Well wishes and best of luck

I wish all the best of luck as you continue on in your professional journeys. It has been wonderful learning from everyone's experiences.

Adjourning phase

In considering, some of the groups that I have been involved in the ones that seemed like it was difficult to separate from were those groups that had lasted a very long time. During a group project that last for a long time, relationships and friendships are formed with other individuals. It is also hard to leave a group that is high functioning because you know that within that group, an immense amount of work can be accomplished; but for me the friendships that emerge out of groups sometimes can be hard to leave. Some of the sort of closing rituals that I have participated in with groups involve wishing others future success, reflecting on what went well, having a small celebration over lunch, and exchanging e-mail addresses or telephone numbers to keep in touch. Within this master’s program I imagine adjourning from the group by congratulating all on their success and it would be nice to meet a few of my fellow colleagues during convocation. This adjourning part is an essential stage of teamwork because it allows the team to reflect on what made them successful or not, it gives the team the opportunity to celebrate a completed job, and allows each individual the opportunity to increase its network of resources by developing relationships and friendships with individuals who are different and can bring different ideas and perspectives.

Adjourning phase

In considering, some of the groups that I have been involved in the ones that seemed like it was difficult to separate from were those groups that had lasted a very long time. During a group project that last for a long time, relationships and friendships are formed with other individuals. It is also hard to leave a group that is high functioning because you know that within that group, an immense amount of work can be accomplished; but for me the friendships that emerge out of groups sometimes can be hard to leave. Some of the sort of closing rituals that I have participated in with groups involve wishing others future success, reflecting on what went well, having a small celebration over lunch, and exchanging e-mail addresses or telephone numbers to keep in touch. Within this master’s program I imagine adjourning from the group by congratulating all on their success and it would be nice to meet a few of my fellow colleagues during convocation. This adjourning part is an essential stage of teamwork because it allows the team to reflect on what made them successful or not, it gives the team the opportunity to celebrate a completed job, and allows each individual the opportunity to increase its network of resources by developing relationships and friendships with individuals who are different and can bring different ideas and perspectives.

Conflict Technique

As I think back on a recent disagreement that I have experienced two strategies that might help me resolve this disagreement would be “Seek first to understand, then to be understood” (Billikopf, 2009, p.3). By using this technique presented in Conflict management skills by Gregorio Billikopf (2009) people may be agreeable to hear what we have to say in a conflict or disagreement if we are prepared to hear what they have to say in first. The second strategy I would use comes from using the techniques of nonviolent communication. In using this technique, I would be able to focus on listening to the other persons needs and expressing what I need.

Billikopf, G. (2009, August). Conflict management skills. Retrieved from http://cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/13.htm.

Communication Insights

The  surprising thing about how people evaluated me turned out to be that they both rated me as a people oriented person. Even more surprising then that is that my own rating of myself was people oriented. This funny because I see myself more of a content-oriented person who listens for pertinent information when listening to someone.

Insights about communication I have learned this week

• Affect is significantly important.

• How someone says something is considered more important than what they actually said in some circumstances.

• Communication is not easily accomplished, cultural clashes make it difficult to communicate with others.

 I had the opportunity to participate in an honest discussion with an authority figure. We constantly kept clashing, not in an argumentative way but, through our different cultural perspectives. When the person I was communicating with would say something I would perceive and interpret it differently than how she originally intended and when I communicated something she would perceive and interpret it differently than I intended. Sadly, I felt that nothing was being accomplished as if my words were a foreign language to her ears. Will keep trying.

Communication within a culturally diverse family

I choose to look at the diversity within my family. Within the last ten years my immediate and extended family has changed dramatically. There are different religions represented, varying abilities, various socio economic backgrounds, different levels of education, and various races represented within in my family. Based on what I have learned this week three strategies I could use to help me communicate more effectively with them would be:

1.)    Remember that even family members have different cultures than I do, and that their cultures shape the way they communicate.  Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond (2012) state, “Even if people appear to be like you, all people are not alike. You must take the time to explore a person’s background and cultural values before you can determine what you really have in common” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, p.102).

2.)    Being open to new ways of thinking and viewpoints that other people in my family have.

 

3.)    Allowing people the freedom to express themselves in the way they feel most comfortable; without judgments.

 

Reference

 Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6^th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Are you listening?

I choose to watch a show called Hot in Cleveland. In watching the show with no sound I was able to see that the show was about four women who lived in the same house. I did not think the relationship between these women was a relationship based off of being relatives. Within the show the four women seemed to be dealing with issues within their personal lives that they would share with each other. Through their nonverbal behavior I detected that one of the women was in a friendly relationship, with a man, but she wished could have been more, another women in the show was an admired someone I thought could have been her boss, the third woman was dressing like a young teen and seemed to always be upset (her face was angry a lot) and the last woman was older I did not think of her a grandmother to the other three but thought that she could have been a friend.

When I watched the show with the sound on I was able to see that the first woman was interested in forming a relationship with a man who happened to be her co-worker. The second woman did in fact admire the man she was talking to but he was not her boss he was a fellow co-worker. The third woman who dressed young was going back to college and was not angry but was frustrated at not being able to fit in with the younger students on campus. And the last woman was indeed not the grandmother but was a friend to all the women in the house. I am still unsure if the relationship between the women was one of relation.

If I would have watched a television show that I already knew it would have been easy to assume that I knew what a particular character was feeling since I would be familiar with that character.

While I was able to pick up much information from their nonverbal behaviors I still needed clarification to what some were feeling. What I have learned from this experience is that knowing what someone feels does not only come from watching their behaviors but also truly listening to what they have to say.

Competent Communication

In thinking of someone that demonstrates competent communication, I choose to look at Oprah. The behaviors that she exhibits which make her an effective communicator are, her focused attention on the issue and person who is speaking, her interaction with the person communicating by asking clarifying questions so that there is understanding, her confidence as she speaks with others and her ability to listen beyond just the words someone may be expressing.

I think that modeling some of my communication behaviors after her would be benefit for me as it would allow me to communicate with others where we both leave with a understanding or meaning of what it is we are truly attempting to communicate rather than just feeling as if so many things were not explained or left unclear.

Professional Hopes and Goals

Professional Hope:
My professional hope is that people would see diveristiy as something that makes each one of us unique and creates an interesting world.

Professional Goal:
My professional goal for the early childhood field is to not judge people but be open to the diversity they bring.

Note of thanks
I would like to thank all member of group 3. Every one brought something different to the course and through your experieces I learned more about diverisity. Thank you all.

Welcoming Families Around the World

I choose to have the family come from Pakistan, a country in South Asia. This is an area I do not know about so the steps I would need to do in order to prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family would be:

1. To learn more about this country, the customs and traditions, the language spoken spoken and religion practiced as well as common activities the children engage in.

2. To share the information that I have learned with other staff and administration so that all persons serving this child and family will be involved in providing a  culturally responsive school.

3. Speaking to colleagues and seeing if they may know more about this culture and ways that I may be able to be culturally responsive to the child and family needs.

4. Learning a few words of the child's culture to incorporate when speaking with the child or family.

5. Spending time with the family and child before they enter the school, if possible, to learn about the experiences of the child and family in regards to education and to find out what they expect of their child's class in America and how I as a teacher can better meet those needs.

I hope that through following these steps the child and family will see that they have chosen to enroll their child in a school that is open, willing, and dedicated to meeting the needs of each individual child and family. Through following these steps, I will also be better prepared to meet the needs of the child and family.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

An incident where I saw bias, prejudice or oppression taking place comes from the movie Corina, Corina. This movie is about a African American woman who takes on a position as being maid to a middle class Anglo man. The movie shows the prejudices that were held years ago. the hardest prejudice that Corina would have to get over came when the Anglo man along with herself found themselves wanting to have a relationship, and having that relationship be open for others to see.

The biase and prejudice about their relationship was seen in the society in which they lived and in their own families; everyone had either a concern or hate toward this relationship the two had formed. Equity was diminshed for both Corina and the Anglo man because everyone should be have the equall right to love. This incident brought up for me the struggle that many have to go through if they do not conform to societies views about what is right. In order to turn this into an opportunity for greater equity the family members around them as well as community would have to be willing to give up their biases and prejudices.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

The example of micro aggression that I observed this week was within a parent conference.  The parents had arrived to speak with the site base manager of an early childhood education program to set goals for the year for their child and to discuss their child moving form the early head start program to the head start program since their child was soon to turn three years of age. Within this conversation the site base manager turned her conversation into discussing the child’s teacher, who was not the reason why the parents had come to the meeting for. The site base manager made a comment in which she stated “you will have to excuse said teacher if you ever see her walking around in a funk and not talking; she really is a good teacher but you have to learn her attitude, I still am. Although I believe that the site base manager was trying to convey to the parents that this teacher was very good with their child and a great teacher there was a hidden subtle micro aggression message about the teacher within her comment. The teacher is this case is African American and the site base managers comment to me was a micro insult in which the site base manager’s hidden message was that all African American’s have attitudes.   

When I heard this comment I was taken back that I had heard it and that the site base manager said it.  The site base manager attributed the teachers’ quietness as a funk or attitude when this could be just be the characteristic nature of the teacher to be quiet. I also felt uncomfortable and offended at hearing the site base manager say this comment to the parents because maybe the parents did not feel the teacher had an attitude or portrayed a funk but now there was a possibility to see this perceived attitude toward the teacher since the site base manager made the comment.

My observation of this experience made me aware of those subtle things that people say that are offensive and have the potential to really harm or devalue a person.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Person 1:

Culture to me is the traditions beliefs and parts of family that are practiced as well as passed on to the next generation.

True diversity is when people form all walks of life can live together in peace embracing each others culture and differences while understanding that we are all human and that being human makes us all alike.

Person 2:

Culture is the behaviors, traditions, socially acceptable patterns of conduct held by a group of people sharing the same race, ethnicity, or country.

Diversity is the differences and variety that each individual brings.

Person 3:

Culture is your belief system, traditions, and dialect passed down from generations.

Diversity  is having people of different culture coexisting and working together as a community and learning that there culture isn’t wrong its just different.

Summary

The aspects of culture that I have studied in this course that are included in the answers I received are some of the deeper culture elements such as a persons language, their religion (or beliefs), and how the culture is something that is passed down.

It was interesting that the people I asked the questions to omitted the values that people in different cultures have.

In thinking about the responses to culture and diversity form the three people I spoke with it is evident that people have similar thought on what culture encompasses but still do not realize that culture influences and affects everything we do or do not do.

My Family Culture

If given the option to only take 3 small items with me as I was moved to a different country permanently, my thought turn immediately to holding on to my faith and those things that have made me who I am today. I would choose to take my bible, a small family photo album, and my family tree history pamphlet. I choose to take my Bible because it encourages me and has been something that has had great significance throughout my life, my parent's life, and grandparents life. Being able to read the Bible will being encouraging to me know that through out all I may face in the new country He will never leave me nor forsake me. My Bible would also help me share the powerful word of God to my small children, and others who choose to believe. The next item I would take is a small family photo album so that my children would be able to remember what others who did not go with us looked liked and also to be able to view and think back on happier times by seeing the photos. The last item I would take is my family tree history pamphlet; every family reunion our family goes over this chart to remind us who we are and were we came from. I would like this chart to go with me so that I would always be able to let my children know that they came from somewhere and were apart of something that is different from the culture they are currently in and that should always be remembered. If I were told to give up two of the items that I had brought with me it would be hurtful, undoubtedly, hurtful and would trouble me deeply but I would be able to give up those things that I hold close to my heart.
Insights about my family
My families Christianity if an extremely important aspect to our family culture, it is something that my family talks about when we are together and as a result has been passed down through several generations and is something that I would want my children to know and be apart of.
Insights about cultural differences
In completing this assignment I can't help but wonder all the cultural things that the families and children that I serve come to the program with and if the program is truly meeting the needs of incorporating their culture, values and traditions within the program or if we are just touching the surface of getting to know their culture.

When I Think of Research

A Note of Thanks

I would first like to thank my fellow colleagues  for all the responses to my blog and for sharing such great information in your blog post as well as discussion post. I wish you all the best in your upcoming classes.

When I Think of Research

When I first started this course I have to admit my thoughts of research were not that positive, mostly because I did not know there was a method to reading research information, and reading through pages of data was just not that appealing. I am happy to say that after taking this course I approach research information with a more positive view and am a little proud that reading research is not a challenge for me and that I have added a new skill to my professional growth. Through out this course I have learned that research requires extensive work before the researcher even begins to conduct the research itself; from planning to design to data collecting procedures, the researchers job must be thoroughly planned out in advanced.

Research Around the World

I choose to research the Early Childhood Australia site. This international site is currently researching topics such as inclusion, quality education, and investing in the early years of children, along with many other areas. An interesting fact I discovered about this site is its Reconciliation Action Plan which has a cultural focus on children from the Aboriginal and Torress Strait Islander background. This reconciliation action plan includes  different cultural communities so that children can learn about inculsion while being a part of an inclusive classroom. The action plan host activities such as a community lunch, garden planting, developing artwork together, special story times, morning tea, as well as a Grown-Up's Breakfast. Other noteworthy information about this site is that it has just institued a National Quality Standard Framework in Jan. 2012 which is already having positive affects on the early childhood field in Australia. Through this National Quality Standard Framework, Australia is developing standards that will benefit the early childhood field for children, families,and early childhood educators.

Ref
Early Childhood Australia (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/pdf/voice/Voice_1301_screen.pdf

Research that Benefits Chidren and Families-Uplifting Stories

I came across a study conducted in 1948 by Sidney Farber on leukemia in children. Farber conduct the research on five children who had been diagnosed with acute leukemia.Through research efforts Farber discovered that by injecting the children with folic acid there was an accelerated change in how the leukemia was progressing in which he called a "acceleration phenomenon" (Farber, 1948). After reading this article that which was wrote in 1948 I wanted to find out what researcher were saying about folic acid and it's effect on children with leukemia now; I located another article by Peter Spain (2010) who stated that

 

 "Half a century ago, a diagnosis of leukemia in a child was considered a death sentence. Today, approximately 85% of children diagnosed with this once fatal disease are cured (Pui et al. 2009; US National Institutes of Health 2010). The discovery that ushered in this dramatically transformed outlook was the observation by Sidney Farber (1903–1973) and his colleagues in Boston in 1948 that drugs that acted against the vitamin folic acid could produce remissions in children with acute leukemia (Farber et al. 1948). While carefully controlled studies were required to develop therapeutic regimens developed from these initial observations (Pocock 1977; Peto et al. 1986), the Farber article is featured in the James Lind Library because it is an example of a treatment effect that is so dramatic that bias can be confidently ruled out as an explanation for the observations (Glasziou et al. 2007). What led to the landmark findings in 1948, and what evidence was published subsequently confirming that a major advance in treatment had been discovered" (Spain, 2010).

 

The research that Farber conducted has helped to save many children's lives today; without this research the mortality rate for children diagnosed with leukemia would be significantly higher than it is. For further reading the articles can be found at:

 

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM194806032382301

 

http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/illustrating/articles/observations-of-unprecedented-remissions-following-novel-treatme

 

References

 

Farber, S., Diamond, L.K., Mercer, R.D., Sylvester, R.F., & Wolff, J.A. (1948). Temporary

Remission in Acute Leukemia in Children Produced by Folic Acid Antagonist, 4-Aminopteroyl Glutamic Acid (Aminopterin). New England Journal of Medicine, v.238. p787-793.Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM194806032382301

 

 

Spain P, Kadan-Lottick N (2010). Observations of unprecedented remissions following novel treatment for acute leukemia in children in 1948. JLL Bulletin: Commentaries on the history of treatment evaluation. Retrieved from http://www.jameslindlibrary.org

Personal Research Journey

The topic that I choose for the simulation has to do with the social emotional aspect of children's development,  primarily their behaviors and encouraging positive behaviors in preschoolers  I choose this topic based on my personal interest of raising two young children and wanting too help them develop into well adjusted children and my professional interest in this topic derives from the challenging behaviors that I see displayed within some of the early childhood classrooms.
There are many articles that I found through searching the Walden library on the subject of challenging behaviors in preschoolers if anyone knows links to articles, journals or has expertise on the subject that deal with building positive behaviors in preschoolers or positive emotional outlets I would appreciate it if you could share.
My personal experience with stimulation process has been enhanced by the information learned in week 1. I was able to go though the many articles on the topic I choose  to quickly find out whether the article was what I was looking for without reading the entire article.

Final Blog Assignment

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field.

• The early childhood field globally is striving to combat the same types of issues, ex: poverty, teacher qualifications, equity.
• There is valuable information that each nation has to offer each other that can be used to combat some of the issues that each nation is experiencing.
• Many voices contributing to the early childhood field can help bring about the changes that are much needed.

One goal for the field related to international awareness:

• My goal is to continually read articles related to interantional early education matters as well as view international website such as the UNESCO so that I may stay up to date with the issues and trends within the early childhood field.

International Contacts- Part III

This week I listened to podcast participant Irma Allen. Mrs. Allen in the chairperson of Swaziland Environment Authority in South Africa. Ms. Allen moved to Swaziland during college and has resided there ever since in addition to chairing the Environment Authority, which is the equivalent to the EPA in the United States, Ms. Allen has a passion for the earl childhood field and trains the community people on becoming early childhood teachers in the community. Nature is a big part of the early childhood classroom since there are no traditional classrooms the children are taught outdoors. The local environment is the preschool center and out in the nature is the children's class. Ms. Allen states that "nature is the medium, materials and everything; never before have we had to rely on so much on every bit of grass that is in the area or every tree, or the weather. When there is water we do activities with water when there is no water er don't do them then" (World Forum Radio, 2013). Ms. Allen creates a great respect for the environment because the environment has always provided lessons to teach the children. At a farewell party to a staff member a young man stood up and stated that he once attended the early learning center in Swaziland and due to his attendance there he has developed an appreciation for his home, country and environment.

In researching the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) website I focused on a topic that related to my professional goal which is adequate training for teachers. I was surprised to see the UNESCO's facts and figures on teachers, some of them are as follows:

• A total of 6.8 million teachers are needed by 2015
• Sub-Saharan African countries need to recruit 1.8 million teachers

The UNESCO is working to address the challenge of achieving quality education for all, by calling for more and better trained teachers. The UNESCO is working to mobilize and assist member states in the design and implementation of viable national training, recruitment, retention, status and working conditions. The areas that will be focused on to meet the challenge of quality education are:

1. Teacher shortage: By bridging the teacher gap in priority countries, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa
2. Teacher Quality: Improving teaching quality
3. Research Knowledge Production and Communication: By informing the global debate about teaching with comparative evidence

To inform the world about the importance of teachers the UNESCO formed "World Teacher Day" held on October 5th "to call attention to the need to raise the status of the profession- not only for the benefit of teachers and students, but for society as a whole, to acknowledge the crucial role teachers play in building the future" (UNESCO, 2013).

Reference
UNESCO website (2013). Retrieved from http://www.unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002177/217775E.pdf

World Forum Radio (2013). Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org

Sharing Web Resources

In following some of the outside links to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER)  website I found many interesting blogs about early childhood education, policy matters, and classroom struggles. There was also a link to the Preschool Matters...Today! newsletter that had articles about the recent State of the Union address that was given. In searching one of the areas of the NIEER the section called Early Education in the news it lead me to a site called Education Week: Politics K-12. This site had open discussion forums for early educators, advocates, or anyone else interested in the education of children. The forums have various areas in which you can participate in from testing and accountability, professional development, teaching profession, to current events. In following the e-newsletter the new information that I discovered was areas where various upcoming conference updates are posted along with early education news articles from around the United States. There were also resource postings for teachers, advocates, and families.

The e-newsletter had an article called Governor's Early Childhood Education Investment Plans in which six state governors were highlighted due to their proposed early childhood education funding. Another article worth mentioning was regarding how Mississippi legislature has approved proposals to introduce a Pre-K program for 4 year olds using public-private partnerships and local matching funds. This weeks search through the NIEER website just exposed me to more of the politics that are occurring around and about early childhood education which is something that I need to be more aware of as I continue on in my professional journey.

International Contact Part II

The podcast participant that I listened to was Delfena Mitchell the director of Liberty Children’s Home. The children’s home is in located in Belize in Central America as which has the number one cases of child abuse. Physically, and sexually abused children as well as abandoned or neglected children reside in Liberty Children’s Home. The home is a place that is committed to giving children time to heal before going to school like other children. Ms. Mitchell discussed a child who needed time to heal before going back into the school system. The child had not spoken in over a year but when he came to the school he was home schooled then enrolled in school in town. The child was unfortunately kicked out in first week but with more time at the children’s home he progressed. Ms. Mitchell spent time with this child and took him horse back riding where he began to open up about the abuse he had encountered such as getting beat with a stick and having to eat under his bed so others would not take his food. In the course of speaking with the child Ms. Mitchell noticed that the child was regressed in his age and she found it hard to understand what he said. Over a period of weeks the child said a few words and enjoyed spending time in the garden because he enjoyed being there and he was taught at the Children’s Home. The child was placed on medication and after time there was a difference in him and he began to talk more and was able to move into the traditional school setting with the other children in town. Ms. Mitchell’s work with children that have been abused is much needed and the special attention and time allowed for children to heal in a safe place is crucial to their development and recovery.

One of the initiatives that the Harvard University Center on the Developing Child is involved in globally is children mental health. The website stated, “There is an urgent need to identify the scope of the problem within and across countries and to develop evidence-based approaches in policy and service delivery that are responsive to diverse cultural contexts. To respond to this challenge, a working group of Harvard faculty is developing a focused agenda in research, education, and public engagement to address significant gaps in knowledge and service delivery” (Harvard University, 2013). Not only is the Harvard University focusing on children’s mental health but also on children who have experienced a crisis. The organization also has initiatives by states in Washington there is an initiative called Innovation by Design (IBD) “at a state or provincial level which aims for policy change that benefits young children and their families on a population basis by reducing barriers to learning and strengthening the foundations of health” (Harvard University, 2013).

Harvard University Global Children's Initiative website : http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative

Sharing Web Resources

The web resource I am studying is the NIEER. Some of the information that is relevant to my professional development are the online newsletters featuring the current hot topics. These topics keep me up to date with what is occuring in the early childhood field. The information that this website adds to my understanding is up to date information of current and developing policies as well as scientific studies and research that the early childhood field is doing

 In researching the site I found an article called A tough critique of Common Core on early childhood education (2013) by Valerie Strauss in which it explores the committees that make up core standards for K-12. I found this article interesting because in the creation of standards for children no one on the committee panel was a K-3 classroom teacher or early childhood professional, and the committee panel consisted of 135 people. Strauss stated, "The early childhood teachers and child development experts were excluded from the K-3 standards- writting process" (Strauss, 2013).

Strauss, V. (2013). A tough critique of common core on early childhood education. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/29/a-tough-critique-of-common-core

International Contact

 Podcast Contact

I would like to introduce everyone to, podcast participant, Meridas Eka Yora. Although I have not had direct contact with Mr. Yora his podcast was very informative. Mr. Yora is the founder of the Institution Fajar Hiayah for Islamic Education and the Director of the Yayasan Fajar Hidayah Foundation. Mr. Yora has developed three boarding schools for children orphaned as a result of the tsunami that hit Aceh, Indonesia in 2004. Aceh was the closet land to the epicenter of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in which more than 225 thousand Indonesians were killed and 500 thousand left homeless.

Mr. Yora discusses the impact that the tsunami had on the children in Aceh and the skills that the teachers who now teach the children must have and they are skills that are not taught within the college classroom but are of a personal level. Mr. Yora stated that within the three boarding schools that he directs children have found it hard to except the fact that their families have died in the tsunami but that the school gives them the comfort of a family. Mr. Yora stated that teacher preparation to teach the orphan children starts with the teacher being a father and a mother to the children before they can even begin attempting to be the children teacher. Mr. Yora stated the school older children care for the younger children and those children who are having an extremely hard time adjusting are taken home with teachers and directors so that the child will have a normal life.

Website Information

In looking at the childhood poverty website some of the interesting facts that I learned in a CHIP Briefing article by Jenni Marshall called, Children in poverty: some questions answered (2003) are that poverty in  childhood can be defined in three different ways; child poverty, childhood poverty, and children in poverty. The definitions are as follows

1.) Child poverty: children's experiences of poverty is unique and different from adult's experiences.

2.) Childhood poverty: stresses the importance of childhood in life and the cycle of poverty being transferred from generation to generation (poor child growing into poor adult…poor adult as parent and/or carer passing poverty, that poor child growing into poor adult…..).

3.)  Children in poverty: poverty experienced in childhood and youth. 

Marshall also shared some of the fundamental causes of childhood poverty which she stated are due to economic trends, policies, conflict, epidemics, endemic diseases, poor governance, and environmental stresses. The childhood poverty website gives some interesting facts about poverty like if 0.5% of world military spending were diverted to immunization, all the children could be vaccinated against preventable diseases for the next ten years, I find this worth mentioning since 1 in 10 million children under the age of  still die every year from preventable diseases- the majority in developing countries.

Marshall, J. (2003)  Children and poverty: some questions answered. CHIP Briefing I. Retrieved form http://childhoodpoverty.org/index.php/action=documentfeed/doctype=pdf/id=46/

Children in poverty website: www.childhoodpoverty.org

World Forum podcast with Mr. Yora. Retrieved from http://www.worldforumfoundation.org

Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I selected to study is the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). The focus of this organization is to conduct and communicate research to support high quality, effective early childhood education.

The mission statement of this organization states that the organization aims to: 

1.) Provide a vision of early childhood education excellence in terms that are usable by policy makers and are understandable to the general public

2.) Monitor and evaluate national and state progress toward early educational excellence

3.) Develop and analyze model legislation, standards, and other regulation policies required to improve quality and increase access to good preschool programs

4.) Explain the cost, outcomes and economic benefits of alternative policies

Web site link http://nieer.org 

In reading the January 2013 Preschool... Matters Today! newsletter from the NIEER one issue that caught my attention was the issue on poverty and how access to public preschool programs could be a solution to reaching children who are in poverty so they will be better prepared to succeed in school.One interesting piece of information that the NIEER shared was how the research has now shown that  Head Start programs are "not meeting their goals" (NIEER, Jan 2013) The NIEER states

"It is now clear: Head Start produces no perceptible lasting gains in any domain of child development. This does not rule out very small persistent gains, but Head Start is not meeting its goals. Yet, much of the field seems to be in denial, responding that bad public schools erode the effects of Head Start. Somehow they fail to see that even initial gains are quite small and that children in the study made much larger gains in kindergarten and the early grades than they did in Head Start. Other studies confirm that learning gains in kindergarten are much larger than in Head Start. The root of the problem is that Head Start is locked into a program model that fails to focus on intensive education and pays teaching staff abysmally" (NIEER, Jan 2013).

To read full newsletter visit http://preschoolmatters.org  (Article title:  Not Just Wishful Thinking, 1/10/2013)

Expanding Professional Resources

In accessing my available weekly time it is best that I choose the alternative to the Part I assignment. In searching through the early childhood organization there were several websites that were very interesting such as the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, the Center for Child Care Workforce, and the Children's Defense Fund. Although all of these sites had important topics to discuss I choose the National Institute for Early Education Research. This site in my opinion covered topics that were relevant to all those working in the early childhood field and includes all children. The featured newsletters and accessibility to information from this site will make it valuable organization for my professional resource expansion.