Consequences of Collaborative Learning

I am so excited to share that I finally received an email reply from a professional whom I contacted. It is not an international contact, but an early childhood educator who spoke via radio on “World Forum”. I cannot begin to explain how I felt when I saw the email. Needless to say, I was surprised to hear from someone since it is at the close of the course. None the less, I am overjoyed. I would like to take just a little time to share what this professional had to say before I address our week eight assignment. The professional who took the time out of her busy schedule to write me was Susan Lyon, Ed.D. She is instrumental in bringing and promoting Reggio Emilia, Italy here in the United States. She spoke of high quality care and education for infant, toddler, and preschool children as a critical issue in the field of early childhood. She further commented that all children should be cared for in places that give them opportunities to thrive, and women should have choices that are all of high quality as they look for care and education for their children. She said that there are many ways to advocate for high quality care an education, but the most “powerful” way she has found is to work with schools both public and private in raising the quality of care by investing in the professional development of teachers. She posed that we should ask ourselves, “Why are we doing what we are doing with children?” There was much more that she elaborated on, but I will suffice the above for getting across her main points. Three Consequences I learned: 1. That there are positives happening globally for children. We can learn much from each other no matter where we reside. 2. Never give up. Someone will eventually contact you. I have not given up on establishing an international contact. 3. Reading and researching about happenings around the world can inspire us to continue our work with children in our own communities. My goal as related to international awareness: 1. I will continue to discover and rediscover positives in the international field of early care and education in hopes that I can one day be as Susan Lyons and bring to pass something like Reggio Emilia, Italy to a small rural Idaho community. Good luck to everyone in reaching their goals.

UNESCO and Cultural Diversity

I am continually interested in and try to keep abreast of issues concerning linguistic and cultural diversity in education.

In visiting the UNESCO website, I was immediately drawn to an article under the tab of Latin America and the Caribbean. Once there I found the following linguistic and cultural diversity facts fascinating:

There is a critical issue of losing languages. Out of 6,000 languages and dialects in the world, there is a threat of losing 50%.

Almost every two weeks, a language vanishes. When languages disappear, cultural and intellectual heritages also leave. Languages are our path to knowledge and they are unique making them an important support for human growth and development.

Linguistic diversity is connected to natural diversity. Together, both promise that there will be future generations to carry on progress.

In the country of Peru the Quechua or Aymara are the dominant languages. However, the schools still use Spanish when teaching students. This presents problems for children as they struggle to learn how to read and communicate.

CARE (National humanitarian organization) has stepped in to aid schools in Peru. They work to create classrooms that have essential materials for learning a second language of Spanish.

They also provided training to teachers helping them to understand intercultural and bilingual education requisite by Peru. They also put together and distribute information and organize workshops directed to local authorities, families, and civil society members educating them on the significance of bilingual education.

Efforts like those listed above give hope for preserving mother languages (UNSECO, 2012).

It is interesting to note that educators in such countries as Peru have to contend with linguistic and cultural issues just as we do here in America.

Reference:

UNESCO. (2012, February 20). Education for sustainable development – preserving linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved from the UNESCO website at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/resources/online-materials/single-view/news/education_for_sustainable_development_preserving_linguistic_and_cultural_diversity/

Equity and Excellence for ELL Children

In spending time on the NIEER website I found information on the current status of ELL learners in California. In an article by Rebecca Plevin on News Media America’s website titled Limited Preschool Access Dims Success for Latino Children-And California’s Future. It can be found on the following URL:

http://newamericamedia.org/2012/02/poor-preschool-access-dims-success-for-latino-childrenand-californias-future.php

I have spent a good part of my life working with Latino families and continue to embrace connections to that culture today as I work with Latino and ELL learners as an elementary teacher. In California, many young Latino children are not receiving a much needed boost for academic success and yet they make up more than half of all children under the age of five. High quality preschools only see fourteen (14) percent as enrollees. Fresno County has more migrant children than any other part of the state, and they are lucky enough to have a migrant education program that strives to alleviate such a gap by providing high quality one- on-one help through a home visiting program.

In Filer, Idaho, we have an ELL program that provides small group extra help for ELL children. The program begins working with children in kindergarten. Having been a part of that program, I know that it is a good program. However, in working with those students, I can see that such help needs to come well before kindergarten. Being a small rural community, the closest Head Start programs are in towns further away, and I am not sure how accessible it is to the children in my town. My next step is to find out if Head Start in Buhl and Twin Falls serve the children in Filer. Also, are there any Head Start home visiting programs in Filer?

I just love how these articles plant ideas and encourage me to search for avenues of support for children and families in my small world.