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.

Web Resources Pt.2

The National Association for Bilingual Education has information regarding improving the productive use of existing resources. As school districts and states have increasingly struggled with outdated accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, President Obama announced in 2011 that with ESEA flexibility innovations quality of instruction and student academic achievement would increase and improve (NABE, 2013). As I work towards becoming a teacher making significant changes in early childhood, I find that resources, such as from NABE, help provide me with ideas and information for how to use existing resources when provided with situations where there may be a lack of resources available. 

An interesting piece of information regarding initiatives included the priorities of improving affordability and quality in post-secondary education, elevating teaching profession to the same high status it has in nations with highest-performing education systems and strengthening the connections between school and work and better aligning job training programs with workforce demands (NABE, 2013). These priorities make me consider the relation of education between different countries and what the benchmarks should be. 

NABE helps outline the reasons for why economists support the early childhood field. It supports the funding for individuals with disabilities with the research that state and local activities help Americans navigate through changing job markets and overcome career challenges created by global competition and economic recession.

Resources:

National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE). (2013). Fiscal year 2013 budget summary and background information. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget13/summary/13summary.pdf

International Contacts: Introductions

May-Ie Tan was my first kindergarten teacher when I was 3 and a half years old living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Realizing that Ms. Tan is still a teacher at the same school, it was a real pleasure getting in touch with her. We began talking about how our lives and catching up. As I don't remember much of my time in her classroom, she told me about the things we did and how the school has changed. Ms. Tan is an American Chinese who married a Malaysian Chinese, which is the reason she moved to Malaysia 20 odd years ago. She mentioned that she adapted to the environment quickly and found teaching in an international school rewarding and enlightening. This week I brought up the topic of poverty and inquired about how she views the impact of poverty in Malaysia on education, whether it be at her particular school or others. She mentioned that in many of the rural areas and slums of Malaysia, it is difficult for children to have access to a proper education because of their limited resources. Crimes in the city often arise from poverty, which have lead to many kidnappings of children outside school gates. It is a problem that is difficult to eradicate but there are organizations that aim to limit the poverty and crime. At this moment, with the typhoon disaster in the Philippines, many efforts are targeted towards helping them.

Carmel O'Brien is a first grade teacher in an international school in Singapore. She is originally from Australia and moved to Singapore a few years ago. With Singapore being such a diverse country with many expatriates and nationalities living together, the large city was not much different to Melbourne. However, moving to a different country is an endeavour that can be daunting and it does take a while to adjust to the new environment, especially to the humidity in Singapore. There is not much visible poverty in Singapore but one will see a beggar here or there, yet it hardly seems that any children are affected. Even with lower income families, the adults ensure that they work overtime or take on more in order to provide their children with the best education possible.

I look forward to learning more from Ms. Tan and Ms. O'Brien and am grateful for being able to be in contact with people from various parts of the world, giving me new insights to education and day-to-day life in different places.

Web Resources Pt.1

The National Association for Bilingual Education (http://www.nabe.org/) addresses research with regards to diversity in education and maintains the mission statement of advocating to the nation's bilingual and English language learners to "cultivate a multilingual multicultural society by supporting and promoting policy, programs, pedagogy, research, and professional development that yield academic success, value native language, lead to English proficiency, and respect cultural and linguistic diversity.

A specific article addresses the fact that "recent vote in Arizona underscores that many people don't appreciate the importance of bilingual education." It continues on to suggest that supporters to bilingual education should improve on explaining to the public that quality bilingual programs are one of the ideal ways for students to lean and succeed academically in English.

The available resources on the NABE website specifically relate to the topic of changing demographics and increasing diversity as it emphasizes the importance of maintaining native languages when learning English within USA. We should advocate bilingual programs and make sure that the have the teachers, resources, and leadership to succeed.

Resources:

National Association for Bilingual Education. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.nabe.org/

Professional Contacts

Both my mother and my stepfather are educators. This has made it easier to contact other early childhood professionals outside of USA. I have contacted a Grade 1 teacher at an international school in Singapore where my parents work. Additionally, I have tried to establish contact with a Kindergarten teacher in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She was my Kindergarten teacher and still works at the same school. Her email was accessible via the school's website and I was able to easily reach out to her. She has already replied back to me and I am sure that she will be a great asset for me and it will also be interesting to learn how education has changed since when she taught me. As I have personal affiliations to both schools, it was a natural choice for me to reach out to teachers in those particular schools. For this particular project, I would recommend that one firstly defines the school system to look at, for example the International Baccalaureate. Then it would be advantageous to search for international schools that use that curriculum, narrow down the specific school that one is interested in (Elementary School or Kindergarten) and proceed to search for the staff list for that particular grade level (should be available on the website). It is key to contact as many teachers as possible if one does not have a personal connection to them in order to have a greater possibility of getting a positive response. Hopefully, many will extend a professional courtesy of answering any questions that one may have.