• What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?
  One particular section that I have found on the website is an article called, “ Heifer International's Sarah the Goat Teaches Kids About Giving.” The article talks about poverty and hunger is something that the children can and should learn about. The children select which animal would most benefit the village or community after understanding its dynamics.
• Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways? I read an article called “Hate to Eat and Run, but...” It talks about years ago there was a place called Al's Meat Market where the butcher would cut the meat and hand you a slice in a piece of wax paper and explain to you what the cut was and where it came from. We have moved so far from this in the past years. We now have convenience ( I am guilty of this also), where 80 percent of the profit goes to marketing and packaging and we no longer have this personable relationship with food. We no longer eat as a family. “ Roughly 65 % of sub-Saharan Africa's population relies on subsistence farming. For instance, 86% of Ugandans earn a living through subsistence farming. Most of the economies of Lesotho, Zambia and Rwanda are also based on subsistence farming.” Garcia, M (2012)
• What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field? There is an article from last year that talks about International Literacy Day. The woman speaks about when she married her husband he only had a fifth grade education and worked in the rice fields and only made two dollars a day. The were really grateful for Heifer for talking the time out to believe in them. Teaching children stories like this on a day that was created by politicians promotes literacy that will effect the economy. “To help children grow into successful, productive adults, their parents need good jobs with good incomes, stable housing, affordable childcare and health care, and enough assets to build a more prosperous future.

Here are some other, jaw-dropping statistics straight from the report:

• In this country, children born to parents in the lowest fifth of the income scale are quite likely (42 percent) to end up there as adults.
• At age four, children who live in very low-income families are 18 months behind the developmental norm for their age, and by age 10, the gap is still present.
• 7.7 million children remain uninsured, along with nearly 12 million parents with children under age 18.
• Almost 11 percent of the nation’s children had at least one unemployed parent in 2010, affecting nearly 8 million children. “ ( retrieved from http://www.heifer.org/blog/tag/children/page/2) I do think it is a positive thing that there are more lobbyists for poverty and places like Heifer are not just working overseas but also working with the United States on poverty.

• What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter? I learned that poverty has increased in 38 states, 9.1 percent of workers were still unemployed and poverty means so much more than just living in an environment that is unsafe.
  
  reference http://www.heifer.org/
   
  

There are so many things that I learned this week from this class it is unbelievable. I had alot of rumors dispelled about what it means to be in poverty.  "Americans often talk about poor people as if they were a distinct group with uniform characteristics and somehow unlike the rest of us. In fact, there is great diversity among children and families who experience economic hardship. Some people question whether a family that has air conditioning or a dvd player should be considered poor. Most workers need a car to get to work and having access to the internet is crucial for children to keep up with their peers in school." 2008 (NCCP)

To be in poverty in America is very different then to be in poverty in Africa. I have below a letter from the woman I talk to from South Africa. I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this.

Dear Jennifer,

We don’t teach languages to young children but we certainly bring them into our daily programme. South Africa has many languages but we work mainly in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa (in the Western Cape).

We bring these languages through movement games and songs and we bring the cultural pictures and traditions through story-telling, food and festivals. We also have some African instruments in our classrooms as well as story books depicting life experiences and situations relevant to the children in the class.

Regarding poverty, this is one of our country’s greatest challenges and requires constant and ongoing work and reviewing. Many structures and programmes are in place to combat poverty

On many levels - it is a complex issue that needs huge amounts of support and funding. It also demands up-skilling and educating of many people who suffer poverty because of a  lack of infrastructure as well basic education and skills.

Robyn Davis

 

http://www.earlychildhoodnyc.org

I chose this newsletter because it based out of New York and I feel that there is so much culture/things to be learned from reading this. I wanted to copy this out of the newsletter, it is how to become a home visitor. This is something that I always wanted to do and maybe oneday I can explore this career option. This newsletter is both in English and in Spanish. I thought that was amazing. The site also has a link to Quality Universally Inclusive Early Responsive Education (QUIERE) This is for people who are looking to pursue a teaching career in a diverse setting. There's a newsletter, research and public policy and a link to a second site I am looking to join called  http://www.acei.org/ This site has a great article on exclusion in education.

"i. Who experiences exclusion in society? Who experiences exclusion in education?
In many countries, patterns of social exclusion often continue to influence the patterns of exclusion
in education while exclusion in education often feeds into social exclusion.
Let us first think about who may be excluded from social development in your country. For example:
• Are any people not allowed to vote in national or local elections? (e.g. immigrants, refugees,
unregistered residents, people under voting age, women, etc.);
• Do any people face discrimination in obtaining loans, credits, or assets? (e.g. poor people, people
without regular incomes, people without stable employment, women, people without citizenship
status, people without a fixed address, etc.);
• Do any people face more challenges to employment than others? (e.g. language minorities,
people with disabilities, women, people living in certain places with social stigma, people of a
certain caste, people living with HIV, people with little or no formal school education, etc.);
• Do any people face more difficulties in accessing basic healthcare than others? (e.g. orphans,
street children, refugees, people living in remote rural areas, people in poverty, etc.)."

(retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002170/217073e.pdf?utm_source=Master+Newsletter+List&utm_campaign=5596a1265e-Newsletter_8_8_128_8_2012&utm_medium=email)


Sheila Farrigan
Albany County Head Start
What they do:Home visitors build relationships with the families of children in early childhood education programs to help strengthen the bond between child and family, as well as extend further support. Home visitors develop lesson plans for families, covering developmental areas, but parents are treated as partners, and are active participants in all activities. In Head Start and Early Head start, each home visitor is assigned to no more than twelve families, so he or she is able to devote a lot of attention to each family. In these programs, home visitors make weekly visits to each home, and hold bimonthly “socializations” for families of children in similar age groups.
Where they work:
While home visitors generally share an office in their agency or program for planning and administrative tasks, most of their work is on site at the homes of the families they are
assigned to. They may also act as a liaison for the family to other agencies or services to support the child’s needs, like housing, healthcare, nutrition, and any special needs.
How to become a Home Visitor:
The requirements to become a home visitor vary depending on the agency or program, but generally the Child Development Associate or college coursework in related areas are
encouraged. Much of the training for home visitors will be done by the agency. However, some qualities that are
important for home visitors are flexibility and comfort in a wide variety of environments, and openness and sensitivity to all cultures, religions, family situations, and differences.
How did you get into the field?
At first I was a classroom teacher, and I always liked working with the parents. When there was an opening in the home base office of the Head Start program, I thought it would be a good opportunity to have the best of working with both children and parents.
What made you want to work with children?
I’ve always enjoyed working with young children. When my children were in school, I started working as an aide in the public school. I enjoy their enthusiasm; they pretty much accept you. If you really get down on their level, they learn to trust and accept you and they can learn a lot.
What would you tell someone who wants to get into this field?
I would say that you have to enjoy being with children, but you also have to enjoy working with the parents. I think it’s important that we have all different kinds of parenting. As a home visitor, you have to be ready to meet parents where they are and not be judgmental. It can be very rewarding. It’s also important to have patience, and to be a good listener. And be non-judgmental, I think that’s the most important thing.

This has been such a journey for me. On Sunday night I read over the directions on how to do this assignment. It is really exciting for me to connect with someone on the other side of the world that is in the same position I am. I started to email and within hours I started to get responses back. People that I never met before were trying to help me. How amazing is this? We can go halfway around the world and speak to people in different lands that we never met to learn and grow. Well with a lot of determination I meet this teacher named Robin and I email her. She write me back and says this.

Dear Jennifer,

I am 49 years old and I am the Head of the Early Childhood Development department at the Centre for Creative Education, in Cape Town. The CCE is a teacher training NGO that runs

Full time and part-time courses for ECD, B.ED and Eurythmy, based on Waldorf-inspired pedagogy.

I have been in this position for 3 years and my role is in training early childhood teachers (ages birth to 7) and overseeing the department as a whole.

We work out of a Waldorf curriculum but as we have an accredited training (government approved) we cover the National Curriculum requirements as well.

Before this I taught for 12 years at Imhoff Waldorf school in Kommetjie, here on the coast.

I was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, but grew up in Johannesburg. I lived in England for 7 years where I completed my schooling.

I have lived in Cape Town for 20 years. I have 2 daughters, ages 24 and 18 and live with my 18 year old, near Simon’s Town.

Regards,

Robyn Davis.

I told her I will write her back once a week to correspond with her. I can't imagine she is more excited than myself.

For my organization I chose the Association for Childhood Education International. They were established in 1982 and are focused internationally. Today they are advocates for children, families as well as teachers. They do have global news, blog and radio which I will share throughout the semester.

Dear Jennifer,

I am 49 years old and I am the Head of the Early Childhood Development department at the Centre for Creative Education, in Cape Town. The CCE is a teacher training NGO that runs

Full time and part-time courses for ECD, B.ED and Eurythmy, based on Waldorf-inspired pedagogy.

I have been in this position for 3 years and my role is in training early childhood teachers (ages birth to 7) and overseeing the department as a whole.

We work out of a Waldorf curriculum but as we have an accredited training (government approved) we cover the National Curriculum requirements as well.

Before this I taught for 12 years at Imhoff Waldorf school in Kommetjie, here on the coast.

I was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, but grew up in Johannesburg. I lived in England for 7 years where I completed my schooling.

I have lived in Cape Town for 20 years. I have 2 daughters, ages 24 and 18 and live with my 18 year old, near Simon’s Town.

Regards,

Robyn Davis.

I’m attaching 2 pictures from our recent graduation in July this year.
 What an Amazing journey this class has been so far.