Ideas About Poverty Abroad

Over the past two weeks I’ve researched a website known as the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy  (CHIP) (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/).  This organization has many great things to offer, but I took a closer look at the crisis of childhood poverty in China.  Two children by the name of Nan Nan (a 14 year old girl), and Xiao Bo (a 13 year old boy) express their  dissatisfaction with the way things are going   for them as their parents have relocated to different cities as a result of the poverty in their homeland.  Instead of crying over the situation, I found it intriguing how each child pitched in to help as much as they could. Nan Nan began to care for her siblings, getting up and cooking breakfast for them before going to school and then helping them with homework, serving dinner and putting them to bed.  In my observation, what seemed to be a wonderful decision by her parents to move in hopes of obtaining a better life, now becomes the catalyst for added indirect negativities of childhood neglect.

As a result of my research, the following three ideas were developed:
·         The age of accountability seems  to be lower for children in poverty;
·         Children of poverty stricken areas have feelings about hopelessness; and
·         No matter what country they are in and regardless of how impoverished they may be , children will always find a way to play or identify with friends if given the chance  to do so                                                                                             



Reference
 

Child Poverty Research Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=casestudy&id=135

                                                                                                                            

SHARING WEB RESOURCES

One of the major professional early childhood organizations I have chosen to research is the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI).  It is based in Washington, DC, but has affiliates in New York, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Texas, California, Wisconsin, Maryland, Tennessee, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Missouri.

It was born out of the fairness and equality struggles of the 1960's.  It achieved its corporation status in 1970, and has remained steadfast to its endeavors to "improve and protect the quality of life for children of color and their families by giving every child a chance".

NBCDI's programs include:
Love to Read - a program that encourages parents as their child's first teacher, to instill the love of reading at birth.

Entering the College Zone - a program that provides middle school students now with the tools they will need for college.

The Parent Empowerment Program - a program that strengthens parents' knowledge of child development while raising their confidence in themselves and parenting skills.

SPARK DC - a program that promotes school readiness to assure ready schools, ready kids and ready communities.

I encourage you to take a closer look at this website for insightful resources and information that will aid in the education of African American children and other children of color.

National Black Child Development Institutehttp://nbcdi.org/
(Newsletter: http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/ )

EXPANDING RESOURCES

Establishing AND expanding  professional connections throughout one’s life is imperative to the growth and effectiveness of any educator.  This week I investigated two early childhood organizations outside the United States:  the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) website – http://www.eecera.org/ , and the International Child Resource Institute website – http://www.icrichild.org . 

I was curious about the trends of European ECE after reading Roger Neugebaurer’s (Exchange, May/June 2007) article on the global trends of EC.  I was amazed at the discovered trends of Italy’s pitiable image of children, and the deficiency of morals in younger generations.  I took a look at EECERA’s Special Interest Groups and decided to try making a more subjective connection after a closer look at their SIGs http://www.eecera.org/sigs/currentsigs.asp .

The International Child Resource Institute (ICRI) was another fascinating find.   ICRI has such a broad array of programs and services that I was overwhelmed at the enormous impact  that has been made on so many countries around the world, such as Kenya (http://www.icrichild.org/kenya )—from building bridges to access high quality EC education  for remote African children to offering generous financial support to encourage EC initiatives.  Whenever growth is desired, there should be credible resources of professional consultants available for educational guidance.  International Child Resource Institute is such a resource (http://www.icrichild.org/consulting/ )!

Regarding the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators organization that was contacted a few weeks ago, I have researched the possibilities of making a more substantial connection with this EC establishment.  In Article 2 of their NAECTE Affiliates handbook on page 6 (http://www.naecte.org/docs/Affiliate_Handbook_9_09-nf.pdf ), I realized that there was something that NAECTE offered that fit my personal passion which is to educate educators.  Stay tuned as I embark upon the processes of making and maintaining a very positive, fruitful partnership in the ECE field.