Farewell and Thank You to my 6165 Community

I would like to thank all of my classmates for all their support, responses, discussions, suggestions, thoughts and ideas. They truly mean a lot to me and I appreciate them all. As we all embark on our specialization courses, we are coming down to the wire, before the big G...GRADUATION. I am sure all of you are just as excited as I am, and look forward to conquering these last few courses as we have done so gracefully with our prior courses. In this course, and from my counterparts, I take with me, all of the encouragement, advice, suggestions and applause's provided to me during these eight weeks. I truly loved the discussions we had during our DB and look forward to meeting all of you very soon.

I wish my 6165 community all the best and I pray that you will have a successful remaining school year...see you all soon!!!!!!

Best wishes,
Nicole Cunningham

It's Time For "Adjourning"

Adjourning, according to the authors, refers to "groups whose project or task has come to an end" (2012, O' Hair and Wiemann, p.257). As the end stage of group development, during this time, groups find themselves coming to a close and either anticipate or dread group separation. I can relate to the adjourning phase of group development, as I have experienced this myself, with my assistant teacher from last school year. That particular school, by far, was the most fun, exciting and productive school year I have had. The year went by so fast, that we did not even realize the school year had come to an end. The children had such a blast that school year, and we as teachers, had so much fun with the children. My teacher assistant has such a creative mind, and her ability to bring those creations to life was amazing. Working together, we were so productive in our doings both inside and outside the classroom. I dreaded ending that school, however, I look forward to working with her again in two years. As we ourselves prepare for the adjourning phase of our MSECS program, I look forward to taking with me all that I have learned from working with my groups. Although I may not have a particular physical attachment or connection to my classmates or educational community, I do look forward to meeting all of you as we prepare to walk together at GRADUATION!!!!!

References

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. An introduction. New York, NY:

  Bedford/St. Martin’s.  

My most recent conflict...

The most recent conflict I had was with my husband. He loves to rent movies but when it's time to watch them, within fifteen minutes of the movie, he falls asleep. Just recently, he came home with two movies he just rented. Before he even put the movies in, I told him he was going to fall asleep. He argued with me claiming that he was not even tired and he wanted to see these movies. Sure enough, ten minutes into the movie, he was fast asleep. I was so upset. Not that he actually fell asleep, I knew he was going to do that, but the fact that he can never admit when he is tired. He actually fought with me for at least twenty minutes, after I woke him up the first time, claiming that he was not sleepy, and then, still fell asleep. I even attempted to change my choice of words in efforts to meet at some common ground, but that failed as well. I attempted to change my tone of voice, to show that I am not as angry as I appeared to be, but he still argued with me. At that point. I just gave up and let him sleep and I enjoyed both movies by myself. I did, however, refuse to give him any information about the movies, so now he is upset because he has to rent them all over again and watch them by himself.

How Well Do You Communicate With Other Cultures?

Working as an Early Childhood Educator, I do find myself communicating with people of different cultures, religions, ethnicities, etc. Amongst my staff alone, in a professional setting, I communicate with various individuals from different cultures. I learned that some topics I can speak about with people of certain cultures, while other's do not understand exactly what I am talking about. As no one person is alike, I also talk differently with my own family members. For example, I can talk to my brother about music and making beats, but can not talk to my cousin about these topics. I can talk to my cousin about acting, but my brother would have no clue what I was talking about. We encounter different people of different cultures everyday, sometimes without even realizing it.
The same applies with my parents and children in my classroom. I communicate with all of my parents differently. The way I communicate with one parent may not be the best way to communicate with another. Some of my parents like my full honesty when discussing their children while other parents would rather not focus on the objectives that need enhancement but one the objectives already accomplished. Growing up in a Jamaican household, with a father and uncles who were raised by a father from Hong Kong, and an Irish grandfather, not to mention all who have lived under British rule for years, I have learned to adapt and communicate with others from different cultures. I have come to appreciate the essence of diversity within my parents and children, as I try to infuse such diversity into my classroom.

How Would You Interpret This?

The show that I chose to watch was the "Modern Family". I have seen bits and pieces of this show, but was never truly intrigued by it. In the segment I was watching, the woman, who I already knew was the mother, was fussing at the young boy, who I already knew was the son. In the episode, based on body language, she was pregnant, and using her hands and fingers to gesture what she was saying. It appeared that she was fussing at the young boy, but the young boy was laughing. This was kind of confusing to me. Her hands were flaring in the air, and she was pointing her fingers at the young boy. Then she turned around, as though someone said something to her. That was even more confusing. As the young boy was laughing, she walked away, and it appeared as if she was crying. I assumed in this segment of the show, she was yelling at the young boy for something, and I guess the young boy found it hilarious.

After turning off the mute button, I learned that the mother was fussing at the boy because according to the son, she snores like a gorilla in heat. The mother was trying to explain to the son, and to the father, who was standing behind her, that because she was pregnant, her hormones were out of whack. This is when she begin to wave her hands and fingers in the air, demonstrating how passionate she was about the conversation at hand. When she turned around, was when the father made a comment about her snoring, which triggering the young boy to laugh even harder. The young boy was laughing because according to him, the mother has always tried to be this prissy individual, who thought it was unlady like for any woman to snore, and now she is the one snoring. The young boy found this hilarious, which was why he was laughing so hard.

My perceptions of the actions portrayed in the show were not too far off, but they were off in some points. I couldn't understand why the young boy was laughing so hard at the mother, while she was showing that she obviously was upset about something. Also, the boys facial expressions were also confusing, as I was trying to understand what he was implying, but had a hard time. The elements of communication demonstrated in this show was some what explanatory, but also kind of difficult to decipher. In this show, it also demonstrated that her method of communication was not very effective in getting her point across to her son and husband, as neither the son nor her husband took her seriously, or even attempted to understand her point of view. Clearly, her flaring her arms, hands and fingers in the son's face and in the air were not very effective ways in communicating her feelings and emotions regarding the topic.

Either way, I am still not intrigued by the show....lol

How Well Do You Communicate?

Growing up, I have encountered many forms of communication. For example, growing up in a Jamaican household, many of my family members, when excited, tend to speak extremely loud. One who is unfamiliar with this, would assume that an argument is taking place, when in fact, my family expresses their form of communication very passionately. One person, who I believe demonstrates competent communication is mother. I love they way she articulates her thoughts, how she allows the other individual to express their thoughts and concerns, no matter how much she may disagree, she does not interrupt. She just has this way of making the other individual think about about what they are saying. After they have said all they had to say, the look on their face is priceless. I have experienced this myself, too often. Now that I am older, and have my own family and children, I hope to one day develop the ability to be patient and listen first, before interrupting or disagreeing with another, no matter how passionate I am about the discussion.

My Professional Hopes and Goals for the Early Childhood Field

I would like to begin by thanking my 6164 Perspective Diversity community for all their support and guidance throughout these eight weeks. This course has been a very interesting one, and I wish my 6164 community all the best as they continue to strive for greatness throughout there MSECS program.

One hope that I have when thinking about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is providing these families with a level of acceptance and compassion beyond words. I always tell my husband, "actions speak louder than words", and providing diverse families of various backgrounds with a spirit of humbleness, acceptance and gratitude is the first step. The reason I say gratitude is because, without the diversity of these families, coming here to america and their willingness to expose and share their cultures with us, we would only have access to a limited level of diversity to display and share within our classrooms and amongst our children, so we should also be thankful that our multi-cultural families are open to sharing their cultures and levels of diversity with us.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is the hiring of more adequate and qualified teachers, who are open and humbled by the leverage that each of these variables hold. Diversity within a classroom is the epitome of our social world today. The level of inequity displayed in society today is the very reason why knowledge, comprehension and deliverance of equity in early child care is imperative today. We as teachers, often times become so engulfed in our biases, personal issues and internalized privileges that we disregard how our personal social injustices affect the social justices due to our children. It is time that we all jump on the same bang wagon and strive for the best for our young children, in the field of Early Childhood Education.

Welcome to America !!!

The country of origin that I chose is Comoros. Comoros is an African Island, located on the Indian Ocean, found between Mozambique and Madagascar. In this country, the known religion is Muslim.

One aspect of the Muslim religion is the importance of time spent with a child's mother. In response to this, as the child is away from his/her mother for a substantial amount of time, I will make it my duty to make the child feel as comfortable as possible by showing much more extra attention.

I will also encourage the other children to make the child feel much more comfortable by encouraging interactions with the child.

As the child is out of their element and away from home and familiarity, I will place photos and pictures of Comoros, as well as families dressed in Muslim and Comorian attire to help make the child feel a little more comfortable.

We will explore as we dissect different aspects of the country and the dominant religion of Muslim by learning about Ramadan, and reading books about the Comorian island. .

As the child explores the classroom, and becomes much more acquainted with the different areas in the classroom, I will also place familiar clothing in the Dramatic Play area. Clothing such as the Shiromeni worn by women and long color skirts and Koffia hats worn by the men.

Lastly, Comorian people are known for their fresh fruits and vegetables. We will also incorporate such activities into the classroom, through cooking experiments and other various activities.

I believe these preparations will benefit both me and the child , as I learn more about this country and its' dynamics, while he/she learns to adapt to this country. We will help one another as we provide one another with diverse information to be shared in the classroom. The level of diversity will be beyond measure and dynamically used for the enhancement of his/her's education.

My Personal encounter with Biases and Prejudices

In all honesty, I can not recall any incidents where I was exposed to biases or prejudices. However, my brother has been exposed to this. My brother was walking with his friend, to the bank, in the afternoon. On his way to the bank, two police officers walked behind my brother and grabbed him by his shirt. They placed him against the wall, and placed hang cuffs on him. My brother's friend, dumb-founded, stood helpless as he sought to find out why my brother was being arrested. My brother continuously asked why was he being arrested, but nothing was told to him. All he was told was to be quite. When he arrived to the precinct, the officer told him that they received a call from a woman who's purse was stolen, and he matched the description given. After being given further information, my brother explained to the officers that he was no where near that vicinity. I vividly recall the day my mother received the call from my brother that he was being held in "county" for something that he did not do. After much paperwork and deliberation, they released my brother with a simple, "oh, sorry". I recall how livid I was, and even considered pressing charges. My brother, however, felt completely different. He did not argue with the officers, but accepted the apology and even shook the hands of the officers. I learned a lot from my brother in this situation and I truly applaud his humbleness and his lack of aggression.  

Has this ever happened to you?

This week, I have been carefully monitoring and observing any evidence of microaggression in my classroom. To my surprise, my first encounter with microaggression happened to me. As many of you know, my family is of Jamaican decent. Many of the foods we eat are considered "unappetizing" to others. This week, I decided to pack lunch, from left over dinner cooked the night before. As I arrived to work, I was unloading my bags, as to refrigerate my lunch. My assistant teacher just happen to walk over towards me. I noticed that she was making up her face, as to suggest she smelled something foul. I asked her what was wrong, and she replied, "what's that?". I asked her "what's what?" She replied "what's that in the container?" I said "Oh, it's my lunch. I made dinner last night". She asked "What is it?" I told her it was pig's tail with red peas, but in Jamaica we call it Stew Peas and rice. While making up her face she said "Eww, why ya'll eat that? That's nasty?". At this point, I was quite tempted to respond in a very inappropriate way, but recollecting back to this course, I maintained my objectivity and explained to her that all cultures are different and not everyone eats the same foods that she eats. For example, in my culture, we do not eat chitlins', fat back, lard, or any other foods along the same lines, all of which is common in her daily diet. In explaining this, I reiterated "It still does not give me the right to make you feel like what you eat is disgusting or unacceptable". She calmly shook her head in agreement and, to my surprise, she apologized.

I found this experience to be a positive experience, in the sense that she recognized her microaggression and was willing to take responsibility for her actions. There were so many angles that I could have approached this situation, but in taking this course of Perspectives on Diversity and Equity, I acknowledge that ignorance begets ignorance.

...Please feel free to respond and share how you would have handled this situation differently...

What Would You Do?

In the case of a major catastrophe, the three items that I would take with me, besides the other important items that I would not be able to take are, (1) my bible, (2), my cellphone and (3) my baby pouch. 

(1) My bible is extremely important to me. It is the one thing that keeps me grounded in my faith, my family, and as a child of God. My scriptures are what set the foundations for me as a wife, a child, a mother, a professional and a christian. I love my Word and I love reading my Word. 

(2) My cellphone is important because in this new age of technology, cellphones have become almost universal. You can go just about anywhere with your cellphone and be able to communicate with the one's closest to you. Also, cellphones have become the main source of communication in just about every area possible. This may be the only source I hold to keep communication with my family. 

(3) I am currently seven months pregnant and I would definitely need to keep my son close to me, especially in a new land, with new people and a whole new culture. This would be one of the hardest things I've done, to have one of my children with me and separated from my other child. Having this pouch would provide a secure level of security for my son, as we both adapt to this new world. 

If forced to only take one item with me, it would have to be my cellphone. I chose my cellphone, because I would still have access to my bible, through my Bible app, as well as, be able to view photos  and videos of my family taken on my cellphone. While in this new country, I'm sure I can make my own baby pouch to keep my son close to me. Just thinking about this scenario actually scared me to my core. I can not imagine being away from my family, especially my children. This blog assignment really caused me to realize how much I take having my husband, my children and my parents for granted. I am quite thankful for this assignment.  

Thanks and Farewell to my Research Building Competencies Community

I would like to thank my Research Buildind Competencies community for all their support and guidance during this course. This course was one of the hardest courses I have taken thus far in the
Masters of Early Childhood Studies Program.

 

I have always had a difficult time with the concepts and dynamics of research. After taking this course, I have gained much knowledge and some understanding of research. I am still not 100% in the comprehension aspect of research, but I do have a better understanding of the concept and what it means to conduct research about a particular topic. As I mentioned in week 1 regarding the skills needed in order to conduct research, those still stand, with an even stronger emphasis on the necessary skills of patience, commitment and dedication. Although I still do not obtain a love for research, my nature regarding the purposes of research, particularly in Early Childhood Education has changed. The vital steps in reassuring the  minimizing of measurement error, the use of deductive reasoning and the crucial role of Informed consent have helped me in my understanding of how research should be conducted. In conducting my own form of research, during this course, into the necessity of early reading amongst two year olds, in efforts to promote language acquisition and vocabulary development, I have gained a much greater respect for the pioneers who have taken the time, energy, dedication and devotion required in order to prepare a foundation of research based knowledge for us teachers to apply in our classrooms and in our careers as ECE’s.

In the conduction of my own research, I have vowed to apply those very tactics studied and researched in my research simulation into my lesson plans. I hope to design a foundational outline for teachers in my facility that could be used in each classroom, as we focus on the aspect of Reading provided by programs such as School Readiness.

I was unaware of the challenges associated with creating a specific research topic that could be transformed in a hypothesis. I often figured that any research question would be acceptable, not considering the challenges associated with broad research topics. The most difficult portion for me is the ability to transform a broad research topic into a narrow topic, without changing the dynamics of the research as a whole. Through taking this course, I have gained the ability to alter research topics while maintaining the integrity of the research study.  

Early Childhood Australia: Research In Practice Series

Early Childhood Australia is an early childhood advocacy organization, advocating in the interest of young children, their families and those associated with early childhood field. The vision of the Early Childhood Australia organization is that every child is thriving and learning. The organization strives for champion outcomes in effective quality early childhood education and care.

• The mission of the Early Childhood Australia organization is to advocate to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from ages birth to eight (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/position_statements.html).

The organization currently holds eight branches is different parts of Australia, all integrals parts of the organization. They all play a helping hand in identifying issues and priorities for state and national actions, while influencing policies regarding young children.
There are no current projects posted on the website as yet, however, there is a plethora of interesting information provided.


One innovative practice effectively being used now is the Research In Practice Series, RIPS. Research In Practice Series is a practical, easy-to-read resource that offers effective new approaches for those challenging issues that arise in the care and education of young children (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/position_statements.html). These practices can be used in the classroom to help promote effective learning practices in spite of  the challenges that arise in the early learning field. Some of the topics discussed in the RIPS are:

• Learning positive behavior through educator-child relationship
• Critical reflection as a tool for change: Stories about quality improvement
• Respecting diversity: Articulating early childhood practice
• The Code of Ethics: A guide for everyday practice
• Understanding children's feelings: Emotional literacy in early childhood
• Aggression and young children
• Managing difficult behavior in  young children

Each section in the book covers a distinct questions many teachers seek answers for. For example, in the section entitled 'Learning positive behavior through educator-child relationship', questions addressed are:

1. What do we mean by "positive" behavior?
2. Reasons for behavior: Children's perspectives/Educators perspectives
3. Understanding children's feelings and intentions

The website also allows its' viewers to download sections of the RIPS, enabling immediate access.


Overall, the website is extremely informative, providing a plethora of innovative ideas and programs that can be integrated into the classrooms all around the world. In response to the work being in Australia, I am very motivated to incorporate some of the ideas and programs viewed on the website into my classroom. I am also very interested in learning more about how to approach and handle the many challenges that arise in the early childcare field.

Unlimited Resources in Poverty Research

For this week's blog assignment, I chose option 2, which reads:

• Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field. Imagine further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present. Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families. What topic would you choose? What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be?

If I had the ability to conduct any research of any topic, it would have to be research in Poverty and its' effects on young children and early learning and development. In this research, I would provide families suffering from the epidemic of poverty useful resources and economic benefits to assist in the beginning stages of providing adequate living and quality early childcare for their children. I could only imagine positive contributions would be that these young children would benefit from the results of this research. I would also hope that the families participating in this research would 'pay it forward' and help to provide other families, living in poverty, similar, if not, the same opportunities provided to them. Children involved in this research would be the opportunity to learn and develop their early learning abilities in adequate learning environments with well trained and qualified teachers. They would have exposure to and benefit from governmental programs such as School Readiness, to help minimize the educational and language gap affecting our young children today. 

Consequences and Goals of International Education

During these eight weeks, as I observed different websites and dissected the many values and standards of different countries and cultures, I was extremely enlightened. Awareness of this new knowledge opened a whole new spectrum of education that I was unaware of. We often talk about the educational lack that is shown in our country, but when learning about other countries, who obtain an even deeper lack of educational value and standard, it really causes one to re-evaluate just how much we lack in the area of education. Three consequences that I believe have impacted my current ideology of our educational values, all revealed through the dissecting and research of education in international countries, are letting go of your own personal biases regarding how other countries resolve educational dilemmas, gaining a new appreciation for how countries apply educational value and knowledge, and learning to appreciate the minimal advances we hold here in the states, compared to those in other countries. A goal of mine is to one day visit a country and observe and interact with the children in an educational setting. I believe that I would gain much insight and knowledge that can be applied to our educational system and early childhood settings here in the states.  

Quality from an ECCE stand point

UNESCO is a world wide network that specializes in Education. They head main quarters is located in Paris, with an additional 52 locations all around the world, including Bangkok, Beirut, Dakar and Santiago . Their strive for expanding progress in Early Education is dispersed across five different regions; Africa, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America and Latin America and the Caribbean. UNESCO focuses on a number of themes geared to different aspects of Early Education, as well as, provides its' viewers with a plethora of educational programmes suited for the advancement and awareness of early education.


UNESCO'S ECCE, Early Child Care and Education, elaborately describes the importance of quality and access in early childhood programming on their website http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/quality/.


"Early childhood care and education programmes should emphasise the child’s holistic development and extend beyond assisting the child’s transition to formal schooling. High quality childcare, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, promotes motivation, confidence, good cognitive and linguistic development and school readiness" (UNESCO, Early Childcare quality programmes).
Adequate quality programming in early childhood education has been the discussion of debate for many years. Questions are asked of how does one determine if programming is or is not adequate enough, based on the economical status of a community? Other's may conclude that maybe the lack of qualified teachers contributes to the insignificance of quality programming. Despite the debate at hand, all in all, our children are suffering because of the lack of quality programming; particularly in low income communities. This not only occurs in the U.S., but this is an international dilemma. The inclusion of active parent involvement and adequate learning through Play ensure that children learn using tools to their fullest capacity, while engaging in full interaction. Although conducted on a regular basis, I have emerged more methods of learning through Play into my classroom, with the multi-use of different materials, some purchased with my own funding.


The international crisis of investments and financing in early childhood programming is a world wide dilemma. As the U.S. makes attempts to play a more pro-active role in the investments of financing and minimizing equities in early childhood programming, government officials in other countries struggle to accomplish this same goal. The struggle to mobilize resources needed to promote quality in early childhood plays second to the overlapping issues associated with universal education as a whole. Although the 1990 Jomtien Declaration on Education for All (EFA) declared that countries should view early education as a part of basic education, government funding for early education is so minimal, the mobilization of such funding seems almost impossible. Working for a non-profit organization, it appears that non-profit seems much more effective, as programming is supported by government subsidies, as well as, provides assistance for children and their families, particular of low income families.

Sharing Web Resources

While exploring the ISSA website, I came across their Bookstore link. Entitled the Reading Corner Initiative, this link provides its readers with access to numerous books, via hard copy or online, that they can read and share with children. The books are created by members of the ISSA, and can be shipped from the United States, the United Kingdom or Germany. Through this website, books can be ordered online and shipped to your home or school, or, can be downloaded in its entirety, and ready for reading, with just the click of a button. The books are also available to be purchased in 15 different languages. Ebooks version of the Ready Corner books can be ordered from http://www.titlewave.com/,www.dedicatedteacher.com/p/iss, and www.overdrive.com.
To view books in their entirety, these can be downloaded from www.biguniverse.com/kidsbookshops/issa.
A few of the books found on the Reading Corner Initiative website are:

  Grandpa has 27 grandchildren, all who loved him, and shared the mangos he brought home every day. But grandpa was getting sick, losing his memory and the ability to even cut the mangos. Grandpa died, he will never be forgotten.

  The story of two very different dogs that were friends-they played together, ate together and even slept together-until one day they had a disagreement and stopped being friends. Friendship wins out and they become friends again.

  Rita finds a young parrot in the garden and brings it home. The parrot learned to repeat everything Rita said, driving her parents crazy. Fearing her parents will force her to let the parrot go, Rita decides to run away with the parrot. The misadventure and Rita are saved from disaster by the talking parrot.

Learning about this aspect of the website provides more clarity and understanding about the term diversity, more so than equity. Although that is the focus for this weeks learning curve, I strongly believe that diversity also plays a major role in equity and excellence. The acceptance of diversity among children in early learning environments lays a great foundation for the conception of receptiveness and perceptiveness. Applying the reading of these books in early learning classrooms can introduce the notion of diversity and acceptance in their early stages of life. 
Learning about the Reading Corner Initiative enlightened my knowledge of the powerful effects unity can have, when all members share the same goal and have the same motives in mind. When we as Early Childhood Educators can share the same goals, humble ourselves in how to achieve those goals and apply our knowledge and abilities in our respected positions, and maybe even step outside the box a bit, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.   

Global Children's Initiative

The Global Children's Initiative is an integrated international approach to child survival, health and development in the earliest years of life, founded in 2006 at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. "We view healthy child development as the foundation of economic prosperity, strong communities, and a just society, and our mission is to advance that vision by using science to enhance child well-being through innovations in policy and practice (Global Children's Initiative). The Global Children's Initiative strives to provide a healthy platform for children internationally, to secure a strong foundation within their immediate surroundings, including family, school and society. They strive to use the essential tools of science to create and implement health, learning and and cognitive behavior. They are committed to guiding the design, implementation and evaluation of such scientific programs and practices. The Global Children's Initiative is also utilizing public policies to create and implement these innovated programs.

The Global Children's Initiative concentrates on three strategic objectives:

• To reframe public discourse about he early childhood period by educating policy makers about the underlying commonality science of learning, cognition and health
• To support innovative, multidisciplinary research and demonstration projects in various parts of the world to enhance global understanding of how healthy development happens, how it can be derailed and how to get it back on track
• To build leadership capacity in child development research and policy among individuals and institutions in low-and middle-income countries in order to increase the number and influence of diverse perspectives that are contributing to the global movement on behalf of young children.   

The Global Children's Initiative focuses on a maintains their primary attention on three main domains that are drastically changing and affecting the Early Care Education arena; early childhood development, mental health (diversity), and children in crisis and conflict situations (I.E., poverty).

ISSA Services in Relevance to my Profession

International Step by Step Association is a caring organization that connects early childhood professionals and organizations in the early childhood field. "ISSA promotes equal access to quality education and care for all children, especially in the early years of their lives" (ISSA, http://www.issa.nl/index.html).

One of the services provided by the ISSA, is promoting quality, and supporting professionals. In my current profession in the early childhood field, these missions are extremely important. In my career, I strive to promote and support quality education not only in my classroom, but in my facility and my community. The quality of care is essential in the growth and production of young children, and as teachers, we should be advocates for such quality. A few of the outlined areas that ISSA concentrates on are Interactions, Family and Community, Teaching Strategies and Professional Development, all of which are essential to high quality child care. I am particularly intrigued in the new launch of a ISSA online course geared to Kindergarten/Preschool educators on child centered education. I think this is a great opportunity for educators to strengthen their motives and intentions in the classroom.
The Principles mentioned earlier, and few others, are Principles that the ISSA strongly believe should be followed by educators, administrators and policymakers, in order to make rational and effective decisions in the best interest of our children.
I believe this website provides educators, parents, and policymakers with crucial information that contribute to the essential progression of young children. This website can be utilized by all individuals of all areas, all with the same purpose in mind; to make decisions in the best interest of our children, in efforts to promote high quality education.

Overseas Development Institutes (ODI)

Unfortunately, I have not heard back from my international contact, and I have encountered numerous issues with uploading the websites provided. However, I was able to upload one of the alternative links provided. Below is an informative description of an international organization that strives to reduce poverty in undeveloped countries, like Africa and the UK.

Overseas Development Institutes, also known as ODI, is the UK's leading independent organization on international development and humanitarian issues. "Our mission is to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievment os sustainable livelihoods in developing countries. We do this by locking together high quality applied research, practical policy-focused dissemination and debate. We work with partners in the public and private sectors, in both developing and developed countries." (http://www.odi.org.uk/about). The ODI is in partnership with many other organizations, in the strive to fight poverty, such as OneWorld, EUFORIC, and Business Action for Africa, just to name a few. The link below provides its' viewers with a world history of how ODI came to development, the motives and intent's of ODI and how ODI strives to rid of poverty through policy changes, asking questions and finding answers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xuyRI00tbCg

The ODI foresees and undergoes numerous program's to pursue the fundamental and agricultural development of foreign countries. For example, the Agricultural Development and Policy program "works to promote understanding of transitions in food and agriculture, and appropriate policy responses. This is done with the aim of reducing hunger and poverty, and improving the sustainability of rural livelihoods in the face of increasing social, economic and physical shocks and stresses." (ODI). They also conduct, what they call, Flagship Projects. One project, the Africa Power and Policy Program works hand in hand with African politicians and leaders to develop a coherent political structure to enhance the development of Africa.   

The Overseas Development Institute does much more than fight against poverty, as a whole, but it conducts extensive research in policy making, agricultural statistics and developmental consistencies and researches how such demographics can be altered to promote successful growth in areas of Growth, Poverty and Inequality.  

Although economic growth has been witnessed in Africa, poverty is still at an all time high. The number of families, children and women without food, clothing or shelter is still at an alarming rate. The ODI focuses on eliminating these demographical statistics through the changing of inaccurate policies and the shifting of Africa's most influential power holders. "Poor statistics and poor data make for both poor policy interventions and poor developmental outcomes. But the paucity of accurate statistics in Africa is not merely a technical problem; it has a massive impact on the welfare of our citizens." (Development Initiatives, 2013).