Sharing Web Resources

 “Everything happens for a reason.”  After re-evaluating our web page choices, I decided to switch to the Zero-to-Three web page.  I know that my downfall is infant/toddler education, so I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone.  As luck would have it, yesterday, I received a request to put together a workshop specifically for infant and toddler teachers.  To me, this was too much of a coincidence not to push further, so after researching the web page, I believe that it has more to offer.  My preschool started with age 2; other than my own child, I have no experience teaching infants.  However, through my work with Early Head Start school, I have seen first-hand the impact that early childhood educators have on these young children.  I have learned a tremendous amount of information, requested various newsletters, and know that this is where I was meant to be.  The organizations web-page is http://www.zerotothree.org

As the name states, Zero to Three is a nonprofit, national organization that works to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.  They do this through research on behavior & development, maltreatment, early care & education, and public policy.  More than ever, I know that bringing together early childhood (birth through 3) and preschool is “right” for all children.  My preschool started such a venture by eliminating the barrier between toddlers and preschoolers.  It was extremely obvious to me that my preschool teachers worked together, without input to or from my toddler staff.  The stability and routines that we worked so hard to develop were being hindered within my own school.  My teachers were quite hesitant when I suggested bringing our curriculum together and working as one group, rather than 2 separate entities.  We made a deal; if it did not work in 6 months, we would resume our current curriculum, and I would take everyone out to dinner.  It took about 3 months for us to become 1 family; we worked together.  My little ones had the same rules as my big kids!  Families were involved.  We used the same books and topics, but obviously, we chose (and shared) developmentally appropriate activities.  Our toddlers and preschool children participated in our school talent show; it was a school event for the first time!  Now, although my teachers never admitted it, the decision to become a group brought a special feeling to our school… and no, I never said, “I told you so!”

Due to the impact of child homelessness on me personally and professionally, I watched the video, “Starting Life Without A Home,” produced by Zero to Three.  The first Congressional meeting held for the purpose of meeting the homeless needs of infants and toddlers was held on February 16, 2012 in Washington, D.C.  That, alone, demonstrates the prevalence of homelessness.  During the meeting, it was revealed that 1 in every 25 kids in the United States are homeless… 1 in 4 infants and toddlers are living in poverty.  This was startling.  Even after the research that I’ve done, I find it almost impossible to comprehend babies entering the world without a home.  We’ve discussed this as a group, but Congressman Geoff Davis, from Kentucky, stated it best, during the February meeting.  He said, “it all comes down to investing in a relationship.”  Our relationship with infants and toddlers can impact their lives forever.

In addition, I found lots of information on the importance of professionals and congress officials to invest in infants and toddlers.  With all of the hoop-la to get children ready for Kindergarten, officials and businesses need to understand that their involvement starts with infants and toddlers.  When I thought of such involvement, I connected it with preschool, the year before a child enters Kindergarten.  I’ve learned that is way too late for children; the investment must begin with infants and toddlers.  In reality, what is learned in the earliest years will impact the K-12 education system; the early years include birth through 3.  The earliest learning experiences, coupled with the impact of a child’s genes (of course), share a child’s brain architecture. 

Without a doubt, early experiences are an investment in our children’s and our nation’s future.  At-risk children need to be included in this investment.  Playing catch-up is not fair to the children or the economy, as it would be a huge expense.  The organization suggests using Title 1 funds for early childhood services, particularly where it all begins… for infants and toddlers.  They promote joint development, building a true birth through 3^rd grade curriculum, requiring joint professional development for early childhood and early elementary school educators; they would work together, as a group, in the best interest of these young children.  Curriculum would be aligned throughout the grades, offering support for English language learners or children with disabilities. 

I believe that I understand where infants and toddlers fit into the equation.  They hold a tremendous puzzle piece.  I am anxious to receive newsletters and additional information that I requested.  I have put infants and toddlers on the back burner rather than putting them in the forefront where they belong.  They are our youngest children, and they have a huge impact on the early childhood community.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts, Part 1

There is a song that contains the words “I get by with a little help from my friends,” and in this case, it sums up my attempt to make an early childhood connection outside of the United States.  In pure desperation, I reached out to friends who I thought might be able to point me in the “right” direction.  Now, I am currently corresponding with 3 individuals, one in India, one in China, and one in the Cayman Islands. 

So far, I have communicated with my new friend from India, Sapna Clouhan.  The early childhood educator from the Cayman Islands is in Miami for a funeral (unfortunately, I could not meet her).  My contact from China is in the midst of a project, and although she wants to help, her correspondence will be limited.

Currently, Sapna and I are communicating through e-mail.  Her English, in her opinion, is not “very flowerly.”  I’m not quite sure what that means, but it’s an easy venture to understand her thoughts.  Sapna has run a private preschool in India for the last eight years.  I explained that our topic for the week was childhood poverty, and I questioned her specifically about school funding for those that cannot afford it.  Her school is not a government aided school.  I was interested to learn that her school partners with about 12 schools in the United Kingdom and Poland to exchange and discuss curriculums; they are hoping to share this program with Austria soon.  From the little I know, it would work in the United States, too!

First and foremost, Sapna told me (in both correspondences) that poverty is everywhere in India.  Her school is in Thane, which is close to India’s financial capital of Mumbai.  Sapna believes that child labor is one of the evils that her country is trying to fight; she sees it everywhere.  She feels children are fortunate if they enter a school or balwadi (playgroup) in India.  Many children in Thane attend schools without infrastructures or tables and chairs.  The government of India has begun midday  meal programs in some areas.

In addition, there are programs that pay children to attend school.  I questioned this, and Sapna explained that families feel that money spent on educating their girls is often wasted.  Once educated, they get married and the parents have wasted their money.

Sapna explained that there is a mobile crèche in her area for construction worker’s children.  This crèche offers young children basic education, food, and keeps the children until the parents leave the construction site.  The crèche is run by a non-government organization as well as aided by the builder.  The construction site is not safe for the children.

There is just so much to absorb from the conversations we have shared via the computer.  I get excited to see mail from her, and I eagerly await her next response.  What an amazing venue to learn from; why didn’t I think about it before?

Sharing Web Resources

The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators ((http://www.naecte.org/) is the organization that I chose.  The title caught my interest; after all, I am an early childhood teacher.  I read the Fall 2011 and Winter 2012 journal.  The Fall 2011 journal was, for me, more informative.  The Winter journal dealt primarily with NAECT’s up-coming conference.  Unfortunately, it is too late for me to submit a proposal (boo-hoo!).  I was, however, interested in the new teacher research text titled, “Early Childhood Teacher Research” written by Kathryn Castle.  According to the journal, the book touches upon “the important issues every early childhood teacher should know, the uniqueness of early childhood teacher research, reasons for doing it, and hot to do it.”  There was a link to request a COMPLIMENTARY copy of the book, which I have done!  The book has arrived, and I’m excited to begin reading it.  I’ll keep you posted!  In addition, I am interested in a new Pre-K and Kindergarten curriculum text from Doris Frombert.  It is inclusive, and although I do not believe that one curriculum will work for all children, it seems fresh and innovating.  Definitely worth looking into further!  For me, finding two new early childhood resources made this assignment worthwhile.  On the flip side, I was surprised that there was at the limited scope of the organization’s newsletter.  Specific issues were not individually addressed, although there were specific happenings from various states.  For me, it wasn’t educational enough, and thus, although I may consider membership, the newsletter did not fulfill my needs.  I continued my search by listening to two separate webcasts from the World Forum Radio. 

Mr. Yora

This week, through the World Forum Radio, I listened to two very different podcasts (http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio/).  The first, Episode 6, featured Meridas Eka Yora, the founder of an institution for Islamic education.  Although I read an article on the actual school, Fajar Hidayah, I was most enthralled when Yora spoke about the children orphaned after the 2004 earthquake, many of whom are now attending one of the boarding schools from this project.  At first, he hired psychologists to work with the orphans, but then, he realized that the best psychologist for the children was their teacher (demonstrates the impact that teachers have on children of all ages).  Yora felt that the educators need to be mother and father before they could successfully be a teacher.   His staff worked side-by-side with the children, with many of the older children taking on the roles of brothers and sisters.  He strived to bring a feeling of community and family to the children who have lost their families; in order to give the children a sense of family, their culture would have to be valued.  Some of the children, however, still cannot accept what happened (I don’t blame them) and are receiving special treatment; his wife has taken several children home with her.  Currently, there are over 6 schools, taking on a holistic perspective with their students.  Over 20,000 teachers have been trained throughout Indonesia, South East Asia, and Srilanka.  Free extended education is offered for poor families with children age 4 to 15 in the surrounding neighborhood of every school (poverty is being addressed).  Scholarships are offered for orphans and students wishing to attend higher education.  Free life skills’ training is available for orphans or poor families, in addition to free family counseling.  I’ve always wanted to visit abroad, and I would like nothing more than to have the opportunity to share with the children and their families who are currently attending Fajar Hidayah schools; what a remarkable experience this would be!

Barbara Jones (B.J.)

School building

Next, I listened to a radio podcast of a conversation with Barbara Jones, who opened Pine Grove Montessori School in Maine 25 years ago.  Her journey is as fascinating as the pictures of the actual school that I located.  She was definitely an alternative thinker (she said so herself), and Montessori was different; it caught her attention.  She found a boarded up building one day in Maine, although the owners were not looking to sell.  Several years later, the owners, who saved her contact information, reached out to her, and she used the building for her Montessori school.  She claimed that the building was in need of some TLC, but she was determined not to destroy its history.  Looking at the front of the building, I would think it was an inviting, quaint home with a porch (I really want a porch).  The inside pictures were quite astonishing for me, because I never would have expected the rooms to be so large and airy.  After listening to B.J. speak, I expected something out-of-the-box, but the rooms just far-surpassed what I had expected.  There’s probably more of a chance that I will visit Maine, rather than Indonesia, and if so, I would be honored to visit B.J.’s Pine Grover Montessori School (which is saying a lot because I’m not totally sold on Montessori). 

School's nature courtyard

Inside one classroom

I must mention that I have personally tried to contact both Meridas Eka Yora and Barbara Jones… still no response, but you never know…

Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I feel like the Little Engine That Could.  I think I can. I think I can. I think I can… ok, I thought I could.  I am frustrated.  I have reached out to numerous individuals mentioned from the suggested web pages, as well as various suggestions from NAEYC.  Several e-mails have been returned as undeliverable, most have not been responded to (perhaps I ended up in their Spam), and one great prospect from China was just too involved right now.  I feel rejected and unloved!  No, not really, but when I go to NAEYC this year, I will certainly look for avenues of communication.  If I would have known about this one week earlier, I could have formed global contacts from the National Head Start Conference.  In addition, I actually located direct phone numbers of various preschools throughout the world.  My best prospect was from Australia, and although she was not willing to make the commitment, she was a wealth of information; I enjoyed learning from her, and I believe we will hook-up at NAEYC in Georgia this year.  So, here I sit, prepared to tackle option 2, although still checking for emails. 

However, looking for the good in a challenging situation, the World Forum webpage has made me aware of how narrow-minded my research has been. I have been extremely limited to the United States, without realizing how much information could be found by searching the world of early childhood… and by world, I mean world. In a few short days, my mind has been awakened to thoughts, challenges, and ideas due to researching outside of my comfort zone. So, if needed, this will be a good alternative.

The organization that I chose to research is the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators; I chose it because I was unaware of its existence; it seemed to be calling my name.  The name of the organization described a group that I wanted to learn more about; after all, although I am not in my own classroom, I still proudly consider myself an early childhood teacher.  The purpose of the organization is to discuss early childhood education and advocate for teacher education.  It seems to be a venue where networking is encouraged amongst early childhood teachers and research shared.  The organization sponsors various conferences (again, I was totally unaware of their conferences) in addition to sharing information on various national and international organizations, all involved, obviously, with young children.  This seems to be a venue that will enhance my growth as an educator and an advocate for children.  I look forward to getting more involved.

SO… although my engine didn’t quite make it up the hill that I initially expected, I have already learned a lot with my detour. In reality, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…

<><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><>