Saturday, March 26, 2016

Sharing Web Resources



Over the past few weeks, the effects of poverty in early childhood have stood out to me in many ways.  I find myself analyzing the children within my classroom and being more observant of the communities around me, many of which are poverty stricken. From week to week we read articles that further support the idea that children that are exposed to poverty experience an increased risk of poor health, dropping out of school, engaging in criminal activity and violence.

The Child Defense Fund website contains a Protect the Children not Guns fact sheet. This caught my eye because again children exposed to poverty are more likely to engage in criminal activity and in my community where gin violence is prominent, gun safety is important to me. Even more so, because in our most recent weeks, it seems as though, I have come across an increased number of articles where children are dying as a result of the improper care and safety of guns in homes or gun violence in general.

“The year 2014 reversed a seven-year decline in child and teen gun deaths in America. In that same year a child or teen died from a gun every 3 hours and 28 minutes. In addition, guns killed more children under 5 in 2014 than law enforcement officers in the line of duty. A gun in the home makes the likelihood of homicide three times higher, suicide three to five times higher, and accidental death four times higher. For each time a gun in the home injures or kills in self-defense, there are 11 completed and attempted gun suicides, seven criminal assaults and homicides with a gun, and four unintentional shooting deaths or injuries.(Children’s Defense Fund, 2015)”

It is important that we educate our communities as much as possible on as much as possible, because it is that exposure and awareness that may potentially save lives.

References:
Children’s Defense Fund Protect Children Not Guns ... (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2016, from http://www.childrensdefense.org/library/data/2014-gun-report-fact-sheet.pdf

Friday, March 18, 2016

Getting to Know Your International Contacts



Unfortunately, I have not yet received any responses and most of my emails came back as failure to delivery. For this assignment, I found an article on poverty in Senegal.
          
             The author begins by comparing the definition of poverty between the United Nations and Dakar, Senegal. He states that in the United Nations poverty is defined as a denial of choices and opportunities or a violation of human dignity. In Dakar, poverty can be defined as the lack of basic needs and not being able to participate in society; for instance, not having enough to feed and clothe a family, no access to schools or health clinics, and not having enough land to grow food nor a job for as a means of income, or not having any access to credit. In return this leads to susceptibility to violence, having to live in marginal and fragile environments, and also having no access to clean water or sanitation.  (Otoo 2012).

          The author goes on to explain that poverty in Senegal sometimes forces children to be separated from their families. Most often, children are left to be supported by their extended family. Unfortunately though, the children (girls especially), are failed by this support and usually become victims to sexual and physical abuse by a family member, guardians, or institutions that they are left to rely on for care. As a result, these children tend to run away to escape these horrors but end up on the streets where they are then vulnerable to alcohol, drugs, crime, and/or sexual and physical violence. (Otoo 2012).
Many of the poor children are not able to get an education because they are forced to take care of themselves or have to help their households and work for extra income. Others become victims to forms of exploitation such as child trafficking. Often orphaned and head of their household, children turn to stealing and street begging. Too often children are left to do whatever it is they can to survive on the streets. This cycle of poverty then continues on to the next generation. (Otoo 2012).

The Global Fund for Children is supporting programs in Senegal that work with families, communities, government agencies, and the children themselves in order to fight against children having to beg and are hoping to destroy the root causes. (Otoo 2012). 

It is a fact that poverty leads to violence, bullying, children dropping out of school, and it creates a cycle. In America, it is rare that we hear about children actually being exposed to child trafficking for extra money or having to survive on the streets the best they can. Unfortunately though, this is the gruesome truth, of many children’s day to day “norm.” It a blessing that we have organizations such as the Global Fund for Children etc, that have been created to make a change.


Reference

Otoo, E. (2012, May 31). Caring for street children means tackling poverty at its roots. Retrived from https://www.globalfundforchildren.org/caring-for-street-children-means-tackling-poverty-at-its-roots/

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Sharing Web Resources



The National Association for the Education of Young Children, http://www.naeyc.org/.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. The program works to advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.
NAEYC accreditation is the gold standard for early childhood programs across the country. Families of young children who attend NAEYC-accredited programs can be confident that they deliver the highest quality early care and education.

Save the Children, http://www.savethechildren.org. Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, the Save the Children organization gives children a healthy start as well as the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. By transforming children's lives now, the Save the Children fund works to change the course of the children’s future and ours.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources



                                            Establishing Professional Contacts
Even after going through a number of the different resources provided for the blog, outside of the U.S, I have yet to be successful with finding any direct email addresses in order to establish a Professional contact. The emails that that I have encountered have been general, contact us, emails. I hope to find someone that I can connect with directly and maintain an open line of communication rather than choosing the alternative option.

Expanding Resources
I have decided to further explore the National Association for the Education of Young Children, also known as NAEYC. I decided to familiarize myself with this organization, because NAEYC accreditation in the U.S is a big deal in child care. I chose this organization because exploring and understanding this site can help me scholastically as well as professionally. The site is full of resources for Early Childhood Educators, the children they serve and their families. The site is overall a great source for current issues in Early Childhood Education.