More Information on Zero to Three

What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

My favorite section on the Zero to Three website is, the Behavior & Development portion. There are two topics that are continuously challenging me professionally under this section. One is Challenging Behaviors and the other is Play. These are two areas that I feel are continuously changing in the Early Childhood field. Play was very prevalent at one point then academics became more important. Now it is clear that play needs to be implemented more in children's lives. Challenging Behaviors change often too. The behaviors may not change but the way we handle them changes. From sending children to time out in the past to trying to find other options to reach our students now, teachers have to stay on top of rules and regulations in order to know what the right and wrong thing is to do. 

Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

The section on Maltreatment has a link that discusses the impact of trauma in the lives of our children. While I am well aware young children face traumatic experiences, I never really knew that these experiences could have such a huge effect on them since they are so young. This section really made me think how important my time is with each child because you never know what they may be dealing with at home. 

What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

 There is an entire section on the Zero to Three website dedicated to public policy. This section is based on research on different issues that effect our Infants, Toddlers, and early Preschoolers.

What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

I really enjoy the policy guide on the website. This is a guide that every educator and director should look at. It offers some great tips and policies that should be implemented. I saw so many things that I could immediately see we were doing wrong at my center and my intent is to change them with the guidance of this book. 

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan has a very serious poverty issue. The issues that this country faces in poverty weighs heavily on the children. With 55% of the children living in poverty it is very hard for country to progress. Those who live in poverty in Kyrgyzstan typically come from families that consist of one parent or two parent homes where parents are 30 years old or younger.  These children living both rural and urban communities are forced to grow up early and tend to leave their hopes and dreams behind while trying to help their families at a young age. Children start working as young as 7 years old. It is more common for children in rural areas to work early than for urban children. Sadly the working conditions are poor which adds several health risks for the children. It is common for children to miss school due to their dedication to their family and work. While enrollment rates are really high at the schools in Kyrgyzstan, attendance rates are extremely low. Some other reasons why students miss school are not being able to afford clothes or shoes, and not being able to afford the proper school supplies. Even when the children go to school, there is no telling if they will have a teacher who is qualified to teach specific subjects. Some teachers teach subjects they are not certified to teach to make extra money. This is such a disadvantage for the students. Sadly many of them do not pursue higher education because they need to work to help support their families. It is the hard truth that many there are not too many children who were born into poverty were able to change their lives and no longer live that way. Unfortunately, most children born into poverty in Kyrgyzstan will live in poverty for the rest of their lives. 

I feel terrible for the children who live in poverty. A little more than half of the children in Kyrgyzstan are forced to live like this. If more emphasis was placed on education, I think there would be a significant change. It starts with preparing the teachers. Once all the teachers are properly certified and are working for more than just a paycheck things may begin to turn around. There may be more success stories of children being born into poverty but changing their lives around because of the solid foundation they received in education. 

Reference: 

Ablezova, M., Botoeva, G., Jukusheva, T., Marcus, R., & Satybaldieva, E. (2004). Generation at risk:childhood poverty in kyrgyzstan. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php/action=documentfeed/doctype=pdf/id=98/

Zero to Three

Zero to Three is an organization that is designed to help parents, teachers, and policymakers of infants and toddlers. The website offers different recourses and ideas for those who work with our youngest generation. I really enjoyed this article on biting, http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/challenging-behavior/chew-on-this-resources-on-biting.html. This is a reoccurring issue that I am facing at my childcare center. I was recently told off by a parent because their child continues to get bitten, and while I totally understand their frustration, they do not understand mine. I need all the help I can get in helping this child with his biting issue. This article gave me lots to think about. While I have heard several of the suggestions before, I really enjoyed the way they were broken down. One of the things I am going to start looking for with the child that I work with is what triggers his biting. While I am well aware of some of the other suggestions like, does he bite the same child, or who is the teacher when he bites. I see that he is very smart, and knows who to bite and which teachers he can bite around. But I have not seen what triggers his biting. I am not sure if it is a communication issue, frustrations issue, or space issue. Either way, like the article mentions, once we get to the bottom of why he is biting, we can better find ways to stop it. 

Reference:

http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/challenging-behavior/chew-on-this-resources-on-biting.html

Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I contacted two different countries to see if they could help me with our upcoming assignments. I made contacts in Greece and the Philippines. i have always been fascinated by both cultures and wanted to learn more about their education systems. As of right now I have not heard back from either one. This is the email I sent:


My name is Monique V. Wilson. I am a Masters Degree student at Walden University studying Early Childhood Studies with a concentration in Leadership, Administration and Management. I am interested in making some international contacts in the early childhood field. I would greatly appreciate if you could offer some assistance in this area. Please let me know if there is anyone in your department or yourself, that would be able to help me in the next few weeks by answering questions about how early childhood education works in your country.


In choosing a website to study for this class I had a hard time deciding between Harlem Children Zone, Zero to Three: National Center for Infants Toddlers and Families, and NAEYC: The National Association for the Education of Young Children. All three websites offer some great information for early childhood professionals. I can see myself utilizing them all in the future.