Consequences and Goals

I thoroughly enjoyed and learned so much from having the opportunity to explore and find international contacts. It was so far outside my box. I truly did not think that I was going to get any responses. It has been amazing to me that these two people that I have never met before and probably never will were so generous with their time and answered so many questions in order to help someone they do not know. I gained insight from two completely different early childhood professionals.

The first consequence for my professional and personal development of learning about the international early childhood field is that I realized that I can move outside of my own little world here in Orlando, Florida. It has opened my eyes to the importance of learning about other areas. Learning about current trends and issues can extend beyond my own neighborhood. I used to think that I could only make a difference one child at a time and maybe one family at a time. I am now thinking more globally about issues and trends. I may at some point in my career be able to make a difference on a larger scale. I would like to become part of the conversations and debates on the bigger issues and trends. For me, I think that means becoming a more active member of the professional organization that I belong to, NAEYC. Of course I mean after graduation. As I have a lot on my plate right now.

The second consequence that contributed to my professional and personal development is from my contact in Bangladesh. I hope to hear from him again soon as I am so interested and encouraged by his work. He is not a traditional early childhood teacher but he is an advocate for children and families in the poorest and most poverty stricken slums in Bangladesh. He is a creative thinker. He is working to make life more equitable for these families. I learned that I can be an advocate in some small way. I can make a difference in the early childhood field. It takes creative thinking and a willingness to get involved. I am even more passionate now about this field.

The third consequence that I learned that has and will continue to affect my professional and personal growth is that the issues and trends that we face here in the US and in our own communities exist all over the world. We are all facing similar issues. The conversations and debates happening here and happening in other regions of the world and we all need to have a voice and have conversations regarding these issues to find solutions.

My one goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations. We must continue to do research on current issues and trends in the field here in our communities and elsewhere. We must continue to be open to working with, contributing and collaborating with fellow early childhood professionals. I have enjoyed working with my colleagues in this course and I feel as if I have learned a tremendous amount from each one of them as they spoke through their blogs and discussions. It is my hope that we cross paths again in future courses here at Walden. We all are learning and growing with each passing course. I wish everyone the best of luck as you move forward on this journey.  

Getting to Know Your International Contacts Part 3

I have been having continued conversations with my international contact Michael Hibbeln. He is one of the principals of the American School in Milan, Italy. He is currently the principal of the Elementary School EC-5^th grade. I asked him all of the questions for this week and here are his answers.

The issues regarding quality and early childhood that professionals are discussing where he works and lives are related to skills. “How many skills to bring down to preschool? What about the importance of play...are we expecting too much academic content from our youngest learners?  When should we introduce technology?  Is EC too early for laptops?”

What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

“Our school belongs to a professional organization called ECIS (European Council of International Schools).  They provide two conferences annually where teachers can attend.  Next month they are specifically sponsoring an Early Childhood conference at the Zurich International School in Zurich.  Our EC teachers will attend this conference for example.  Teachers also attend conferences in various other cities in Europe”.

I asked him what his professional goals are and his reply was:

“My professional goal is to lead an international school similar to the American School of Milan at the Director level.  This will not be at another school in Italy, but another country.  In our school we have a Principal for the Upper school (6-12) and Elementary EC -5th grade. Then there is our director who acts like a Superintendent/Director or sometimes called Head of School”.

I asked him about his hopes, dreams and challenges.

“Hopes - that our school inspires our students in more ways than just academics - that it inspires them to be world citizens”.

Dreams - Similar to my hopes

Challenges - having the knowledge and ability to rally everyone in the organization around a common theme (Hibblen, M. personal communication, February 18, 2015)”.

An insight that I gained is that furthering his career is important to him. He will not be satisfied staying in his current position. He has a passion and drive to grow in his chosen field and make a difference in the lives of children. I loved what he said about inspiring students to be world citizens. As I thought about that statement, it seemed very much in line with Walden’s mission of educating its students to affect change in the world and I see that as also being world citizens.

Another insight that I gained from his answer is that we are facing the same exact issues here in the United States. This is an issue and trend probably in many countries and communities around the world. The push down of skills to younger and younger children maybe a threat to positive outcomes and losing play is a continuing and growing problem where he lives and works. He and his colleagues are asking the same questions that we are here in the US. I also hear from him that these are not easy questions to answer and debate is continuous in the early childhood field.

The insight that I gained from his answer to this question is that maintaining high-quality in part is related to highly trained teachers. An ongoing commitment to further education and growth in the field is imperative to a quality teaching staff. Schools inside and outside of the US recognize this to be true. His school is accredited which means it meets a higher level of standards.

The last thing I would like to talk about is how much I have enjoyed communicating with Michael Hibbeln and getting a perspective from somewhere other than the US. It has been a wonderful experience. I am still amazed that this man who does not know me at all would be so kind as to take up his valuable time to participate in this ongoing correspondence. I wish there was a way to thank him even further. I have thanked him through SKYPE and email. I think I will send him a thank you card in the mail.

I have not yet heard back from Gem Munro in Bangladesh in the last two weeks. As he said in his last email to me that email availability is scarce. I hope to hear from him soon and continue our correspondence. Again, I am amazed that he has emailed me two times already as he is founder of the Amorak Society. He did not ask someone else to email me or not respond at all.

I am glad to have had this opportunity.

Sharing Web Resources

I have chosen to study the NIEER website and this week I have explored even further. I went into the Research section. This section contained an area called Access. It brought me to a section with links to various articles about access to high-quality early education.

This article stated the importance and evidence that supports the fact that local, state, and federal governments should expand access to quality pre-k and other enhancements of early education, especially for low income families as these children benefit the most from high quality education and will close achievement gaps for these children. Policy makers need to invest in policies that enable all children, especially those in low-income families, to access quality pre-k.

http://nieer.org/publications/nieer-working-papers/expanding-access-quality-pre-k-sound-public-policy

Children that are African-American may experience opportunity gaps from limited access to high quality early education. This may cause achievement gaps. These gaps are hard to close but can be preventable if more access to early education were available. Equity and excellence can only be achieved if access to high quality programs increases.

The recommendations in this article are:

·         Increase public support for high quality care and education along with support from the federal government to improve quality

·         Offer high quality programs to families living 200 percent below the poverty level

·         Federal incentives for states to expand access to state funded Pre-k

·         Improve data collection on specific income and ethnicities

http://nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/Equity%20and%20Excellence%20African-American%20Children%E2%80%99s%20Access%20to%20Quality%20Preschool_0.pdf

I looked at the most recent newsletter on NIEER’s website and found much information related to the topics we are studying. The first part of the newsletter was called Hot Topics. Under this section the very first article addressed a topic we are discussing. It was the federal budget proposal as stated Obama’s State of the Union address. Obama is putting forth initiatives to simplify childcare for families. It also tells Obama’s plan for expanding funding for preschool development grants and also add funding for childhood and expansion of the Child and Development tax credit.

http://nieer.org/publications/online-newsletters/volume-14-issue-3

  

I next went to Resources. That brought me to a wealth of information. I found a link to Wonder What’s Happening in Your State. I then went to Early Education in the News, next Pre-K funding across states, and lastly Preschool Yearbook. You can go there and find your specific state. It addresses all of the trends and issues we are studying. You can find out information on access, state spending and quality.

http://nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/yearbook2013.pdf

The website and the newsletter both contain information that adds to my understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education. The research is clear high quality education is so important for good outcomes for children and families. Children in low income families need high quality education the most. Quality early education needs to be attainable for all but most importantly for children living in low income families. The website and newsletter offer ample information about equity. I can see from the NIEER website that early education is at the forefront of conversation and debate.

The other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field that I gained this week from exploring the website and /or the e-newsletter is that these are current issues and trends for a reason. More and more families are looking for help in acquiring the very best for their children and family. The issues of early childhood are happening in all of our communities and going all the way up to the president and the federal government. All of these issues and trends go hand in hand. Children and families need access to quality programs. Expansion needs to happen to allow for more slots in early childhood care. There needs to be increased government funding to support these programs. Programs need to be assessed for high quality. We learned this week that responsiveness is part of equity. The NIEER website offered many resources for programs to access their own responsiveness to culture and language. There are many mentions to Head Start and Early Head Start. One insight that I have gained is that programs need to look at Head Start as a role model for equity in the early childhood field.

Getting To Know Your International Contacts-Part 2

These are the exact words of my conversation partner, Gem Munro in Bangladesh. I wanted to share his exact words as our communications are sporadic due to where he is at the moment. He emailed this to me just a few days ago. This may not speak to typical early childhood education or the typical education system at all but it does address creating an equitable situation for families in the poorest slums of Bangladesh and how one man is making a huge difference in the lives of children and families. He is making schooling possible where it would ordinarily be impossible as these families are too poor to attend school. This is equity. This is making a change to better children and families. This is affecting positive social change for the betterment of a society.

Please excuse my delay in answering your last email; travel in Bangladesh is quite hazardous these days, and I've been stuck in locations where internet access can be difficult.

As you are familiar with the work of Amarok Society, it won't come as a surprise to you that we don't treat our "clients'" poverty as their core problem. We regard ignorance as their core problem. It may seem a bit of a chicken-or-egg question, and it's true that poverty has been an impediment to them gaining the education they need, but the conditions that trap them in poverty are all products of ignorance: lives of disorder, filth and disease, lack of valuable abilities, over-reproduction, underdeveloped powers of thought, crippling customs such as early marriage and household slavery (for girls and women), mistaken expediencies such as child labour, pessimistic fatalism and the inability to envision anything better. Providing the mothers of our slums with education (primarily for the purpose of them, in turn, educating the children of their slums) creates the conditions permitting them to climb out of their poverty. Their lives become ordered and purposeful, health improves, they develop self-confidence and optimism, a sense of independence and individuality, and their view of what is possible in their lives widens. They undertake initiatives they wouldn’t have before, including business ventures. Their (much smaller) families, of course, enjoy these benefits, too. Husbands’ views of their own capabilities heighten, and their (many fewer) children become ambitious where futures were never considered before, and their ambitions are realistic, as they include a commitment to further education.

It’s a fact that the higher a person’s education, the higher her expectations for her life, and the greater her willingness and determination to fulfil those expectations herself. We didn’t create our programme in order to improve the financial condition of the mothers we teach, but we anticipated that as a secondary benefit, and that has been the case. We have plenty of reason to believe, at the ten-year mark of our endeavours, that the children our mothers teach will achieve a dramatic improvement in their financial situation (Munro, G. personal email communication, February, 3, 2015).”

My other conversation partner is Michael Hibblen. He is the principal of the American School of Milan. We had a Skype meeting this week. His school begins in early childhood. His school of early childhood starts with 3 year olds. The preschool sounds very much like my own school right here in Orlando, Florida. He was not able to speak much about issues and trends outside of his school. He did say that a typical Italian school has not changed much. They are very traditional. You will find a teacher in front of the classroom lecturing. The children will be completing many worksheets. He called it “drill and kill”. He said that each subject has a textbook and the children fill in the blanks. He said it hasn’t changed much since the 1960’s. Testing is done in the eighth grade and then again at the end of high school. The test results determine if you are able to attend college or university.

I asked him about standards in his school as far as his schools accreditation. ASM is accredited by the Middle States Association. They come in to reaccredit every five years. I questioned him about standards for his teachers and their level of education. All of his teachers have a Bachelors Degree and at least two years experience when they are hired. No further training or continuing education is required. Teachers do not move around once you are hired that is your classroom for the entire time you work at the school.

I asked him about equitability at his school. He told me that there is none. His school is private and costs a lot to attend.

I asked him about children with special needs that need support. He told me that they can only handle minor issues of children with varying needs. They only offer recommendations and the families can only get support outside of the school. If there are bigger issues, the child and family are asked to exit the school. They are not tied to any state or county laws.

The school is a full English emersion school. There are 52 nationalities represented mostly Korean, Italian and Saudi Arabian.

He described an early childhood classroom. The classroom is divided into clearly defined learning and play centers. There is a Dramatic Play, Library, Math and Manipulative, Art, and Carpet area. The children are given time each day for free exploration and discovery in each center. The teachers set up learning experiences in each center to promote and scaffold experiences to enhance learning in all domains.

When I asked him about excellence, he told me that everyone wants to be excellent. They determine excellence by looking for evidence and proof. They are constantly collected data on the children related mostly to literacy and reading. The data offers students learning proof. In the early learning school, assessment is done three times per school year (fall, winter and spring). In the first and second grade only reading is assessed. Informal assessment on whether they can count one to ten, letters and sounds recognition. They do have a social and emotional curriculum and assess social and emotional development. They have music once a week, PE twice a week in a gym, art, library and free outdoor play 30 minutes per day (Hibblen, M. personal Skype communication, February 4, 2015).

Inside of his school, I feel as though there is a balance between issues of standards and readiness. Yes, they are concerned with meeting standards for literacy but from our conversation, I feel as though they are interested in developmentally appropriate practice. The disparities I see are with children with varying needs. They are not responsive to working with anything other than typically developing children.