Getting to Know Your International Contacts

I was not successful with getting a hold of one of my intenational contacts, but like I shared a couple of weeks ago one of my collegues is from Japan, and she has ben giving me alot of insight on education over their. So I took the time to ask her a couple of questions regarding education.

What are some of your profesional goals?

To be quite honest with you I really want to go back to Japan, and become a teacher out there. It is harder to be a teacher out there, but when you do get the opertunity to teach, its easier and more benificially than here. The money is a lot better, but the cost of living is so much cheaper so it is more affordable.

What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

I hope to open a childcare center of my own.

What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

The traning we just had on the 17th gave us new curricluims to implament with our children. I enjoy going to the monthly trainings because every week there is something new. I have been teaching for more than 20 years and even with all of my time spent in childcare I still find the classes benificial. I always enjoy speaking from others to hear how their cultures and background are different from ours her in the US. Frm my previous blogs in Japan the children are required to go to school from early childhood to college. That is one county that is very stick on education for children. It is more affordable and resonable because cost of living is so much cheaper.

Sharing Web Resorces

I choose originally to work with NACYE, and I found the web page offered much recourse for educators. I decided to check out the National Black Child Development Institute, to see what their organization offered for children at the early childhood level. NBCDI supports and works primarily with Black children birth through age eight and their families, through coalition building with community-based organizations, foundations, corporations, school systems, elected officials, government, child care, Head Start and many other public and private partnerships. (NBCDI) The purpose of this program is to help our young black youth to:

To increase and equitably distribute quality across the birth through eight continuums, while also connecting early childhood and elementary schools, NBCDI focuses on: Supporting specific efforts to recruit, professionally prepare, compensate and retain a well-qualified workforce across multiple birth through eight settings, including family and center-based child care as well as public and charter schools

Commitments to ensuring cultural and racial diversity in the workforce, which has decreased, even while the population of children has grown increasingly more diverse [1] Supporting the development and revision of QRIS (Quality Rating and Improvement Systems) that are as focused on the “Quality” and the “Improvement” as they are on the “Rating”

Explicitly advocating for the inclusion of school- and community-based early childhood teachers and administrators in joint professional development opportunities with K-12 teachers and administrators Encouraging the development of culturally, linguistically and developmentally valid and reliable measurement tools for young children and the classrooms in which they learn

Encouraging states, districts and schools to embed professional development opportunities that support a deeper understanding of families’ race and culture, and explicitly teach teachers from all backgrounds how to develop and strengthen relationships with parents and the community

I think this is a great organization that many African American families can benefit from due to the cost of childcare. Making sure that no one is left behind, due to their families’ financial situations.

This week I was surfing the NACYE web site and I came across an article in Education Week so great information that compared the United States to other countries around the world. Here in the US we are behind when it comes to children receiving early learning care. The United States ranks 28th out of 38 countries in the world. This was compared to France, the Nederland’s, Spain, and Mexico, which leads the world in early childhood participation rates for 4 years olds. Ireland, Poland, Finland, and Brazil are among the countries that trail the US. The other countries will invest more money into their early childhood programs.

I spoke with one of my co-workers who is from Japan, and she was telling me about the education out there, and going to school is not an option. Starting at the age of 4 every child must be enrolled in an early learning center, and everyone must attend college or vocational school after high school. So in their country education is mandatory state wide, but she also explaind that the cost of living is way cheaper there than here.

Reading this information was a little strange because I wouldn’t think the US would be so far behind with early childhood education. I am wondering is the US so far behind because we have many organizations to help out other countries? The cost of childcare is a major factor when it comes to dealing with education. Children who tend to not attend early childcare centers are those who are in a single family household.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/09/19/04oecd-2.h32html