Sharing Web Resources

The Children's Defense Fund is the website that I have been researching.  Their website is

http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/enewsletters/

The sections on this website that I find the most intriguing are the Policy Priorities, Research Library and Programs and Campaigns.

The Policy Priorities section highlights current issues affecting children and families.  The most current issues in this section are: ending child poverty, children's health and welfare, early childhood education and care, elementary and secondary education, juvenile justice, special projects for children in need, and family resources.

I have found that all of this information relates to my field and the work I am currently doing but I have been focusing most of my reading on the sections that address ending child poverty and early childhood education and care.  I especially appreciate that the information is easy to read and outlines the problem, why it matters and what must be done.  There are also articles of information and research linked to each issue.

The Research Library is full of articles relating to the issues on the site of concern to the Children's Defense Fund.  I find these helpful because they are full articles full of research and concrete examples of the issues and suggestions on how to take action to be involved with these issues.  These articles are contributed by CDF members as well as articles that have shown up in the news.

The Programs and Campaigns section contains the programs and campaigns that the Children's Defense Fund is the most passionate about.  These programs include CDF Freedom Schools, Faith-Based Action Program, Black Community Crusade for Children, Cradle to Pipeline, and Youth Leadership and Training.  These are programs that are providing extra supports for children and their families while also encouraging and training young people so that they feel equipped to lead their communities to face the issues affecting them and all children and families.

The Children's Defense Fund highlights political and economic impacts that childhood issues are having on our society.  The CDF provides accurate information including current statistical research and encourages people that visit their site to take action by becoming active in their communities, contacting legislators and educating themselves about the crucial issues facing children and their families.  Oh and did I mention that Dr. Cathy Grace is the Director of Early Childhood Development for the CDF:)  I have enjoyed listening to her media presentations and was excited to learn that she is the Director of the CDF!

I have found from diving into the CDF site, my knowledge about issues such as early childhood funding and ending childhood poverty have increased and that there is so much for me to learn.  I am looking forward to continuing to peruse the site more to continue to increase my knowledge in all of the issues presented on the site and near and dear to the Children's Defense Fund.  The knowledge I gain will equip me with tools of advocacy and action.

I encourage you to check out their site!

Children's Defense Fund. (n.d.).  Retrieved from   http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/enewsletters/

Childhood Poverty is a Global Issue

Childhood Poverty in China- Nan Nan's story

 

Nan Nan is a fourteen year old girl in China who used to live with her family in a rural town in Schucheng, China.  Her family's farm was not flourishing as they had hoped and thought they should move their family to a bigger city.  Nan Nan's family decided to move to Hefei, China's Anhui province (CHIP, n.d.).  Since moving to the bigger city, Nan Nan's father was able to obtain work but Nan Nan is not adjusting to school well.  Her teachers and classmates tease and isolate her because she appears different from them coming from a rural area.  Nan Nan also helps her mom at home by cooking meals and helping to care for her younger brother when she is not at school.  Nan Nan's mom buys fruit at the local market and then sells it on the street.  Nan Nan's mom has also expressed that since they have moved to the bigger city that she does not get home until 8:00 at night and feels disconnected from her children (CHIP, n.d.).  Nan Nan's mom states that their reasoning for moving to the bigger city was to have better opportunities for their family but she often questions the sacrifice they are making outweighing the little time she gets to spend with her children (CHIP, n.d.).

 

 

It's a saddening story because this family is taking steps to help make a better life for their family but then feel ostricized by the community because they are not from the big city.  My family and I have experienced quite the opposite in that we came from a big city environment and moved to a rural area.  Although the rural area we moved to was my husband's hometown, it has changed drastically in the past 20 years since he left.  We made the decision to move because we had four children and my husband and I are both teachers and we were struggling to make ends meet in the suburbs of Chicago.  The cost of living and taxes are high there and we needed to move to a place where could make a living but also provide our children with the necessities.  When we first moved to the Burlington area, we had to live outside of town and rent a small house.  This got us started and although we struggled for the first two years here, we were able to find a bigger and nicer house to rent.  When we moved here, I worked part time as a substitute teacher so that I could help my children adjust to the move so we were living on basically one income which qualified our children for free and reduced school meals.  I didn't mind that so much because it took some financial burden off of us but those labels come with a stigma.  School districts assume that children that are on the free and reduced meal program are below grade level, which was not the case for our children.  If anything, our children ranked above their own grade levels and beyond.  After two years, I was able to get a full time teaching position with the public school district which has helped tremendously but our family is still considered below middle class because we are a family of six on two teacher incomes.  The other stigma we faced when we moved here was that we were coming from the Chicagoland area.  Apparently within the last 10 years, Burlington and other surrounding rural towns experienced an influx of people moving from Chicago.  Alot of these people were experiencing what we were and trying to move to a place that would provide more financial stability for them and their children.

 

The CHIP (Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre) strive to fill the information gaps about poverty all over the world in order to work with others to commit to action of eliminating and/or reducing poverty in countries around the world (CHIP, n.d.).  The site has a few country overviews and case studies, which is where I found Nan Nan's story.  CHIP has centered specific research in China, India, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia for now to understand the patterns of poverty in these countries and these countries have gone from planned economies to market economies which has contributed to decreased poverty levels in these countries.

 

CHIP also encourages research and information about poverty from other site partners in order to collectively notice trends and empower people to take action against poverty.

 

Note about my international contacts:

I have not heard from my contacts in Greece and Macedonia but I talked with the ELL (English Language Learner) teacher at my school about any contacts she might have internationally since I knew she had taught and traveled in other countries.  She was able to contact a friend via email in Korea who is an early childhood teacher in Korea and has also taught in China.  I was told that her friend would absolutely love to converse with me on global early childhood issues so I am excitedly looking forward to hearing from her soon!

References

Childhood Research and Policy Centre. (n.d.).  Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php





 



The Children's Defense Fund

 

 

The Children's Defense Fund is an organization committed to ensuring that children have a voice and get what they need in order to be successful and happy in their life and education.
 
Their website is  http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/enewsletters/
 
I chose this website/resource because it not only addresses issues involving children but also keeps others informed about changing policies affecting children and resources and information to support issues affecting children.  For example:
 

• There is the monthly newsletter that focuses on a particular issue and how people can help become a voice for children.  
• There are also resources such as a Resource Library that contains an archive of previous articles and additional resources to support issues previously mentioned on the website. 
• There is also a Take Action resource that has suggestions and resources for people to engage in to help make a difference in children's lives.
• There is a page that is entitled Programs and Campaigns which lists organizations that the CDF collaborates with on a regular basis and information on how others can get involved with these programs to benefit children.
• There is also a section entitled Policy Priorities which is a generated list of policies that are the most important to the CDF and resources and articles keeping people updated on these policies.

 
One particular article I chose to read was in the section entitled Special Projects for Children in Need.  The article addresses issues and statistics surrounding children of Hurricane Katrina.  The CDF released a report published in April 2006 Katrina's Children: A Call to Conscience and Action.  The report notes that although a great deal of monetary and public support was sent to children and families of Katrina, not enough has been done to protect them from continued post-traumatic stress.  In an updated report Katrina's Children: Still Waiting published by the CDF in March 2007, the CDF reported:

• About 100,000 children still do not live where they did when the hurricane struck (CDF, 2007).
• Only 55 public schools were open in New Orleans (CDF, 2007).
• Before the hurricane, there were 3,200 physicians in Orleans Parish and surrounding parishes; CDF's report found only about 1,200 physicians there no (CDF, 2007).

Although these statistics are from 2007, the CDF has continued to update on conditions of children and adults in New Orleans.  The CDF website also had updated articles about displaced children and their families and how they are doing since Hurricane Katrina.  Two of the main concerns that stem from these articles are health care and mental health issues for the people of Katrina.

This article was of particular interest to me because I remember when Hurricane Katrina hit and could not imagine all of the lives turned upside down by this storm just from viewing media.  My heart went out to all of those people and still does.  Our nation still needs to financially step up and help these families and neighborhoods rebuild but also assist when these families have to live elsewhere and/or permanently relocate.

I am looking forward to reading more articles on the CDF site and how I can be involved in making a global change and a difference in children's lives.

References

Children's Defense Fund. (n.d.).  Retrieved from http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/enewsletters/


Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Establishing Professional Contacts

This week, I chose to contact via email Suzana Kirandziska, an early childhood professional from Macedonia and the Hellenic National Committee for UNICEF in Greece.  I am hoping to hear back from at least one of these contacts, if not both.  I am intrigued to learn about early childhood education in other countries. 

Expanding Resources

The organization I chose to learn more about is the Children's Defense Fund.  Their website is 

http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/enewsletters/

Their mission is:

"to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities" (Children's Defense Fund, n.d.).

 

I was attracted to this website because it's mission provides a voice to children on a variety of topics that affect children.  I am looking forward to gaining more information about education policies and issues that affect our children in the United States.