Sharing Resources! Zero-to-Three!

The Zero to Three website published an article titled Supporting Young Children During the Holidays.  This article is full of important information, and is an excellent resource for every parent, teacher, and care provider.  The article explains how the increased holiday tension and stress, even if joyful, can be overwhelming to a young child.   While mentioning structure and routines, family depression and joy, shopping and late nights, a military undertone is taken.  The support of military and their families is a large part of this article.  The article ends with ideas on the inclusion of military parents, stationed far from home.  

The articles on autism are very controversial, and cause me some concern.  An article titled This Issue and Why It Matters, asks if autism is more prevalent today, or if we just recognize the symptoms more often?  The article also discusses screening at an early age, using a lack of speech skills as an indicator.  A lack of speech skills can be a symptom of so many different syndromes!  The article also states that it has been recommended that all children be screened for autism at the ages of 18 and 24 months.  I feel that all children should be watched for developmental delays and physical illnesses.  I do not agree that all children should be screened for every illness.  Is autism so prevalent that all children must be tested?  Should all children be tested for every well known syndrome?  Will this testing be performed on all children, or just on those that have good insurance?  Will children in poverty be tested?  Do children raised in poverty have a higher incidence of autism?  The article by K. Drummond finds that autism is more prevalent in families not living in poverty.  Are children living in poverty being counted in the autism statistics?  Autism is a very controversial topic, with many unknown answers. 

The Zero to Three website is promoting a Birth to Five Agenda.  Searching the website will provide you with numerous articles on the topic.  The agenda encourages communities and businesses to become active participants in early childhood education.  Politically, very little information seems to exist on the topic of the Birth to Five Agenda.  A few sites mention the existence of the agenda, however most seem to avoid the subject.  Most of the political information found concerns the reelection prospects of politicians that notice the ECE field.  NueroScientists dominate the Zero to Three website.  The site offers many avenues of scientific research and documentation.  The science supports the Birth to Five agenda, and gives politicians and economists the necessary data to plan and develop programs for children.

I enjoyed the section on development of four to six month old children.  The section is very detailed, with examples, strategies, and activity ideas.  Since my grandson is four months old, and I have two children of this age group in my child care, I was able to relate to the article.  The article contained sections titles If Baby Could Talk, which related possible thoughts.  This section was particularly interesting!  I also liked the section on recognizing your child’s personality.  It is fun to understand baby’s personality, and imagine him/her as an older child!  

References

Powers, S. (2008). This Issue and Why It Matters. Retrieved from  http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/ZTT28-4_mar_08.pdf?docID=7246 

Drummond, K. (2010).  Does Poverty Fend Off Autism?  Retrieved from http://www.aolnews.com/2010/09/22/does-poverty-fend-off-austism 

INTERNATIONAL CONTACTS

Nicky, an owner and director of a child care center on the Western Cape of  South Africa, has agreed to be an email partner!   She bought a failing preschool, and turned the building into a child care center.  Her center provides care for children ages 2 through 6, and a few after school children through 4^th grade.  Her total enrollment is 72 children, divided into three classes.  She has about 20 years of early childhood experience.

Nicky tells of the people of South Africa.  She comments on the three races in her country.  The Blacks, the Colours, and the Whites.  Colours are mixed race people.  The Blacks live mainly in squatter camps, where no White person would dare go.  The camps are not segregated, but very few others live there.  The camps are huge, and surround major airports.  Homes are constructed of scraps, cardboard, plastic, newspaper, almost anything.  There are also many poor White people, who live in low income areas, and are not as noticeable, since there are not as many as the huge number of poor blacks.  About 20 years ago, schools were de-segregated.  That is when Nicky began her teaching career.  There is a school for each neighborhood, and since people generally live within their own socio-economic class, the schools now considered classist instead of  racist.  Some are very poor, attended mostly by the Black and Coloured children.   Often, the classes are so large that there is standing room only.  Many of the teachers are illiterate.  Other schools are more modern, mostly attended by the Whites.  These schools are well funded, have qualified teaching staff, and manageable class sizes.  The predominant language taught is all schools is English.  There are about 11 different African languages spoken by the blacks in their homes.  Nicky’s preschool is in a city, and she has a mix of cultures and races attending.  She has Black, Coloured, and White children, Christian and Moslem, mostly English speaking.  Recently, she has had an influx of immigrant Black, French speaking Nigerian children.  When I asked Nicky about the starvation and poverty that we, as Americans, hear about on the news from Africa, she commented that it does not exist in her country.  She also stated that she cannot deny the stories we hear.

I have also created a contact with a person from Australia.  Her name is Susan, and she works for the Department for Communities in Western Australia.  She notes that Australian citizens have a public health system which covers basic health and hospital care.  The current contentious political issue is the immigration of illegal arrivals on boats from Indonesia, carrying people from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and other Middle Eastern countries.  Australia’s immigration policy encourages the migration of skilled workers entering under the normal process.  There are currently labor shortages in some industries, and migration is a way to search for more skilled laborers.  The school system has had an ESL system in place for about 30 years.  The child care sector has had an Ethnic Resource Unit since the 1980’s.  The systems provide an interpreter service where necessary for any immigrant, and one on one support for the children for a number of weeks until they are settled in child care or school.  These systems also provide cultural advice and multicultural resources for service staff.  Australia is not currently in a recession, as the government acted very quickly at the beginning of the world crisis.  Banks were regulated, and citizens have not suffered financial woes.       

These two contacts are very similar, yet very different.  Both are professionals, and both are knowledgeable about the early childhood field.  However, the countries that these individuals reside in are vastly different.  I will be interested to compare and contrast the information I receive from both these knowledgeable women, and to see how our country compares!    

ONLINE WEB RESOURCE

Zero-To-Three

The National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families

Zero to Three is a national, nonprofit organization.  The organization trains, informs, and supports policymakers, professionals, and parents in an effort to improve the lives of children.  Zero to Three is a very informational site, and is an excellent resource with information on a variety of topics.  The website can be found at www.zerotothree.org.

When viewing the home page, you will notice a number of options.  Three different online newsletters are available, with easy sign up requirements.  I signed up for them, but have yet to receive them.   A policy network is available for membership, to voice advocacy efforts.  My personal favorite spot on the home page is called Find It Fast.  You can drag a list of many topics, choose one, and find endless amounts of information!  I entered the topic “Immigration”, and immediately could view several articles related to the subject.

Did you ever hear of a baby brain map?  On the home page of the Zero to Three website you will discover a link to this unique type of map!  Once on the mapping page, you can select an age and see the parts of the brain currently under development.  Click on the brain segments, and see questions, tips, and comments on brain development!

I found some information on diversity within the Zero to Three website.  I also found information on immigration, English as a Second Language, and culture.  One California based article, titled Overview of Roots of Decline:  How Government Policy ahs De-Educated Teachers of Young Children, I found very interesting.  This article related immigration to the downfall of teachers in Early Childhood Education.  According to the article, the influx of young children into the system caused a high demand in a very short period of time.  Early Childhood programs were forced to take quantity over quality.  With a lack of qualified teachers available, standards were lowered, and less qualified teachers were hired.

  

Reference

Bellm, D. and Whitebook, M. (2005). Overview of Roots of Decline:  How Government Policy has De-Educated Teachers of Young Children.  Retrieved from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/Professional_Development_PP.pdf?docID=5068  

Worldwide Professional Contacts

A worldwide contact sounds like an interesting and educational idea!  However, when I researched the course recommended sites, and contacted several places, I heard no responses.  Therefore, I set off on my own to find a worldwide contact!  I quickly noticed the language barrier, and therefore tried to locate English speaking countries.  I emailed Australia, South Africa, Ireland, England, Scotland, Greece, Thailand, and Iceland.

I contacted the Blue Balloon Preschool and Daycare Centre in South Africa.  The Principal/Owner agreed to correspond with me during this course.  I found the Blue Balloon Preschool by performing a daycare directory search on Google.

I also contacted OECDL, the Office of Early Childhood Development and Learning, in Australia.  The Senior Project Officer referred me to the Department of Communities.  This department oversees the child care sector in Western Australia.   I will be interacting with a contact in this department, who has graciously offered to be my contact. 

The web site I have chosen to study the Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families website.    This website seems to address many topics relevant to the early childhood teacher, as well as the parents of the children in care.  The articles are written in a way that is parent friendly, and also very informative for early childhood staff.  The website covers a wide variety of topics, and is an excellent resource.