Sharing Web Resources

Not Just Talk but Taking Action 

One of the organizations I signed up for to receive newsletters from was The Children’s Defense Fund. CDF is doing some great things in terms of rallying those who operate in the child advocacy fields to aid in the fight against child poverty, educational literacy gaps, and early childhood development barriers.  They are also training collegiate age youth workers for the summertime Freedom Schools, which engage low income  youth in an environment of literacy to stem the summer loss of learning.

With the upcoming conference planned for this summer in Cincinnati, Ohio, there are mini-plenary sessions and workshops to address the issues mentioned above. One highlight for the issue of child poverty will be a workshop structured to give information and strategies for reduction of poverty. Another session will address an unspoken issue of child homelessness.  There are 1.6 million homeless children, or 1 in 45 every year. This session will provide advocates with information on the current trends in homelessness and strategies to deal with such situations.

There are sessions dealing with the issue of offering full day kindergarten and how it benefits children in making them ready for school. It is necessary to invest in early education and our policy makers can hear our voices if we speak up and speak out for our children!  I have registered to attend this conference to explore the various strategies that are presented by experts in their fields pertaining to the welfare of children. Would anyone like to join me? A link has been provided below for further information for the CDF Summer Conference.

http://www.childrensdefense.org/national-conference/speakers.html

The information in this newsletter is direcly related to the topics we have addressed this week in class. We have discusses policy makers finally realizing that the investment in early childhood education is well worth the cost and will save hundrends of thousands in taxpayers dollars in the longrun. We have discussed issues with barriers to early childhood education, the newsleter presents information within it to advocate and help change the ccourse of poverty in todays families.

International Contacts

Early Childhood Development in Emergencies

I had come across some information from my international contact regarding child development strategies in emergencies. This is an issue that we hear in the United States are not faced with if at all... caring for children during wartime conflict or in times of famine.

Children seated on a bench at a UNICEF assisted daycare in Nairobi, Kenya

We already know that for children to be in repressive environments where they are prohibited from expressing creativity through play or getting physical activity for greater development is a detriment. UNICEF makes itself available to aid in these disaster type situations by the restoration of primary health care services, mother-and-child nutrition services, as well as access to clean water. Providing a hygienic environment are key parts of an integrated early childhood development response in emergencies. 

UNICEF trains and support it's caregivers and offers child-friendly spaces to give children places to play. This is done by collaboration with the committees in the areas set up to offer stability in the areas where by the nurturing of children is the focus in the midst of chaos.

This work is important and can be supported through contributions.

Sharing Web Resources

Now Taking Notice!

Human capital theory and monetary payoffs; keep these terms in mind.  I do like the fact that science says that better outcomes if investment is made in preschool, economists say there is a better return if investments are made in preschool rather than waiting till school years.  What I am afraid of is children will be treated as commodities to be traded in at maturation rather than citizens that grow to nurture and care about our society. Educators we must continue to keep our ears to the ground and be ready to correct any that dare to the gift of childhood to make lifetime productivity the bottom line.

Insights About Issues and Trends

On the studies this week we were to look in to three sectors in the field of early childhood field and see if policy is supporting  EC or seeking to take away from it. My research has found that there is an affordability gap that  touches many families, The major issue according to National Women’s Law Center is that many single parent households are headed by women. The quality and access to affordable care is hard to come by. What can be done is to initiate strategies to get the attention of congress persons to really take interest in this issue for policy to embrace and assist what is really happening with today’s families as they struggle with finding affordable early childcare .

We must let our voices be heard!

Getting to Know International Contacts

The Pains of Children in Poverty

I had not heard from the international contact person so I visited the web site www.childhoodpoverty.org/ . I first viewed the Clips that accompanied the website about two children in Kyrgyzstan. The clips showed both children at work and then at home after work, . The little girl is described by her coworker sister while they were rinsing our cups together as someone beyond her years with an understanding of someone beyond the age of twelve; more like twenty the coworker said.  This statement gives me an insight that children living in poverty have to assume a grown up role and understanding rather quickly.  

While this little girl was at home, her mother only asked how many canvass bags were sewn. With the child’s response her mother replied that she needed to have made more.  The mother is not insistent on the studies of the little girl as she had been, her rationale was to live for the present and not look to the future. This statement gives insight that the mother has totally set sights on survival mode as do many parents of poor families. The only thing that matters is that there is enough money to buy what is needed to get through the day.

The little boy is about 11 years old and working in a coal mine!  Coal mining is a dangerous occupation for men let alone an eleven year old boy. This fact alone gives insight that working conditions may not be favorable for workers, both men and boys. There was no lighting provided except the flashlight from the helmets. I did not see that there were any masks on to protect the lungs from inhaling the gases that coal mining produces when dug up. When the little boy went home his mother lay on the couch and could not move. My guess was that she was ill or had worked so long herself that she could not function and move her body about.

 The mother asked if head washed himself as he was covered from head to toe in soot. You could only see his eyes. I also noted that it was evening time the sub was going down. The Insight is that this child had no time to explore or play or wonder or dream; he had to prepare for work the next day.  I did note that the mother lamented that her children had to work so hard by saying “my poor children” at the end of the clip. This lets me know that poor parents do desire what is best for their children, but survival becomes the priority.

Sharing Web Resources

Access to Affordable, Quality Childcare is a Priority!

One of the newsletters I have subscribed to is from the organization National Women’s Law Center. The causes and concerns of this organization are to advocate for issues that affect women and their families. I was recently interested in the initiative of this organization to get the attention of members of congress and make them aware of the need for quality childcare as that would be one of the biggest issues that affects working families. When policymakers formulate their agenda priorities, whose interests are at the forefront of their minds? It is hard to remember that even though access to good quality child care is something that you and I spend a lot of time working on and advocating for, not everyone does - including our policymakers. And unfortunately, not all of us have strong relationships with the people that vote on critical policies like child care that affect women, children, and families. There is a phone conference set for interested persons to listen in for May 17^th, 2012.

http://www.nwlc.org/our-issues/child-care-%2526-early-learning

                 Follow the link below for more information on the conference call.   

http://action.nwlc.org/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&SURVEY_ID=14040 

RSVP - Put Child Care on the Map (5/17/2012)

Other issues NWLC address are education, healthcare, poverty and income support, judges and the courts, social security, taxes and budgets. I do find that this organization deals with issues of changing demographics and diversity in education and the workplace.

All About the Contacts

Greetings!

For our first blogging journey we were to reach out to organizations that serve in early childhood fields outside of the US. My first contact via email was to UNICEF of Mozambique. I was especially pleased to see this organization reaches out to girls and young women who have suffered brutal crimes of rape in the region there. (sigh) Hurts my heart!   I would hope that these communities  realize the importance preserving the children and women, as this  action preserves the strength of the family. My next contact was via email as well was with Naeyc Global Alliance. My interest with this alliance is there are are various departments. My interest is in the mathematics and science for children.

I'll patiently wait for a response!

    





for our second assignment we were to make contact with local agencies that field early childhood services and advocacy. My contacts were with the Black Child Development Institute. I was interested in this organization as a resource to further  activities of positive actions with African American youth locally.

National Black Child Development Institute http://nbcdi.org/
(Newsletter: http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/

And the Children's defense fund, because of my hero , Marion Wright Elderman's activity and proactive stance for community involvement with our children and youth. There is a conference at a nearby city here in Ohio in July that I plan to attend to become really involved with this organization

Children's Defense Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org/index-1.html
(Newsletter: http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/enewsletters/ )

My Supports

My Marvelous Supports!

I must say that there a lot of things going on in my household that I most certainly have to apply daily supports to get through the day successfully.  Here is a list of a few of those invaluable items.

·      My Smart Phone – gotta keep up with contacts and messages in our ministry and businesses!

·      My daughters – We keep each other encouraged to continue on a diet and exercise plan that will keep a healthy heart!

·      My daycare ladies- These ladies help me plan my next career move as a daycare administrator which will be named Called Hope Early Learning Center!

·      My music – oh my! The best way to start a day is with some invigorating gospel music! In the mid-day we can mellow the music to smooth jazz and do school work to classical piano.

·      …And my intelligent, very handsome,  very handy, and hardworking husband who inspires me daily to keep the faith and to focus on “The One” who matters most!

A

 particular challenge I may have is to commit a time to make out my weekly menus for healthy eating for the family, and to stick with that time to see that task through. What ends up happening is that I am going to the grocery store on the way home and only picking up meals for dinner or items that we may have run out of during the week.  I gotta get it right!