Week 2 Blog

If  I had to choose three items to take wit me to my new country they would be my family bible, African elephant, and moccasins. These items are what represents my families identity. The family Bible is a representation of my families strong religious affiliation, my grandmother bought all of her children the exact same bible with a picture of her parents inside. Each bible has their name engraved on the front and their children's names where eventually added as they where born. The second item also represents my families identity, I would take the African Elephants that my cousins sent to me from Africa. Elephants that have their trunks in the air are said to be good luck, so my cousins sent them over to me as a sign of good luck. The third and final thing that I would bring is the moccasins that my grandmother gave to me. My grandmother was full blooded Seminole Indian and she resided in Florida. My mother was pregnant with me when my grandmother gave her the moccasins, I never got to meet her but my mother told me the story when I was old enough to understand.


Upon arrival I would be upset if they told me I only could keep one of the items, because they all mean a great deal to me. I would feel that my identity was being stolen or taken from me because each of the items are what I identify with as part of my culture. They are what my family is made of and only being able to keep one would feel devastating to me.

The insight that I have gained from doing this exercise is that my family is very diverse and unique in its own right. My families culture runs deep and I am proud that I have a family that is diverse and unique at the same time.

Research

What I have gained from this research course is a whole new respect for the individuals who put in  the time and effort to do research on young children. This class has given me many insights on early childhood research, I have gained the knowledge on the many different issues that can arise when doing early childhood research. I have gained insight on the different methods that can be used in early childhood research, power relations, equity, and variables just to name a few. To my colleagues it has truly been a pleasure reading your posts and seeing how each of us has brown since the first week of  class. Good luck to each of you and thank you for your positive feedback!!

Week 5 Blog

This week's blog assignment was about research around the world. The website that I chose to explore was Early Childhood in Australia. This website has a lot of information on early childhood, and some of the topics are the same things that we face here in the United States. Research in Practice Series(RIPS) is a section that I explored. RIPS is an easy to read resource that helps individuals who are in the early childhood field. RIPS has an array of publications that you can read, for instance Play and quality in early childhood: Educating superheroes and fairy princesses. This publication talks about the importance of play and quality in an early childhood setting. Another publication talks about transitions helping the child feel secure when parents leave. I really enjoyed exploring this website there where many interesting things, I learned that early childhood is really the same around the world.

Week 3 Blog

If I had unlimited resources I would research a Reggie Emilia environment(classroom) verses a traditional preschool classroom. The Reggie Emilia approach to learning says that the classroom is the third teacher. Reggie Emilia classroom are natural classroom, everything can be made or it was found outside. The learning is hands-on and parents are required to participate in their child's learning. Since children learn though play why not give them a classroom with real things that they see everyday like leaves, sticks, cd's, umbrella's just to name a few.

 

 

Children in a traditional preschool classroom have hands -on experiences, but the things in the classroom are ordered out of catalogs and are not things that they see outside of school. The materials are not life sized like real pot's and pans that go into the kitchen. The classroom is not a natural environment so to speck or a green environment. In the traditional classroom parents are not required to participate and I think that parent participation is key to a child's learning.

Research

The research topic that I have chosen is curriculum in preschool. I think that curriculum is very important and having the most effective curriculum available is a must. I chose this topic because my daughter is in an early childhood program and the curriculum that is being used in her school is important to me. I also am an early childhood educator and I am curious to research the different curriculum that is used in a quality early childhood program.

This process was a little uncertain for me at first because I had trouble nailing a topic down, because I was pondering over several. Hopefully this topic will be an eye opener and in turn make me a better educator. I am open to any and all questions , comments, and concerns that my colleagues may have, please share any insights and resources that you may have and I in turn will do the same.

Week 8 Blog

There could only be positive consequences for me learning about early childhood on an international level. Even though I was unable to reach any of the international contacts the websites where very informative. The consequences: contact with other educators from the early childhood field, learning many different aspects of early childhood on a worldwide stage, and gaining insights on the issues and trends internationally.

One goal that I would have for the field internationally would bet o keep trying to make early childhood education a top priority for children. Continue to inform others of the life long benefits of an early childhood education, learning starts from the beginning. Reading others interactions with either the podcasts or an international contact was very informative because you can read about them, but actually hearing it from others in the field was good. Everyone was very supportive in with their comments and posts

Week 7 Blog

I explored the website UNESCO which means The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural organization. This organization helps to build societies that value education, it has worked worldwide to improve education because education is the key to success. Upon exploration of the website I gained some insight on access and equity, learning begins at birth and a framework was set up and all countries that participated made a commitment to improve education and care especially the education and care of disadvantaged children. The government was encouraged to expand care to those children who otherwise would not have access to education. Another insight is that the EFA stated that countries should view early education as an important factor and all though funding was small other steps like going to non-profits would be effective when asking for funds, there's more then one way to get things done. The last insight is quality, quality of the program and teachers. The ECCE has no set criteria on how to assess quality, but it is said that having the right materials, training for the teachers, and parent education and involvement is essential.

My last insight brings me to realize that one of my professional goals directly relates and that is quality. One of my professional goals is to become a new teacher coach or instructional coach. I would coach or mentor all the new teachers that enter into the program giving them insights on how to do their job effectively. The ECCE talks about an adequate trainings and working conditions is key to the success of children and it also aids in the smooth transition to formal schooling.

Reference:
(http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/),