Consequences and goals for the future

         Throughout this course I have read a lot of things that have surprised me about the field of Early Childhood Development and its problems and issues around the world. I was more surprised about the things that I have learned about the field of Early Childhood Development and our own country. The things that I have learned in this class have inspired me to do more for children, not only in my immediate area but also around the world.

Consequence #1:

            I have taken a more active interest in the needy in my area. It’s true that I live in a somewhat stable area and the community in which I live does not have a lot of impoverished and needy people but it did not take much research for me to find out that within 30 minutes of my small town there is a significant homeless and underprivileged population.  I am now researching ways to help children in the surrounding areas.

Consequence #2:

            I have learned a great deal about the state of child care around the world. The research that I have done has shown me that there are problems with the field of early childhood development around the world. While we have an inequality in standards of care here in the United States other areas of the world are having even more trouble than we are. Organizations like UNESCO have helped me with resources about ways that the field of early childhood development can be made better in my own backyard as well as around the world.

Consequence #3:

            The final thing that this course has done is inspire me. The content of this course reminded me of the reason that I entered into this field in the first place. I want to make a difference on the lives of children. Not just the ones who can afford it but the ones who can’t as well. I want to be a light for the children who see no hope and the issues read about in this course helped me to remember that and have inspired me to move forward.

            One professional goal that has come from the research in this course is that of spreading awareness of global issues. I would love to find a program to partner with that will spread awareness of the state of early childhood development in the world and work to make it better. The only way for things to change is for people to get involved and they cannot get involved of they are not informed. So my first goal is to inform people of the problems out there and see where that leads in the future. 

            After reviewing the UNESCO website it is clear that the United States is not the only place where quality and equality in early childhood is a problem. The first thing that I noticed is that this organization is working to bring quality child care programs around the world. Places like Africa, the Arab States, Latin America and the Caribbean are all a part of this organization as is North America, Europe and Asia. Some of these nations have more money to put towards early childhood development than others but all of them realize the importance of early childhood development and are trying to make it the true start of a child’s education. Something else about this organization is that they are also pushing for curricula that puts the entire child first. It is not all about academics and cognitive development. They are trying to advance the education of the holistic child which is something that a lot of people that do not work in the field do not realize. Parents always to make sure that their children are “learning” but pay little attention to their development and this organization is trying to spread the word around the world that it’s not just academics but the whole child that needs to develop. This is a great website and it was wonderful to red that so many people around the world are trying to help children receive a quality education, especially those that cannot afford a private education. 

Excellence and Quality in Australia

After a more careful review of the website Early Childhood Australia I learned that they not only have their own e-newsletter but they also have a magazine publication. When I click on that link it takes me away from the website to these actual articles from the magazine for several years back. This is a great resource tool for teachers and parent alike because a lot of these articles are researched based and can help a parent or teacher to understand child development or ways to handle a problem that they are having with a specific child.

            One thing that the Australian Government is doing to help the field of early childhood development is a project called the American Early Childhood Census. This program is trying to develop a nationwide quality rating system to ensure that all children receive the same quality of care across the nation. A program like this would be a great benefit to the United States our nation is so divided when it comes to the field of early childhood development that it is difficult to determine what is considered quality care from one state to the next. No two children in the United States receive the same standard of care and that is frustrating. As an ECE specialist it exasperates me to know that if I go to a different state I would be held to a different standard of care for the children in my center. Australia is trying to remedy this problem in their country so that all children receive the same quality of care.  

Harvard's Global Initiative Organization

I still have not heard back from the professionals through the nation that I contacted I could not access the pod casts so I reviewed the Harvard website for the Global Children’s Initiative to review what is happening around the world. I guess it is because as an American I tend to have tunnel vision but I always just focused on what was happening in my own backyard. The organization Global Children’s Initiative taking standards and quality of care for early childhood development all over the world and trying to help children everywhere have access to an education and an excellent standard of care. This organization is helping countries like Canada bring programs that will help educators to understand brain development of children in poverty. It is also bringing programs to families in countries like Brazil to help them understand the science of child development. Something else that this organization is doing is to help low income and poverty stricken countries to have quality child care programs that will benefit their children and hopefully help their economies in the future. This organization and its founding partner the Mother Child Education Foundation of Turkey believes in the science of early childhood development in the global efforts for improving child development.