Professionally, three consequences that I learned from the international early childhood field is that colleges in the field care about children's issues no matter where they are from; we share some of the same issues, and we can learn from each other.
Personally, I have learned that international professionals are not that different, we have similar issues and trends that connect us. We need to be open to other views and learn what others can teach us. Ultimately, we all have the same goal which is to do what is best for the children.
One goal in regards to international awareness of issues and trends as well as collegial relations is that I want to get more involved with organizations and professionals from around the world and continue to discuss and advocate for all children.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 3
Beth is my international contact from Canada who has since retired as director of CAYC. I asked her about professional Education requirements and she said for pre-k or k you need four or five years at a University. She had some good insights for me, and here is what she said.
I must stress that you must always think about the children first, not the parents. Keep a developmentally and culturally appropriateness focus. For example, many parents want to see "formal" type work and cutsey crafts. You know that is not developmentally appropriate. Alway stand strong in your knowledge and commitment. Provide parents/families with articles, videos, books etc that will help them understand your philosophy of early childhood teaching and learning. Be up front with parents about the philosophy of your centre or classroom. Also, keep current of best practices, not only the practical but the theoretical-look at the recent research. Never stop learning! My passion is to strive to provide the best early years experiences for all children. Become members of organizations and advocate for young children with governments and your local communities. Loving the children is not enough. We need to understand children, observe them and tailor the program based on what interests them and what they need. Remember that children are very capable and are not empty vessels to be filled.
I must stress that you must always think about the children first, not the parents. Keep a developmentally and culturally appropriateness focus. For example, many parents want to see "formal" type work and cutsey crafts. You know that is not developmentally appropriate. Alway stand strong in your knowledge and commitment. Provide parents/families with articles, videos, books etc that will help them understand your philosophy of early childhood teaching and learning. Be up front with parents about the philosophy of your centre or classroom. Also, keep current of best practices, not only the practical but the theoretical-look at the recent research. Never stop learning! My passion is to strive to provide the best early years experiences for all children. Become members of organizations and advocate for young children with governments and your local communities. Loving the children is not enough. We need to understand children, observe them and tailor the program based on what interests them and what they need. Remember that children are very capable and are not empty vessels to be filled.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Sharing Web Resources
I started exploring the CAYC website, and through my international contact from Canada I received this link to more information on Saskatchewan www.education.gov.sk.ca/KidsFirst -I decided to go into the education link and found sub topics on Early childhood Education, Preschool, Pre-K, Families, Communities, Early Leaerning and Child Care Programs, Educator, Legislation, Professional Learning Opportunities and Resources. In each area there are multiple articles that can be accessed on various topics.
Under early Learning and Child Care I looked at an organization called, "Kids First". It is a program that supports vulnerable families and helps them to become the best they can be by enhancing knowledge, providing support, and building on family strengths. Some of the benefits include: support from home visitor who provide assistance regarding child development, parenting and connecting to the community; help to access services such as child care and parent support groups; early learning opportunities for children; and help regarding literacy, nutrition, transportation and specialized counseling services.
I found multi-lingual services and supports for topics on respecting diversity. This is something that I have not seen around my area of the U.S. Since Canada is a bi-lingual country they seem to be ahead of the midwest on those kinds of issues. Another thing that I learned is that babies born in Saskatchewan hospitals are screened to assess challenges faced by the families and determine eligibility into some of these programs. They start at birth instead of having to wait until families contact programs. Then they are put on a long waiting list until eligibility is determined. Assessing babies in the hospital would make access to families much easier, and give children the early start they need.
Under early Learning and Child Care I looked at an organization called, "Kids First". It is a program that supports vulnerable families and helps them to become the best they can be by enhancing knowledge, providing support, and building on family strengths. Some of the benefits include: support from home visitor who provide assistance regarding child development, parenting and connecting to the community; help to access services such as child care and parent support groups; early learning opportunities for children; and help regarding literacy, nutrition, transportation and specialized counseling services.
I found multi-lingual services and supports for topics on respecting diversity. This is something that I have not seen around my area of the U.S. Since Canada is a bi-lingual country they seem to be ahead of the midwest on those kinds of issues. Another thing that I learned is that babies born in Saskatchewan hospitals are screened to assess challenges faced by the families and determine eligibility into some of these programs. They start at birth instead of having to wait until families contact programs. Then they are put on a long waiting list until eligibility is determined. Assessing babies in the hospital would make access to families much easier, and give children the early start they need.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Getting to Know Your International Contacts - Part 2
This week I received e-mail contact from Beth Warkentin from the Canadian Association for Young Children. She used to be an Early childhood teacher, instructor, and the director of the Saskatchewan division, but has since stepped down. Ms. Warkentin was able to direct me to a couple of websites that has given me lots of insight into her province in Canada.
The Canadian National Childcare Federation
www.education.gov.sk.ca/ELCC
There was so much information that it was overwhelming, but I ran across this article called, "Best Approaches to Quality Enhancement in the 'Informal' Child care Sector". The article talked about quality of care in the family childcare home, with the focus on what we call "unregulated" care. It was interesting because in Canada they see care by family members as just another viable option for parents and in Canada this is the mosts utilized care. Some of the reasons given were: parents work irregular hours, like the smaller setting, easier to obtain for rural families, and they can find more cultural/linguistically familiar settings to meet their needs. They feel that the term "unregulated" sends a negative message about the assumption that the program is of "poor" quality. For this reason they prefer the term "informal". They feel these informal settings should be treated as equals to licensed care so they have worked to come up with a support system called the "Family Support Model" which looks at these two types of care as a continuum with family childcare on one end and Childcare Centers on the other end. The closer the program is to home care, they get referred to more community development and other initiatives. The programs that fall closer to centers will get more professional development and regulation. This new strategy focuses on universal outreach to all as it looks for ways to support these programs.
Some of the support includes unconditional positive regard through home visits, toy libraries, drop in groups, neighborhood networking, newsletters, and workshops. In addition they encourage peer support, affirm lifelong learning, promoting relationships based on equality and respect for diversity. The Family Support Model also believes that the focus should be on the community capacity and strenghts instead of deficits. The article closes with this quote, "Seek first to understand then to be understood"(Covey, 1989, pp. 237).
This gives me a lot to think about, as in my state we look at things a little differently. In my county we just passed an ordinance that all childcare programs regardless of home or center need to become licensed. The way we look at it is that children deserve the best possible care regardless of where they are sent. It does not mean that homes are of less quality or unsafe, but if you look at statistics you will find that most fatalities occurr in the Family Child Care home. Regulation will not save all children however, if it can help to save just one child than it is worth it. Having been on both sides I can relate to both so this gives me another prospective to think about.
The Canadian National Childcare Federation
www.education.gov.sk.ca/ELCC
There was so much information that it was overwhelming, but I ran across this article called, "Best Approaches to Quality Enhancement in the 'Informal' Child care Sector". The article talked about quality of care in the family childcare home, with the focus on what we call "unregulated" care. It was interesting because in Canada they see care by family members as just another viable option for parents and in Canada this is the mosts utilized care. Some of the reasons given were: parents work irregular hours, like the smaller setting, easier to obtain for rural families, and they can find more cultural/linguistically familiar settings to meet their needs. They feel that the term "unregulated" sends a negative message about the assumption that the program is of "poor" quality. For this reason they prefer the term "informal". They feel these informal settings should be treated as equals to licensed care so they have worked to come up with a support system called the "Family Support Model" which looks at these two types of care as a continuum with family childcare on one end and Childcare Centers on the other end. The closer the program is to home care, they get referred to more community development and other initiatives. The programs that fall closer to centers will get more professional development and regulation. This new strategy focuses on universal outreach to all as it looks for ways to support these programs.
Some of the support includes unconditional positive regard through home visits, toy libraries, drop in groups, neighborhood networking, newsletters, and workshops. In addition they encourage peer support, affirm lifelong learning, promoting relationships based on equality and respect for diversity. The Family Support Model also believes that the focus should be on the community capacity and strenghts instead of deficits. The article closes with this quote, "Seek first to understand then to be understood"(Covey, 1989, pp. 237).
This gives me a lot to think about, as in my state we look at things a little differently. In my county we just passed an ordinance that all childcare programs regardless of home or center need to become licensed. The way we look at it is that children deserve the best possible care regardless of where they are sent. It does not mean that homes are of less quality or unsafe, but if you look at statistics you will find that most fatalities occurr in the Family Child Care home. Regulation will not save all children however, if it can help to save just one child than it is worth it. Having been on both sides I can relate to both so this gives me another prospective to think about.
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