Getting to Know Your International Contacts

During this course we have learned that childhood poverty is not just effecting us close to home but all over the world. I know some believe that we can not do much from across the world but there are websites and resources that provide information of these innocent children's struggles. 

According to the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (www.childhoodpoverty.org), an estimated 400 million of the population are between the ages of 0-18. With this estimate about 62 million of these children are under the age of 5 and malnourished. India accounts for 20 percent of the worlds out-of-school children.  

Introducing Podcast Participant:

Delfena Mitchell is the director of a children's home called Liberty Children's Home on the outskirts of Belize City. The children that she houses have come to her because they have either been physically or sexually abused. Something she explained that caught my attention was when she stated when a child comes into her care she allows them time to heal. This time is not to keep them from the other children but just the chance to feel comfortable. Children shut down in ways that help them cope all alone once they have been abused. She spoke about a 9 year old boy who was physically abused and observed abuse. Due to this trauma the child had not spoken for over a year. Any educator who takes the time to show children that it is okay to become comfortable and trust them. It takes a strong mindset to open your heart to children in need and I believe Delfena is doing an amazing job. 

What have I learned:

Listening to different podcast and professionals from different parts of the world who have a passion working with children, I have learned the welfare of a child runs much deeper than providing food, shelter, and water. Putting your own personal biases and feelings to the side to help a child over come traumas only makes us more in demand as educators. As an educator I have learned from the podcast that every action a child may see me do can be uninterrupted the wrong way and be expressed inappropriately. I have learned the importance of learning how to express certain topics to children on a level they will understand. 

What will I take away from this:

I am an educator and I know that I must not over look how important my role in the children I come encounter with is. Children look up to me and it is my duty to make sure that they example I am setting will help to lead them to a better understanding of themselves. Children are like molding clay, the building blocks that you set for them to start forming will bee the start of their self reform.  

National Black Child Development Institute

The organization that I choose to do more research on is:
National Black Child Development Institute:  www.nbcdi.org

This organizations mission is to improve and advance the live of Black children and their families, through advocacy and education. They are built up of volunteers all over the nation who have the same desires and motives in helping young children. Some of the focuses of this organization are to improve child welfare services, make universal early care and education a reality, build family support services, press for educational reform and vital information regarding our children's health. 

What caught my attention about this organization was their focus in their Early Childhood Education section. Being and African American daughter to a single mother of two, I was automatically put into a stereotype that I was going to struggle to make something of myself and that I was going to fall into the foot steps of my mother. I was blessed to have a supportive family and hard working mother who would do anything to see her children succeed. I know that not every child has that choice. Not every child has parent's at home who can help them with their homework or be a support in their lives. This particular section of this website shows different workshops that are offered to parents to help them with knowing how to support their children, starting with the building confidence and self esteem for themselves. 

As an educator I believe that going to workshops that are not directly related with our jobs can be extremely beneficial to our children and and families. I  have decided that I am going to look into attending at least one workshop a year and see what I can take back with me and apply to my own classroom and community. 

Getting Started-Establishing Professional Contacts

During this course I have decided to do my research on Africa. I have found it interesting to see how different parents of the world apply particular areas and subjects that we sometimes over look here in the U.S. My ultimate goal is to be able apply different procedures and tactics that others use to my own program and learn to expand from them. I decided to use the UNICEF website to access my two professional connections.

This week I sent emails to the both the contacts in both Congo and Ghana. I have not received a response from either of these emails but I do not believe that I need to choose the alternate part 1 assignment.


I am interested in finding out the different areas that my colleagues choose to research and how they plan to use what they have learned and apply this to their own teachings.