Issues and Trends of ECE 

So I had a time going to reaching out to other ECE (early childhood education) professionals.  The first 2 responses that I got were from professors in London. They had told me that they were too busy with their own responsibilities to assist me with my assignment. (completely understandable... I have a busy life too) 

As a result, I went to a totally different continent (Australia) to see what they were all about.  After reaching out to several daycare directors, I was able to get a response.  Toni and Kellie were gracious enough to answer the following questions:

• What do you view as your biggest challenge in the field of ECE? 
• What has been you most rewarding moment in your career thus far?

Toni, a manager, answered:

Her biggest challenge is documentation and having time to build quality relationships with the children and their families.  She enjoys watching her children grow and mature. 

Kellie, also a manager, answered:

Her biggest challenge is the government families package which highlights the need for early childhood services to allow families to return to or remain within the workforce.  The package takes away from quality education and care despite their criteria.  Some of Australia's most vulnerable children will not have access to ECE and or be minimized.  Second, the media is emphasizing the need of childcare centers, and pressuring the licensing bodies.  There have been 5 new openings over the past 2 years, but most have struggled to remain open 

Kellie also feels as if she is rewarded everyday working with children. 

Based upon what Kellie is saying there are some inequalities for the children in Australia.  I don't have a full understanding of the job package in Australia, but I can tell that it is directly effecting their center.    

I am loving the impact of HCZ...

Harlem Children's Zone is an organization that is really tugging at my heart.  I love how they are impacting every area of early childhood education, and really every stage in life .  They have "Baby College", "Three Year Old Journey" and "Harlem Gems".  Each of the classes focus on a portion of early childhood education.  Baby College educates expecting and new parents in areas such as healthcare, child development, communication, and how to raise a healthy baby.  Three Year Old Journey is a way for parents to get educated on the developmental stages of their child.  The program is a way for parents to receive education while their children develop social skills with trained staff.   Harlem Gems is HCZ's pre-K program.  100% of their pre-K class was prepared to go to kindergarten.  That is an awesome accomplishment!  HCZ's goal is to produce nothing but positive futures.  It is a model that I would love to mirror in my career.   

HCZ takes early childhood education to a new level by starting while the child is in the womb.  I would have never thought to have such an elaborate program, but just last year they impacted 13,477 lives.  It is an amazing contribution to the community and to the nation's economy.  Multiple presidents and celebrities have complimented HCZ on their accomplishments.  The video below was posted as a testimonial to show the impact that they have made on their participants' lives.  I am sure that there are plenty of other organizations advocating for better early childhood education, but this one has the numbers to prove it.  I am so happy to see the positive effects of making a positive impact at birth! Watch the video... its less than 2 minutes!! 

Retrieved from: https://hcz.org/news/ 

Do you have the Power?

I have a friend that was born and raised in India.  She is now a physician, but frequently goes home to help and visit her family and friends.  She told me how she was poor, and had no toys.  Her father would not buy his children toys, because he was saving for their future.  The children would get sticks, rocks, and wood from outside and make figurines.  Those would be her toys.  She lived in a very small house and shared a bed with her siblings until leaving for college.  Based upon her experiences, I have always wondered what was the range of poverty in India.

Doing research about India I read about the following issues:

• 1.3 billion people around the world don't have a way of getting electricity (https://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/files/Child_Poverty_Insights_TERI_June_2013.pdf). 

• Although 84.9% of villages have a electric line, only 46% of the rural homes have access to electricity (http://indianpowersector.com/home/about/)   

• Indian families use biomass cooking fuel as a way to cook food as a result of no electricity, kerosene, or other resources.  (The fumes generated as a result of burning cause acute respiratory infections, immune deficiencies and low birth weights.)

• Biomass cooking fumes caused around 177,000 deaths under 5 years old. 

So the logical question would be...  Why would you expose your family to the fumes and pollution if you knew that it could hurt you family?

I am guessing that their logical answer would be..... Hopefully eat today and worry about dying later.

Its hurtful to see a person suffer like that.  So I thought to myself, what can we do to help.

• Find charities that would help in sending the appropriate cooking mechanisms such as kerosene, candles, wood, etc.  

• Partner with the Minister of Power to fund projects to access power to the electric lines

• Educate communities on how to generate their own power 

I am out of ideas to eliminate the issue. However I do know that all it takes is one idea to start a ripple effect of change.  

Resources
https://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/files/Child_Poverty_Insights_TERI_June_2013.pdf
http://indianpowersector.com/home/about/

Harlem Children's Zone

Harlem Children’s Zone also known as HCZ

The Harlem Children’s Zone focuses on helping children and families avoid the hardships of poverty.  They are able to accomplish their goals through education, community outreach, and healthcare.   The program works with children from birth until the end of their college career.  HCZ has a variety of stages that focuses on every level within a child’s life and the family as a whole.  They educate families through their finances, healthcare, education, parenting, and other areas.  The organization is non-profit and relies heavily on donations.  Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and presidents including Obama and Clinton have recognized Harlem Children’s Zone.

HCZ doesn’t have a newsletter that cycles at a particular time.  They write articles based upon their achievements.  The success rate of Harlem Children’s Zone is phenomenal: 

• ·      They have a 97% college acceptance rate in 2017  
• ·      97% college graduation rate (since 2000)
• ·      9, 000 children participated in the healthy run/challenge
• ·      1.2 million healthy meals prepared by HCZ food service in 2017
• ·      100% of Pre-K students tested school-ready in 2017
• ·      88% of funding goes directly to the program

  The organization is awesome and tried to encourage other organizations to follow in their lead.  HCZ has a mentoring program that allows other companies participate in a 3-day educational session to show others their steps to success.  The organization has shown me how to impact the entire family.  Harlem Children’s Zone starts with caring hearts, education and support.

Check them out… I am sure you will love them too  www.hcz.org

Establishing Horizons & Expanding Resources

Hi guys,

I believe I was a little confused on the blog assignment for this week.  I read the assignment and thought that I knew what I was doing, so here we go.   I reached out to 2 different Early Childhood Education Professionals.  Each were different professors.  One professor was from University College in London and the other was from University of Melbourne in Australia.

 I wrote the following email, and hoped for the best.

Hello,

My name is Alisha.  I am a graduate student at Walden University majoring in Early Childhood Education.  I am writing you as apart of my assignment in my Trends and Issues in Early Childhood Education Course.  I am seeking other Early Childhood Education Colleagues to get their perspectives from around the world.  Your participation through email will assist in the completion of this course and my career.  I would like to reach out to you a few times to get your professional expertise on a few topics. 

Can you start by answering the following questions?

·      What do you view as the biggest challenge within the field of Early Childhood Education

·      What led you to the career of education

·      What has been your most rewarding moment during your career thus far

Thank you for your time, and I hope that you can continue to assist me in my career through Early Childhood Education.

Regards..  

I received one email back stating that she was not a early childhood educator, but an elementary.  I was surprised, because I looked at her bio to confirm their fields.  Oh well... I guess I will reach out to another person.... So I guess I am still at 1.5

Part 2 

I have chosen the Harlem Children's Zone as my organization.  I love the way the company has impacted so many people.  It is amazing the progress they have made, and the lives they have changed.  

The Discovery of a Gift

Viewing the Whole Child 

I don't think there is anything wrong with assessing children to see if they meet educational standards.  The process helps the teachers and school systems to be  accountable for what is being taught.  However the children should not be taught to "pass the test"  The test should be the same throughout the schools in the nation, and be a guideline for what subjects and information need to be addressed for the school year.  

It is unfortunate that I live in the state with the lowest standardized testing scores in the nation.  I have spoken to teachers about it.  They have told me that the schools in this area don't teach to help children pass the tests.  Therefore, the majority of the information is foreign to the children.  They will continually score below the standard threshold when they are not taught the information.  It is crazy to raise the expectations without first changing the curriculum within the schools.  

I recently read that the U.K. has an assessment, iPIPS,  that is used in multiple areas worldwide.  The test measures: cognitive development; personal, social, and emotional development; physical development; behavior; contextual information. (http://www.ipips.org/the-ipips-study/the-pips-assessment) The assessment is given at the beginning and end of the first grade.  The testing and research facility analyze the change in development.  

I believe that assessments are essential to measure the cognitive growth and development of children.  Information is very valuable and can be used to help people.  The question is simple.  Are the assessments that children take really preparing them for the future.