Sharing Web Resources: Part 3

Continuing my research on the Save the Children website, there are multiple statistics about how mothers, children, and families are not receiving the help they need because of the Coronavirus pandemic. These are unprecedented times for everyone right now, and we are all proceeding into uncharted territory. With help from Save the Children, many countries are able to help their residents with food and shelter and protection from other diseases besides Coronavirus.

The Save the Children website lists many ways that they are helping countries during this difficult time. 

Additionally, Save the Children advocates for the 2.3 billion children in the world and offers help when needed during disasters and relief efforts. "U.S. policymakers look to Save the Children as the leading expert on childhood, both here at home and abroad." (Save the Children, 2020)

Reference

Save the Children. (2020). Policy and Advocacy. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/policy-and-advocacy

Global Children's Initiative

I especially found interesting the section on ACEs or Adverse Childhood Experiences. Speaking from current experience, my husband and I are currently separated and are going through a tumultuous divorce. My daughter has been witness to our arguments for her entire 7 years of life. She saw violence and heard things that no one should ever hear, especially not a young child. For me, I worked hard to keep her away from anything that I knew could harm her, but there are some circumstances that are out of my control. She saw physical abuse done to her mother, she heard emotional and mental abuse happening all around her. She heard her father call her mother horrible names and somehow, she still wakes up with a smile on her face each day. She is, however, very angry. She has big feelings that she cannot explain. I realize now that this environment has caused her toxic stress that we will need to work through together with her. She lashes out and yells and has a short fuse. Reading about this important topic really helped me with how I can help her.

Another section I really enjoyed reading about is Early Childhood Mental Health. As an early childhood professional, I find it super helpful when parents are with us in helping their child. We are never quick to diagnose a child, but we do take anecdotal notes to present to the parents when we have a concern. Even little behavior issues are documented and saved for a later time if needed. 

The last section that I really enjoyed reading about was in the resilience section. This quote really stuck out to me and gives me hope that my own children have me as their stability. "The single most common factor for children who develop resilience is at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive parent, caregiver, or other adult." (2020) This quote alone helps me realize that no matter what is going on in a child's family or household, as a teacher, I can make a difference in their life as a stable adult.

According to the Global Fund for Children website, "Young people have the right to protect their bodies, raise their voices, and define their futures. But millions are denied these rights every day. We work to ensure that all children – regardless of their gender or their sexual identity – can be safe, learn, lead, and thrive." (2020) Equity is encouraged for young girls all around the world. Without encouragement for some of these girls, they would not have proper health care and would not learn the correct way to take care of themselves. 

 

References

Gender Equity. Global Fund for Children. (2020, July 14). https://globalfundforchildren.org/our-partners/focus-areas/gender-equity/.

Resilience. Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2020, August 17). https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/resilience/.

Sharing Web Resources Part 2: NAEYC

On the NAEYC website, I find many helpful resources for myself currently as an educator. I enjoy the articles and am able to access information that I can share with the teachers at my school. We are dealing with a pandemic that none of us have any experience with, so the articles are helpful for us to help the children (and ourselves) cope with this trying time.

Also, there are articles with other issues described that can be helpful for all educators, and parents. My daughter currently has some big feelings that she is trying to work out because of me and her dad splitting up, and the NAEYC website has many sources and ideas to help a newly single mom.

This section of the website has multiple resources for teachers of all different backgrounds.

https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/covid-19

 

One article that really jumped out at me is called “There’s No Going Back: Child Care After Covid-19” by Rhian Evans Allvin and Lauren Hogan. In this article, the authors list six ways that states can help support child care programs during the shutdown because of Covid-19.

1.    1.  Count by Contract, Not by Child

2.    2.  Cover the Cost of Quality

3.    3.  Pay Early Childhood Educators What They Are Worth 

4.    4.  Use the Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession

5.    5.  Rethink Our Investments to Drive Quality

6.    6.  Incentivize Employers to have Skin in the Game

Ultimately, if we could meet these 6 items for each program, all schools might be more successful.

References

Allvin, R. E., & Hogan, L. (2020, May 6). There’s No Going Back: Child Care after COVID-19. NAEYC. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/blog/theres-no-going-back-child-care-after-covid-19.

Coping with Covid-19. NAEYC. (2020). https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/covid-19.

Getting to Know International Organizations

The Global Fund for Children (www.globalfundforchildren.org) is the "only global nonprofit dedicated to discovering, funding, and coaching truly community-based organizations that empower children and youth." (Global Fund for Children, 2020)

Through this website, I was able to learn that this organization works with 57 different organizations and 21 different countries to help the 124 million children that are not in school. This begins in preschool and continues all the way through secondary education and higher. They believe that all children deserve the right to an education and a better future, despite the boundaries and roadblocks that they are living in. 

What I really appreciated on this website is that children's books are an important part of GFC's mission. Books empower children. The founder of Global Fund for Children is Maya Ajmera. She has authored over 20 children's books. One important book that she co-wrote is "Back to School," which illustrates what school looks like for children all over the world. How interesting for children here in the United States! I would use this book in my preschool classroom to educate children of Montgomery County, PA about different parts of the world.

These books seem like such a benefit to use for children of all ages, but especially early childhood. It is something I will look into purchasing for my school.

I appreciate the efforts of GFC as education and the well being of young children is so important for everyone, I feel that sometimes the world forgets that children are still people with intelligent minds. Imagine how much better the world could be if we put more effort into molding the minds of young people instead of arguing over nonsense.

References

Global Fund for Children. (2020). https://globalfundforchildren.org/.

Sharing Web Resources

 The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is an important association for early childhood educators. NAEYC sets the standard for quality early childhood education. This association offers training and guidance for teachers abound. 

"The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. The association comprises nearly 60,000 individual members of the early childhood community and 52 Affiliates, all committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning. Together, we work to achieve a collective vision: that all young children thrive and learn in a society dedicated to ensuring they reach their full potential." (NAEYC, 2020)

At my previous school where I worked for 9 years, we followed all NAEYC standards. Some schools in the corporation were NAEYC accredited and the ultimate goal of our school was to reach that goal. 

At my new school, we follow Pennsylvania state standards and most of these are in line with NAEYC standards. I find it so important to follow these standards as they are defined as the best for all young children nationally.

One item I found to really love on this website is an assessment tool that educators can use to help evaluate the best ways to help all children in their care. Using this tool, we can see the best approach to help children of varying abilities and diversities. 

There are several important Diversity posts on the NAEYC website. I have listed a few below with hyperlinks to the website.

References

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://www.naeyc.org/about-us

Expanding Horizons/ Resources

This week, I chose to explore the website, Save The Children. Within this site, I found a podcast that really interested me. I am recently out of a long-term, abusive relationship, so when I found "Girls on the Move in South Africa," it spoke to me. I am by no means a feminist or preach girl power, but something spoke to me about this. We have to empower young girls to know that it is okay to stand up for yourself, no matter the situation. 

Please take a moment to listen for yourself.

https://www.listennotes.com/embedded/e/5bd78257392341f7a9c597e4da2b90cd/

I also want to continue learning about the organization, Pippi of Today. By empowering our young girls, we are setting them up for success in the future. This is something that I feel very strongly about. 

Expanding Resources

The website that I chose to really delve into is The Center for the Study of Childcare Employment. This is because I find that it is extremely important to hire exceptional teachers to teach in the field of early childhood education. Often times, childcare is viewed as a stepping stone for teachers until they can get a "real" job. But, childcare and early childhood education are so important, that we need to hire quality teachers to help shape the minds of the next generation.

Another issue that is addressed on this website is that parents pay an outrageous amount of money each month for childcare and childcare workers make so much little. It is almost an unlivable wage. And if we are preaching that early childhood is so important to all children, why are we not showing our early childhood teachers that they are valued and are as important as we are saying? There needs to be compensation for these teachers.

My Supports

Support is when someone or something offers help to you. For me, support comes from my co-workers, my family and my friends. The past 4 weeks have been tough for me, emotionally, and mentally, and without the support of the closest people around me, I would not have been able to make it through with the shiny side facing up. When I decided to leave my abusive husband, I thought the floor was coming out from under me. Having him in my life, as my best friend, as my partner, my husband, for 15 years and suddenly deciding to leave him was the hardest decision I have ever made. My coworkers have supported me in picking up the slack that I have dropped. They have listened to me cry and sob and go on and on about how broken my heart is. And yet, they are still here for me. Their emotional support has shown me that I do have worth; that I am not nothing; that life wouldn't be better off without me in it. My family has been there for me as well. My parents have always been my best friends, but I cannot begin to thank them for the financial, emotional and psychological support that they have shown me. Friends that I have lost touch with have shown back up and have expressed concern for me and have asked what they can do. Having a true support system doesn't mean it is all about the people that are currently in your life. For me, it is about the people that have been there and stuck around and helped pick me up when I was down; when my kids were down.

Without these people literally helping me to survive, I would have crumbled. I wasn't in a good place mentally, or financially, and they helped keep me upright. Quite honestly, without having the support of my loved ones, I would have never had the courage to leave. I would have stayed in a dangerous situation and continued to be unhappy with my life. My children would have grown up thinking it was okay for men to treat women this way. 

One challenge I can never imagine having to deal with would be the ability to not drive, because I did not have the means to purchase a car or the ability to actually drive. Without the ability or capability to drive, I would have to spend money on the daily to get anywhere that I wanted to go. (work, shopping, appointments) I would have to depend on other people to help me make it places. Having to depend on someone else to drive me around would save me the cost of car insurance each year. But, it would also make me completely dependent on someone else, which I never want to be. I would feel like a burden. In the end, I might save a little money by depending on someone else to drive me around, but I would ultimately be sacrificing my wellbeing for a few bucks.