Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I have yet to receive a response from my international contacts so I did the alternative assignment and viewed the "Global Children's Initiative" website. This website is very informative but I took to the "National Scientific Council on the Developing Child" section. In this section, they took about many things but topic that stood out to me the most was the "Toxic Stress Response: The Facts" topic. I have heard that there is "good stress" and "bad stress" but this website has stress broken down into three parts: positive, tolerable and toxic (three new insights for me).

Positive stress response is a normal and essential part of healthy development (I guess this would be considered "good stress"), characterized by brief increases in heart rate and mild elevations in hormone levels. Some situations that might trigger a positive stress response are the first day with a new caregiver or receiving an injected immunization.

Tolerable stress response activates the body’s alert systems to a greater degree as a result of more severe, longer-lasting difficulties, such as the loss of a loved one, a natural disaster, or a frightening injury. If the activation is time-limited and buffered by relationships with adults who help the child adapt, the brain and other organs recover from what might otherwise be damaging effects.

Toxic stress response (bad stress) can occur when a child experiences strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity—such as physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, and/or the accumulated burdens of family economic hardship—without adequate adult support. This kind of prolonged activation of the stress response systems can disrupt the development of brain architecture and other organ systems, and increase the risk for stress-related disease and cognitive impairment, well into the adult years.

As I read this information, I began to reflect on different times in my life when I experiences positive and tolerable stress. I experienced a little bit of toxic stress but it wasn't for long (Thank God). But this information is good for not only caregivers and educators, but for parents too. We need to be watchful of the amount of stress our children may be experiencing. And we must keep are relationships strong in order to persevere in a healthy manner through trials and tribulations. I will definitely continue to use this website as a resource for important information.

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/

Sharing Web Resources

I have been following the “Save the Children” website (www.savethechildren.org) and I must say that it is very informative. The entire website seemed particularly relevant to my current professional development. But I really like the fact that there’s a section called “advocate for children”. I have been talking about being an advocate for children all week so this section stuck out to me. It gives tips on how to become an advocate for children by doing various things such as joining their network of advocates and receiving their monthly eNewsletter, taking action on current critical issues that are affecting children, learning about legislation and their advocacy campaigns and how you can help, etc. With that being said, I know that I am an advocate for children no matter where I am or what I am doing. And the “advocate for children’ section reminded me of that. I joined the network of advocates through Facebook.

I used to hear about people donating to this organization all the time. I was a lot younger and did not understand why totally, but I understood that there were some children in trouble who needed help. Now that I am older, I understand completely, especially with everything going on the way that it is. Children need help all over the world, including the United States. I have been thinking about sponsoring a child for quite some time now, maybe a few years. This year may be my year to make that happen!

I believe the donation information and the volunteering information from the website adds to my understanding of how economists, and I would say politians too, support the early childhood field. Simply because that information falls under “investment” to me, whether it be money or time. Economists and politians support the EC field and see it as a good investment opportunity and I believe that they would encourage people to donate/volunteer as much as they can…

I am still stuck on the killing in Syria due to controversy. Children are being killed as well as adults and that just blows my mind. However, I am glad that I am aware of what is going on because it increased my passion for children and I want to do something to help. So far I have signed a petition. We’ll see where this takes me. It may be a small gesture but it says a lot….

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

I have yet to receive a response from my contacts...I was recently informed that one of my contacts has a non-working email so now I must dig deeper. I listened to an older podcast that took place in 2011 on the World Forum Foundation website. Susan Lyon, Director of the Innovative Teacher Project in San Francisco, talks about her experiences as an early childhood professional. I would like to speak with her more but just as I said, I have to find a working email from this website. I learned about the Innovative Teacher Project, which is a project that consists of different schools who support an in-depth approach to children, including those in public schools. This project started in 1994 and a lot of teachers are using this project for their own professional development.

I checked out the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s website. I gained many insights from the website but I will only mention a few....

I viewed the facts about Mongolia and in 1998, a major survey indicated that 36% of the population were living below the income poverty line and that poverty in Mongolia tends to be higher in many urban areas than in rural.  A new poverty survey is currently underway for more recent estimates. Figures available suggest only a slight decrease in the percentage of poor people between 1995 and 1998. In absolute numbers of poor people, this is actually an increase of over 40,000 (WOW). Furthermore, the lives of families beneath the poverty line also appear to have got worse over the 1990s. It is difficult to assess the numbers of children living in poverty in Mongolia, but many of the poor live in female headed households or are children aged 0-16 years.

"A particular concern is that the state is failing to support many of those children and their families who are suffering most. As life for families becomes increasingly difficult, many children have more responsibilities at home, for example with increased domestic workloads and more time looking after younger brothers and sisters. Increasing numbers have been forced by circumstances to work for money outside the home, for example fetching and cutting wood for others and working in factories and markets. As a result, some children never enter school, others drop out of classes. The numbers of street children and families in urban areas increased during the 1990s - in a country where harsh temperatures reach as low as minus 30-40 degrees in winter. Although numbers of street children are now falling, many factors related to poverty still push new children onto the streets."

This is why I want to be apart of the change. Children need advocacy. Although there has been little improvement, my heart still goes out to those in Mongolia. I do not see why the state is failing to support the suffering children and families. But that it why I want to be that voice, and that backbone for those who have been fighting but can't seem to fight anymore. Or speak up for those who have tried or who are too scared to try. Someone spoke up for me and I am very thankful she did...

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Sharing Web Resources

The website I chose was www.savethechildren.org. As I mentioned on my last blog, their focus (strategy) goes as follows: "Grounded in our shared vision of a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation, Save the Children’s new mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. Our new global vision, mission, values and strategy are very much a part of Save the Children’s longstanding principles and are consistent with our strategic priorities." They even have a strategic plan called "Getting to Great for Children".

One issue that caught my attention was the "Syrian Children in Crisis". Apparently, there is a huge conflict between the president and the people over there and they are on a brink of a "civil war". The United States and surrounding countries are trying to get involved to stop the crisis. Children and adults have been killed during this crisis. The Save the Children website has a petition that one can sign in order to suppport the stopping the killing in Syria. Mine is on the list, #624...

I didn't see any additional information on the website that is related to this week's topic but I will say that the Save the Children website is a very diverse website period. And they focus on children all across the world, not just one country in particular. But the topic that caught my eye caused me to do more research on what is going on in Syria. So now I am more informed. Here's the link to the article where I found addtional information: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html

Getting Ready—Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I started my process of getting in contact with an early childhood professional by trying to access the World Forum Foundation Website (http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php) and I was successful but I was not able to pull up the radio. So I decided to research the World Foundation Website and the Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm) website since I was not able to pull up the radio (I hope this is ok to do).

I just started a new job so I'm adjusting to my new schedule. But since I work throughout the day, by the time I get a break, it is not only after business hours for me but it was also be after business hours elsewhere. So I sent an email to twebster@savechildren.org since she was under the "contact us" tab on the website.and I sent an email to info@WorldForumFoundation.com to try to get in contact with a childhood professional. I am waiting on a reply from both.

I decided to look more into the "Save the Children" website since it was on the list and I like their strategy:

"Grounded in our shared vision of a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation, Save the Children’s new mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. Our new global vision, mission, values and strategy are very much a part of Save the Children’s longstanding principles and are consistent with our strategic priorities."

I believe that their strategy expresses specific ways in which the organization supports the early childhood community and the resources it offers. I can see myself working with them somehow in the near future...I subscribed to the electronic news letters and email updates. This should be a good start...