Sharing Web Resources

The organization that caught my attention and chose to explore is Save the Children, an international organization. To give a brief history about the organization, in 1919, the Save the Children Fund was founded in England by Eglantyne Jebb, an Oxford-educated teacher and sociologist to aid children in war-ravaged central Europe. “We cannot leave defenseless children anywhere exposed to ruin — moral or physical,” she said. “We cannot run the risk that they should weep, starve, despair and die, with never a hand stretched out to help them.” Following her vision, Save the Children USA was established in 1923. 

The mission of the organization is to ‘inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in in the lives of children in the United States and around the world’. Their philosophy is based the concepts of self-help and self-reliance — the belief that development is a process by which people take charge of their own lives. They help children and families help themselves by providing families and communities with the tools they need to break the cycle of poverty. Presently, the organization works in more than 50 countries working in the areas of child protection, child survival, education, emergency response, health and nutrition, HIV and AIDS. 

            Although I have subscribed to their newsletter I have not received as yet. However, while browsing through the website, I noted their work in the area of education. The website describes education as ‘the road that children follow to reach their full potential’. Save the Children recognizes that there are many children throughout the world who don’t have access to quality education for various reasons; poverty, conflict, disasters etc. and therefore implements education programs to support children’s learning at home and at school. Their current programs focus on increasing education for girls in parts of the world where access is limited, teaching children basic math skills needed for daily life through the Numeracy Boost program, addressing the emotional well-being of children affected by disease, conflict, natural disaster through the HEART program- Healing and education through the arts and literacy programs to increase reading skills in rural America. With children like Pakistani schoolgirl Malala at the forefront advocating for education for all children including children affected by war and conflict, Save the Children is calling on world leaders to criminalize attacks against education and increase humanitarian funding for education. Their report ‘Attacks on Education: The impact of conflict and grave violations on children’s future’ address the hidden crisis in countries affected by conflict. 

Listening to Malala whose only crime was her desire to learn, address the UN was very moving and eye opening. It shows the struggles that children throughout the world of varying ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds continue to face in gaining their rightful access to any education and why the work of organizations such as Save the Children is so crucial for bringing about needed change.

Save the Children:  

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

Save the Children Report – Attacks on Education:

http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/ATTACKS_ON_EDUCATION_FINAL.PDF

Malala Yousafzai's address to the UN:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtprX8i2k-Q

Establishing contacts and expanding resources

            Over the past several months, I have come to realize the value of professional contacts and resources and how they can support me in my development as an early childhood professional. Having worked in the EC field in both Sri Lanka and the United States, I also know that there are vast differences in the state of the field of EC across countries, the issues at hand and how those issues are addressed. For these reasons contacting professionals from other parts of the world to learn more about their work and the state of early childhood where they live sounded very exciting. 

                I mentioned my assignment to one of my co-workers who is from the Philippines. She was kind enough to share two of her contacts with me. I was able to get in touch with them this past week and both of them agreed to serve as a resource for me throughout this course. My first contact Fran, is currently a preschool teacher in the Philippines. My second contact Prof. Carol, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Early Childhood Education, Woosong University in South Korea. She also mentioned that she had recently worked with a student who was also working on their masters at Walden. What a small world! I am very excited to correspond with them over the next several weeks and thereafter to find out more about their work and their views on issues affecting the field of early childhood.

                While I was browsing through the blog resources this week to select a website to study, I came across the website for Save the Children an organization I was somewhat familiar with. Many years ago while in high school, I had been in touch with the Save the Children, Sri Lanka office to learn more about their work on Child Abuse Prevention in Sri Lanka and their work on supporting children of abuse. The work of organizations such as Save the Children is crucial especially in developing countries such as Sri Lanka in addressing the many issues involving children and families that they continue to struggle with. Currently, Save the Children works in 120 countries throughout the world in the areas of education, health, child protection, disaster relief and more. On a personal level, having witnessed the impact of poverty, war and violence on children and families while growing up in Sri Lanka, I greatly value the work of organizations such as Save the Children. In the coming weeks, I hope to learn more about their work and gain a deeper understanding of issues that affect children and families throughout the world and how they are being addressed.

My Supports

Reflecting on the supports I have in my life, I feel fortunate to have many valuable emotional as well as practical supports in my life. My husband is my main source of support on a daily basis. He supports me emotionally through his unconditional and enduring love. I know I can count on him for sound advice and support if I am dealing with a problem situation in my personal life or my work life. He helps build my confidence when I am unsure of myself. He supports me practically in many ways; from taking out the trash to mowing the grass and by doing many other things that I would rather not do but need to get done! Without his encouragement and help with caring for our three year old daughter, I would not be able to participate in this course. As partners in life, we both have responsibilities that we need to take care of so our family can function the way it does. Without his support, I would find it difficult to support myself and my daughter and maintain the same quality of life we enjoy now. My parents, in-laws and friends are a great source of emotional support. I know I can count on them to lend me a listening ear or give sound advice whenever I need it. At work, my co-workers support me both emotionally and in practical ways. One of my co-teachers especially, reminds to take a ‘yoga breath’ if I am having a stressful day. By doing their fair share as team members, my co-teachers are practical sources of support. My church family is also an incredible source of support. When we first moved to the area, knowing we didn’t have any family in the area, they took us under their wings to support us through many life changes and continue to do. A physical support I have depend on a lot is my phone which helps me stay organized and informed. It helps me maintain my calendar and lists as well as allows me to pay bills, check email, weather, news etc. Each of the supports in my life contribute towards helping me function on a day to day basis as well as enrich it. As human beings, I believe that we are wired to survive regardless of what challenges life brings our way. I think I could still function well enough if I was to lose any of my supports, but I wouldn’t enjoy the same quality of life. If my colleagues weren’t supportive, I would still be able to do my job but would most likely be stressed, overwhelmed and frustrated due to the lack of support. 

The challenge I chose was becoming physically immobile. I recently fractured my ankle which left me with limited mobility for several weeks. Over those few weeks I needed crutches, a wheelchair and a boot; physical supports that I couldn’t have done without. I needed the practical support of my husband and family to take care of my basic needs and to care for my daughter due to my limited mobility. When I returned to work, my colleagues supported me by relieving me of any duties that required a lot of physical activity and made other accommodations such as making sure I had a ‘big’ chair instead a child-sized chair to sit on! I was glad to have emotional support from my family because I felt guilty and upset because of the added responsibilities for my husband, losing pay because I was unable to work and being dependent on others to get around or get things done. I believe that I went through a fairly fast and easy healing process due to the many supports I had. If my injury was permanent, physical modifications to my environment and practical supports would help me survive.  However, I would find it very difficult to survive without emotional support from family and friends. I would probably go about my daily life, but would experience a poorer quality of life and most likely suffer emotional issues due to the lack of support and the stress of dealing with challenges associated with limited mobility. 

I am very grateful that my injury was only temporary and that I am now able to go about my life as I please. This experience made me appreciate my life more and made me realize just how much support we all need from others and our environment in the form of emotional, practical and physical support for our day to day survival. I am very grateful for the all the supports in my life. I feel blessed!

My Connections to Play

 Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul.  - Friedrich Froebel

Play is the highest form of research – Albert Einstein 

 

As a child I grew surrounded by family. My maternal and paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were my neighbors. Being surrounded by family, my parents let me roam freely in the neighborhood during the day. My grandparents had a large yard and my cousins and I spent many hours playing there. We had picnics,   dug for treasure, rode our bikes, flew kites, made leaf crowns, swung on the swing hanging on their mango tree, caught lightning bugs, ran races and played cricket. We really didn’t have many toys so we were forced to be creative. We were lucky that my grandparents were always good sports, ready to support us in our play. I remember draping a sheet over dining chairs to make a house. I also remember my great uncle, an amazing kite maker, showing us how to make kites using ekels from coconut branches and tissue paper. I remember helping my grandmother grind rice into rice flour, scrape coconut, take care of the garden and help her make jams and chutneys from the fruit we picked. While all this might sound like work to an adult, it was all good fun for us. No one made us do it, but we learned some real life lessons that we have carried on into adulthood. As my cousins got older and went to school, I remember playing with my grandparents and later on as my little brother got older playing with him in our room.

Thinking about how the nature of play has changed over the years, I see many differences in how I played and play in my daughter’s life. Our lifestyle is dramatically different from when I was a child. We have a lot more demand on our time and a lot to get done during the day. My Mom was a stay at home Mom, while I am a Mom working fulltime and attending graduate school. I spent all day at home until I was four while my three year old daughter spends almost 9+ hours away from home daily leaving little time for free play outside. The focus on academics has increased and parents are feeling pressured to include structured activities, leaning toys and devices into their day to ensure that children are ‘learning’. I went to preschool for a few hours and went back home and played while my daughter has many ‘learning’ toys that I never did. Parents have a lot of demand for their time, and often the answer to keeping kids engaged while they get their work is in the form of electronic devices. Once again, I too am guilty of this! While the kids maybe watching educational videos or playing learning games, they are missing out interactions, use of their senses and experiencing the natural world. We didn’t have a tv until I was about ten and wasn’t really allowed to watch much. On the other hand, my daughter knows how well enough how to operate my iphone. I also feel that children nowadays have too much ‘stuff’ that inhibits them from using their imagination and being creative. Children need open ended materials that can be used multiple ways instead of toys that are more structured. Guilty again! My daughter has many toys while I played with sticks, leaves and stones. Another issue I see that has changed the nature of play is that of safety. Concerns about their children’s safety drive parents to keep children indoors versus playing outside if they are unable to supervise. There have been many times when my daughter was disappointed that she had to stay indoors because I had too much to do to be able to be with her while she played outside. Although, changing times have changed the nature of play, I hope that as adults we can reflect on the role of play in our own childhood and try to recreate the same for our children.

Looking back at my childhood, I feel so fortunate to have had such rich play experiences as a child. Childhood play taught me many skills and much about the world around me, all of which I have carried into adulthood. As adults, our responsibilities take over our lives and we forget to stop for a moment to actually enjoy life. As a parent, when I look at my three year old daughter, I remind myself to choose to ‘play’ over ‘work’ whenever I can. I think as adults we would be less stressed and happier if we all learned how to ‘play’ and experience the joy we once did as children.

Relationship Reflection

I believe that as human beings our relationships with others help contribute to our health and well-being. They help us feel safe, supported and valued. Research has shown that people feel better just being around others. I feel very fortunate to have many close relationships in my life. Each has enriched my life in some way. Some have helped influence my values and beliefs and in others I feel accepted for who I am and receive the support and encouragement I need. I am unsure as to what my life would be like if I didn’t have those relationships in my life.

 

Among the many relationships in my life, the relationship I share with my husband, our three year old daughter and my parents are extremely important to me. My husband and I are extremely close and very much attuned to what is going on in each other’s life. We will be celebrating our 10^th wedding anniversary this December. Looking back, I can see how our life experiences over the years helped strengthen our relationship. Not long after we got married, we left our family behind in Sri Lanka and moved to the US so my husband could attend graduate school. When we arrived in the US neither of us had a job and we didn’t have a place to stay. We had about five thousand dollars, four bags and a graduate school placement. We faced many challenges during the first few years. We didn’t have anyone to turn to but each other. The fact that we didn’t have a lot of extra money at the time helped us appreciate what we did have. Small gestures of love made our relationship more meaningful. When I arrived home at the end of a long day after working two jobs, my husband would meet me at the bus stop to walk me home where he would have a delicious dinner waiting for me. He was unable to work due to his student visa status but found creative ways to support our family while I worked to support us financially. I truly believe that these experiences and our shared Faith in God is what made our relationship what it is today. My husband continues to be an incredible source of support. He is always there to calm my fears and concerns and he has taught me ‘not to sweat the small stuff’. He allows me to have my moments when I do, and knows that sometime I just need him to listen. He taught me that our relationships and the people in our lives are more important than anything else. It is easier to replace material things than undo hurt feelings. God, our commitment to each other and open communication continues to serve as the foundation of our relationship. Although our days our extremely busy and tiring, we make it a point to talk to each other several times during the day, make time to do something special together like cuddling on the couch watching a movie and most of all take the time to talk to each other about our day and plan for the next before we go to sleep. 


My husband and I have a very close relationship with our little daughter. She has brought so much love into our lives and helps us stay in perspective. Listening to her pray and thanking God for her milk, pizza, the sun and the birds outside her window reminds me not to take anything for granted. In the car on the way home from work or while having dinner we usually take turns talking about our day. It warms my heart and I feel valued when she asks me ‘How was your day Mommy?’ When she calls out ‘It’s my turn to talk now’ I am reminded how important it is for each of us to have the chance to voice our thoughts and be heard. I always allow her to be heard and try to negotiate without immediately saying ‘no’ to something she is asking for. I always remind her that if she wants me to listen to her, she needs to listen to me as well. As any three year old, she speaks her mind and voices her feelings openly. It makes me realize how important open communication is to our relationships. No matter how tired I am or how much I have to do, I make it a point to spend quality time with her each day and be there for her when she needs me. I hope that as she grows up we will be able to share the same close relationship that we do now. 



I am thankful for my parents for who I am today. They helped my values and beliefs and have been very positive role models in my life. They taught me the importance of hard work, the value of an education and most of all Faith in God. My parents were a good example of what it means to be in a committed relationship despite facing challenges. Miles separate us but we continue to share a very close relationship. We call each other at least once a week and update each other on what is going on each other’s lives. I feel loved when my Mom calls me from half way around the world to warn me of bad weather in the US! I value my parents’ opinion and still talk to them before making any major life decisions. I feel sad that I am unable to see them and spend time with them as often as I would like. That just makes the time we do get to spend with each other even more meaningful. 


One of the most important things that all my relationships have taught me is the importance of open communication. I was never much of a talker, but my husband has been key in getting me to open up to talk things through when we faced challenges. I have also realized that often times, the reason we both would get into conflict with our daughter is because we didn’t take the time to listen and understand what she is trying to say. I try to be a better listener. Accepting each other and valuing each for who we are and not trying to change each other, is an important lesson I learnt in my marriage. We have both learned to compromise and meet each other half way. We try to have discussions versus arguments. I view my relationship with my husband as a partnership. We are both equally invested and committed to our family and take the time and effort to make it work.  


My relationships have taught me much and as an educator, I bring much of who I am into my work. I believe that the many lessons I have learned such as commitment, open communication, active listening, the willingness to compromise and accepting each individual for who they are versus trying to change them will help me be a more effective early childhood professional.