Issues and Trends: Economists, Neuroscientists, and Politicians as Early Childhood Advocates

The section(s) relevant to my current professional development include the following;

Policy Engagement and Chip Activities/ International

The content in the Policy Engagement section is very informative in terms of providing me with researched based information about which combination of policies have been proven to be the most effective in eradicating poverty. CHIP outputs include reports, policy briefings, case studies and photo images, all of which are downloadable from this website. Having access to this information will equip me to effectively advocate for the well being of children.

Something I found to be controversial was policy about population control. I wonder how (in a democracy such as the U.S.) this could be implemented.  CHIP found that the larger the micro-system the more diluted family resources become. Resources include income, access to public services, parental time and the mother’s physiological and nutritional resources. For example, an infant born within 18 months of a previous birth has twice the probability of dying of an infant born two or more years later. Also large families have a higher incidence of working girls in some countries.  CHIP suggests that countries with high populations provide family planning services. Although we already have family planning services in the U.S. perhaps we should educate poor families more about the consequences of bearing children in poverty.

The information I found to extend my understanding of economists, policy makers, and politicians investing in early childhood, was from the Donors section. Donors are instructed to develop strategies that break cycles of poverty rather than programs that treat poverty through the implementation of projects. According to CHIP, economic growth alone is not enough to reduce poverty, but must be accompanied by redistribution as well.

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center Website

After exploring this website, I discovered the "CHIP" program. The CHIP program was funded by the UK Department of International Development , Save the Children and Chronic Poverty Research Center. Although this program has been discontinued, the website remains as a source of information to practitioners, policy makers and child advocates who are concerned about childhood poverty. Information is researched based and used in compiling reports and briefings.

The country I chose to explore regarding childhood poverty was India. In 2001, India was the second most populated country in the world with 260.2 million people living in poverty from 1999 -2000 (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/). There are several factors contributing to India’s poverty status, ecological situations such as drought, inequalities among the people due to social and caste subclasses, and gender discrimination.  Some regions are poorer than others. Persons living in rural regions of the country are the poorest due to the lack of access to assets, education, health and skills. 

There has been some progress, however the numbers remain high. During the past five decades, efforts have been made to alleviate poverty by means of creating 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 (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/). Despite these declines, there is still much controversy about the accuracy of these numbers. Overall, the absolute poverty numbers remain very high. 

In terms of how children are impacted by poverty in India, I found it interesting that girls are most impacted due to gender discrimination.  For girls, the poverty cycle begins at birth.  Depending on their social class and or caste (heredity hierarchy), girls are typically neglected, least likely to be educated and are more likely to participate in the child force labor. Overall, almost half of India’s children (about 62 billion) under the age five are malnourished, and 34% of newborn infants are extremely underweight (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/).   

Despite some improvements, India’s children make up 20% of the world’s population of children not enrolled in school and has the largest number of children under the age 16 working (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/). 

Three insights I have gained from this website are as follows; 1) The first step in eradicating poverty is to create a worldwide awareness about the issue of poverty and how it impacts children. 2) In terms of children experiencing poverty, children are the most vulnerable population as they can not speak up for their rights. I realize that in order to rid the world of childhood poverty, we (adults) will have to get involved in advocating for the well being of children at all policy levels. The CHIP website is a voice for children who can not speak up for themselves’ and provides information and photos that can be downloaded for the use of advocating against childhood poverty. 3) After reading several case studies from the website, I realized that poor families are no different from families that are not poor in terms of wanting their children to be educated. It was also enlightening to see how the children themselves communicated their desire to get an education as well. In contrast to the United States, our children seem to be more occupied with material gains rather than their education. Perhaps we should incorporate worldwide childhood poverty awareness in school curricula to help our children develop an appreciation for the education we have access to here in America. We could also involve our children in fund raising projects to support programs like CHIP. 

References

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP). (n.d.). Knowledge for tackling childhood poverty. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Changing Demographics and Diversity

National Black Child Development Institute

While exploring the National Black Child website, I was curios about its origin, so I clicked on the “About Us” tab and discovered that this organization was birth in the 60s during the civil rights era by the Black Women’s Community Development Foundation in Washington, D.C who were concerned about the unsatisfactory conditions of children and families who wanted to rear healthy children. After impacting their community on a local level, the group decided to form a national advocacy group forming networks in other cities and were incorporated in 1970 as The National Black Child Development Institute Inc.Their mission statement is as follows, 

“To improve and protect the quality of life for children of color and their families by giving every child a chance.” 

NBCDI promotes a multifaceted agenda to promote and protect the well being of children of color and is committed to replacing the existing cookie cutter (deficit oriented) program models with strength based initiatives designed to meet the individual needs of this particular population. Programs are designed to assist children and families experiencing challenges in the areas of early care and education, health, parenting, education, and child welfare. NBCDI also collaborates with other early childhood professional organizations and persons associated with the field.

Next, I explored their accomplishments and I was excited to discover that a NBCDI work successfully to create public policy and influence legislation that directly affects the lives of African American children by testifying before Congress on every significant child care bill. I was also excited to learn that the P.E.P. Parent Empowerment Project was one of their initiatives, reason being I was a child care director in the 1990s for the YMCA and we contracted the operation of a teen parent child development center with a Fort Worth Public high school. I recall the school social worker having weekly meetings with the teen parents that I sometimes attended. Topics ranged from filling out an application to properly strapping children in car seats and more.

I was also amazed to learn of another program initiative, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® This program provides sequenced educational scholarship opportunities for child care center teachers, directors and family child care home providers who work in regulated settings. Scholarships are also available to supplement the expense of teachers pursuing their CDA, Associates or Bachelor degree in Early Childhood Education.

One last thing, I discovered is that their annual conference will he held in Nashville, TN Oct. 8 – 11, 2011 where I reside.

In response to does this  website respond to this week’s topic, changing demographics and diversity, I did not see an actual article, the publication tab is being updated, but the topics for the conference are as follows,

• ·      Solving the Persistent Challenge: How to Promote and Support Diverse Leadership

• ·       Preparing for Diversity: The Role of Higher Education in Preparing Effective Educators of Black and Latino Children

Membership is very inexpensive for students, only $20.00! Wow! I think that is what I paid back in the late 90s.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

After several email returns I have opted to use Alternative 1, the World Forum

I clicked on the “Current Work” tab and selected radio forum from the drop down box.

Next, I subscribed to World Forum Radio and listened to two podcasts.

Episode 3, Delphina Mitchell-The context in which she improves the quality of life for children is healing children who have experienced physical and sexual abuse, abandonment and neglect. 

Episode 6, Meria Eka Yora-The context in which he improves the quality of life for children and families is  by meeting the social/ emotional, physical and cognitive needs of orphaned children due to the Tsunami tragedy.

The Early Childhood Organizations I have chosen to explore are;

Association for Childhood Education International
17904 Georgia Ave, Suite 215
Olney, Maryland 20832
USA
(301) 570-2111;
(800) 423-3563;
Fax: (301) 570-2212
E-mail us at headquarters@acei.org

National Black Child Development Institute
http://nbcdi.org/

International Child Resource Institute
http://www.icrichild.org/ 

"My Supports"

The supports in my life exist in several arenas; family, work, health, my community and last and most importantly, my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Family

 My Parents

My parents support me by remembering my birthdays, attending special occasions that involve me and conversing over the telephone. Last year I was in several stage plays and my parents who are in their late 70's and 80's traveled just to come and see me. Also when my ex husband and I split up a long time ago, my parents helped me out a lot. It was tough raising two daughters on my income alone. And the child support didn't start until a couple years after the separation.

My daughter Monica

Monica supports me in many ways. She makes me feel needed. She often calls me to talk about her work and the message she heard at church. She also makes me laugh. When I get off the phone with her, I feel good! We also have a lot in common. We are both tidy and like things in place, and we both can't wait to tell the other about the message we heard at church. We have some very memorable moments too. This past May, when I went to Texas for her graduation, she talked me into going to an European style spa. I stayed on the clothed side of course, but we had lots of laughs from that experience!

 My brother Jason

Prior to moving from Fort Worth, TX to Nashville, TN. in August of 2007,  my brother welcomed me to stay with him until I got out of debt. He allowed me to pay a very minimal amount so I could get out of debt. 2 1/2 years later, I purchased my first home. When I moved, he help me to move and he even hung my curtains for me. 

 My sister Vickey

My sister, supports me by making herself available to talk to over the phone. All though she is back in Texas, we still keep contact. We talk about work, or something we saw interesting on television. 

My aunt, Carol

Aunt Carl communicates with me often  via internet. One way she supports me, is by giving me words of wisdom. She often sends me Christian emails or humorous emails. There have been times, when the email she sent was right on time. Either I needed the food for thought or I needed to laugh. She too came to see me perform and she treated me to see the live stage play, "Dream Girls" when it came through Nashville, TN.

 My aunt Mingtoy

This particular aunt is very supportive with her personality alone. She is very sweet and kind. And she always has a kind word to say. She is also funny. And she just makes me feel good when I am around her. We recently traveled to Texas back in may for graduations I really enjoyed her company. 

My Close Friend  

I came to know Carmen when she joined the choir at my church. She is very friendly and caring. She always speaks words of encouragement. She was very supportive to me when I purchased my home. She prayed for me as I went through two tax credit extensions because the home I was purchasing was a short sale. When I finally purchased my home, she gave me a house warming party. Carmen is also a very good listener. I can call her to share good news or just vent if I need to and she allows me the space to do that. 

Work

The next arena is work. I definitely have to have support to do the job I do, working with children and families. My co- teacher supports me by sharing her load of the many responsibilities we have and by maintaining good attendance and being on time. My supervisor has been very supportive of me, especially since I started school by respecting my time and not asking me to work overtime. Also the families are supportive by sharing vital information with me to meet the needs of their children. Another way parents are supportive is by upholding policies and providing their child with the with the things they need for being in a preschool environment.

My Community

 My community is supportive to me because all of the business establishments I need to go to, are close by. The public library is a resource I often use to check out library books to support the curriculum and the interest of the children. Public parks are also supportive as they provide free recreation. I sometimes take my grandchildren to the park just to enjoy their company while being out in the open fresh air.I also recently joined a fitness center. Although I am paying for it, the staff are there to answer my questions, and assist me as needed. Also I find that my church is a very strong support system to. My church provides education, awareness and wellness initiatives and the church functions such as the choir picnic support me socially.

 My personal faith and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

I chose to share this support last, because I couldn't have come this far if it wasn't for my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. My relationship with Him has brought me through divorce, a child that ran away at age 13, single parenthood, loss of a job, surgeries and much more. But through it all, God has been my strength, my joy and the encourager of all encouragers as I receive hope and guidance from his word.  

All of these supports are important to me and to not have them would make life less enjoyable. As a human I am an emotional and social being. Life would be very sad, frustrating and lonely without these support systems. They all factor in to enhance my life. But again, out of all of these supports,  I can truly say, without Jesus and his word, I would really be up a creek because no one loves me unconditionally  like He does!

"My Connections to Play"

Play for young children is not recreation activity,...It is not leisure-time activity nor escape activity...Play is thinking time for young children. It is language time. Problem-solving time. It is memory time, planning time, investigating time. It is organization-of-ideas time, when the young child uses his mind and body and his social skills and all his powers in response to the stimuli he has met. 

--James L. Hymes, Jr., child development specialist, author

 Play is work that you enjoy doing for nothing.  
Evan Esar, humorist

The quote below doesn’t ascribe to the assignment, but I had to add this one. I am 55 years old and I am more energetic than many of my co-workers in their mid 20s. I believe the reason is that I have not abandoned play.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

-- George Bernard Shaw, playright 

 My family was very supportive of my play. Being the oldest among three other siblings, growing up we had a play room. My father and mother made a kitchen set out of wood for us. My father did the carpentry work and my mother painted it silver and added the final touches. A rectangular cake pan was used for the sink and for the stove she painted on red burners and used pop bottle tops for the knobs.  Also my father used a real faucet and my mother ran a tube from a plastic enema bag that she hung above the sink on the wall. The tube had a clip on it. When we released the clip, the water ran down and out through the faucet. I also had a piano, dolls, table and chairs and dishes. Our play was supported in the public school as well as we were given 30 minutes of recess everyday. Play was very important to me as a child. I could be anyone I wanted to be. From pretending to be Aretha Franklin wrapped in my bedspread with fringe around the edges, singing in the mirror of my bedroom to pretending I was on the Johnny Carson show, I was happy when I played. For me, play was very safe. 

How Play Today is Different From the Play I Experienced as a Child

Play for children today is very different from how we played in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. First and most importantly, it was common to have both parents in the home and we were part of a close knit community as many people on our block were relatives. Children were told to go outside and play. We only had a few simple rules. Be home before the street lights came, do not eat at your neighbor's house and do not talk to strangers. It was also common for each family on the block to have at least four children. So there was always some sort of group activity going on. We were very physical and played all sorts of gross motor games such as Red Light Green Light and Mother May I. We governed our own play and followed game rules. However, children today are kept inside, and the only physical play they get is from some sort of instructional program such as karate, or T ball. Due to advances in technology, children spend hours sitting in front of a television, computer and or video game screen entertaining themselves, developing fast reaction skills. As a result, children are becoming more anti-social lacking conflict resolution and problem solving skills.  Also, other than a school or instructional group setting, children seldom get to interact and or play with the neighbors due to parents fearing for their child's safety. We were athletic and physically fit too. We had better body coordination and were able to govern our own play. Many children today however, have become sedimentary and are overweight.Although the differences are profound, there are activities that children still do, and that is engages in pretend play. 


The role of play in my life invigorates me to where I feel a sense of well being. When I was a child care director, sometimes doing paperwork would become tedious and monotonous. To relieve stress and relax, I would take a break and visit one of the classrooms to play with the children. I have also continued to incorporate play into my adult life. Often times when I am on my lunch break, I may teach a game I learned from the YMCA (the cup game) to my co-workers. The next thing you know, we are all laughing, and having fun. The laughter puts us in a good mood and we are ready to go back into the classroom for the second half of the day.

Relationship Reflection

The relationships in my life are important to me because as a human being having social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs, positive relationships fulfill these need

In a social context, through relationships I feel connected to others. Connecting with others creates a sense of belonging and affirms that my life matters. Also in meeting the needs of others, I feel a sense of purpose as I reciprocate meeting their needs as well.

In an emotional context, having positive relationships provides me with the means to express my feelings whether sad, happy, afraid, disappointed or angry. The first thing I want to do when something wonderful happens is to call someone and share it with them. And when negative feelings are involved, I feel so much better when I can talk to someone who will listen, offer encouragement and in a constructive manner (one that builds me up) correct me when I am wrong.

In a cognitive context, positive relationships provide me with the opportunity to exchange information about various issues in life. I also find that having a good conversation stimulates my mind. And as a result of going back to school, I have discovered that talking and socializing with others re-energizes me and increases my creativity. I believe that as human beings, we have a lot to learn from the life experiences of others.

Physically, I now understand that positive relationships are key to better health.  As these relationships fulfill the social, emotional and cognitive needs, I feel better physically. My energy level is high and I respond to problems a lot better. Being able to express my feelings allows me to relieve stress. And we all know that bottled up stress harms the body physically.  Also just the simple act of laughing together causes rich oxygen to flow to all of the organs in the body including the brain and  endorphins that are released  in the brain causes one to experience a sense of well being. Physical contact such as a hug from my grandchildren or my children at work helps me to feel better physically.

Below are just a few of the people that I have wonderful positive relationships with. And I am thankful for them all. I will mention however that each relationship is unique.Some involve me reaching out more, others involve equal share, but regardless they all meet some need that I have.

 

This is a photo of me and my father. Our relationship is special because I was 1 years old when he married my mother. And even though he and my mother had three other children after me, he treated me as his own. He paid for me to go to college and has always been one of the stable people in my life. Our relationship is sustained by a love for family. We call each other on the phone, send each other birthday cards and he always came to visit me no matter how far away I was. My father is a wonderful provider and when I went through my divorce in the late 80s, he helped me a lot financially with my two daughters. 

This is Monica, my youngest daughter. We have so much in common. When we lived together, we both would clean house and then watch Life Time movies together. Another bond that I feel really connects us together is our love for the Lord. Sometimes she will call me on the phone and tell me to change the channel to Joel Olsteen or TBN. Also we are able to be transparent with each other by sharing our successes as well as our failures.When  venting my frustrations to her,  she always responds with encouraging words. And even though we may disagree sometimes, our relationship remains strong.  

Now this little girl here, is my heart, Jael! She has two other brothers, and I love them very much, but she calls me to come and get her and when we are together we play games, watch television, cook and we just get along so well. She also has a wonderful sense of humor and makes me laugh at some of the things she says and does. To sustain this relationship, we call each other on the phone, she spends the night with me sometimes and we hug and kiss each other a lot. 

The biggest challenge in maintaining and sustaining relationships is that sometimes I am guilty of procrastinating tasks like mailing the birthday card out on time. Another area is that of learning to listen intently . Although I have come a long way in this area, I still have to make a very conscious effort to make sure I am truly listening.  I use to be really bad at forming a response in my mind while  the person was talking. 

Relationships in my personal life apply to my work life a well as I am able to apply the golden rule Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Since I know that relationships benefit me socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically, I want to enhance the lives of parents and their children  by meeting their social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs as well.

“Human relationships, and the effects of relationships on relationships, are the building blocks of healthy development” (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000, p. 4).

Human relationships are a part of life. Some relationships are healthy and positive while others are negative and draining. So we have to be willing to assess our relationships so that we can classify them by putting them in  their perspective places in our lives.