Issues in Early Childhood - Reflection

Barriers regarding diversity and access to early childhood programs have contributed to my personal and professional goals. Research has lead me to understand that providing an atmosphere where every child and family feels welcome, regardless or race, religion, nationality, or language spoken is a difficult task as language barriers can contribute to limited accessibility to early childhood programs, and lack of inclusion can deter families from providing their children with the opportunity to join early childhood programs. The copious amount of information has reinforced my goal to open an all inclusive preschool that accepts diverse students. It has, however, made me more apprehensive in my approach to teaching, which is in some ways restricting in activities and communication with children and families, as I feel I need to be more wary of different needs and norms. Researching issues related to poverty have narrowed my scope of objectives. Previously, I aimed to work in third world countries, providing early childhood education to children who do not have easy access and resources for education. However, as I have gained more information about low income effects in areas across many countries, I aim to initially start of locally by providing educational support to families who are unable to obtain high quality education easily and move on to my worldwide objective at a later date.

Professionals working with children should aim to take on the role of advocating for children by recognizing the rights of all children and by trying to proactively change systems, policies and individuals. In order to improve international awareness regarding issues and trends in early childhood, seminars can be held to discuss these various topics (subsidized as monetary issues relate to certain teachers) and, therefore, improve teachers' knowledge and attitudes toward cultural diversity as they are powerful determinants of learning opportunities and outcomes which helps facilitate academic achievement.

Early Childhood Professionals and Quality

Ms. May-Ie Tan's answers to questions related to early childhood professionals as well as her own goals are stated below:

1. What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work? 

Current issues:

One of the many perks in working in an international school is that my classroom does not depend on public funds, therefore as a classroom teacher I do not have to worry about replying on standards, testing, and accountability rule to get funding.  Elsewhere, in the United States, federal and state mandates are pushing academic skills and testing down to younger children, even preschoolers.  Here at M’KIS, I am working hard to put more emphasis on promoting child development, active, play-based learning, and hands-on exploration for my students.  For us here at M’KIS, we discussed the importance of active play-based learning and how we are balancing this with our academic learning.  

2. What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

I am very fortunate that each teacher here at M’KIS has a substantial amount of P.D. funds which we may use towards our professional development.  In addition, our school provides in-services on campus for teachers who wish to take them.  Our school focus is on technology and reading this school year.  Therefore, there were weekend in-services for Google for Educators and Reading Comprehension Workshop.  Teachers are also encouraged to attend the EARCOS Teachers Conference in Spring.

3. What are some of your professional goals?

My professional goals has to tie in to the school's Action Plan.  This school year, my professional goals are:

Goal #1

Growth Goal: The KPA grade level team will have completed 3 curriculum maps and have these published on the CMS (Curriculum Mapping Service) website by December 20th, 2013.

The goal ties to the 2013/2014 School Action Plan 1.1 Utilize Multiple Measures of Assessment to Drive Instruction, Resources, and Planning 1.1.3 Consistent with the published Curriculum Review Cycle, continue in the Monitoring and Adjustment phase for all aspects of the following curricula: Health, Math, PE, Science, Social Studies

Goal #2 

Growth Goal: To apply the three ring application and other Google for Educator Applications to better analyze and use student data to implement effective interventions/instruction.  This will allow me to use assessments and frequently monitor academic progress to develop effective lesson plans, using instructional strategies that will focus on student weaknesses and use their strength to achieve their academic goal.
The goal ties to the 2013/2014 School Action Plan 1.1  Utilize Multiple Measures of Assessment to Drive Instruction, Resources, and Planning 1.1.4       Develop a compendium of student assessment tools commonly utilized in the school including standardized measures formative assessment types, summative assessment types, portfolios, presentations, digitized presentations and the plethora of other measures in use.

4. What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

I would like to be able to better challenge my students and continue to help them learn and fulfill their life dreams.

The conversation with Ms. Tan provided me with the reinforced understanding that not all issues relate to all schools similarly and that some aren't affected by various problems that stem from, for example, standardized testing. It also gave me the realization that professional development and reaching individual goals are often limited to a school's funds because many rarely take, or have the chance, to receive additional development stemming from one's own funding.

Web Resources Pt.3

After searching through different links provide by The National Association for Bilingual Education, I was overwhelmed with various information and articles relating to early childhood and education in general. I decided to focus on a particular link provided that supplied several articles relating to the 'No Child Left Behind' act. 

One article that caught my attention does not relate to the NABE and their advocacy for bilingualism, but mentions the students who are left behind when programs do not quite live up to their expected abilities and results. Rubalcava (2004) illustrates one class where the lead teacher posts names of children to have risen to the top in reading and math on a weekly basis and the students participate in "discussions, partner reading, read-alouds, and fact games." Occasional field trips are set up and allotted times of the year are designated for play. This provides structure and benchmarking, making it more streamline for educators and programs to organize and create a cohesive curriculum. However, as Rubalcava (2004) continues, it is clear that students feel stressed and focus on test scores, which is a potential danger of 'No Child Left Behind', thus leaving students with less energy for creativity and intrinsic motivation, which are key roles in a child's development. 

Leaving english learners behind (Petersen, 2002) relates to the lack of equity in early childhood education. Petersen explains that the NABE advocates bilingual learning and that Limited English Proficient (LEP) students were exempted from tests and ignored, which creates limitations in accessibility because not all LEP students get the education they deserve when excluded from certain key areas. However, this does not mean that students should be thrown into having standardized English tests where immigrant students (who may have resided in USA for only a week) in states, such as Indiana, would be forced to take tests in a language that they do not understand (Petersen, 2002). Researching these articles have allowed me to gain a better grasp of how many restrictions there are within education and that there are many students that get "left behind" because of increased standards and changes in policies. Even with the constant improvements made within early childhood education, key details are being forgotten, meaning that young children are missing out on proper education opportunities because of factors, such as language barriers or inaccessibility. 

Resources

Petersen, B. (2002). Leaving english learners behind. Rethinking Schools. Retrieved from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/bushplan/leav171.shtml

Rubalcava, M. (2004). Leaving children behind. Rethinking Schools. Retrieved from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/bushplan/leav191.shtml

Changes and Increased Standards in Early Childhood

This week I spoke to Ms. O'Brien about the various standards in Singapore's local schools as well as in the international school that she teaches in. In Singapore, the local schools already have high standards where testing is done from a young age and streaming children begins early. Children are academically challenged and assessed but the general schooling does not take into consideration creativity or other alternatives as these are merely seen as extra curricular activities. We discussed this issue at great length and came to the conclusion that as children learn at different rates, many fall behind and are unable to reach their full potential from an early age. Although Singaporean schools are beginning to now consider the individual child and their own development, there is still a lack in a child's play in school.

On the other hand, Ms. O'Brien's international school follows the International Baccalaureate and she specifically works with younger children within the Primary Years Program. She outlines that it is a hands-on approach that is inquiry-based and can cater to every child's individual needs, strengths, and weaknesses. This particular school has implemented the IB PYP program in such a way that individuals in each class are not only challenged as well as receiving a well-rounded development but are also compared to each individual across that grade level to determine a benchmark but as a gauge for the teachers without the excessive amount of pressure.

High standards put pressure on children that does not benefit each individual but with the incorporation of successful programs that provide individualized learning and encourage different outlets for, for example, creativity, children have the opportunity to have the best education possible.