Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 1

If you chose the podcast alternative, report what you learned from the podcast as well as any results from communicating with the early childhood professional from the podcast.

Since I never heard back from either of the professionals that I contacted in Week 1, I chose to do the alternative assignment for this week. I chose the podcast interviewing Barbara Jones who “founded the Pine Grove School in Falmouth, Maine 25 years ago” (World Forum Foundation).  In the podcast, Barbara Jones describes her journey to founding the school.  Back in the 1960’s Jones had graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in education.  However, the public school system did not appeal to her so she chose to look for a job in a more alternative setting.  As a result, she traveled to California and found a job working as a Montessori teacher.  Several years later, while visiting the East Coast, Jones drove by a little school house, the property in Falmouth, Maine that would later become the Pine Grove School.  Unfortunately, the property was not for sale at that time.  However, when the owners decided to sell the property several years later, they remembered a letter that Jones had written them asking them to contact her if they ever decided to sell. The school and the grounds are beautiful.  Here is a link if you would like to see pictures of the school: http://www.pinegrovecenter.com/pages/photos.html

If you have not yet received a response, go to the website of the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s page (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/), read about childhood poverty in one country, and share at least three insights or ideas you gained from studying the website.

I tried contacting Barbara Jones but I had not heard anything back yet.  Since I did not receive a response, I visited the website of the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre.  I gained the following three insights about childhood poverty in China:

• As of 2003, “4.2 million children live in absolute poverty and 8.7 live in disadvantages conditions” (Child Poverty Research and Policy Centre, n.d., para. 5). However, the amount of children living in poverty has declined since the 1990’s. 

• Poverty is more prevalent in Western China than Eastern China. As a result, 15% less children in Western China complete primary school than those in Eastern China (Child Poverty Research, n.d.). 

• In Beijing, China, 75% of the families living in poverty in 2002 “could not afford all children’s education costs such as tuition fees” (Child Poverty Research and Policy Centre, n.d., para. 5). 

References

Child Poverty Research and Policy Centre (n.d.). Country overviews. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=country

World Forum Foundation (Producer). (2013). Episode 9: Barbara Jones [Audi podcast]. Retrieved from http://ccie-media.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/WFR_09_BarbaraJones.mp3

Sharing Web Resources

I chose the organization Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families (2012) and their link is: http://www.zerotothree.org.  Zero to Three (2012) “is a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers” (Zero to Three, 2012a, para. 1).  The website provides information in numerous areas such as development, play, nutrition, school readiness, public policy and many others.

The issue on the website that caught my attention was school readiness.  The organization has a “School Readiness Interactive” tool that provides information about children from birth to 3-years-old in the following areas: “Language & Literacy”, “Thinking Skills”, “Self-Control”, & “Self-Confidence” (Zero to Three, 2012b).

I had to search rather extensively in order to find any information about the topic of this week: “Changing Demographics and Diversity”.  There were some archived articles about diversity but in order to read the articles, I would have had to buy the entire Zero to Three Journal for $15.00.  However, I did find a document created by Zero to Three in the “Public Policy” section about professional development which addressed both changing demographics and diversity.  For example, Zero to Three recommends: “professional development of the infant-toddler workforce should support practitioners in addressing the ethnic, racial, and linguistic diversity of the families they serve and prepare them for culturally competent and sensitive practice” (Gebhard, Ochshorn, & Jones, 2012, p. 5).

References

Gebhard, B., Ochshorn, S., Jones, L. (2012). Toward a bright future for our youngest children.  Retrieved from Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families website: http://www.zerotothree.org/public-policy/policy-toolkit/professional-development-final-for-web.pdf

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families (2012a). About us. Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families (2012b). School readiness interactive birth to three. Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/early-care-education/school-readiness-interactive-birth-to-3

Getting Ready: Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

The first professional that I contacted, Sibohan Fitzpatrick, was listed as the main contact for The Early Years Organisation aka the Northern Ireland Preschool Playgroups Association (NIPPA).  Unfortunately, the e-mail was sent back to me as failed/undeliverable. The second professional that I contacted, Mrs. Bimbo Are, is located in Nigeria and she works for the Niger Delta Academic Foundation.  The last professional that I contacted, Ms. Ivy Kok, is the program director for the Association for Early Childhood Educators in Singapore.  I have not heard anything back from either professional, but I look forward to hearing what they say.  For the second part of the assignment, I chose Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. The link for the newsletter did not work but I was able to register on the website and choose a newsletter as part of the registration process.