Sharing Web Resources
The website that I originally wanted to follow, http://www.ndafonline.bravehost.com, has not updated any of their information since 2010. I decided to check into some other sites. One that I looked at was http://www.ecc.org.nz -Early Childhood Council-New Zeland. In looking at this website one of the articles caught my eye, “Information on managing measles outbreaks this year”. I was intrigued because measles is not something you hear about often anymore. I was having a discussion with a co-worker who was considering not vaccinating her child because she did not believe this was a threat anymore. This article discusses the need for vaccinations and symptoms of measles. It also gives childcare facilities information on how to handle a possible outbreak (Early Childhood Council, 2011). Another article I found that related to our topics was “Govt should not use earthquake as excuse”. The basic theme was that the government is trying to use the earthquake, March 2011; they had to cut funding for early childhood programs. The programs have already endured many cuts and families have had to endure a raise in fees for early childhood, reduction in teachers causing higher child to teacher ratios. The money that would be invested in early childhood programs provides support for families. Employers are able to hire people who would not other wise be able to work due to daycare issues (ECC, 2011).
The second website that I checked out was Autism Speaks Phoenix. I have a heart for children with Autism. Autism is a devastating disease that has no known cause and no cure. Every child who has autism has a different form; there are no 2 children who have the same exact form. In researching on their website I found that early intervention services are state specific and only apply to legal residence. Children with Autism do fall under the special education realm and services are to be provided without cost to the families. There are many services children with Autism need and it can be quite costly to the families. From ages 3 and up services are provided through the public school setting.
Reading throughout these articles I realize that all over the world educators are fighting for high quality education and equity. Equity I believe is that early childhood deserves and needs the same respect and consideration as other grade levels. In some respects they deserve more because with a high quality early education the rest comes a little easier. Early childhood education to many is babies laying on the floor and cooing at themselves in a mirror. That babies and young children are not capable of learning but that is not true. As professionals we have to let the world know there is more to a young child’s academic capacity and it needs to be feed and fostered.
Reference:
Autism Speaks. Preschool. Retrieved August 6, 2011, from http://www.autismspeaks.org.
Early Childhood Council. Govt Should Not Use Earthquake as Excuse. Retrieved August 4, 2011, from http://www.ecc.org.nz
Leslie it is true many people do not understand early childhood education especially with infants. It is more then giving them toys to play with, the biggest part is interaction with people around them. It is important to understand this misconception as we advocate for more funding and better quality. Too many think all babies do is sleep and eat, therefore do not understand how the quality of the environment and interactions can promote or deter development.
ReplyDeleteMeredith
Hi Leslie, the articles and discussions you bring up are a reminder that in the end no matter where you life we want the best for our children. Figuring what that is might not be as easy as we thank. I always enjoy your posting. Can you believe we are starting week 7, not a minute to soon.
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