Sharing Web Resources

While browsing the Child Defense Fund Website, I clicked on the link “Policy Priorities”. Under this link the main focus addresses how elected officials can put an end to ongoing issues to help children prepare for a brighter future.  “Too many children live in poverty and suffer from preventable illness, neglect, abuse, inadequate education and violence” (Child Defense Fund, 2011).  As stated before poverty can have a major impact on the child’s development. As educators we should put forward every effort to ensure that our children needs are met in and outside the classroom so that their circumstances do not hinder them from learning.  Some of the main points to resolve these ongoing issues that our children face are:

·          End child poverty; (Child Defense Fund, 2011).

·         Guarantee every child and pregnant woman comprehensive health and mental health coverage and services; (Child Defense Fund, 2011

·         Protect every child from abuse and neglect and connect them to caring permanent families; (Child Defense Fund, 2011

·         Provide high quality early childhood care and development programs for all children; (Child Defense Fund, 2011

·         Ensure every child can read at grade level by fourth grade and guarantee quality education through high school graduation; and (Child Defense Fund, 2011

·         Stop the criminalization of children at increasingly younger ages and invest in prevention and early intervention. (Child Defense Fund, 2011)

One e-newsletter that raised my concern spoke about the cutbacks that will affect our children. It related to the current issues regarding the government shutdown. “We could face a government shut down and devastating budget cuts for our children and families are looming” (Child Defense Fund, 2011).  Due to the government shutdown there will be:

• 218,000 children would lose Head Start; 16,000 classrooms would close and 55,000 jobs would be lost. (Child Defense Fund, 2011).
• 11 million children and adults could be denied health care from Community Health Centers. (Child Defense Fund, 2011)
• Many of the 9.4 million low-income college students would have their Pell Grants eliminated or severely reduced. (Child Defense Fund, 2011)
• Cuts are also expected to be announced soon in Medicaid, Food Stamps and other lifelines for poor children and families. (Child Defense Fund, 2011).

The information that I gathered from the Child Defense Fund has frustrated me because of the irrational choices that our government officials are making. They are not thinking about the long-term effects that children and families would encounter. As a future educator I am very concerned because if the government does not care about the well-being of children, who do we have on our side. Educators need support in order for us to be motivated to teach with the ongoing issues that we know would affect our children. At this point when I think of poverty I have come to the conclusion that it will never end. It saddens me to know that no matter what we do to ensure that our children have the best education experiences, there is a fight that come with it. I will not be defeated before giving it a try. I will go the extra mile and do whatever it takes for the well being of children.

Resources:

Children Defense Fund

http://www.childrensdefense.org/ 

http://cdf.childrensdefense.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=23001.0&dlv_id=22923

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

As I reviewed the Global Children’s Initiative” website, I found a lot of useful information that we as educators can use when working with children. The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University focuses on approving the life of many children within the United Stated and other parts of the world.  ‘The Center on the Developing Child was founded in 2006 on the belief that the vitality and sustainability of any society depend on the extent to which it provides opportunities early in life for all children to achieve their full potential and engage in responsible and productive citizenship” (Harvard University, 2011).

The Center of Developing child is committed to:

• “building a multi-disciplinary science of health, learning, and behavior to elucidate causal mechanisms that explain the early roots of lifelong impairments” (Harvard University, 2011)
• “advancing our understanding of how to reduce preventable disparities in well-being through the design, implementation, and evaluation of innovative program and practice models” (Harvard University, 2011)
• “catalyzing the formulation and implementation of effective, science-based policies through strategic relationships and enhanced capacity for knowledge transfer; and” “(Harvard University, 2011)
• “preparing future and current leaders to make science-based policy decisions that advance the healthy development of children, families, and communities and bring high returns to all of society” (Harvard University, 2011)

Another important issue that I found on the website was about fostering a healthy development for children. It is very important to foster a healthy development for children so that they are deterred from stressful situation that can take their focus away from learning. It is my desire as an educator to provide an environment that is safe, supports risk taking, and invites sharing of ideas. Toxic stress can hinder the child’s brain development. In order to ensure that the child reach their fullest potential. it is important to ask children about ant issues that they maybe encountering. “Toxic stress can occur when a child experiences strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity—such as physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, and/or the accumulated burdens of family economic hardship” (Harvard University, 2011). The environment that a child is in can impact their health and well being. Children are unique individuals who need a secure, caring, and stimulating environment in which to grow and nature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. Providing a child with a safe environment will allow each child to blossom and grow.

Additional information about issues of equity and excellence that I gained from the Global Children Initiative is the “commitment to work collaboratively across disciplines and institutions, drawing together the best and most creative expertise available to achieve the Initiative’s goals” (Harvard University, 2011). Global Children Program at Harvard will focus on three strategic areas:

• “reframing the discourse around child health and development in the global policy arena by educating high-level decision-makers about the underlying science of learning, behavior, and health, beginning in the earliest years of life” (Harvard University, 2011)
• “supporting innovative, multi-disciplinary research and demonstration projects to expand global understanding of how healthy development happens, how it can be derailed, and how to get it back on track; and” (Harvard University, 2011)
• “building leadership capacity in child development research and policy—focused on both individuals and institutions—in low- and middle-income countries to increase the number and influence of diverse voices and perspectives that are contributing to the growing global movement on behalf of young children” (Harvard University, 2011)

Retrieved April 2, 2011from: (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/)

Sharing Web Resources

As I browsed the Child Defense Fund Website I believe that the section about ending childhood poverty is relevant in every aspects of my professional development. “More than 15 million children in America are poor, but they live in working families“(Child Defense Fund, 2011). Most children that come from poorer neighborhoods do not excel in school as they are more concerned with other issues that are going on in their home environment.  There are many children who are hungry every day. Some children only meal is what they eat when they are at school. Before I relocated back to Houston I was a probation officer in Dallas County. We worked together with the North Texas Food Bank to fill bags and boxes to feed the hungry. Our probationer’s would donate can goods for community services hours. The North Texas Food Bank had the back pack program. Educators would submit the names of students who needed additional food. The back packs were filled with items that can last throughout the weekend to ensure that the child had food even when they were not at school.

The February 2011 newsletter regarding the “Budget Watch” raised many concerns as to how politicians support the early childhood field. Due to recent budget cuts many children will lack inaccessible resources. “There were will be  $66 billion in cuts to federal programs such as Head Start, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, and the Title I education program for disadvantaged children between now and September 30, 2011” (Child Defense Fund, 2011). Reading this made me become very angry as the children are our future. Without support and funding students will not have the stability they need. If everyone would advocate for no child being left behind, the policy makers would see that there is a need to supply funding to help these children in any way(s) possible. There should be more organizations like the CDF all over the world so that children and families can receive the adequate support and care they need in order to make it in today’s society. “CDF is committed to seeing that children living in concentrated poverty, children without access to full-day kindergarten, children attending drop-out factories, and children in foster care and those in juvenile detention get the educational supports and stability they need” (Child Defense Fund, 2011).

The CDF website has drawn my attention to the many issues that can have an effect on children and families. Despite of sending their children to school some families have bigger fish to fry. Some families have to worry about the quality of education that their children are receiving while other families have to worry about being able to afford to send their children to school. The CDF website is filled with many resources that I plan to utilize as I become an educator.  As a future educator I hope to have an effective relationship with the families of children and is able to help address any concerns and needs that they may be facing to ensure that the child’s education is not affected.

Resource:

http://www.childrensdefense.org/ 
http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/enewsletters/ )

Childhood Poverty in India

I was unable to establish contact with an international Early Childhood professional. This is disappointing to me as I think this would have been a very good learning experience. It is always good to explore and learn new information from other professionals across the world.

Childhood poverty is on the rise. It is important that we as educators embrace children struggles and help them overcome their obstacles in any way(s) possible so that we can ensure that they excel while in the classroom. It is very sad to see how children have to suffer and deal with poverty at such a young age because of their parent’s negligence.  In India “almost half of all children (about 62 million) under the age of five are malnourished and 34 percent of new-borns are significantly underweight” (Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre, 2011). It amazed me to see how most of the children in India work at such a young age which enables them to attend school. It is disappointing that parents do not take initiative and motivate their children to attend school so that they can plan for a bright future. This will decrease the recidivism and maybe the children can prepare a better life for themselves despite of their circumstances.

Another interesting point that I gathered about Poverty in India was that “Despite efforts of civil society and government, gender biases continue to pervade all aspects of life and particularly limit girls' life chances” (Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre, 2011). I hope that I am able to see my vision unfold as I launch my non-profit organization so that I can change the lives of many children as I plan to empower underprivileged adolescent females in need of inaccessible resources, such as counseling, education, leadership and support. Life’s challenging circumstances can often be overwhelming, leading the most venerable to feelings of loneliness, confusion, despair, and even depression. As an educator I plan to provide professional assistance with resources to equip children for success in their adult life. My goal is to provide alternative approaches, skills for life, and decision making, which will enable children to ultimately become productive citizens of society.

Reference:

Retrieved from:  http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Sharing Web Resources

Throughout this course I have chose to focus on the services that The Children’s Defense Fund offers to children and families http://www.childrensdefense.org/.  The CDF has a variety of resources that are available for children and families who live in poverty. Some of the most vulnerable people lack inaccessible resources and could find the CDF organization very beneficial to them. Some of the goals of the CDF are to “end child poverty; guarantee every child and pregnant woman comprehensive health and mental health coverage and services; protect every child from abuse and neglect and connect them to caring permanent families; provide high quality early childhood care and development programs for all children; ensure every child can read at grade level by fourth grade and guarantee quality education through high school graduation; and stop the criminalization of children at increasingly younger ages and invest in prevention and early intervention” (Children's Defense Fund, 2011).

One of the most common issues that drew me into this site was CDF concern to end poverty. Over the years many children have been affected by poverty. Poverty can have a major impact on a child’s development. As educators it is important to go into the community and the homes of children to see how they are living. Most children that come from poorer neighborhoods do not excel in school as they are more concerned with other issues that are going on in their home environment. As a future educator I feel that it is important to assist families that live in poverty by offering resources like the one that are offered by the Child Defense Fund. This will give parents the opportunity to get their life back into prospective and become great providers for their children. Once the children needs are fulfilled at home, they can come into the classroom with less on their mind and be more willing to learn.

Resource:

http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Part 1

 

I found it very challenging trying to contact early childhood professionals outside of the United States. I sent emails and even messaged several people via face book so that I can blog with them. I am eager to learn about issues and trends in other parts of the world. I will continue to message and email professionals outside the United States as I believe this will be a very fun and exciting learning process. Over the upcoming week I hope to have progressed in my attempts to communicating with them as I look forward to collaborating and getting to know the ups and downs about families, children, and educators in other countries.

Part 2 

I have chosen to stay abreast of the services that are offered and updates from the Children's Defense Fund (CDF). This non-profit organization captured my attention after reading the mission statement because the primary goal is to assist those children who live in poverty. This is always a touchy subject for me because I was that child who looked for programs like this to join as a child for a sense of belonging. I grew up in 5^th Ward which was considered the projects in Houston, Texas. I was very poor and did not have access to many resources due to financial issues. I am currently in the process of starting my own non-profit organization to empower underprivileged adolescent females in need of inaccessible resources, such as counseling, education, leadership and support. My mission is to love, nurture, guide, and encourage youths to believe in themselves by realizing the goals they’ve set through hard work and dedication, despite their circumstances.