Getting to Know Your International Contacts: Part 2

M Ruple Blog Assignment Week 5

Sadly, I was only able to connect with Jenny this week in regards to the topic of excellence and equity in the classroom. Jenny is my early childhood contact from Sweden. Ironically, this is a topic that is almost perfect from her and her country. Sweden does reality well in terms of academic performance, equity, and excellence. Much of this may be attributed to the strong focus that they place on other factors than academics in the early childhood environment. According to Jenny, one challenge that have always faced in all levels of the Swedish school systems is achieving equality in excellence and academic performance in terms of gender. That is why the school system has placed a strong focus on gender equality inside and outside of the classroom. Some of you may recall reading an article or two about the new gender equality programs that the Swedish schools have implemented. If not, you can read about it here at this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14038419. Jenny believes that this program and new focus will eliminate gender gaps inside and outside of the classroom. She also believes that this program and new focus will improve academic performance, excellence, and equity for all levels and ages of children. By changing the mindset of children of what they should and should not wear, should grow up to be, and what they can accomplish inside and outside of the classroom; this program has great promise. Jenny also believes that parents will put aside their gender stereotypes encouraging a healthy growth and development for their children.

Jenny also provided me with a couple of excellent resources to share in regards to this topic and others that we may encounter in the class.

The first is for the Swedish school system. That can be accessed at http://www.skolverket.se/2.3894/in_english.

The second is for the pre-school program. That can be accessed at http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Work/The-Swedish-system/The-Swedish-education-system/.

Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I chose to analyze more completely is the Learning Disabilities Association of America. This organization can be located at http://www.ldanatl.org/. After reviewing this website, I have determined that there were many sections that were extremely relevant to my current professional development. As a children’s book writer and a professional social story writer for children with disabilities I am always interested in learning more about disabilities and treatment or rehabilitation methods for children with disabilities. This is information that is contained within the “Professional” section of the organization’s website.  Not only is there basic information about learning disabilities, but there are also articles included in this section to help to explain correlations between disabilities and other disorders and treatment strategies. Another section of this website, another section that has proven to be very relevant to my current professional development is the “Teacher” section. This section contains information that has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding about the challenges that children with disabilities and instructors face in an educational environment.

There were a few items on the websites that could be perceived as being controversial by some. However, this was not the case for me. I am always open to new research ideas and claims. These items that could be perceived as being controversial include current research attempting to find a correlation between pesticides and childhood disabilities (LDA, 2011). The impact of medications used during pregnancy on the brain of young children could also be perceived as being controversial by some (LDA, 2011). The research section also provided insight into the commitment of neuroscientists, government agencies, and politicians have to the field of early childhood. Many of the research studies that were being conducted by the organization were performed by leading neuroscientists in the industry and funded by government agencies and politicians. Examples of this include  research studies on neurodevelopment testing  of drugs on children and infants, behavioral and chemical toxins and their impact, brain imaging and learning disabilities, food substances and their effect, and more (LDA, 2011).

There were also some insights that were gained from further analyzing this website. One insight was that most learning disabilities occur as a result of AD/HD (LDA, 2011). A second insight is that many of the times, disabilities and learning disabilities can be prevented (LDA, 2011). A final insight is that today’s environment plays a significant role in the increased prevalence of learning disabilities in young children.

References

LDA. (2011). Research. Retrieved from http://www.ldanatl.org/.  

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

I am lucky enough to finally establish contact with two international early childhood professional via some of my friends on Facebook. My first international early childhood contact is name Jenny Eljas who lives in Falun, Sweden. Falun is a small town located in a municipality outside of Stockholm, Sweden.  Jenny is teaches children in what we would consider to be the first and second grades. So far, I have learned from Jenny that there are some similarities and differences in early childhood education in Sweden and the United States. One similarity is that a strong emphasis has been placed on early childhood education in both countries. However, in Sweden, young children are not expected to or forced to learn to read and write at such a young age (pre-school/kindergarten).  However, children in Sweden begin learning English as early as the age of 5 or 6 in addition to their native language within the school system and at home. Like the United States, poverty is also a main concern of educators and early educators.  Because of the country’s government structures, the occurrence of poverty is far less prevalent in the United States. The main causes of poverty in Sweden include low wages, high unemployment rates, and high rates of immigration. According to Jenny, the Swedish government does provide additional financial and resource support to children and families that suffer from poverty. The government also does provide additional financial and resource support to children that are disabled or possess special needs.  The cities and municipalities also do their best to support its residents that have been stricken by poverty and that may be in need.

My second contact’s name is Andrea Palula who lives in Oaxaca Mexico. Andrea speaks limited English and I speak limited Spanish so our conversations have been interesting to say the least. Google Translate has been a blessing to both of us. Oaxoca is a moderate size city located in Southern Mexico. Andrea is a teacher in what we would consider first grade students. Like the United States, enrollment is very high in her area for young children. However, there are some differences between the two teaching environments. In Mexico, and at Andrea’s school, religion and culture play an important part of the educational experience. Literacy is also not a focus of early childhood education. Poverty is a significant issue for Andrea and those in her community. Andrea believes that poverty does impact the growth and development of her children and the educational experience. Mexico has been urged by many world leaders to place a stronger emphasis on education to correct its poverty issue; however, little action has been taken by the government. In order to address issues of poverty, Andrea and those in her community must rely on each other for financial and non-financial support of her students. Sometimes they are successful and other times they are not as successful in their efforts. Poverty is one of the biggest challenges that Andrea faces in the educational process.

Sharing Web Sources

The organization that I have selected for further analysis is the Learning Disabilities Association of America or LDA located at http://www.ldanatl.org/.  This national organization works with volunteers and professionals in order to advocate for children and adults that suffer from learning disabilities. The mission of this organization is “to create opportunities for success for all individuals affected by learning disabilities and to reduce the incidence of learning disabilities in future generations” (LDA, 2011, para. 6).  After reviewing the organization’s website, one issue that caught my attention was impact that ADHA can have on young children inside and outside of the classroom. One of the reasons that this issue caught my attention was that it was very prominent within the website and is believed to be a major contributor to learning disabilities in adults and children. In addition to this issue, I was educated upon learning disability assessment and evaluation processes, an overview of learning disabilities basics, and the main objectives of the LDA (2011) research committee. Simply, the LDA (2011) research committee strives to determine the causes of learning disabilities and as appropriate treatment and interventions of the disorders. It is also their objective to collaborate and work with others in the community in order to reduce the impact of learning disabilities (LDA, 2011).

On a different note…I have made progress finding international contacts in the field of early childhood. I may also have some additional contacts if needed by my classmates. I was finally successful by contacting my international friends via Facebook. They all knew someone that I could talk to for this portion of the assignment. So far I have an individual confirmed for participation in Sweden and potentially have other individuals from Greece, Mexico, and England.

References

LDA. (2011). About. Retrieved from http://www.ldanatl.org/.

Getting Ready—Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

So far it has been challenging making contact with early childhood professionals outside of the United States. As a starting point, I did access the Global Alliance Page through the NAEYC at http://www.naeyc.org/resources/partnership/globalalliance#australia. However, I am yet to make successful contact. My next strategy is to communicate with some of my international friends via Facebook and other social networking websites to see if these individuals can assist me in the process of establishing a professional relationship with early childhood professionals in their countries. If this strategy proves to be unsuccessful, I will need to sadly select the alternative to this assignment.

Several steps were taken in order to locate the early childhood organization for part two of the blog assignment. The first step was to use the Google search engine to locate a link page for all of the early childhood organizations located within North America. This link pages was located at http://www.naeyc.org/links. I then read through the list of the links and selected the organizations that were of interest to me and my educational and professional goals. Once these organizations were selected and narrowed down the content of their websites were analyzed to ensure credibility.  Finally, the organization Learning Disabilities Association of America was selected. Their website can be located at http://www.ldanatl.org/.  This organization was selected because learning disabilities and autism are an interest of mine and are extremely applicable to my professional and educational career.

Helpful tips in locating an organization:

1. Determine your interests or professional pursuits.
2. Locate a resource such as http://www.naeyc.org/links that provides a list of credible organizations.
3. Research each website of each organization of interest to ensure it is credible and reputable.