Week Four, PHEW! PEW!

I would describe the work at PEW as eclectic. I have been overwhelmed with PEW's website this week as I try to make sense of how it moves policy with so many irons in the fire. Let's start with the good news. I have found a few areas of interest on the website that reflect the work I do with families. The national commitment to home visiting for new and expectant families is very exciting. I have been home visiting new parents for years as a Winona County Baby Connector. Like all of us, I am interested in watching Pre-K Now evolve as more states invest in high quality preschool. The research embedded in the website is comprehensive. I appreciate a state by state perspective and spent a lot of time on the Minnesota page.

My current professional development path has put me at the Capitol in St. Paul often as I advocate for parent education to be included in the scholarships for preschool that will be awarded to families. I am also working on a project near and dear to my heart as a one woman non profit organization. I am learning that moving policy forward is not only about what you know, it is who you know, My professional connections have opened doors for me as I advocate for children and parents.

Governor Mark Dayton (on the left) and Art Rolnick have helped me become more comfortable in the policy arena. The PEW website is another valuable asset as I speak with policy makers. I added PEW's newsletter to my RSS feed and find myself more comfortable with that format as PEW is overwhelming! What drives policy is DATA. I am a storyteller, a wonderful asset in my teaching but not as effective in policy making. PEW has given me easy to interpret data about my state delivered right to my computer. The newsletter provides the data and the language necessary for advocates. Legislators are on recess this week, I will use the data provided by PEW to communicate with them.

My frustration is this, PEW has so many areas of interest that the website is difficult to sift through. I find myself overwhelmed and ineffective when I have too many plates spinning in the air. I do much more work when I focus on doing one thing well to it's completion. When I do too much, I do none of it well. PEW seems to have compartmentalized its work somehow but it is not obvious to me how it is all connected. PHEW!!

"Plan B" for week Three!

I have given up on my international contacts. I haven't heard from anyone. I opened up the "World Forum" website and found myself intrigued by an organization dedicated to the well being of children all over the world. It made me curious about it's funding sources and its ability to generate and maintain interest with early childhood professionals world wide.  As a public school employee I also fantasized about filling out a conference request form to go to a conference in Ireland and having the conference approved....

One of the keys to engagement must be the working groups. Each member to the Global Summit has chosen an area of interest to devote themselves to. I took a look at the work of the "Play Group" and found kindred spirits. I emailed the contact on the workgroup website. I will keep my fingers crossed but not hold my breath.

I am on spring break with a bit of time on my hands so I took in three podcasts with interest. I listened to George Forman from the University of Massachusetts on World Forum Radio. It was an interesting piece on learning theory and Piaget. The last podcast recording on the World Forum Radio was in February of 2011.

https://ccie-media.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/WFR_08_GeorgeForman.mp3

I then found myself on the Whole Child podcast listening to three esteemed women talk about home and school partnerships. The focus was on elementary schools but the subject was of interest to me so I stayed for the whole 40 minutes.
 http://www.wholechildeducation.org/podcast/partnerships-between-home-and-school-the-real-missing-link

Finally, I listened to a podcast on NAEYC Radio called "Who Will Save Kindergarten?". A quick podcast about the importance of play and the urgent need for professionals to advocate for play in a kindergarten classroom. My favorite take away from this podcast was this; all children were automatically ready for kindergarten twenty years ago because kindergarten was a place to honor their innate ability to play!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/naeyc-radio-national-association/id328570104

Lastly, I spent some time on the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center (CHIP) website. The CHIP was created to fill in the gaps internationally related to the knowledge base, international research, and documentation of policy around issue of childhood poverty.  The funding phase of the CHIP program is now over, in fact the website is a bit dated as a resource. The organization expressed hope on the site that the page would stay open until at least 2007. It has. 

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php

As I end a week submersed in research, websites, and policies related to childhood poverty, I cant help but feel sad and overwhelmed. It seems to me that very well intentioned, well funded, and well organized groups have been working for two generations or more to end poverty.

                                                                  And still.....

Week Two, Who Knew? PEW!

Part of my struggle to with an online degree has been to cultivate a healthy relationship with my computer. Subscribing to blogs, managing a Google reader, and navigating the basics to write a paper has all been new territory for me. Last week, I subscribed to The PEW Charitable Trust's newsletter. The news from the organization shows up in the RSS feed in my email box....amazing!

I have been working on a policy in our state to add parent education via digital media to a smart phone, iPhone, iPad, or computer for parents to watch while their child is screening. Policy making is not my strong suit and I am learning so much in my "one woman lobby mission" as I go along.

I am asked often to speak at Early Childhood Initiatives all over the state on the importance of investing in Early Childhood programs. Gathering data for these talks has been time consuming. Until now...

PEW, delivers up to the minute research right to my "door" in newsletters full of great information for me as I spend time at our state capitol and visiting with legislators. Here is a link to today's newsletter.

http://www.pewstates.org/research/data-visualizations/proof-into-policy-pre-k-milestones-85899376577

In this piece, each states investment in early childhood programs is reported in millions. When you look at Minnesota's investment in 2005 and compare it to the investment Minnesota made in 2012, you see a slight increase. Compared to other states, the early childhood investment Minnesota is lacking. This is research I can use, this week!

Investing is EC is a safe bet!

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life.

We are an independent nonprofit organization – the sole beneficiary of seven individual trusts established between 1948 and 1979 by two sons and two daughters of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew and his wife, Mary Anderson Pew. From its first day in 1948, Pew’s founders steeped the new institution with the entrepreneurial and optimistic spirit that characterized their lives. Early priorities included cancer research, the Red Cross and a pioneering project to assist historically black colleges.

As the country and the world have evolved, we have remained dedicated to our founders’ emphasis on innovation. Today, Pew is a global research and public policy organization, still operated as an independent, non-partisan, non-governmental organization dedicated to serving the public. Informed by the founders’ interest in research, practical knowledge and a robust democracy, our portfolio has grown over time to include public opinion research; arts and culture; andenvironmental, health, state and consumer policy initiatives.

Reference

PEW Charitable Trust mission statement. Retrieved from  http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work.aspx

Expanding Resources

I have heard about the PEW Charitable Trusts for years as a member of Minnesota Public Radio but have taken the time to investigate who they are and what they do. I was drawn into their mission statement:

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life.

I recognized familiar faces for someone like me who is interested in early childhood policy. Their ten year project, Pre-K-Now,  mobilized advocates from the philanthropic, policy, and business communities on behalf of national preschool for every child who wants it has been successful. Minnesota, like many other states, is seeing an unprecedented commitment to early childhood programs. I signed up for the newsletter. 

Find out more about PEW at:

      

http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067

Establishing Professional Contacts

I thought this assignment sounded easy and then I started. The Global Alliance seemed full of contacts. I started with China, a place I have visited. No luck, Dr. Betty Chan Po-king's email cam right back to me. So did Siobahn Fitzpatrick's from Ireland, the home of my grandparents. 

I was able to successfully send an introductory email to Juan Sanchez from Spain and Eteri Gvineria from Georgia. As of this writing, I have not heard back from either one of them. Keep your fingers crossed. 

I went out on a limb a  bit and searched for International Parent Education Organizations and found one. I sent an introductory email to Mr. Habib Abdennebi, the General Secretary of the International Federation of Parent Education,in France. Again, keep your fingers crossed.

Here is the email I sent as an invitation to connect:

Greetings Sioban, I am looking for a pen pal of sorts. I am currently enrolled at Walden University in a Masters program. I teach parent education in an early childhood setting here in the states and am looking for an early childhood professional to connect with over the next 8 weeks while I am in a class called "Issues andTrends in Early Childhood Education". I am hoping you might be able to help me find someone willing to communicate via email once or twice a week. Maybe even yourself!

I have attached a flyer to introduce myself. Thank you very much for considering!  

Katy Smith

Licensed Parent Educator

ECFE Winona, MN