This week I visited Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” and explored their interesting website. One item that caught my attention was the work they are sharing with Brazil and Chile. Both are up and coming South American Countries.
Brazil in particular aspires to the social and econimonic standards of the USA and other advanced societies. (Unesco, 2012) One can witness this happening as more Brazilian tourists are showing up in Florida during the winter. They have their own beaches etc., but they want the consumable goods and lifestyles we have and their economy is growing. Brazil struggles though with the lack of universal access to early learning programs.
Chile is known as a model economy for Latin America because of its political stability and high growth rates. Now it is partnering with Harvard to work on early childhood development. Other countries are now asking Chile for help to set up their own systems. Entertainers, scientists and wealthy individuals are working together to create high quality programs for young children (Langman, J., 2010).
To help with their endeavors in the early education field Global Children’s Initiative has translated a quick moving video called “Brain Hero”. This video states that what happens in the early years of a children’s life are the most important issues in the formation of the child’s brain and how they get along later in the rest of their life. This video champions early education, health care and parents involvement. The video also states that negative stressors can change a person’s outcome also.
On the website there are other videos that are of interest whether they pertain to here or other countries. In one called “ The Impact of Early Adversity on Children’s Development “I learned about the theory that stress can actually change the development of a young brain. Scientists suggest that extreme stress can change the way children learn and mature. Children’s mental health is an under addressed issue. Children surviving crisis such as earthquakes, war and famine are being studied. The hope is that collaboration between agencies will help bring focus to immediate needs and long term plans in the development and eventually the education of our children.
Another video, “ Early Childhood Program Effectiveness” talks about how to improve education programs. Some of the suggestions are small groups of children and high adult to child ratios, warm responsive interactions between teachers and children, and a language rich environment in a safe location. Qualified personnel that are well compensated are suggested too.
On the same video a three-tiered approach is suggested. Basic child and health care for our young children. Extra support for lower income family’s and Intervention of toxic stress situations. If these issues are addressed the scientists believe a young child could absorb more as they are learning and in turn lead a more satisfied life as they grow up.