International contact- Part 2

After having a conversation with Fany, my contact in Mexico, I found out that the Secretary of Public Education (SEP) in Mexico released a new guide for the kindergarten programs on 2011, this one was an updated version of the 2004 guide. The difference between these two guides is that the 2011 has standards that focus the outcomes of the kindergarten education on basic skills of communication, recognition of the letters and numbers and their use, natural science and technology, and the 2004 version had only the foundations of the kindergarten.  Still, the main purpose of the kindergarten is not to teach children how to read and write, but some private schools have these as their primary goals, goals that influence the parents’ decision when enrolling their children into a kindergarten setting. The kindergarten standards have been aligned with the primary, junior high, and high school standards, in order to establish continuity in the education.

Even though the kindergarten education is mandated since 3 years old, not every child attends to it. Fany told me that the teachers make a census, every 2 or 4 years, in the community where they work at. This year when teachers did the census, they found out that there are some children who do not attend to school, kindergarten nor elementary, because they do not have their birth certificate, not even the one that mom was supposed to get from the doctor or midwife when the child was born, because mom lost it or parents did not have the money to pay the fee for the late birth registration; in these cases, the family needs to work with a lawyer. (Registration of the new born is for free when the child is registered before turning 6 months old. If the person is registered after 6 months old, the parents need to pay a 180 Mexican pesos fee, which is the equivalent of 14.40 American dollars.) Fany told me about a 5 year old girl, who did not have birth certificate and attended kindergarten because she, as the director, connected the family with a lawyer in order to get the birth certificate for the girl. This girl needed to be enrolled in the kindergarten, in order to be accepted in elementary school. By the end of the school year the girl did not get her birth certificate, but an elementary school in the community accepted her and they will continue working with the family and the lawyer.

Fany also told me that she thinks the system and buildings are not ready to provide a quality education, The SEP requires teachers to educate themselves, taking minimum 4 courses per school year and other required by the state. Some courses are offered in the afternoon, when the child care for the teachers’ offspring are closed, or the courses take place in schools that are far away in weekdays. Fany has taken courses on Saturdays or afternoons, but she needed to find a baby sitter for her daughter. She told me that would be better if child cares close later that 5, because this way teachers would have more opportunities to take courses without worrying about their own children.

It was pretty sad to realize that the improvement of the early education in my native country is going to remain only written on papers, because there is not enough support, not only economic, but related to their buildings too, that could offer quality education. Even though the kindergarten education since 4 years old is mandated, the reality is that there are communities that do not even have the building with materials needed to provide quality education, and this lack of materials make the parents think there is not important to enroll their children into school.  Some early childhood professionals have to make extra efforts in order to help parents understand the importance of their children’s education, which is the best way to ensure a bright future for the country.

Sharing Web Resources 2

I found two sections in the Association for Childhood Education International (http://www.acei.org/) website much related to the topics we have been discussing over the week. The first one is about the Institute for Global Education Diplomacy, and can be found under the programs and events tab. The second one is under the global action tab, and among other themes, it is related to play in early childhood and standardized testing.

On April 17-20, 2012, the Georgetown University Conference Center, in Washington, D.C. will host a professional learning event called Institute for Global Education Diplomacy (http://www.acei.org/programs-initiatives/institute-for-global-education-diplomacy.html), presented by the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI).  The ACEI recognizes the impact that children’s education, development, and well-being have on the social and economic situations of every country, and it is through this event that they want to encourage professionals in the field of education to become effective agents of change in relation to reforms, improvements, and progress.

In regard to the standardized testing, the ACEI has its position about the use of this way to assess the children’s progress; they also talk about what parents need to know about the standardized testing.

About the importance of play, the ACEI also published their position on play in early childhood, as well as these recommendations to take action and promote the learning in early childhood programs through play:

“1. Place an article in your local newspapers and community newsletters

2. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspapers and community newsletters

3. Send published letters and articles to your member of Congress

4. Write or e-mail to your state legislators

5. Write or e-mail to you national legislators

6. Organize a community forum” (http://www.acei.org/global-action/the-value-of-play.html).  These same recommendations are suggested for taking action on the standardized testing issue too.

After exploring this website I am more aware of the importance of taking action in the early childhood field, because as Dr. Grace mentioned we need to talk for children, not about them (Laureate Education, 2010).

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Economists, scientists, and politicians supporting the EC field. In Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1341054_1%26url%3D

International contact - Part 1

Since I did not get an answer from any of the professionals I emailed two weeks ago, I decided to establish contact with a preschool teacher in Guanajuato, Mexico. In Mexico the SEP (Secretary of Public Education) is responsible for providing education to the population, but there are many private schools too that need to follow the guidelines of the SEP. Initially the SEP programs were free of charges, but now families are required to pay registration and monthly fees.

Fany Tierrablanca is a teacher who lives in the city and works in a public kindergarten in a community that is not considered rural, but has the same necessities as a rural program. There are 62 4-5 year-old children enrolled in the program and 2 teachers, being one of them the one that acts like the director and teacher too. Fany told me that there is power in the 3-room building, but there are no electrical appliances, if the teacher wants to play music she needs to bring her own, which is not an easy task when you have to ride the bus. In this kindergarten there is a 100 pesos registration fee, about 7.52 dollars, that all families had paid, but only the 5% of all families afforded to pay the monthly fee of 30 pesos, 2.26 dollars. The teachers ask those families who could not cover their fee to volunteer in the school, doing maintenance work such as plumbing, masonry, and landscaping or cleaning the rooms after classes, they had good participation this school year. Despite the poverty in which these families live, and the children’s malnutrition, their attitudes were not challenging or negative; some of them participated in the parenting and cooking classes that teachers offered over the school year, as well as in classroom activities they were invited to.

Fany has been working in this community since 3 years ago and wants to be transferred to a school in her city, nearest her house in order to take better care of her baby daughter. After talking to her and imaging some of the situations these families and teachers have been through, the lecture of “The myth of the culture of poverty” (Gorski, 2008) came to my mind, because these families work in whatever they need and can and still have not gotten better opportunities to thrive in their life, I think this is what poverty does.

After talking to Fany, I am just more thankful for all the good opportunities my program offers to families and staff, I am more aware of the effects that poverty can have on children and families, but also the way I can support families in this situation, like planning opportunities where families feel important and included in the program through classes and classroom activities.  

Reference

Gorski, P. (2008). The myth of the "culture of poverty". Educational Leadership, 65(7), 32–36

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I chose to learn about is the Association for Childhood Education International (www.acei.org ), which is a worldwide community where educators and advocates share their knowledge, experiences and perspectives. One goal of this organization is to support the development, education, and well-being of children in the changing societies. This organization is also affiliated to the United Nations, the World Forum Alliance, and other governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The ACEI has also the Global Gateway that serves as a starting point for exploring the diversity of educational systems worldwide, through PDF documents.

Among other programs and events, the ACEI has an interesting multi-year program called “The Decade for Childhood 2012-2022” that explores what is happening in the rapidly changing early childhood field, and seeks for the creation of new opportunities for the childhood’s future. This initiative also looks for insights that could serve as foundations to support the childhood in the healthiest, most vibrant and creative ways possible, within the economic, social, and technological changes of recent years. The Decade for Childhood initiative values children as agents of change and wants to find the way that communities listen to the voice of their younger members, who may have solutions for current problems and contribute their ideas for tomorrow’s world.

The Decade for Childhood has The Ten Pillars of a Good Childhood (http://www.acei.org/programs-events/the-decade-for-childhood-2012-2022/page-5.html), which are what they consider the basic requirements for an optimal childhood development. Some of those guidelines are related to the consistency of children’s social relationships, their education, participation in the life of their community, among other statements.  

In order to establish a network that support this program, the ACEI invites all concerned professionals to join them and work in the creation of optimal conditions that let children grow with hope, joy, freedom, and promise for the future.  I consider this is a wonderful program we all should joint today, in order to disseminate knowledge and support the early childhood in our rapidly changing societies.