NAEYC

I am happy to say that I am very pleased with the organization that I have chosen to follow.  I have already benefited greatly from the fountain of knowledge that this site provides, different articles, link and recent policies all regarding Early Childhood Education.

As a South African I am finding it interesting to read articles regarding policies on a local and state level.  NAEYC offers policymakers a huge amount of support in the form of knowledge and current findings regarding ECE.  NAEYC overlook all the policies country wide to ensure that they are all in line and meet the criteria for good quality education.  I got a sense that there is a real fear of budget cuts in ECE and NAEYC are encouraging the proactive involvement of educators and parents to ensure that this does not happen.  They are committed to the constant improvement and preservation of Early Childhood Education.  They have encouraged policymakers to get more involved and be present in schools to see first hand the very positive impact that ECE has on children. 

I found it very interesting to read about issues regarding outside play and children getting injured.  Personally I feel that recess is essential for children to recharge and be physical, as well as developing social skills.  However I understand from what I have read that there is a great amount of children being hurt when playing outside.  Safety for children is priority but also cost money.  Many institutes do not have the funding to maintain a safe outside play area.  In studies we read that many children from poorer income families do not have the opportunities to play outside as it is not safe and not geared for children.  These children would only have the chance at school and now this too is being diminished.  This for me is a real issue, as children need this time in order to learn and function effectively.  I feel that there is already developmentally inappropriate academic demands placed on young children and the combination of that and less play time can be detrimental to their healthy development.

It is so vital to have organizations like this one to fight for the rights of ECE and stand up to the powers that be to defend the precious process of child development. 

Reference

www.naeyc.org

Quality of Work  Submitted	Satisfactory 4/4 points	3/4 points	2/4 points	1/4 points	Unsatisfactory 0/4 points
Adherence to  Assignment  Expectations The extent to which  work meets  the assigned criteria.	Assignment meets  expectations  and reflects  graduate-level critical,  analytical thinking. All key components are  included: Initial post submitted with  2 comments  to other students’ blogs.	Initial post submitted  with 1  comment to other  students’ blogs.	Initial post not  submitted with  2 comments to  other students’  blogs.  OR Initial post submitted with no  comments  to other students’ blogs.	Initial post not  submitted with 1  comment to other students’ blogs.	Does not  fulfill the  expectations  of the assignment.  Key components  are not included:  Initial post not s ubmitted with no c omments to other  students’ blogs.

Meet my professional partners and hear their experiences and views

Firstly I chose someone that I have known for 16 years, we met at the International school of Amsterdam, in Holland,  when she was a Kindergarten teacher and I was a teaching assistant.  Frankie comes from Britain and has lived in Holland for over 20 years.  I later moved to another community International school and had the pleasure of teaching her twins in Pre-Kindergarten.  Frankie is now head of Early Years and teaches art. 

When I asked her about her experiences with teaching children from poor conditions she answered honestly that she had only ever taught in International schools and that the children from these schools were from privileged families.  Her own schooling, she added was in England in a little village of working class people.  She was not aware of anyone who struggled due to poverty.  We discussed poverty here in Indonesia and also in South Africa.  Frankie's school are part of an exchange to a village school in Tanzania in Africa.  She is planning to join them next year as she has always been very interested in Africa and curious about the conditions that the people there live in.  I will be curious about her experience in Africa and witnessing the poverty first hand.

My other professional connection is Julie, Julie is a Pre-Kindergarten teacher that I met in Indonesia.  Julie is French  and has a long history of teaching in 6 different countries.  She is on her way to teach in Russia and is hoping to work her way into a leadership role in the Early Years.  Julie is very dedicated to education and did a lot for our school here in Indonesia.  I was luckily enough to have her teach all 3 of my sons.
When talking to Julie about her experiences with teaching children in Poverty, much like Frankie, she had not taught children that were subject to poverty.  Having lived in Indonesia for 5 years Julie is fully aware of the poverty here and is very involved in school raising funds to help the children with some relief.  She knows how important children's health and nutrition are as part of healthy develop and is concerned when she hears what about the diet of the children in the village and rural locations.  She tells about how her maid at home has a baby and what they are taught to feed the baby.  A first introduction to solids is rice with salt.  This is alarming to us that are more educated in basic nutrition of babies and young children.  We know that salt is unhealthy and should be avoided, especially in babies.  Due to poverty and poor living conditions there is a lack of education and people are trying to survive with what they can afford, which is rice here. 

I have shared this weeks application with my professional connections regarding poverty in Indonesia and look forward to some interesting conversations.

Quality of Work  Submitted	Satisfactory 4/4 points	3/4 points	2/4 points	1/4 points	Unsatisfactory 0/4 points
Adherence to  Assignment  Expectations The extent to which  work meets  the assigned criteria.	Assignment meets  expectations  and reflects  graduate-level critical,  analytical thinking. All key components are  included: Initial post submitted with  2 comments  to other students’ blogs.	Initial post submitted  with 1  comment to other  students’ blogs.	Initial post not  submitted with  2 comments to  other students’  blogs.  OR Initial post submitted with no  comments  to other students’ blogs.	Initial post not  submitted with 1  comment to other students’ blogs.	Does not  fulfill the  expectations  of the assignment.  Key components  are not included:  Initial post not s ubmitted with no c omments to other  students’ blogs.

Becoming more familiar with NAEYC

This organization that I have chosen to learn more about is an American based foundation.  Since I don't live in American and have never taught in the States, I find it interesting to delve deeper into this organization and learn a little more about education in USA.  The NAEYC or National Association for the Education of Young Children is the biggest organization of it's kind in the world.  They collaborate professional opinions and experiences and aim to develop national policies based on research and evidence for the best possible practice for the educational of young children.  Through conferences and workshops they aim to reach professionals in the Early Childhood sector.  They have good connections with policy makers and are well recognized and through this they can make a difference on a larger scale.  They are also involved in the maintenance and longevity of quality Early Childhood Education.  On their website, www.naeyc.org, there are limitless resources and information regarding Early Childhood practises. The NAEYC has a main goal and that is to support the equal opportunities to quality education while recognizing children's development as a stepping stone to a successfully future.  I found these articles very relevant to this weeks work:

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSDIV98.PDF 

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf

Both of these articles addressed diversity within Early Childhood, which I personally take a deep interest in.

Quality of Work  Submitted	Satisfactory 4/4 points	3/4 points	2/4 points	1/4 points	Unsatisfactory 0/4 points
Adherence to  Assignment  Expectations The extent to which  work meets  the assigned criteria.	Assignment meets  expectations  and reflects  graduate-level critical,  analytical thinking. All key components are  included: Initial post submitted with  2 comments  to other students’ blogs.	Initial post submitted  with 1  comment to other  students’ blogs.	Initial post not  submitted with  2 comments to  other students’  blogs.  OR Initial post submitted with no  comments  to other students’ blogs.	Initial post not  submitted with 1  comment to other students’ blogs.	Does not  fulfill the  expectations  of the assignment.  Key components  are not included:  Initial post not s ubmitted with no c omments to other  students’ blogs.

Setting up my professional learning community

I have been fortunate enough to have worked at 5 different schools on 3 different continents and through those experiences I have met many diverse and interesting professionals.  I have kept in touch with many of them and have chosen 2 for this excersice.

Julie Hanocque, is a preschool coordinater at International School of Riau (Sumatra - Indonesia)

Frankie Rees - Preschool teacher/coordinator and art teacher at International school of Amsterdam (Holland)

These 2 professions have graciously accepted my request and will gladly help me by answering any questions and giving their opinions.

The organisation that I have chosen is NAEYC.  A good friend and colleague is passionate about this organisation and I have always wanted to know more about it.

Quality of Work  Submitted	Satisfactory 4/4 points	3/4 points	2/4 points	1/4 points	Unsatisfactory 0/4 points
Adherence to  Assignment  Expectations The extent to which  work meets  the assigned criteria.	Assignment meets  expectations  and reflects  graduate-level critical,  analytical thinking. All key components are  included: Initial post submitted with  2 comments  to other students’ blogs.	Initial post submitted  with 1  comment to other  students’ blogs.	Initial post not  submitted with  2 comments to  other students’  blogs.  OR Initial post submitted with no  comments  to other students’ blogs.	Initial post not  submitted with 1  comment to other students’ blogs.	Does not  fulfill the  expectations  of the assignment.  Key components  are not included:  Initial post not s ubmitted with no c omments to other  students’ blogs.