Poverty

I chose to listen to the podcast of Susan Lyon because I have not heard back from the early childhood professionals that I had contacted during the first week of this course. When Susan Lyon first visited Reggio Emilia, Italy she was inspired by the progressive image of children (Kalinowski, 2011). After visiting Reggio, Susan Lyon came back to the States and started the Innovative Teacher Project. This project works to encourage professional development for educators by training them on how to implement the progressive image of the child within the classroom. After developing the Innovative Teacher Project, she then went into a public school system to prove that this type of quality education can work in the public centers.

Even though this podcast was not centered on children living in poverty, it still had some concepts that can be applied to that subject matter. One of the Susan Lyon’s main goals was to find out how children view things and how they understand the world (Kalinowski, 2011). I feel that this is an important concept that educators need to apply to the classroom. If we want to help children who are living in poverty then we need to understand how they view it and others in the world around them. I really enjoyed learning that she wanted to prove that quality education can be conducted within the public centers (Kalinowski, 2011). The majority of children who live in poverty are attending the public centers and public school systems. Studies like this one will help educators to know how they can provide quality education to all students.

I was not able to hear a response back for Susan Lyon regarding child poverty so I research child poverty in India. According to Childhood Poverty (n.d.) about 260.2 million people in India live in poverty. Over half of the children in India are malnourished and about 34 percent of the newborns are born underweight. Unfortunately there are still inequalities for children in India. Girls are more likely to be less taken care off and in some cases neglected. There is also a lower school enrollment for girls then boys due to girls having to work.

I have always had a high interest in the mistreatment of the young girls in India. Due to India’s poverty the girls are forced to experience serve hardships. I would love to be able to go to India one day and apply some of Susan Lyon’s ideas to their school systems. I would enjoy being able to give all children in poverty and equal opportunity to education regardless of sex and race. Reading this information about India helps me to appreciate America. I have a baby girl and it breaks my heart to think that if she were born in India she would not be treated equal due to her sex.  

Reference:

Kalinowski, Michael. (Narrator). (2011, February 10). Susan Lyon [Audio podcast]. Retrieved

            from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio/

Childhood Poverty. (n.d.) Country Overviews. Retrieved from

            http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=countryo

            http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=countryo

Effeitive Communication

Zero to Three (n.d) is the National Center for infants, toddlers, and their families. Their website, zerotothree.com, is filled with resources to equips educators and families with information regarding infants and toddlers. Zero to Three sends out monthly newsletter. I registered for the newsletter last week and was told that I will start receiving their monthly newsletters by the first of next month. I am looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding of infancy through toddler-hood. When exploring Zero to Three’s website I found an article containing information about the three keys steps of parent communication.

Zero to Three’s (n.d) first key step is awareness of your own feelings. When educators are unaware of their feelings it can lead to a negative relationship with parents. It is essential that educators find ways to communicate their feelings in a positive manner to the parents. Parents and educators need to come together as a team to create the best environment possible for the child. When parents feel like they are the educator’s team member and not the subject of blame then it will lead to a positive relationship. Once educators are aware of their own feelings then they are able to move on to the second step of communication.

The second key step that Zero to Three (n.d) suggests for communicating with parents is taking the child’s perspective of the situation into consideration. Becoming aware of the child’s viewpoint enables educators to reduce tension and stress by creating an answer to the problem. They give an example of a child who throws a tantrum when a parent comes to pick him up. In that situation the educator could allow the parents to see the tantrum from the child’s perspective, they are enjoying playing with the toys in the room and that it is not against the parents. After an educator has become aware of their feelings and the feelings of the child then they are able to move onto the third step.

Zero to Three (n.d) says that the third step to parent communication is partnering with the parents.  Educators can ensure that parents do not view them as competitors by creating strong partnerships. Some ways that educators can guarantee they are developing a partnership are by using “I” statements when communicating with parents, asking for the parents’ point of view, and lastly being willing to compromise. Parents are educators’ most valuable resources to the child’s likes and dislikes.  It is important that we as educators do not neglect the power of partnerships with parents.

I found this article to have good points that I can apply to what I have learned this week in Issues and Trends. This week we are studying diversity and demographic changes that are taking place in America. As an Early Childhood professional it is imperative that I have effective communication skills with the parents of my students. These three steps can be used for any parent that comes into my classroom. Educators need to first think of how they personal feel about the situation, then how the child feels, and lastly how to establish partnerships with parents. All three of these steps can be accomplished regardless of race, language, and background. When the parent knows you want to be their partner because you have their child’s best interest in mind it will lead to positive relationships. Positive relationships are built around good communication.

Reference:

Zero to Three (n.d.) Effective Communication with Parents. Retrieved from

http://www.zerotothree.org/early-care-education/family-friend-neighbor-care/effective-communication-with-parents.html

Establishing Professional Contacts

 I have attempted to contact three different professionals in the Early Childhood Field. I have sent emails to Mr. Mr. Eric Atmore from South Africa, Mrs. Eva-Hammes-Di Bernardo from Germany, and Sra. Hilda Pérez Forest from Cuba. In my emails I have asked if these professionals would be able to inform me about the current issues that are going on in their field and what type of contributions they have made to the Early Childhood Field.  I was able to find these professionals email address at http://www.naeyc.org/resources/partnership/globalalliance. I am waiting to hear back from my contacts. If I do not hear back from my contacts then I plan to use World Forum Foundation Radio to learn about current issues and trends that are occurring around the world.

I wanted to find an Early Childhood organization that had an website that is easy to navigate. I also was looking for a organization that had a large amount of information that pertains to the Early Childhood Field and a free newsletter that I could sign up for. When I took all of these factors into consideration I found that Zero to Three met all of my needs. As soon as I found out that the Zero to Three website, http://www.zerotothree.org/ I registered for the newsletter and began researching the website.

I am looking forward to obtaining new knowledge about the Early Childhood Field. I enjoy getting to communicate with others who share my passion for teaching. I am already thinking of questions that I can use to gain a better understanding of issues and trends that are occurring in the Early Childhood Field from all around the world.