Learning about the international early childhood field is difficult
and creates consequences three that come to mind as I reached out and learned
from my contacts were:
- 1. The frustration with funding. The government supplies little funding to early learning programs where as internationally the focus on education and life long learning is different and of higher priority. Being able to fund programs and create higher quality programs is not as difficult with the finding coming through to the programs.
- 2. Cost to the families. The burden of being able to afford high quality programs is difficult for families here in the United States. The ability to afford the high quality programs is not a reality for every family here and when they meet the standards of the middle class and are unable to get the assistance they are sometimes unable to attend the desired programs due to cost.
- 3. The frustration created around the standards of required education of those teaching in the classroom. The educators in the classroom, as I have learned over the past eight weeks, are held to the standard of the teachers in the education system. Required degrees and trainings are not an option they are a requirement.
Continuing to educate individuals, policy makers and
families on the importance of early learning is how I hope to lessen the
academic gap. Being able to educate on the learning done in quality early
learning programs through interactions, relationships as they are built, as
well as the experiences through play are important to scaffold the proper
learning for the future. Educating and
advocating for our little learners is how we will succeed in the early
education field here in the United States.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your final blog as well as the others throughout this course. I believe that training and education should be a requirement in our country as well. There are way to many "teachers" in the classroom who do not have the proper training. I hope that someday this changes.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteYour final post was very thorough and informative. I agree wholeheartedly on all points that you made. Cost of care, teacher qualifications and funding are all big areas that need to be addressed. Thank you for your great insights in this class.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed your posts and have learned from them thank you! I agree that funding for quality programs is frustrating and that not all children have access is a big problem and we as advocates need to get the word out so we can change that! I fond a blog called Scary Mom that stated that because we know that there is an inequity in this area we need to work towards eliminating it or we are part of the problem.
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteThat is a issue that I didn't even think about, cost is very important and if you don't have the funds for the program than it becomes harder to do certain projects.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed your posts. You have provided information that has been beneficial not only to me, but to the early childhood field. Blessings on your journey!!
Great blog. To truly support children, educators must always be advocates for issues and trends that hinder the learning of children. To sit back and do nothing means inequality will always exist.
ReplyDelete