Friday, August 17, 2012

Final Blog Assignment


Throughout this course I have learned about different organizations that work on behalf of the early childhood, which most of them I was not aware of their existence. Learning about the different organizations, also let me realized which are the current issues, trends, and priorities related to the early childhood, not only in USA, but worldwide. Now that I have information about them, I can use it in my professional practice, at the same time I can share it with co-workers and families. The conversations with international contacts, not only mine but those of my colleagues too, helped me to appreciate, in particular ways, the practices and experiences I have gotten since working in the field, and influenced me to be more thankful for what I currently have.

With the past blog assignments I also got useful tools that will allow me stay abreast of what is happening in the field, with significant information I need in order to be the advocate that children and families need. In addition, I can help to make the change the field needs when joining to some organizations, supporting their causes, and practicing what they have found is more beneficial for the early childhood education field.

Friday, August 10, 2012

International contact- Part 3

First of all I would like to thank Fany for sharing her time with me and opening her heart throughout our conversations, which was not an easy task, because our times hardly matched. I know that I could not have found a better person who would talk about such personal topics as professional goals and issues at work. Thank you manigüita!

In my last conversation with Fany, she shared that one of her professional goals is to get a masters in pedagogy, she plans to start it on August 2013, because right now her husband is about to finish his, and they cannot afford to pay for transportation for the two of them, the masters, and the baby sitter for her 2 year old daughter. The SEP offers grants to those who want to study a master and the student has to propose a project that focuses on one of the current issues in the field, Fany wants to do it this way and is still thinking on the issue she would like to focus. Another benefit she has is that the SEP allows teachers to be out of the kindergarten classroom for maximum 2 years, so they can focus on the master. During these 2 years the teachers get their regular paid, as if they were working in the classroom, while a substitute teacher takes her position, and the teacher can resume it when she finishes the master.

A dream she has is to be transferred to a kindergarten in the city where she lives in, because she is currently working in a community and it takes her about 2 hours to get there from her house. She told me that many other teachers want to work in the city, and not in other communities, because the transportation is expensive. She would like to work in a specific kindergarten, which is considered the best in the city, despite she is aware of how demanding the director is, but she says that is because of the commitment that the director asks the teachers to have towards the program, that it has the positive reputation, which it has hold it since I was still doing my bachelors. 

One of the issues they are facing in her kindergarten is that there are not enough children to serve this coming school year. Up to date, they have only 40 children enrolled and they need to have more than 50 in order to open 2 classrooms, other ways the program will open only one classroom, with one teacher.  This fact means that either Fany of the other teacher may lose their job. Just in case this happens, Fany would start the masters this month.
Throughout these blog assignments and my conversations with Fany, I had the opportunity to learn about the current situation of the early childhood field in my native country, which sadly is not as optimal as I wish, but I am sure that with committed professionals like Fany and the opportunities the SEP is offering, some positive changes would come.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Sharing Web Resources 3

I have met teachers and other professionals working in the education field not only because of the monetary wage they get, that most of the time does not compensate their hard work, but because they love and are passionate about what they do. I consider that love is an important ingredient that in most cases makes a difference in our teaching, because when we love something we defend it and care about it, and that that is what we do for the early childhood. Is there any other way to advocate for and promote equity in the field than by defending what we do?

As part of their programs and events, the Association for Childhood Education International (http://www.acei.org/) has begun a campaign with such engaging name: Love Me, Teach Me (http://www.acei.org/programs-events/love-me-teach-me.html). Through this campaign the ACEI wants to promote the needs and rights of children everywhere, based on four cornerstones: See Me, Hear Me, Love Me, and Teach Me. The campaign is called Love Me, Teach Me since these two facts contribute most significantly to a child’s overall development and well-being.

The first cornerstone, See Me, is related to the children’s right to identity, which is aimed to ensure that children are consider visible members of their society, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, ability, family status, or national origin.

The second cornerstone, Hear Me, is about the children’s right to participation. This fact invites us to reflect on how we include children, when we listen to them and take their ideas and themselves into account when we make decisions. Sometimes adults forget that children have voice and we do not listen to them just because they are children. When they are excluded from group activities or when they do not have access to medical care, the message they receive is that their needs and ideas are not important. Let’s listen to what they have to say and ensure they can satisfy their needs. Let’s make them feel important, because they are!

The Love Me cornerstone is aimed to ensure the children’s right to security, stability, and protection, first of all through their parents and family, who are their primary caregivers. When we work with children it is easier for us to love them, but when people are not directly related to them the decisions made on their job affect children too, like the images created when designing commercial advertising campaigns to the development of public policy.

The last cornerstone, Teach Me, is related to the children’s right to education. The ACEI highlights the importance of having access to quality education, but in order to get it, parents, caregivers and community members have to make efforts to ensure the education promotes the development of the whole child, through engaging experiences not only at school but in their homes and communities too.

I think that taking these four cornerstones into account when we work with children, will help us to improve our teaching practices, while we ensure their wellbeing and development through experiences they  can freely chose in an environment that has been created based on their ideas and needs.
Let us promote this campaign by adding this cornerstones to our practice and posting the touching post card in our centers http://www.acei.org/images/stories/documents/lovemecard.pdf.