Week 8, Mission Accomplished, Feeling GREAT!

 Bear with me, this may take a bit of explaining. I view many of life's challenges as missions so you can imagine how excited I was to spend a week at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama as one of the crew during International Space Camp for Teachers. I learned so much about science, team work, and the gift of intellectual curiosity. I left Space Camp with a new appreciation for real heroes. Not media heroes, or athletes, but astronauts. Astronauts are curious scientists who are willing to take enormous risk for the sake of the common good. In the case of the astronaut, the common good is science and space exploration.

 We had a mission this term as well. We were asked to explore international contacts to help us better understand early childhood efforts on a global scale. Although I never made contact with anyone, I dug into the global web and podcast resources with great gusto. While I was at Space Camp, I had the opportunity to learn about 'space junk'. I had no idea before then that space is littered with all kinds of science waste from rockets, satellites, star and planet residue. The news hit me like a flying piece of space junk. I was overwhelmed and actually said out loud "UGH! I just don't have enough time in my life to care about space junk!". I felt that way about the overwhelming amount of resources we were asked to explore. It was too much for me. I will be happy to make a minute difference in the lives of children and families right here in my own corner of the state. The more I know sometimes, the harder it is to find my place in making a difference.

 I did know that the rest of you were on the same failed mission with me and I took some comfort  in that. I was happy that it wasn't just me. As I read your discussion posts this week, I realize we are all being asked to take on a new mission. Hopefully, one we will be successful at! I love our optimism! I am excited to see what we can accomplish individually. We will  all need to create teams to support our efforts. I hope that many of you, like me are starting to feel like we have each other to rely on as well.

I am starting to get a sense that we can do anything we put our minds and hearts to. And even if we shoot for the moon and miss, we will be in the company of a brilliant abundance of stars! Good luck to us all. I am ready to take on my mission. So long for now, Roger. Over.

I Could Teach in Moscow, Thanks UNESCO!

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFUm3emm5h0&feature=player_embedded#!

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUhSeJTyAiQ&feature=player_embedded

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

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/

I am a Sociology GEEK!

Every girl in my freshman comp class

Trends in Children, Families, and Policy!

I went to college (for the first time) in the 1980's, the decade of big hair and big hair bands!

Survivor

It is interesting for me to study trends in families, in the parenting culture, in the economy, and in our politics. Many of the equity issues we face today have their roots in the economy of the 1980's. The PEW web site has some fascinating links. I find myself drawn to the PEW Research links to Social Trends (see link below).

An interesting study posted in March shared research about the changing roles of moms and dads. The study called "Roles of Moms and Dads Converge, But Gender Gaps Remain" is full of interesting material about modern parenthood. You would imagine that in 2013, the gender roles would look vastly different than they did in 1965 and they do. I did find it interesting that in 1965 mothers spent 8 hours a week in paid work compared to fathers who spent 42 hours a week in paid work. In 2011, the hours for mothers increased to 21 and fathers worked for pay 37 hours.

When we look at equity of access for preschool this week, one of the common issues in our discussion was transportation. The gender role study shed some light about where parents are and why transportation may be as much of an issue for the middle class as it is for economically disadvantaged family.

According to the study, in 1960, the year I was born, 72% of adults were married. Today, only 51% of adults are married. We all know that accessibility and affordability of early childhood programs can be an issue for single parents. If my post is intriguing to you, check out the PEW Research about Social Trends. I get lost there. Time to get those dinner dishes done....

Reference

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org

Week 5 Harvard is EXCELLENT

Before I even talk about the Global Children's Initiative at Harvard, let me just say this....I have spent about an hour loading videos on to my computer from Harvard's website. What a gold mine! As many of us are looking toward increasing our advocacy skills as Walden students and as Early Childhood teachers I appreciate the rich resources rooted in research on the Harvard website. It feels like I have found a treasure.

The Global Children's Initiative contains a portfolio of activities in three domains. The first domain is Early Childhood Development where priority is focused on adapting the work done in the United States to "energize and reframe the global dialog about investing in early childhood".  The second priority is focused on generating and applying new knowledge to "address the health and developmental needs of young children in a variety of settings". Projects are ongoing from this domain exist in Chile, Zambia, and Sierra Leone. The third priority convenes research forums "to facilitate collaboration" most notably in Brazil as it makes serious investments in young children and their families.

The second domain is focused on Children's Mental Health with three projects in development, the first in Shanghai, China to assess the state of mental health services there. Another will develop and evaluate efforts to prevent mental health issues in children with AIDS/HIV in Rwanda. Finally an project to assess childhood maltreatment and the resulting mental health issues as a result in three Caribbean nations.

Children in Crisis is the domain focused on collaborative efforts to study the "assessment and management of child well being" in the face of crisis whether natural or man made.

I have a few new insights after exploring the Harvard website this week. Again, I have bookmarked, tagged, highlighted, and downloaded a variety of resources that will prepare me in my work as an advocate and in creating curriculum for parents in my classes.

I am thrilled to see international efforts being made on behalf of children for children. I am hoping that each of the global efforts include Harvard students as research assistants, social work interns, medical residents, and a variety of other roles.  Each of the projects is rooted in noble humanitarian values. I wonder if universities are filling in gaps in humanitarian efforts that used to be a function of our government.

Any time mental health generates research, we move one step closer to removing the international stigma of mental illness. All of these efforts are examples of international excellence and equity in early childhood.

Reference

                              http://developingchild.harvard.edu/topics/global_child_development/

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