Well still no word from my connections via email. Maybe I
need to try somewhere else? I wasn’t able to locate any “podcast” either…isn’t
a podcast a video or audio clip? Anyway, this week I explored the GLOBAL
CHILDREN’S INITIATIVE. I read a fact sheet about how global efforts are being
made to “view healthy child development as the foundation of economic
prosperity, strong communities, and a just society, and our mission is to
advance the vision by using science to enhance child well-being through
innovations in policy and practice” (GCI, 2006). This is promising for every
child on the planet. The article goes on
to explain how they are using the efforts of the United States as a model for
other countries, obviously shifting strategies to make considerations for
diversity of cultural values as needed.
Forward movement is being made in areas of child mental health, crisis
and conflict situations, and creating opportunities for more diverse leadership
in a global setting.
On this issue of equity and excellence in early childhood on
a global scale would probably be one of the most challenging tasks to
undertake. Excellence is somewhat easy
to determine if you use broad standards such as child-centered curriculum and
learning because that would allow for any cultural relevance to be
considered. The matter of equity might
be a little more challenging as there really is no comparison between developed
countries and developing countries and their ability to support children’s
educational needs at a funding level. We have seen this in the United States,
as this is still a struggle here. There
are so many families that fall into varying levels of poverty, varying levels of
middle class, and varying levels of upper class, the disparity between them is immense,
but within them, it is also fairly broad.
Just to play devil’s advocate however I thought about a
lesson we learned as children about everyone looking alike, sounding alike, and
liking the same things. We all decided that variety is in fact the spice of
life. If every child was given the same
opportunity, how would anyone excel or become an innovative leader? There would
be no leaders; we would flat line. I
fully believe that college is not for everyone, there needs to be those who are
willing and able to work in service entry level jobs. We need those who strive to be the best athletes,
the best scientists, the best doctors, lawyers, teacher, etc. If everyone was
given a college education and didn’t have to work for it, I think, that it
would not mean as much as it does for those who invest blood, sweat, and tears to
earn a degree.
References
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/
You made a great point about everything being the same, Davey. I often worry about that within school curriculum as standards become more important. As a Kindergarten teacher, there are some awesome play experiences that I incorporate into my classroom each year. As time goes on and standards/expectations of Kindergartners increase I worry that I will find less time to fit in these fun experiences. In my mind, though, these are the things that spur my child's thoughtfulness, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. Definitely something to think about.
ReplyDeleteDavey,
ReplyDeleteI too have not made any connections via email, and I have not had much luck finding podcast that relate to the issue at hand. It's a good thing we are early childhood educators and are used to thinking outside the box, lol! As far as equity in early childhood goes, I'm not sure that it equates to sameness. I think that addressing inequity in early childhood will allow early childhood educators to reach more children, allowing for less achievement gaps, which will lead to individual success-- whether they want to be a mechanic or a scientist! :)
Davey
ReplyDeleteI would like to say good job on your blog post. The information that you provided was very interesting. I have never heard of the Global Children's Initiative before and I was happy to read the information about it. I look forward to reading more of your blog posts and learning more about what is being done globally to help children.