Sharing Web resources

NAEYC has sections that are geared for educators.  This section has current newsletters and accreditation classes that you can take with or without your peers.  This is important because it helps you stay on top of current changes in our profession while encouraging you to achieve more as a teacher.

One discussion that was discussed on the teacher board that was controversial for me was the same sex parent issue.  I work at a Christian facility and I was raised a Christian.  My first thought is always do unto others as I would want them to do unto me.  I must admit that this is tough for me because of my religious beliefs; however, as a professional and a Christian I respect and embrace each student regardless of their home lives.  The discussion touched on how to make it fun in the class and how to embrace each family member.

There are links on the site that cover social needs of each student, they also have were any teacher can work with the community and state leaders to make the learning experience what it should be for each child and they can share their views, and they have proposal reviews that you can read and give your opinions on.

I had not looked into the parent board until recently and this is a helpful resource for the parents as well.  There are many questions that the parents have about their children and school that this site tries to help answer.

Geting to know international contacts

China's poverty rate has decreased.  Because of their advanced technologies they have been able to pull some of their country to an above poverty level.  They had to also change their way of thinking towards their people.  They had high expectations of their people and their government was extremely harsh towards those that didn't meet their expectations.  China's transition from a centrally planned to a globalised market economy has helped reduce chronic poverty and disadvantage, but also created new forms of vulnerability and poverty (childhoodpoverty). 

4.2 million Chinese children live in absolute poverty and 8.7 million live in disadvantaged conditions(childhoodpoverty).  Education and health levels in China are higher than in many countries with equivalent incomes  (childhoodpoverty).  Recent studies suggest that the health and education reforms are reducing poor families' ability to make use of these vital services  (childhoodpoverty). 
 Poverty in any place is simply disgraceful.  You look around and you see what resources could be used to make these situations better.  I feel that when you have the money to fight wars or build expensive technology then you should also have money to make sure that your people eat and are not on the street.  For me this is true regardless of where you live or come from.

Three insights that I have gained are:
-this has to be a nation and world wide effort
-everyone has to do their part to make sure that our governments don't allow people to fall through the cracks
-that we have to reach out to each child and situation to make sure that they are cared for and given the best education/ health care/ and living conditions that we can.  Things don't have to be perfect but making small changes can lead to big things.







References:
(http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/),

Sharing Web sources

One of the sources that I choose is NAEYC (http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf).  They are an organization that reaches out to educators with all sorts of topics, resources, workshops, and support systems to help the education process become more smooth and fun for the teachers and the students. 

One of the articles that I recently read is about respond to diversity in the classroom.  It discusses how we should make sure that children feel connected to the home language and culture, how we should actively involve the parents, and assessing children is so important.  These are all things that we have been learning about in our classes and I think that it's great that they have other information for us to rely on.

Throughout my learning experiences I realized how important it was to make sure that the children felt honored and respected with regards to their culture and language but I am now learning how important it is to make sure that the parents feel honored as well.  When the parents are comfortable with their child's teacher then they try to encourage the child to feel comfortable as well.

This website is really cool because it allows you to explore different topics and ideas as they relate to teachers.  This isn't a site that is with high tech officials that haven't taught before but it comes from people that have to do the same day to day grind that we do.  They understand and respect our jobs.

Establishing Professional Contacts

I was unable to reach anyone through emails so I decided to do the alternative assignment.  This was interesting because I link into the World Forum Foundation and I listen to a lady named Deevia Bhana discuss issues in South Africa (World Forum.  Retrieved: Jan. 5, 2012).  Deevia explained how this young girl would travel to school everyday in fear.  This country is plagued by AIDS and the people there are not educated as to where it comes from and how to get rid of it.  They often feel that if they have sex with a young girl then their disease will go away.  We know that this is not true but for this young girl it is a reality she has had to suffer through while trying to get an education.

On her way to school she encounters men that rape her in order to "cure" their disease.  Of course this devastates this young lady.  She tries to find comfort in her mother which can only do so much herself.  There is no protection in this country for children and they aren't valued the way that children here are.  The children have far more responsibilities and are expected to care for themselves as much as they can.

Deevia is trying to educate people over there so that they will know the true facts about AIDS and to try and help get these children that desperately want to go to school a way that they can feel safe on their journey.  It is so important for us to let others know about this travesty so that we can do our part to spread the word and knowledge as well.



References:

World Forum Foundation. “A foundation whose mission is to promote an on-going global exchange of ideas on the delivery of quality services for young children in diverse settings.” http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php