Sharing Web Resources cont...

The National Black Child Institute which is the organization that  am following is relevant to my professional development as it provides resources for me to use with the children and families that work with as well as ones to pass on to them for their own use. The website produced a publication entitled " Being Black is Not a Risk Factor" this article may be controversial but it's goal is to shift the focus of how black children are viewed in this country as being a population that is in need of help an support to one that focuses on the positives in these children's lives and the overall state of black children in the U.S. The website is currently promoting it's 44th annual conference. This conference like many others will require sponsorship,donations and promotions by many businesses and corporations. Without their support the organization's conference would not be nearly as successful meaning that their information and resources would not reach s many families and children. Viewing the website from a different perspective than an educator allowed me to see the importance of business and economists and their roles within early childhood education including funding, and outreach.

An International Look at Childhood Poverty: Namibia (week 3 assignment)

I have learned about Poverty in Namibia. Poverty in Namibia is similar to poverty in other places in the world in that is passed from one generation to the next, can be influenced positively through education of those in poverty and those not in poverty."Poverty has long term impacts on children, especially if poverty starts at an early age or persists over several years. These impacts include a higher risk of low birth weight and child mortality, stunting, and poor education outcomes." (UNICEF,2009) . One of the big take away lessons for me is what poverty includes. It is not just limited to income, poverty also refers to access to basic needs such as water,sanitation and goods. The report that I read found that monies given to Namibian organizations that support children and families in poverty through grants are having a successful impact. These grants have "beneficial effects that go far beyond simply assisting children to grow up in households with more money: it would improve child development,health and mental well-being, education and later also labor market prospects, and these benefits would be shared by a next generation"( UNICEF,2009). Poverty is an issue of cycle. It is caused and perpetuated by cycles that roll through generation after generation. However this report shares the idea that poverty can also be mitigated through cycles. Cycles of education, health, resources passed on from generation to generation. It is important for organizations such as those in Namibia acquire the resources to maintain their work so that they may create a cycle of change in the lives of children and their families living in poverty.

References

UNICEF( 2009). Child Poverty in Namibia,a child centered analysis of the NHIES 2009/10. Retrieved September 20,2014

Sharing Web Resouces on Changing Demographics and Diversity

       I am following the organization National  Black Child Development Institute. The organization is focused on educating and informing community stakeholders in trends and issues that influence the lives of black children and their families. The organizations also works to provide the unique resources that black children and families need. These resources include those related to health,welfare and child development.

       In the NBCDI's most recent publication is short piece on preparation for returning to school this fall. In the short article the author mentions the influence of reading on supporting children through the first days to separation from loved ones. Included is the added enthusiasm when children have when they read books with characters that reflect them and their lives. This caught my attention because it reaffirmed the work I did last year in my own classroom to bring books with African American characters into my classroom. I sought out donations and was able to raise money to purchase almost 100 books that depicted African American children ad the main characters outside of just discussing their cultural background. It is important that all children see all children depicted in typical fiction stories. For my project this year I will seek out books depicting children of Hispanic and Asian descent. This also connects with the topic this week of changing demographics and diversity. As the diversity changes in our schools it is important that their environment and resources change to reflect who the children are that we teach.

 

 

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

 For this ongoing assignment I will be listening to podcasts.This week I listened to a podcast on the World Forum Radio (accessible through Itunes). In the podcast I learned about Susan Lyons and the Innovative Teacher Project.

Susan Lyon started the innovative teacher project to connect educators and schools interested in the Reggio Emilio approach to education in the Bay Area of California. she began the project in 1994 which has participants from public and private schools. The Innovative Teacher Project supports the early childhood community as it brought an innovative approach to teaching young children from Italy to California. The Reggio Emilia  philosophy originated in Reggio Emilia,Italy after WWII when parents began collaborative initiatives to educate young children. Susan began the podcast discussing how she came to be so interested in the minds of young children She describes an encounter with a first grade boy who was struggling to read the word "city". She described how the young child tried over and over to read the word and asked many times for her to just tell him the word. Ultimately she gave in and read the word "city" aloud to him. He turned to her and said "that is such a little word for such  big place". That profound statement encourage Susan to learn more about children and how they learn.


For this course I have chosen to follow the work of the organization National Black Child Development Institute.As I looked through the list of various organizations to choose from I noticed that I was familiar with and had used quite a few of the organizations before in prior coursework or in my professional work. I decided that I wanted to study an organization that I wasn't familiar with as the goal of this assignment is to expand our resources. I selected the NBCDI because I have not heard of a organization within early childhood devoted to supporting black children specifically. I also learned that the organization's home base is local for me as it is situated in Washington D.C. I  thought learning more about and potentially connecting with members of the NBCDI will support my career goal of leaving the classroom and focusing my work on supporting families by educating parents in child development with specific attention paid to black and Hispanic families.