Rachel Gillen's Blog

Before this class, I had not explored the international early childhood world. Through this course, I have discovered the many organizations working to improve early childhood around the world. Many of these organizations have enriched my professional development and provided many benefits for my professional development in the field.  Through this course and the exploration of international organizations, I have gained awareness of the many issues that affect the early childhood world. Poverty, war, funding, access, disease, etc. greatly affect the early childhood experience children experience. Organizations like UNICEF that are working to provide education to all children, The National Black Child Development organization that is working to provide a better life for all Black children, Children International that is working towards ending poverty in communities, etc. have opened my mind to the grandiose issues we face.  The second benefit I believe I have received from researchi

Early childhood is in an interesting state where I live. There are many quality programs in the community I live and work in but, they all differ greatly. Colorado has struggled to set a standard of quality because there are so many different private programs. I think the conversation regarding quality and early childhood professionals in my area is centered around what qualifications they should have to teach our youngest population. This has been a constant discussion and has only increased in importance over the past year. In Colorado, one must have a bachelor degree in a specific area (child development, early childhood, or human development and family studies), completed specific early childhood courses, have a specific certification, or hold a teacher's license. The challenge with this has been, the fact that this requirement just allows staff to be alone with children, it's not necessarily used to define qualified staff. Our licensing does include ongoing personal deve

When looking through "The Harlem Children's Zone" website this week, I had a hard time finding specific items that looked at equity and excellence. I think the website in general is looking at equity and excellence in education. The entire organization of Harlem Children's Zone is working to provide equity and excellence in education. They look at how to start providing equity and excellence early in a child's life for all families. This organization and website addresses health, early childhood education, and education beyond. The programs provided and the sections on the website show that excellence and equity in education not only includes what happens in a classroom but in the community. Heath and community are major parts of the Harlem Children's Zone program. The fact that HCZ is in Harlem and works with many different types of families show the concept of equity in education.  I haven't really looked into the health section until this week. I knew

The podcast this week was something I completely agreed with. While reading, it made me think of all of the changes the field has experienced and will continue to experience. In the beginning of the podcast I learned that standards have pros and cons to them. Ms. Vasquez talked about how they give everyone guidelines for teaching but it's a one size fits all method so then we lose our view of the holistic child. It was also interesting how Ms. Vasquez talked about the achievement gap and the potential that it's more of a social issue rather than an education issue. That is a point of view I have never considered. I also learned that early childhood professionals have a responsibility to teach what we know about child development and early childhood education so we can ensure we are following best practice.  The international source I have been looking at is Save the Children. Save the Children helps each person get a positive start in life where they have the resources need a