The web site I chose to explore further was the High Scope page. The section that seemed relevant to my current professional development was the section on the six curriculum content areas and the 42 key developmental indicators (KDI’s). I have been an early childhood teacher for almost 20 years but this is my first year using the High Scope Curriculum. I believe that early childhood education should be a federally mandated and funded opportunity for every child and a universal curriculum should be used to teach all children 0-5. High scope provides a curriculum that is high quality, culturally responsive, and encompasses everything an early childhood experience that is rich in experience and developmentally appropriate should provide.  

On the High Scope page there is a resource that provides you with information on how high scope aligns with each states early childhood standards. If universal standards were in place you would not have a need to have all of this cumbersome information. One set of standards would not only be easier to assess but easier to apply. This resource did not seem controversial to me but it did make me think how can something seem so simple to me but be so cumbersome to politicians and law makers?

Politicians support is necessary for universal standards to be set and early childhood education to be a reality for every American child. Economists must explain how a universally designed program will meet federal standards and give the most human capitol returns. A lot of work went into designing a universal program (social security) for our oldest citizens and I believe with a little elbow grease and tax payer support we can design a universal program for our youngest citizens that will not only give us a leg up in education but it will set American children apart from other children globally.

Some other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field that I have gained from exploring the website are: an article on childhood obesity and how being overweight has long lasting affects into adulthood (http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/HotTopics/MovementAndObesity.pdf) and a study of how a home literacy environment can improve as a result of parent and child engagement. (http://www.highscope.org/content.asp?contentid=907)

References:

http://www.highscope.org/

http://www.highscope.org/

New insights and information about issues of poverty

My conversation partner for this section of my blog posts is going to be Chris Bayes who is an ECE professional in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Chris teaches four year olds in the Foundation Class at Diocesan School for Girls. She has worked for the Ministry of Education as a Senior Advisor and as a Facilitator for Professional Learning.

We are conversing via email. I emailed Chris my questions about issues of poverty in her country and she thought they would be better answered by one of her colleagues who specializes in the area of poverty and I am still awaiting her response.

In the meantime I will discuss some information and new insights that I have gained about poverty in New Zealand and how it might affect young children and their families. The National Children’s Nutrition Survey said that “1 in 5 families studied said they could only sometimes afford to eat properly and that their food sometimes ran out because of lack of money.” (National Children’s Nutrition Survey, 2002)

One of the major concerns for children and families in poverty in New Zealand is the cost of living is so high that after housing is paid for there is little left for day to day expenses like heat, electricity, food, clothing, and other essential items required to live our day to day lives. The child poverty monitor lists this condition of poverty as material hardship. This led me to explore material hardship a little further in the area where I live and I realized this a real thing here as well. Once people find housing it is very difficult to keep it due to the high cost and the need for other essential living expenses. (Child Poverty Monitor, 2015) (sharinghouse.org)

References:

Internet Site : National Children’s Nutrition Survey (2002) http://www.moh.govt.nz/notebook/nbbooks.nsf/0/658d849a2bac7421cc256dd9006cc7ec/$FILE/nzfoodnzchildren.pdf

Internet Site: Child Poverty Monitor (2015) http://www.nzchildren.co.nz/

The organization I selected was High Scope (Inspiring educators to inspire children). High Scope provides a child directed preschool curriculum as well as assessment tools and up to date research and information in regards to current trends in early childhood education. Below is the link to the High Scope web page: www.highscope.org

I enjoyed watching the preschool comparison study that High Scope conducted on students who were through the age of 23. The study showed that students who participated in High Scope and other nursery schools that were child led were more likely to be successful socially and obtained higher education as well as less occurrences of teenage rebellion and less incarceration.

A current trend that was discussed on the web site that caught my attention was an article about High Scope developing six new key indicators in the area of Social Studies. These six indicators focus on integrating cultures and values into the classroom and honoring diversity. All six of these indicators relate to this week’s learning resources. One of the new indicators was telling stories. Stories relate directly to cultures and diversity and that is how information is passed down from generation to generation; so the ability to tell stories directly relates to our current learning resources. I think back to the story of the family that immigrated to the United States from Mexico. The stories they told their children about religion, their culture growing up, and their families were all stories that preserved their history for future generations.  (http://www.highscope.org/content.asp?contentid=839)

References:

http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/ReSourceReprints/Spring2013/ReSourceSpring2013_TeachersCorner.pdf

www.highscope.org

Making Global Professional Connections

I was extremely excited about this assignment to make global professional connections. I have been in the early childhood field for nearly 20 years and I have always been fascinated by early childhood programs in other countries. Globally, there are several universal preschool models and I feel like the United States is antiquated when it comes to early childhood development and the importance of early intervention.

With that said I would like to share the reason I relocated to Seattle to be an early childhood teacher. Seattle recently rolled out a Universal Preschool model that is funded by the city and open to every 4 year old. In becoming a part of uncharted waters in a large city I have the benefit of being part of something from the ground floor up. When you are part of something new it is exciting but sometimes frustrating so it is important to make connections with other professionals who have done what you are doing.

I am blessed to have an education coach with lots of connections and she has so graciously helped me with this assignment by helping to make professional introductions with Chris Bayes. Chris teaches four year olds in the Foundation Class at Diocesan School for Girls in New Zealand. Her background has been working for the Ministry of Education as a Senior Advisor and as a Facilitator for professional learning.

Chris was first introduced to the pedagogy of Reggio Emilia in 1994 when the Hundred Languages Exhibition and conference was held in Melbourne. After visiting Reggio Emilia in 1998, she began an adventure that continues to inspire and challenge her.

For my second connection I am attempting to find a connection in Japan. Japanese culture values education, therefore early childhood education has been a very important educational developmental milestone that is taken very seriously. I have sent several emails and hope to receive a response by the first of the week. I am hoping to hear back from Yoko Shirakawa, a professor of Early Childhood Education, at Konan Women’s University.  

MY SUPPORTS

My Supports:

Within my daily environment my supports are my children, my husband, my computer, public transportation, and my assistant teacher.

Let’s start with my children: I have 7 children but only 3 left at home. There is a significant age gap between the oldest and the youngest. When we relocated we did not take into consideration the higher cost for child care. My oldest child at home watches her 6 year old sister so that I can work and do homework. Without this support I would not be able to take classes and making ends meet would be very difficult because of the cost of child care. I pay her $200.00 per month and the school wanted $700.00 per month for before and after school care. My children also do chores and maintain a clean and orderly house while my husband and I work to provide for the family. Without this support my home would be in chaos.

My husband: My husband supports me by listening to me vent about things I cannot change or offering suggestions on how to change things I have control over in my daily life. We work as a team to support our children financially, physically and emotionally. Without this support I would function but my level of function would be much lower. We balance each other out and keep each other going. He is my emotional support.

My computer: My computer and I have a love hate relationship. All of my work for both work and school is done on my computer. I keep records and attendance, I do my planning and anecdotal note taking all on the computer. I keep in communication with my older children who are all over the United States and my other family members on the computer. Without the support of my computer I would need much more planning time and would have to be in classes where I physically had to attend. With my schedule this is impossible so I would not be able to continue my education. I would not have been able to relocate to further my career without my computer either. My computer allows me to have daily contact with all my children and this is important to me emotionally. Wow, until I typed this I did not realize how much I depend on my computer.

Public Transportation: We currently have one vehicle so one of my supports is public transportation. I have to ride the bus home from work. Without public transportation I would not be able to work where I do because it would take too long to bike or walk to work. This would affect our entire household because our income would be severely decreased.

My Assistant Teacher: My assistant helps in every aspect of my job. When there is a child who needs extra emotional support she helps with the other children while I support that child. If a child has an accident she is right there to support them and me either with cleaning up or helping with the other children while I clean up. During every part of every school day my assistant is like my right hand. Without her my job would be very difficult if not impossible.

The challenge I chose to imagine was speaking a different language other than English. I see this challenge on a daily basis and it is frustrating for parents and children. Some supports that I would need when faced with this challenge is a community of people who spoke my language and English so they could help with translation. Materials translated in my language. Places to work that spoke my language or did not require communication. All of the supports I currently have would be necessary. My family, my husband, my computer. Too often we take for granted all of the support we have in our day to day lives until it is gone. I would not want to function without all of the supports I currently have and after listing them I have a new understanding of people who have less supports and face more challenges. 

My connections to play!

My connections to play!

“Play is the beginning of knowledge.” -George Dorsey          “Play is the beginning of knowledge.” -George Dorsey

As a child play was an important part of my day. During the summer months I would leave the house when the grass was still wet and play until the street lights came on. My friends and siblings and I played at the neighborhood playgrounds, in the woods and in the corn fields. We didn’t have many toys sometimes a ball or our bikes and we would play “team” games, play house, and build forts out of materials we could find.

There was very rarely any adults included in our play and the only adult support we had was freedom. The adults in my life allowed me to be independent and did not provide technology or t.v. for me. They provided a safe environment where everyone in our neighborhood looked out for all of the children so that we were free to explore and have adventures.

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are

 learning.” -Mr. Rogers

The picture above depicts the carefree attitude we had and how play helped us grow and develop. Today play is different because there is a lack of security and children are not as imaginative. Children do not go outside as often and they rely on technology for entertainment.

I hope that parents of young children today will realize the importance of imaginative play and outside play time. I hope they will limit screen time and go outside with their children and explore the environment with their children.

In my life play has been a savior. In a world filled with apprehension I was protected so that I could explore and investigate. This gave me a sense of wonder that I can pass on to my students and share with them. Play was an escape from reality for me and helped me to discover how much the outside environment has to offer in early childhood. 

Relationship Reflection

RELATIONSHIP REFLECTION

            Relationships/partnerships are important to me because they give me purpose. Each relationship that I have has an impact on my performance as a teacher, wife, daughter, and mother. I try to be cognitive of everything I say that may have a negative impact on my relationships as well as nurture my relationship with myself. Sometimes relationships are short but that does not mean they are any less important to me than the ones that are long lasting.

            My husband and my children are the people that I have the most important relationship with right now; being a wife and a mother comes before anything else in my life. Second in my life would be my occupation. My boss, co-workers, and families that I serve all have relationships/ partnerships with me that I value. Each year I develop new relationships with families and children and those relationships do not end at the end of the school year; I value them forever.

My relationship with my husband is not only a relationship it is a partnership. In order to maintain our relationship I have to be willing to give and listen. Our relationship is one of reciprocation and it is the relationship that sustains me daily. I never go to bed upset with my husband and I talk to him as well as listen to him.

My relationship with my children is provider and supporter. I don’t always agree with the decisions that my children make but I allow them space to make decisions and be independent. I listen to them and value what they have to say. If we disagree I try to get them to see my perspective and value theirs.

When developing relationships with co-workers and families that I serve I always keep it professional. Sometimes when you try to build personal relationships outside of work with professional connections it can cause problems. I value everyone’s perspective and opinion but I also feel comfortable with providing my opinion and professional and personal perspective.

Relationships are important to my work as an effective early childhood professional because every relationship I develop creates a professional profile that sets me apart in a positive or negative light when it comes to my professional reputation. I want people who have interactions with me to remember me in a positive light and wish me well. As an active, reflective contributor to every relationship I am showing people that I value them and I value myself.  

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