first study was to link childcare workers compensation to the quality of education children recieved. The project became known as the CCW in 1997, and its focus became the issues of the child care workforce. Such issues include training and compensation. In an effort to expand and bring more attention to the child care workforce the CCW partnered with the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation (AFTEF) in 2002. Overall, the CCW's mission is to ensure high quality education for all children by supporting the early childhood workforce and giving them a voice.

The issue that caught my attention from the latest newsletter was the benefits of investing in high quality early childhood programs. The article talked about how high quality early childhood programs can  close the achievement gap for at risk children. These children would be ready for school and develop proper social skills. The article goes on to suggest the economic benefits of high quality early childhood programs as well. Children who attend high quality programs go on to become valuable members of society by joining the workforce. They are less likely to go to jail or need government assistance programs. Providing funding now to early childhood programs will decrease the amount of money that states have to spend on jails, welfare, and special education programs in the future. It seems that the government has responded to this issue by providing $700 million to the Race To the Top program. This program is geared toward ensuring quality care for disadvantaged children in early childhood. The article states that funding and programs such as this are just the beginning to ensuring that all children receive quality care.

This issue resonates with me because I believe that all children have the right to a quality education. No child should be denied something so valuable because of the conditions in which they were born. I long for the day when high quality educational programs are made available for every child. 

For more information about the Center for Child Care Workforce (CCW) visit:
http://www.ccw.org/

P.S.
On another note I finally established a contact with someone from another country. I can't wait to get started and learn more about his early childhood education experiences.

Establishing Professional Contacts & Expanding Resources

Establishing early childhood professional contacts has been a challenge for me. I started trying to establish communication with several of the professionals listed on the various websites last Friday (before the course officially started). As of today, I have not received any responses. In preparation for the future blog assignments, I have already viewed the alternative podcast. At this point, I think that I may have to do the alternative assignment. I am disappointed because I really wanted to communicate with a professional in another country to learn more about their experiences. Hopefully, my colleagues have established contacts, and I can learn from their blog posts.

Choosing an early childhood organization and website was much easier because I determined what type of organization and website I wanted before I studied them. First, I wanted to study an organization/website that focused on early childhood professionals, not the parents. I want information that speaks to me as an educator. Secondly, I wanted to choose an organization with a newsletter and news related to the field. With this criteria in mind, I viewed each listed website carefully. The Zero to Three website caught my eye first because of the wealth of information on the website. However,  a lot of the information was geared toward parents. Yes, the information is useful but I really wanted a website that spoke to the educator. I was almost done looking at the list of websites when I saw the Center for the Child Care Workforce. This organization supports child care professionals. It provides professionals with resources and gives them a voice. The website contains a newsletter and the latest news related to the field. I look forward to study this website and learning more about the organization over the next couple of weeks.