Final Blog Assignment

As I sit and reflect over the issues and trends discussed during the semester, there are so many important consequences that came from the study.  Looking at Early Childhood Studies internationally, it reminds me of how important it is to learn about other cultures and ethnic backgrounds.  Looking at ECE from the perspective of a professional in a different country helps us to see what challenges a family would have coming from that country to the United States.  A second consequence is looking at the research that is being done in other countries.  Many times that research is helpful here in the United States and can be used to develop curriculums for children as well as curriculum for teaching educators.  The third and final consequence for looking at ECE internationally is to look at the benefits and drawbacks of particular programs to see how changes can be made in the United States.
Based on these findings, a goal is certainly to make more connections between professionals in the ECE field.  Ideally, each professional would have at least one international professional in which to discuss these particular issues and trends with.

Getting to Know your International Contacts - Part 3

I have spent quite a bit of time attempting to get a response from some of the international contacts that were presented to us.  With the class coming to a close, I am sad to report that I have been unsuccessful in getting a response to any of the questions.  I guess that leads me to believe the passion of some professionals is not in helping those entering the field.  I must think on the positve end, however, and believe the timing is off.  I imagine that had this assignment occurred during the fall when colleges are in full session, the response may have been better.  In the summer, I imagine many professors are on vacation and doing minimal teaching, if any.  In retrospect, I should have tried to contact many different professionals, in different areas of the Early Childhood field.  Throughout the term, I only attempted to contact the same two professionals. 

Sharing Web Resources

This semester I have really familiarized myself with the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (www.naccrra.org).  This week was spent exploring some of the links that Naccrra has to see where they lead.  Surprisingly, the majority of the links on the site go to other sites that are run by Naccrra.  One example is the Child Care Aware Parent Network, which is a website devoted to parent education and engagment.  There are resources on child development, parenting techniques, and ways for parents to get involved in public policy.  The engagemet piece is very important with the issues we have been discussin in the class this past few weeks.  With things like funding for child care, and subsidy an standards...having parents that are passionate enough about these issues to learn how to contact legislators and educate the policy makers so the necessary changes can be made.  Another of the links from Naccrra's site is the Child Care Aware Training Academy, which has a variety of online trainings for both child care providers and CCR&R staff.  They also have an entire CDA class available online.   Looking at other parts of the website, I learned of another inequality that had not been discussed in the class; teacher pay.  From Naccrra's site, I found there is a huge gap in pay for child care provides.  In some states, the average wage is only $9 where in other states the wage is $15.  I realize much of the difference is in cost of living in various states.  But, it did bring another point of benefits.  There are some centers that provide insurance, paid time off and retirement.  However, it is not true of all centers.  Speaking of inequalities, it is important that child care be seen as a career choice that deserves full benefits, especially retirement.