Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field:
1) It has opened my eyes to the idea of early childhood education in locations other than the United States. Yes, I freely admit that I always concern myself with what is happening in our country before I consider what is going on in other places. I am trying to take into consideration children around the globe, but it is very hard to do when I see so much pain, injustice and suffering in "my own back yard."
2) I have learned that other countries are having the same issues in terms of professional development and training for early childhood teachers. It seems like some countries are making some headway in this area and I think we need to develop (if it does not already exist) an international group to bring together the best practices from around the world.
3) Although I cannot reach out to international contacts, I can reseach several of the international websites and learn about the advances and challenges around the globe. Learning from the successes and challenges of others can help us advance our goals here.
Goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations:
Develop
working groups with as many international partners as possible to discuss
challenges and successes in order to develop a Best Practices Handbook for
Early Childhood Education that we can use to help push Early Childhood
Education to the forefront in discussions at the senior leadership level.
Jamie,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to you when you say that it is hard to think about children in other parts of the world when so many children right here in the United States are struggling. I didn’t realize just how bad the situation was until I read more on poverty and related issues over the past several weeks.
I wholeheartedly agree with you that it is important for professionals to collaborate at the international level so that the field of early childhood can be recognized for its importance and measures taken to address issues affecting the field.
Jamie
ReplyDeleteI think that we all sometimes have to remind ourselves to think of others beyond our immediate impact because we have an instinct to think of and protect our own. It has been easier for me to see the bigger picture of the impact of things like poverty when I have looked into the faces of some the children impacted. I just hope that it gets better. I enjoyed your post and have enjoyed your sharing throughout the course. Good luck as you continue on.
Kermethia