Sharing Web Resources #2

The information for the Save the Children website (savethechildren.org) that seemed relevant to my current professional development is that the Save the Children site also strives to better the education for the children. They mention that children around the work don’t get quality education where they can learn and develop. The organizations trains teachers to engage their students through more effective teaching practices, they coach parents and caregivers to help their children learn early on, so they are prepared to enter school, they offer ways for parents and community volunteers to get kids reading and doing math outside of school hours, they introduce children to the power of artistic expression to help them heal, learn, and do better in school, and they make sure that children don’t stop learning during a crisis (Save the Children, 2014).

While exploring the site I can across an article I taught was controversial. I can across an article where U.S. Representative Paul Ryan talks about how he supports early childhood education and think it is important for children to have access, yet he proposed a budget that would cut/eliminate Head Stare slots for 57,000 children and cut another 20% from the Head Start budget, which would estimates about another 200,000 children would lose their spots (Shriver, 2013).

I found this information interested because the government will say how they are looking after the children’s best interests to hopes to get reelected, and then they go pull something like this. This shows you that they are more worried about saving money than they are of the actually benefits these programs have for children. So the economists, neuroscientists, and politicians aren't necessary looking out of the best interests for the children

I found that there are celebrities that are helping advocated for the children through Save the Children Organization. Those include Jennifer Gardner and Mark Shriver (whose mom is Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics). I think that by having these people advocating for the children, that the neuroscientists, economists, and politicians will start looking at the true benefits for early childhood education.

References:

Save the Children. (2014). The power and promise of education. Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6153015/k.E633/Education.htm

Shriver, M. (16 Dec 2013). Invitation to a dialogue: Children and poverty. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/opinion/invitation-to-a-dialogue-children-and-poverty.html?emc=edit_tnt_20131217&tntemail0=y&_r=2&

Poverty in Australia

This week I was able to make contact with Mia Cox is the Youth Participation Officer for Australia's UNICEF organization. She informed me that 1 in 8 Australians lives under the poverty line, despite the years they have had growth and wealth creation. That is even with their publicly funded health care and education, and booming resources sector. She talked about how the poverty cycle is hard to break, thus families pass down poverty to their children. Mia also mentioned that poverty areas in Australia often have extreme conflicts going on as well. To help the children that are hit by poverty, UNICEF and another organization ensure that the government upholds its commitment to children and looks out for their best interests. Mia also talks about her work she does with some children who live in poverty, and how she is trying to help them.

I found the information from Mia very interesting. I had the opportunity to visit Australia in 2008, and was able to stay with a host family for a few days, and learned somethings already from them. I remember the host dad and I had a conversation about the health care program. In Australia it is a universal health care program in which the government occurs a majority of the costs on hospital visits, and thus patients don't have to pay much out of the pocket. I found in surprising that even with the universal health care program and the economic growth, still 1 in 8 Australians live in poverty, and that is affecting those children. I am excited to hear back from Mia again as we continue our discussion on some of the trends and issues that happen in Australia.

Sharing Web Resources/Save the Children

The organization I chose to look at is Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org/). The focus of Save the Children is to invest in childhood-everyday, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, this organization gives children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn, and protection from harm. By transforming children's lives now, they are changing the course of the their future and theirs (Save the Children, 2014).

One of the issues I found on this site that Save the Children has been working hard to raise funds for is the Ebola Outbreak.The organization states that an estimated 10.3 million children and adolescents  under the age of 18 are directly or indirectly affected of this outbreak. Children and their families are being exposed to extreme distress due to loss, family separation, isolation, and the overall disruption of society. Children are being frighten with confinements to homes, seeing health workers dressed in protective gear, and witnessing the suffering of family members. There are at least 3,700 children who have lost one or more of their parents to Ebola since the start of the crisis. The organization also looks at how school closures are impacting children's education as they lose out on the critical months of learning, and how once children are out of school, that many never return, and instead become at risk of child labor or other exploitative situation. Even though the outbreak has shown to be declining, there are still some areas that are still dealing with the outbreak. Save the Children has been working around the clock to help stop the spread of the virus and check its catastrophic impact on children and their families. The organization continues to identify, triage, test, and refer patients to beds in Ebola Treatment Units in those hard to reach remote communities in the affect countries. With other organizations and individual donors, the organization continues to protect thousands of vulnerable children, and have saved countless lives (Save the Children, 2014).

I found reading about the Ebola Outbreak issue was quite interesting, and learned about how this issue has impacted children. Children are losing family members which can cause a lot of stress on children. I also found it interesting on how the schools have been closed since the outbreak started, thus children are missing out on valuable education time, thus hindering their development. The organization has been doing a tremendous job to help the children and families that have been affected by this outbreak, and hope to the children to reach their full potential development.

Reference:

Save the Child (15 Dec, 2014). Ebola Response in West Africa. Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.9208421/k.244F/Ebola_Response_in_West_Africa.htm

Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Part 1
So far, I have sent quite a few emails with many of them coming back saying the email couldn't be delivered. I have contacted Australia UNICEF and have sent an email to Blesida Rios who works at the Center for Early Childhood Care and Development in Philippines. I am still waiting to hear back from this people and organizations.

Part 2
I chose to look at Save the Children website (savethechildren.org). This organization was created to help raise money to help children that are dealing crisis. The money will give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn, and protection form harm.  So far the organization has reached for 143 million children worldwide, and that number continues to grow.

My Supports

There are many things and people who supportive of me in my daily environment. My parents, best friend, and my boyfriend are probably some of the most supportive people there are in my life. They are always there for me, even on the bad days, and I know I can count on their support and help to get me through the day. Since school is in session, my coworkers also provide much needed support as well. I know if I have a problem or need help with something, I can count on them for the help. I find these supports all beneficial because these people can help me emotionally, practically, and physically. They are ones that I can turn to when I need the support in these areas. Without these people in my lives, I feel that I would be out on my own in this world. I would feel lost, and that I wouldn’t have anyone to count on or to go to for help. These people are my rock, and help me as I have challenges throughout life.

I have a heredity nerve loss in my hearing, thus I have been wearing hearing aids for the past 4 ½, so my challenged I imagined was the my hearing got worse which could make communication more difficult. Obviously, I would need support from everyone I have mentioned to get me to overcome this challenge and in addition to technology and hearing professionals. My family, friends, and co-workers would provide the support of realizing that they may have to talk louder and slower in order for me the hear them and be able to read their lips. Technology and hearing professionals will provide the support of finding the right device to help with my hearing issue, so I can continue on with my daily life. Without these supports, I think communication would be difficult. People would not realize that I have a hearing issue, and just play it off as if I was weird, and not fully understand my situation. I feel without these supports in my life, my life would be different because I would probably not participate in conversation because I can’t hear, thus my social life wouldn’t exist, and I wouldn’t be able to continue to teach and develop relationships.

My Connections to Play

Two Quotes about Play

"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning." --Fred Rogers

"When children pretend, they're using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero." --Fred Rogers

Both quotes from Fred Rogers represented what play was for me growing up. I remember playing with my kitchen set and making/baking things the way I saw my mom do it. It showed what I learning. The 2nd quote from Fred Rogers shows that children can think beyond reality, and have the ability to imagine the impossible. I believe I did this several times during play with friends and my brothers. We could be anything we wanted to be!

Play Items

Some of the most common play items that were apparent of my childhood were Barbies and K'nex!

 

People Supporting my Play

I feel my parents and my brothers were key people in supporting my play during my childhood. My parents didn't let us watch a lot of TV so we were forced to play. Growing up with 3 brothers, I was constantly roped in to play sports, such as hockey, baseball, and basketball. In return for playing sports with them, they had to play house or dress-up with me. 

Similarity/Differences of Play Over Time

I think play today has a lot of similarities compared to when I was kid. Kids still imagine they can be whatever they wanted to be, imagine cooking in their kitchens, and playing sports. However, the biggest difference I noticed over time is the amount of play that actually happens. I feel children today watch a lot more TV then when I was a child, and thus they are experiencing less time to play, thus not developing imagination or creativity skills that are some important during early childhood. When children do play, they will act out what they have seen on TV, not really using their imaginations. 

Final Thoughts 

I feel play has been an important part of my childhood. Because of the amount of time I spent playing sports as a young child, lead to playing sports in high school, and continuing playing from time to time as an adult. I remembered playing school a lot as a child, which is part of the reason I am a teacher now. Play also taught me have fun with life. As adults we sometimes forget to have fun, or just sit down and play with each other. I remember a few years ago, I found all the Barbies I used to play with, and started going through them and playing with them (changing their clothes, doing their hair etc.). I realized that even though I was past the Barbie playing stage, I still enjoyed the time to play with time. Without play in my life, I don't think I would be where I am at currently in life without it. 

Relationship Reflection

 

I believe that relationships and partnerships are important for many reasons. They give us a sense of belonging, security, and loving. Without relationships, I feel a person will just feel lonely all the time, and wouldn't have anybody to turn to when they need help. Relationships also teach us communication skills. To me, the relationships I have with people are the ones I can turn to in the time of need, they are people I can truly trust my life with, and give me the sense of belonging. 

My Parents 

One of the relationships that I value the most, is the relationship with my parents. This relationship is important be me because I wouldn't be the person I am today without them. They have taught me so many things in life, and are continuing teaching me things. They are also always there when I need them, with often times making sacrifices to help me. In order to maintain my relationship with my parents, I have to remember that it's a two way road, something I sometimes forget. Meaning, just because my parents do something certain ways, doesn't me I have to do it their way, but I can take their suggestions, and let them know I value their suggestions and help. 

My Best Friend

Amanda and I have been friends for many years. She is practically a sister, and someone I am quickly to turn to for help and advice in situations. In order to maintain our friendship, we have learned that we need communicate with each other and also listen to each other. We have learned to talk about our problems, especially when we become upset with each other, and often times come out of the situation with a stronger relationship. She is someone I can truly count on in a moment of need and vice versa. 

Reflection

This relationships are important in forming relationships and partnerships in the early childhood profession because they show me that I need to be respectful, taking the time to get to know the families and the children, and realize that we all have different opinions. As professionals, we have to realize that we may not always be right, and that in order to form effective partnerships we have to be willing to work with the parents. I feel the more we can communicate and form relationships and partnerships with parents, the more involved parents will be.