Collaborative Learning Community

It has been an absolute pleasure making contact with early learning professionals on an international level.  My first attempts were not fruitful as I received two ‘messages undeliverable’ and one reply from the executive direction at the Canadian Child Care Federation.  She responded one time letting me know that she was extremely busy but she said she would be willing to answer any questions I may have.  My first question to the professional at the Canadian Child Care Federation was regarding teacher qualifications for preschool classrooms.  I understand how hectic our roles can be in the field and I have learned that reaching out to share resources will be a time investment with great returns.  When I did not receive a response from the Canadian Child Care Federation,  I proceeded to watch a podcast on the World Forum Radio website.  This is where I listened to Delfena Mitchell with the Liberty Children’s Foundation and was inspired to see if I could establish contact with her.

I am thrilled to have established contact and learn about the services provided at the Liberty Children’s Home.   I hope to continue my contact with Delfena Mitchell to learn as much as possible about the successes and challenges faced by the staff, children and families at the Liberty Children’s Home.   Currently they are experiencing a budget crisis and it is my hope that they can find the funding that will support the return of the Parents as Teachers program and support expanded services for their pre-school program.  It is also my hope that Delfena Mitchell has the physical and emotional support necessary to fulfill her role as Director of the Liberty Children’s Home. 

My International Contact-Liberty Foundation

  A couple weeks ago I was introduced to Delfena Mitchell from the Liberty Foundation while listening to podcasts on the World Forum Radio.   Ms. Mitchell is the Director of the Liberty Children’s Center in Belize.  My first question to her was concerning Jaden and how he was doing.  Jaden was 9-years-old when he came to the Liberty Children’s Home after experiencing years of child abuse.  He is now into his second year of receiving loving and nourishing care in a safe and welcoming environment.  He loves to play the drums, singing and dancing.  His teacher recently called Ms. Mitchell to let her know he is doing very well in school.

The sad part of this communication is the economic crisis in the United States and Europe has severely affected Liberty as they rely heavily on donations and much of their donors who can no longer help came from the US and UK.  In order to reduce expense and operate in an ever shrinking budget, they have had to cut their programs and staff.  Liberty no longer has their Parents as Teachers outreach program, and the preschool is in danger of closing so that the residential facility can survive.  Recently the government of Belize started to help with a monthly stipend but they are still operating with a very limited budget which has Ms. Mitchell scrambling to find ways to further reduce their expense and to find funding.

In response, I provided her with the Atlas Family Foundation website.  This foundation funds 16 grant opportunities per year and I am hoping this is a resource that will support continued services for the children at the Liberty Children’s Home.  Ms. Mitchell, like all of us in the early childhood field wants to continue adding value to the lives of as many children as possible.

There is an opportunity for everyone to show their support to the Liberty Foundation.  If you have old cell phones sitting around your home you can send them to:  Liberty Foundation, 67 Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7LN.  Envirofone will recycle your unwanted phones and give the Liberty Children’s Home a donation in the process.  To spread the word about supporting the Liberty Children’s Home you can also post this information on your FaceBook page, giving your friends and colleagues an opportunity to participate in this opportunity to support quality services for at risk children.  You can learn more about the Liberty Foundation at www.libertyfoundation.org.uk. 

Inside the International Step by Step Association: Quality Care and Education for All

As I was exploring the website I went to the Global Network link and found a list for the core members of the International Step by Step Association (ISSA).  It was great to see organizations on the list from countries like Albania, Croatia, Czech Republic and Slovakia.  There are a total of 29 countries represented on the list but none from the United States of America.  I found this odd since all the documents I have downloaded from the website have had at least two or three authors on the list of authors who developed the documents, such as the ISSA Pedagogical Standards Observation Form and the ISSA’s Definition of Quality Pedagogy, Competent Educators for the 21^st Century.

The Competent Educators for the 21^st Century document triggered my curiosity so I decided to explore it a little more.  There are seven focus areas in the document; 1) Interactions, 2) Family and Community, 3) Inclusion, Diversity and Values of Democracy, 4) Assessment and Planning, 5) Teaching Strategies, 6) Learning Environment, and  7) Professional Development.  The document is intended to support quality services for the children and families we serve and to encourage early educators to be agents of change in our “crucial roles of developing self-esteem and self-confidence, lifelong learning skills, the disposition for living and working with others, and respect for diversity.

The e-newsletter had a link to provide country profiles on emergency preparedness as it relates to keeping children safe.  The five countries represented were Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Tajikistan.  The main lesson of this work supported by UNICEF and ISSA was to support “making children an immediate priority in emergency planning and management.”    This is a 128 page document providing information on the types of emergencies each country has/can experience, the population demographics and resources to support safety during an emergency.   One factor that really stood out for me from this document is the enrollment of children in early education programs.  Moldova has the highest enrollment rate at 80% while Tajikistan has the lowest enrollment rate at 10%.  All countries address the issues of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and avalanches.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tajikistan, and Georgia addressed the emergencies associated with war.  Kyrgyzstan addressed emergencies associated with toxic and radioactive waste.

The work of the ISSA builds upon the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, including making sure all services and decisions for children are in the best interest of all children.  When the Convention of the Rights of the Child drives the work of associations and early childhood educators, the outcome will be equity and excellence for all children and families across all nations.

Glocal Issues on Early Learning Equity and Excellence

Due to my tardiness in making contact with the Director of the Liberty Children’s Home in Belize I have not received a reply to my communication.  The other contact I made with the Canadian Child Care Foundation let me know she would do her best to maintain contact with me as this is a very busy time for her; I am currently awaiting her reply to my questions regarding the quality of care in early learning environments and teachers qualifications in one of the most educated cities in Canada; Ottowa.  In the interim, while I am waiting to hear from my global contacts I have investigated the Global World Initiative website.

As I navigated through the Global World Initiative website found at http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/ the first document to catch my eye was the Global Children’s Initiative Fact Sheet:  Mission and Activities.  The document describes the participation in four activities, Early Childhood Development; Child Mental Health; Children in Crisis and Conflict Situations and Building Broader, More Diverse Leadership Capacity in Research and Policy.  The Global Children’s Initiative is focusing on the quality of early learning environments worldwide, measuring child outcomes and using malaria control strategies in Zambia, and supporting an increase in preschool quality in Chile.

To address child mental health the initiative is assessment mental health services in China, supporting family-based strategies in Rwanda to empower families of children infected with HIV/AIDS, and addressing child maltreatment and mental health in three Caribbean nations; Barbados, the Republic of Trinidad  and Tobago, and Suriname.  This last child health activity supports my interest as I have reached out to the Liberty Children’s Home in Belize.  Belize currently has the highest number of child abuse incidents in the Caribbean.  It is understandable why the Global Children’s Initiative is focusing energies in the Caribbean because “in Latin American and the Caribbean, 40 million children under 15 years of age suffer violence, abuse and neglect in the family, the school, the community and the street” (2009, p. 9  http://www.eclac.org/dds/noticias/desafios/0/37890/Challenges9-cepal-unicef.pdf)

To address the Children in Crisis the initiative is supporting survey activities in Chile and Haiti to determine child outcomes as a result of the most recent earthquake and using science to education policy makers on the effects of acute malnutrition on brain development.

To secure a more diverse leadership capacity, the initiative has developed activities to provide training for researchers, policy makers and educators so we can educate and advocate on a local level using one voice packed with the latest research on how positive early relationships support brain development with the ultimate outcomes of improved health, behavior and learning throughout life.

Sharing Web Resources

The winter 2010-2011 newsletter found on the International Step by Step website includes a document titled “Culture and Learning”.  The document will support my work with Head Start education staff to support the diverse cultural backgrounds of the children and families enrolled in their programs.  There are three sections to the document titled, Development and learning; Living and learning; and Learning and schooling.  At the end of each section are Policy Questions pertinent to each section.  Examples of Policy Questions are:

·    How far do policies and programmes support mothers and other caregivers in forming the close and nurturing relationships which are the foundation for children’s earliest development? (2010, p. 16)

·    What steps are required to protect children from harmful or exploitative work while at the same time respecting the positive contribution that appropriate kinds of work can make to children’s development? (2010, p. 32)

In the Living and learning section there are two pages dedicated to promoting play with a case study from Sudan.  The case study described was an observation of young girls playfully acting out the events of the social life in a Sudanese village after they are done with their daily work.  There are many references to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and how child development is a cultural process.

My knowledge on the value of children working at a young age changed when reading this document.  Every time I heard of a child working I would think about young children working long hours in a factory.  Sometimes children’s work is driven by circumstances that are out of the family’s control.  In some of the poorest communities, parents and child care providers are found to incorporate developmental practices into the work the child is participating in; hanging clothes can also support the learning of colors and sizes or teaching the characteristics of weeds and crops while working in the fields.  Parents and communities are supported to ensure children are not subjected to harsh working conditions.

The document is an easy read and has beautiful pictures of children and families from around the world.  The information provided can support all early learning programs in their work to implement inclusive practices in all our professional early learning practices.   It can be found at the following website:  http://www.issa.nl/newsletter/10/winter/files/Culture-and-learning.pdf