As I blog this morning from a hotel room in central Minnesota, I am drawn to this picture of kindergarteners in Russia. It snowed ten inches last night here and the last thing I want to do is put on my swim suit, grab a bucket and meet my friends in the street to play. On the upside, I could teach in Moscow without needing to acclimate to the winter there. Context, its all about context.
One of the great finds on the
UNESCO website was a series of videos embedded in the site. The following link, as an example, takes the viewer to Moscow to see early childhood settings. I was interested in the footage of an early childhood special education program. I know a few families who have adopted children with special needs from Russia and the Ukraine. To hear their adoption stories is heartbreaking because of the living conditions of the children they adopted. Many children with special needs are put into orphanages for life. It was good to see a different perspective in the video.
I found this video of the nomadic Lopi of Kenya absolutely charming. I think it will be a powerful piece of parent education. We often talk about how much children have these days and still seem to want for more. This video makes a compelling case for simplicity. The children in Kenya look very happy with very little. It did my heart good to watch children playing in the warm sunshine.
The UNESCO website is another shining example of coordinated efforts to advocate for the rights and needs of small children globally. You will become familiar with the work of many organizations all over the globe. You will learn about the infrastructure necessary to coordinate global early childhood efforts. You will become familiar with the key stakeholders, board members, and agencies that create policy on behalf of UNESCO. You will see examples and success stories of their work. I leave this class much more aware of global resources and feeling more confident about the future for small children throughout the world. The web resources are abundant. My hope is that the actual resources for children is abundant as well.
Reference
Hi Katy. I watched the video you posted, “Early childhood programme for the nomadic Loipi of northern Kenya” and I have to admit I enjoy watching children from other countries that are socializing in similar ways that we do here also. Storytelling, role-playing, singing, dancing were evident that these children share many cultural activities, interacting with other children as well. Their homes are adorable and uniquely created - - exactly the size children can play in. I like how the parents interacted with their children and the respect they (the parents) received. This video is a perfect example for many parents, educators to see and learn how parent-child relationship can make a difference. Excellent blog, Katy.
ReplyDeleteGREAT Post!! I also found the website informative and interesting. It amazes me how some children here in America have all they ever wanted and still are unhappy and children in other countries have next to nothing and are so happy. I think that some children here have too much, for show and tell one of my students brought in an ipad. I am thinking why does a child needs a $500 toy? I thought it was the parent’s ipad so I had to ask and no it was the child’s. I think that parent use “things” to show love but children need so much more. Thank you for your post.
ReplyDeleteOk now that is awesome! I have been bummed that I haven't been able to talk to a person overseas... but that right there is amazing! That's what I really would like to do is travel the world and see all the early childhood settings in different countries. I bet they are all so different. The adoption stories is very heartbreaking. It would be so nice if we could just help them, but of course its not that easy. Great post. I really loved your opening line, that really made me laugh out loud! haha!
ReplyDeleteKaty,
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great post this week. Reading about programs from other countries but being able to see the children is another story. I thought the UNESCO was so informative that it would take many hours to experience it all. It is definitely a website I will keep bookmarked.
Laurie
Katy, I also posted about UNESCO and likewise have a remarkable praise about them. The website and the program as a whole is such a rewarding program to connect USA to other countries who have less than us. My time manuvering around the site has definetly enlightend my eyes and being thankful for the things that I do have. My Pastor today started his message asking those who were financially able and were willing to donate a few dollars each month to sponsor a child to do so at the end of the service. A program such as UNESCO is also a wonderful program to sponsor children from, so please keep that in mind if you are lead to do so. Great Blog
ReplyDelete