Getting To Know Your International Contacts: Part 3

     Issues’ regarding early childhood education in Jamaica is providing quality early learning experiences to the young children. The island of Jamaica  has its poor, but the affluent families have opportunities, but, the poor families do not have access to early learning and the new initiative is to provide education in poor villages and Parrish communities.

     Professional Jamaicans for Jamaica, Inc.

 Principal Calls for Discipline and Positive Values
 
 Some of my professional goals are to complete this Master’s Program and go on to teach at the college level. Some of my personal goals and dreams that I would love to accomplish are to be able volunteer in Jamaica at one of their early childhood schools. I would also love to work someday with teen mothers in a mentoring and advocating program.

    

 References

Professional Jamaican’s for Jamaica, https://www.facebook.com/ProfessionalJamaicansforJamaica/photos_stream

SHARING WEB RESOURCES

As I explored through the National Black Child Development Institute, one of the outside links that I explored was the Alliance for Early Success www.http://earlysuccess.org/. As I reviewed this site I found that this organization “The Alliance for Early Success (formerly the Birth to Five Policy Alliance) is a catalyst to get and keep children on a path to success.  We provide leadership, funding, and curate technical assistance.  The Alliance creates and enhances partnerships by bringing state, national, and funding organizations together in new and innovative ways in order to achieve results better and faster than anyone can do alone.  The goal is to improve state policies that lead to better health, learning, and economic outcomes, especially for the most vulnerable young children”. (Alliance for Early Success) I believe that the organization is doing great things in the early childhood field, they speak of themselves as being “The Catalyst”  for bringing state, national, and funding partners together to improve state policies for children, starting at birth and continuing through age eight. As this whole early child development debate continues, it all boils down to FUNDING! However, all states and programs are not receiving, being considered, or allocated funds to improve and bring equal, quality care and education to all children, who leaves minority and immigrant children suffering.

     The organization’s e-newsletter does contain information on the issue that I am following this week, which is equity and excellence in early care and education. NBCDI President and CEO, “Dr. Felicia DeHaney was featured on a radio interview for Marketplace's Wealth and Poverty segment. She spoke passionately about NBCDI's new publication "Being Black Is Not A Risk Factor."  I think that this is an awesome article to share with African American families, it defines and focuses on the strengths and the resilience factors, of the African American families, while it encouragement and engagement doesn’t let issues, deficits and family makeup not define the family”. (National Black Child Development Institute)

     An insight that I can elaborate on is one that I can personally relate to, I am an African American woman who knows the many facets, issues and dynamics of the African American family. I know that “being black is not a risk factor”, because we all have the creative gifts to bring to the world and letting my ethnic background limit myself or my children will be an injustice. I am educated and I know the importance of being educated and I am making a better life for my children and teaching them to believe in themselves and DREAM BIG!

References

Alliance for Early Success, www.http://earlysuccess.org/

National Black Child Development Institute, http://www.nbcdi.org/who-we-are/who-we-are

 

 

 

 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts: Part 2

     I was unable to make any connections or communications with my international contact this week; therefore I choose to visit the Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/). This website was very interesting in regard to learning about ways in which child development is viewed on a global level and how these very delicate issues are being accounted for that is vastly different from those of the United States.

     Three insights and issues that I learned from the website is:

1.    Early childhood Development

2.     Mental Health

3.     Children in Crisis and Conflict Situations

     Early childhood development: "The first priority in this area is to adapt the successful work the Center has conducted in the United States for a broader range of strategically selected audiences, in an effort to energize and reframe the global dialogue around investments in the earliest years of life. To this end, we plan to educate the leadership of key international agencies, publish and disseminate papers to establishing strong scientific framework for global work, and conduct systematic communications research to identify the most effective ways to translate the science of child development for global policymakers".

     Mental health: "concerns constitute a massively under-addressed issue that has significant implications for the broader health and development of children and societies. There is an urgent need to identify the scope of the problem within and across countries and to develop evidence-based approaches in policy and service delivery that are responsive to diverse cultural context"s.

     Children in Crisis and conflict situations: "The goal of this effort is to foster interdisciplinary collaboration that incorporates a science-based, developmental perspective into the assessment and management of Child well-being in a range of natural and man-made crises, focusing on both immediate circumstances and long-term adaptation". (Global Children’s Initiative)

      I believe that all three of these initiatives are vital to the growth and development of children and  families of third world countries. Taking note and following in the footsteps of the United States, who are leading the way in early childhood development. Mental health issues are prevalent in the United States, but, in a country where eating one meal a day is the priority, mental health is not at the top of the list. Children in crisis and conflict situations are unfortunate situations, but true. Children who are victims of war or natural disasters suffer greatly with social/emotional issues. I think it’s a commendable act to help these very young children.

References

“Global Children’s Initiative” website (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/