Saturday, March 24, 2012

Sharing Web Resourcest

I have been following the National Head Association web site. The information that is relevant to my current professional development is the important trainings and conferences that focuses on the nature of the children's development. The Pre-k program debates concerning direct teaching through play. The NAEYC program focuses on the benefits of high quality daycare, it focuses on health issues such as stress, it also focuses on helping our children rather than focusing on politics. I have gain information on conferences that I can attend to learn more about focusing on our children.


References
National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development Preliminary Program retrieved from http://issuu.com/naeyc/docs/12instprelim_webb


Saturday, March 17, 2012

Belinda's Journal-Poverty in India

I chose to research poverty in India.. With an estimated 1.03 billion citizens in 2001, India's population is second only to China's.1 With 260.2 million people living in poverty as of 1999-20002, India is home to the majority of poor people in South Asia, and deprivation is endemic, especially in rural areas. There are also substantial differences in the extent and severity of poverty, both between and within states. Though a group of northern and eastern states have the highest rates of poverty, in most states there are 'high' as well as 'low' poverty regions. Rural poverty is strongly associated with lack of access to assets, skills, and low levels of health and education, which limit people's possibilities of benefiting from economic growth.




Between 1973 and 2000, the percentage of the population below the poverty line declined continuously from 54.9 percent to an estimated 26 per cent. Rural poverty reportedly declined from 56.4 per cent to 27.1 per cent during the same period.3  However, the pace of reduction in poverty varied considerably during this period; a reported 10 per cent decline in poverty in the second half of the 1990s is particularly contentious. At the same time, the numbers of people below the poverty line fluctuated substantially, increasing by 13 million during the early 1990s and reportedly decreasing by a massive 60 million during the mid to late 1990s.

There are an estimate of about 400 million of the population are between 0-18 years.  Many of the Indian children are living hard lives. Almost half of the children under the age of five are malnourished and 34 percent of new-borns are significantly underweight. India accounts for over 20% of the world's out of school children. Most of the children in India that are under the age of 16 are working to help provide for their families. India's anti poverty programmes are mainly run by the central government. There are three main types - rural employment creation and infrastructure development programmes; self-employment; and food subsidy programmes. All three have been subject to reform in recent years to ensure better targeting and coverage. The largest food subsidy programme is the Public Distribution System, which is explicitly targeted towards the poor.

there are programmes implemented by the state government for the welfare of marginalised groups such as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes. In addition, there are Special Area Programs that look after the growing needs and aspirations of people in disadvantaged areas.

The insights that I gained from this research is that children under the age of 16 are working to provide for their familes; India accounts for 20% of the world's out of school children because of poverty. Finally, India's anti poverty programmes are mainly run by the central government. I am touched that children of India are not receiving education because of having to work to help support their families; children should have the right to an education.

References

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s page retrieved from  http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sharing Web Resources

The name of the organization that I chose is the NAEYC organization which is the National Association for the Education of Young Children. I have also joined the Zero to Three National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. The NAEYC is to help build better futures for all young children. NAEYC is the world's largest organiztion working on behalf of young children with nearly 80,000 members, a national network of more than 300 state and local Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations. The NAEYC Academy sets and monitors standards for high-quality early childhood education programs and accredits programs that meet these standards. NAEYC Accreditation has been helping parents make the right choices and improving the quality of education and care provided in programs for young children since the early 1980s. NAEYC is the leading membership association for those working with and on behalf of children from birth through age 8. NAEYC convenes thought leaders, teachers and other practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders and sets standards of excellence for programs and teachers in early childhood education. NAEYC members include teachers, paraeducators, center directors, trainers, college educators, families of young children, and the public at large. The NAEYC holds public forums, has a National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development, the program also and monitors standards for high-quality early childhood education programs and accredits programs that meet these standards. The program also provides periodicals as well as books resources to draw from early childhood theory, research, and practice to offer essential principles, fresh perspectives, and strategies for fostering children’s development and learning.  One current issue that caught my attention is the Culturally responsive curriculum for and about indigenous people. 

The Zero to Three Program is a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. The Zero to Three issue that caught my attention is child development at nine pivotal stages of early life from 18 to 24 months.

I have learned from studying these resources the importance of becoming familiar with early childhood organizations to stay current in the field and to connect with other professionals as well as attend conferences and training on important issues to be proactive with the changing demographics and diversity.

Resources
http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc
http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/



Thursday, January 26, 2012

My Connections to Play

"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning." Fred Rogers
"Play keeps us fit physically and mentally." Stuart Brown





As a young child growing up, I can remember always going to the park to swing on the swings and ride on the merry go round. My older cousins and I would always walk to the park and we would take turns pushing each on the swings as well as on the merry go round. I always felt happy when I was outside playing with my cousins and friends.  I can remember when I was sad about hard times in my life as a child I would always play with my friends and forget about my saddness. My parents always encouraged my brother and I to go outside to play, they bought us many toys to play with.

Play today is different from the play in which I engaged in as a child. Play seems to becoming a thing of the past; children using technology such as video games, computers, and more are taken children interest in play. My hope for young children and regards to play is that parents and teachers promote and encourage play for young children. Play is important in children's cognitive and emotional development. The role of play is important throughout my life, I have found that play is very calming and relaxing even throughout my adulthood.



Saturday, January 14, 2012

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because it helps in improving my personality as well as shape my life.  Family is especially important to me because of so many reasons: I can always be myself around my family. My family supports me when I am surronded by trouble. I have positive relationships with my mother, brother, and cousins. My mother is my all; she has supported me from and infant and even now. My mother has supported me menatally, and financially. My father was my heart as well, he passed away in August of 09, and there has not been a day that I have not thought about him; although him and I did not engage in bonding conversations daily, I knew that he love me and I loved him; he knew that if he needed anything I would be there for him, I was there for him through his illness, I had to listen to the doctor tell him about his life threatening illness in which he passed away from; one of the hardest things that I had to deal with. I miss and love my father very much and sometimes can't believe that he is gone. I love my brother and support him very much as well, he is disable but I am always there for him. I am close to a few of my cousins and consider them as my close siblings. My cousins supported me so much through my father's death and I love them for that, I did not have to do anything around the house they did everything for my mother and I. 

My relationships are positive with my family and friends. My friends are always encouraging me and they are always remembering me during difficult times such as holidays, my fathers death date, my birthdate and any special event in my life; I have one friend we don't talk on a daily basis because of busy daily lives; but we when we do talk it is like we connect as soon as we see each other we pick back up from where we left off. I love my co-workers as well, they are also there from me when things are not going well in my life, they are always encouraging me.

Relationships can also be challenging; for example, I have a boyfriend and we have been in a relationship for a long time; it has not always been easy but we somehow tend to make it work. I am nice but I admit that sometimes I have my own faults and it is sometimes difficult for me to compromise; this is one thing that I really need to work on.
I believe that special characteristics make certain relationships for example, my friend of many years has a caring personality in which she is very genuine. I believe that a person who is genuine can really get along well with others; we connected from day one of our lives as if we are really sisters. My friend as well as my close cousins have a great sense of humor, I love to laugh and I believe that this is my personality.

I feel that my experiences with relationships with my family and friends will impact my work as an effective early childhood professional. My relationship with my parents taught me how to be genuine and caring; this is important when working with children and their families. I have learned the meaning of being supportive from family members which is very important when working with families to provide them the appropriate resources that is needed to help with their children.