Sharing Web Resources: Week 4
The Website I browsed through is Early Childhood Australia.
- What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?
The organization's website had numerous sections but among all the sections I gravitated towards two. The first is the section on their Code of Ethics. I found this very relevant to my current professional development for we do not have a document like this to follow in my country. The US organization, NAEYC has the Code of Ethical Conduct, Australia has the Early Childhood Australia's Code of Ethics but our country does not have a specific organization that has come up with a similar document. In my teaching, I try to follow the NAEYC Code of Ethics and have recently also included the one made by the Early Childhood Australia as I found them very similar and useful.
The other section I was very interested in was the section Early Childhood News Archive. This section includes press releases related to early childhood education. I articles I read were very diverse and relevant. They covered topics from the simple like how to minimize stress during a child's first year of school, to the more political, philosophical and cultural topics such as reforms, investments, quality standards and the like. I found this helpful for as an early childhood educator, we should never stop learning and always strive to find new information related to our field. We should also be abreast with issues and trends that affect our country but also in the global level.
- 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?
I was surprised to read a press release entitled, "August 2011 - Media release: Malaysia solution must not extend to children under any circumstances". Apparently there is a possibility that unaccompanied refugee children living in Australia will be brought to detention in Malaysia. The Early Childhood Australia vehemently opposes to this plan as they said it is a violation of human rights as well as their rights as children and refugees. I agree with the agency's sentiment that children's interest should always be considered in any policy of government decision. I do hope that the Australian government will prove to be compassionate and child-centered and will not push through with their initial plan.
- 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?
As I browsed through the website especially through the news archive, I was able to see that the ECA is advocating for a more comprehensive and holistic quality program. From what I read, it seems like politicians, economists and the Australian Government have been seeing the importance of early childhood education as they have raised funds, budgets, provide allowances and education rebates and even state in another news release that quality child care is more important than cost. They also included articles on health issues and their effects of the development of young children. ECA has been advocating for a unified program that will be able to provide for academic, nutritional and holistic development of the children in Australia.
- What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?
As I browsed through the website, I saw that there were articles about early childhood trends and issues in other countries like the US and Canada. This made me realize that it is indeed necessary to be abreast of what other countries are experience to be able to learn from their mistakes and victories.
My International Contacts
Since I had quite some difficulty establishing contacts with early childhood professionals listed in the Global Alliance Website, I decided to use personal contacts instead.
- Dr. Carolyn U. Ronquillo - My first contact was a former professor, mentor and colleague of mine from the University of the Philipines Department of Family Life and Child Development. She has taught in the Department for 30 years. In the 30 years, Dr. Ronquillo held different administrative positions while she taught; she was the chair of the department for four years, was college secretary for another four, was the faculty in charge for the laboratory preschool of the Department for a few years and was even the head of the Office of Community Extension and Services. After UP, Dr. Ronquillo moved to the US where she taught preschool and primary grades for more than 3 years. In a few days, Dr. Ronquillo will be starting her work as a professor of early childhood in South Korea.
- Ms. Grace Windell Masayon - My second international contact was a former teacher in the preschool (Hands at Play Center) I managed a few years ago. She taught preschool-aged and primary-aged children during her 10 years at the Hands At Play Center. Two years ago, she left for the Cayman Islands where she is now teaching at the Discovery Kids Preschool, Cayman Islands and is the head teacher in the infants class but also gets to teach and help out in the toddlers class as well as the young child class (3-5 years old).
- Mr. Cyril Siasoco - I decided to contact another person who is based in another country just in case my two contacts were not able to reply in time for me to meet deadlines as I know they are all very busy too. Mr. Siasoco owns a school (preschool to elementary) called KidsTech Learning Center since 1997 here in the Philippines. But in October 2007, Mr. Siasoco decided to ask a friend manage his school here while he went to New Zealand to teach in Marian Early Childhood Centre (he is still working in this school).
In the first few exchanges with my international contacts, I was able to gather some more information.
- Dr. Ronquillo - I was able to learn that Dr. Ronquillo is now in vacation with her family before she starts work at Korea. Also, that she believes in the progressive philosophy and uses the developmental interaction approach. She is married, with one child and has a 4 year old grand son.
- Mr. Siasoco - According to Mr. Siasoco, Marian Early Childhood Centre at Auckland, New Zealand is a Catholic School owned by the Catholic Diocese of Auckland. He is the Early childhood teacher and says that their center is licensed to handle up to 30 children per session. They currently have two sessions: Am and PM. Mr. Siasoco said that in New Zealand, early childhood education is to be play based so their Centre is play-oriented. They follow the "TE WHAARIKI" which is the NZ Early childhood curriculum.
- Ms. Masayon - Teacher Grace informed me that the school she teaches in uses the highscope curriculum. She also gets to teach a very diverse classroom as she has children of different races. Their school is also said to be play-oriented.
Poverty Information from my contacts:
- I was not able to get a response from Dr. Ronquillo about poverty yet as she is in vacation.
- I am also still awaiting Mr. Siasoco's response on my more specific questions but from what I gathered, New Zealand children have access to free education, and health benefits and they even get allowance from the government.
- Ms. Masayon informed me that the Grand Cayman Island is generally affluent as is has the lowest poverty rate among the English-speaking Islands in the Caribbean. She said however, that there are still a few who are considered poor but these are usually immigrants/non-nationals. The nationals who are "poor" are not really living in poverty as they are supported by the government even the children's education. Children there also get allowances. Ms. Masayon also said that the government there supports children with disabilities really well and that the Cayman Island has a good educational system. She was not able to give more information as poverty is not really an issue in Grand Cayman Island.
Because of my interaction with my contacts, I was able to see that different countries have different issues especially with relation to poverty. I just hope that the Philippines will one day be able to say that poverty is also not an issue for us like New Zealand and Grand Cayman Island. I wish there will come a day when Filipino children will get free education, health benefits and allowances too. That will be a great day, indeed.
Sharing Web Resources: Early Childhood Australia
Early Childhood Australia is the pioneer organization in Australia that advocates for the welfare of of young children, their families and individuals in the early childhood field. The organization has "ensuring quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to education and care of children from birth to eight years" as their focus. It is also the lead publisher for early childhood and also acts as a a resource for all early childhood professionals in their country. Social justice and equity are the main focus of the organization and acts as the umbrella organization for children's services.
Among the numerous resources on their website, I was drawn to their position statement entitled, "A Statement of Regret and Commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Families". I decided to focus on this issue for it is very much related to the issue of changing demographics and diversity that is being discussed in class. Their position statement, though discussing the same issue, is tackling the issue from a different perspective.
In the position statement, the organization states that they acknowledge that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the original people of Australia and values their cultural heritage as a huge part of the Australian culture. They also used the position statement to express their sadness and regret over the apparent "loss of family,cultural identity, lands and waters, languages and communities by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that resulted from the invasion of Australia by peoples from other places" (Early Childhood Australia, 2008, para 2). It is then stated in this position paper that the organization is committed to help promote the significance of home culture, support the growth of new generations and make Australians know about the histories and current plights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. They also aim to create and maintain linkages with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and challenge biases and discrimination against them.
It was truly nice to hear a different side on changing demographics and diversity. I am glad that they are trying to preserve their cultural heritage and I can truly relate to their commitment. This is because this is also what is happening to our nation. Most Filipinos now are seen to be becoming more and more "westernized" that we are now losing our language, identity and culture. I have nothing against embracing the cultures of others, in fact, I advocate for respecting and valuing different cultures; however, we also have to keep in mind that we need to value and preserve our culture as well as this is part of who we are.
If you wish to read and learn more about ECA, you may use this link
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au
Source:
Early Childhood Australia. (2008). A statement of regret and commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families: A position statement. Retrieved January 13, 2012 from
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au
Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources
I will not lie, I am quite discouraged with how this assignment has turned out. I did not have an easy time establishing contact with an Early Childhood professional in another country. I tried to email a bunch of the names listed in the website of Global Alliance of NAEYC but almost all but one, came back undelivered. I tried to look at other email addresses in different websites but still, most emails just bounced back. I am still hopeful though that the only one that did not bounce back will eventually reply or I will get to initiate contact with another professional. I am crossing my fingers.
Nonetheless, I am fortunate to have a former professor and mentor who became my colleague too (when I worked at the University of the Philippines, Department of Family Life and Child Development) who agreed to be one of my professional resource persons. Her name is Dr. Carolyn U. Ronquillo, she has worked at the University of the Philippines for 30 years and then moved and worked at the United States for over 3 years. She is now on her way to become part of the faculty of a university in South Korea. Dr. Ronquillo also had a chance to study for some time in Japan. I am hoping to learn a lot from her in terms of the differences of views on children, childhood and early childhood field in the different countries she has studied and taught in.
In terms of expanding my resources, I choose two websites: Zero to Three and Early Childhood Australia. My first choice was NAEYC but since I was formerly a member of this organization, I thought it would be better if I got to know another organization instead. I focused on Zero to Three because I am very much interested in this age group. I also like how they give emphasis to the families of these children through trainings and resources too. I all the age groups I taught in preschool, I enjoyed the younger classes, toddlers and 2's the most (however, I also loved the vertical class). I also decided to look through Early Childhood Australia because my husband and I have been discussing the possibility of migrating there and hopefully get to teach there to. Thus, I thought it a good idea to get to know more about the EC in Australia before we finally decide to migrate.
I was able to easily subscribe to an e-newsletter of the Zero to Three Organization called "From Baby to Big Kid" which is basically a newsletter for parents. I had more difficulty in subscribing from the Early Childhood Australia as I had to have an address in Australia. But, I hopefully will be able to get a subscription through my brother who is based in Australia.
I hope to learn a lot from all the resources and my professional contact/s. Looking forward to a great term!
Sources:
Zero To Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Familieshttp://www.zerotothree.org/ (Newsletters:
http://zttcfn.pub30.convio.net/child-development/from-baby-to-big-kid/ andhttp://capwiz.com/zerotothree/mlm/signup/ )
Early Childhood Australia: The Australian Early Childhood Advocacy Organizationhttp://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/ (Newsletter: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/contact_us/mailing_list.html )
