Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for your professional and personal development:
1. Undertanding that some countries are able to see the importance of EC education, and support their programs.
2. Using this understanding as a model for how we might be able to improve our education system and funding.
3. I found how much the US is behind on what we can be doing for our EC programs. I didn't realize how far off the mark we really were until talking with other professionals in the field from around the world.
4. Allows me to collaborate with other EC professionals on an international level.
One goal that I have for myself as far as my international relations and education, it I would like to be able to travel and study some of the way other countries EC programs run. I absolutely want to go to Reggio Amelia. I hope to keep in contact with Annegrethe and also be able to visit her classroom, and programs in Denmark!
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
International Connections III
This week I was unable to get a response back from my contact, as she is on vacation to Florida. So I decided to ask my cousin Tara if she could talk to me about schools over in Ghana. She was there as a teacher for over 2 years and I figured she might be able to give me a little insight this week for our assignment. She said that the programs that she taught were math and science. She had one class that had both girls and boys, although there were much fewer girls in the class, and she had another class of boys. The classrooms varied in age range, as they only taught on class each a day so the kids just came to school when they could. Not all of her students came every day, and she said that that was very frustrating to her because some could fall very behind just because they couldn't get to class that day. Many children had to travel in order to get to the school, and there was no reliable transportation like the buses we use.
When she first got there she was required to go through a 4 week training course to go over the material that she would be teaching. Then at the beginning of the second year, she had a 2 week training course just to go back over the curriculum, and expectations. There wasn't much as far as professional development besides these trainings that were offered as far as teaching went. However, throughout the year they would receive different cultural development trainings and classes. They would also take language classes so that they could communicate in their native language instead of always in English. Tara said that this is the hardest part of her two years there because it was so different than English.
One of Tara's professional goals was to connect with her students on a level that would make them feel engaged, excited, and comfortable in the classroom with her. She strived to make their learning experience one that would make them see the value in education, and want to pursue it. Most children don't finish their education where she was working, so she wanted to try and instill the importance of it. She also tried to talk to parents as much as she could, and help them understand why education is important for their children, not just going out to work.
She hopes that she made a difference in at least one of their lives, for them to have the desire and drive to want to complete their schooling as she was only there for 2 years. Also she hopes that she helped their families understand the benefits of education. The major challenge was not always having the children come to school and the unreliable modes of transportation. It was either walking, some had bikes, or they tried to take the local van to travel close enough to walk the rest of the way. But sometimes those vans took all day just to get the kids there, and by then school would be over. She said it was extremely frustrating but there was nothing that she could do about it.
When she first got there she was required to go through a 4 week training course to go over the material that she would be teaching. Then at the beginning of the second year, she had a 2 week training course just to go back over the curriculum, and expectations. There wasn't much as far as professional development besides these trainings that were offered as far as teaching went. However, throughout the year they would receive different cultural development trainings and classes. They would also take language classes so that they could communicate in their native language instead of always in English. Tara said that this is the hardest part of her two years there because it was so different than English.
One of Tara's professional goals was to connect with her students on a level that would make them feel engaged, excited, and comfortable in the classroom with her. She strived to make their learning experience one that would make them see the value in education, and want to pursue it. Most children don't finish their education where she was working, so she wanted to try and instill the importance of it. She also tried to talk to parents as much as she could, and help them understand why education is important for their children, not just going out to work.
She hopes that she made a difference in at least one of their lives, for them to have the desire and drive to want to complete their schooling as she was only there for 2 years. Also she hopes that she helped their families understand the benefits of education. The major challenge was not always having the children come to school and the unreliable modes of transportation. It was either walking, some had bikes, or they tried to take the local van to travel close enough to walk the rest of the way. But sometimes those vans took all day just to get the kids there, and by then school would be over. She said it was extremely frustrating but there was nothing that she could do about it.
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