Julie's Early Childhood Studies: A World Apart, but Oh so Close.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A World Apart, but Oh so Close.

International Early Childhood Professionals

Over the last week, I have sent nearly 20 emails to various organizations and foundations in the attempt to connect with early childhood professionals outside the United States. After a great amount of research, I have finally arranged to correspond with several early childhood professionals.

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Ruth Cespedes is currently at Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University in Lima, Peru. Her bio from the university website translates to:

Experience in the work of social projects, planning, monitoring, and evaluation.

Projects in early childhood, children's rights, human rights, and child development.

Professional experience as a community psychologist in rural and marginal urban areas,

Experience in advocacy and influencing authorities work.

Specialties

Psychology clinic, community.
Second specialty education.

Comprehensive care for the child under 3 years old

Experience in management, direction, and coordination of teams, projects, and research.

Ms. Cespedes shared that Peru is currently experiencing a great deal of social changes in care and education within the early childhood field. The policical climate is changing with a new government in power. The new President of Perú, Ollanta Humala, has created a new department called the Development and Social Inclusion Ministry. Peru is designing the new program “CUNA MAS” (using the experience of home visiting).

They also have an Education Ministry, which Ruth says, is very interested in carry on programs for children under 5 years old.

For the civil society, there are many NGOs with experience in field of early childhood care and education.

The Bernard van Leer Foundation supports the Project Ruth is involved with. http://www.bernardvanleer.org/files/BvLF_Peru_Summary_public.pdf

The general premise of the Bernard van Leer Foundation is to guarantee all children of Peru are healthy, sheltered, and able to gain from Peru's development. Three goals in Peru are:

1. National increase in the percentage of indigenous, rural children under 3 with access to quality home visiting programs that incorporate birth registration, health, nutritional support and parent education

2. A decline in violence in families with young children living in urban slums in the city of Iquitos and indigenous, rural communities

3. A decrease in the prevalence of gastro-intestinal and respiratory infections among young children growing up in unhealthy physical environments in urban slums in the city of Iquitos.

Diane Buchanan

Ms. Buchanan answered my email on Friday 13 January. She is currently on the Early Years team at Education Scotland. Education Scotland brings together a number of organizations and teams whose work contributes to key areas of the agency's remit. Education Scotland has a key role to play in Scottish education, supporting innovation and dynamism throughout the education system, providing challenge and making a major contribution to raising standards overall.

Education Scotland brings together the work of Learning and Teaching Scotland, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education, and some functions currently carried out by the Scottish Government. Education Scotland offers supports and resources for learning and teaching. They have a Positive Behavior Team, which supports schools and local authorities to introduce and embed approaches to promote positive relationships and behavior. Inspections and reviews are central parts of the approach to quality improvement in Scottish education. The National Continuing Professional Development (CDP) Team provides strategic support for CPD and professional review and development throughout Scottish Education.

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My Supports

Within my daily environment, I find the computer and
internet to be supportive to my needs. It supports me within my private and professional life. While at work I use the internet to receive training, seek professional development opportunities for our staff, find resources for families, search for websites to help with curriculum development, find out
information about possible field trip locations, print maps, keep current in NAEYC accreditation updates, and receive newsletters from professional organizations.
Within my private life, the internet provides my schooling,
recipes for healthy meals, weight loss tracking, shopping, keeping in touch with friends and families, maintaining my pet’s certifications, and entertainment.
The benefits of my computer and the internet are numerous. I
am able to sustain relationships from people in distant locations; I can further my education, maintain good health, saves time, and energy, and be more resourceful at my job.
If I did not have my computer or internet, I may not be able
to continue my education in the field I desire because the local university does not offer the course of study I wanted.
If I had to go to the library or elsewhere to do my schoolwork, it would take me away from my family for many hours during the week. If I did not have my computer or internet at work, I would not be as resourceful to staff, families and children.
If computers and internet service was not available to me at
any location, I would have to drive to the different helping agencies in my community to find resources. I would have to call NAEYC for updates and resources. I would probable talk a great deal more on the phone. I would attend expos and conferences to learn about companies who have goods and services for children as well as attend the workshops.

I am often nervous about completing homework
on Sunday’s. I often have physically debilitating migraines, which effect my cognitively as well, as physically. My thought processing is inhibited and I have to hibernate in a dark room. I take a daily preventative medication, which lessens the frequency. However but, still several times a month I get excruciatingly bad headaches.
I have incredible support from my family, doctors, and medication. My family supports me by taking on the responsibilities of the house, being quiet, providing me
with medication, and a cold compress for my head. My husband and daughter will pick up the medication from the pharmacy, or bring me to the Emergency Room if
the medication does not provide relief. My doctors are amazing. My neurologist is very thorough through diagnostic test and experimenting with a variety of medication. She is trying to improve my quality of life. The Emergency Room staff
provide a quiet dark environment, and medication which relieves the pain within a few hours.
The benefits of these supports allow me to recover more quickly, fell loved, and allow me to finish
any required work. Without the support system I have for my migraines, I would be in pain for a number of days, losing work and unable to complete homework assignments. Without my daily medication, I would have more frequent and
intense migraines. I would be isolated in my bedroom without being able to engage with my children or husband. Without my husband and children as supports, I would feel isolated and helpless. I would not be able to complete homework by
the required due date. The ramifications of not having quality supports would prevent me from furthering my education.
Without the reassurance of my supports, my life would be a great deal more secluded, hinder my professional growth, and inhibit my quality of life.

Quotes to Inspire

On Parenting:
"Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn't have anything to do with it."
Dr. Hiam Ginott

On Teaching:
" I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element int the classroom. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized."
Dr. Hiam Ginott

On Respect:
"Respect according to [people] should not depend upon the way in which they spend their working hours. In a social sense there shuld be only one class- The great class of humanity."
Eglantyne Jebb

On War:
"All wars are waged upon children."
Eglantyne Jebb

On Passion:
"I have a passion to create a safe and just world."
Louise Derman-Sparks

On Motivation:
"It's an instrinsic motivation, knowing the work I do will benifit the lives of children."
Raymand Hernandez MS Ed

Personal Childhood Web

Having a large family has been a complete blessing to grow up in. I have 4 brothers and 4 sisters. My parents we married for over 50 years. My dad passed away 5 years ago and my mother is still living in Plattsburgh Ny in the same house we lived in when I was growning up. My dad was 1 of 4 and my mom 1 of 7. I have 56 first cousins who I know very well growing up. It is difficult to pick just 5 people who influenced me the most. But here goes;

My dad was a hard working small business owner. He worked hard and provided for his large family. We had everything we needed and then some. He was French Canadian Indian with dark brown hair and a bushy mustache. He taught me how to work hard. He taught me many life skills, which help me throughout ever given day. I have manners and a lot of common sense. I can eat at fancy restuants and talk about world politics, realigions, and travel destinations. We watched 60 Minutes together every week and also snuck in a bit of Sunday Morning before Church. He taught me to dress up if I was going to the bank, lawyers or doctors. Most importantly he taught me patience.

My mother is a short little woman who while growing up always had a belly. She is French and Irish. Mom taught me to believe in Jesus Christ. She always had food in the pantry and on the stove. She taught me hospitaility. She also taught me how not to cook.

My brother Bryan is a short little guy with a bit of a belly on him. He is just a couple years younger than me and we think he has William's Syndrom. but he has never been diagnosed. He taught me to be tolerant and accepting of everyone. He taught me that playing your air guitar and dash board piano is perfectly acceptible for an adult as you drive down the road.

My Aunt Delima was my dad's sister. She died only a year before my dad. She was a large woman with jet black hair and a loud voice. She lived about a half hour from us but, we got together quite oftern. She taught me that family was always worth your time. She came to every family gather no matter how small. She baked the most amazing Christmas goodies and to this day Christmas is not the same. She taught me the importance of family.

About Me

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A World Apart, but Oh so Close.

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