Saturday, April 14, 2012

What professional goals do I have? I am not sure. What I can tell you is that I am much more aware of all in inequality in education that is out there in the world. Some areas are just so devastated and yet people are stuck in those conditions.
Unesco brings many corners of the world and their populations to light. In going to their web site in have read about "Inclusive Education", which is based on the right of all learners to quality education that meets basic learning needs and enriches lives (UNESCO, 2012). "Inclusive Education focuses primarily on marginalized and vulnerable people. I learned that 75 million children "are excluded from education. We have studied about some of the inequity’s that cause this. There are other reasons in the world though besides what we thought about. Imagine, child labor, nomadic life styles or gender inequity.
One of the disadvantaged groups of children is right in the heart of Europe. They are the Roma children. Roma are gypsies, thought to have originated from Romania along time ago. They are nomadic. Fifty percent of the Roma children fail to complete childhood education. Eight European countries met recently to discuss how to solve this problem of the Roma. One solution was that people directly involved with the Roma such as teachers and teacher assistants need to respect and know more about the culture.
Another idea I learned about was the use of mobile technology to help teach some of the children in the world. This includes hand help computers MP3 players and mobile phones. Information and ideas that were not available to teach are now more accessible. The Us Department of State and Nokia are some of the partners.
Mobile phones have potential to help early learning programs lay stronger foundations for learning.
It is apparent from all I have read that the world over is looking to improve the education chances for our young with the knowledge that more education brings and improved lifestyle. Different cultures are being embraced and enhanced by the use of education. Here in the USA we would be wise to embrace our differences too as we strive to work together for the good of all, especially in the realm of early childhood education.

Inclusive Education, 2012
Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strenghtening -education-systems/Inclusive-education/

2 comments:

  1. Kathy,
    I find that cultural diversity and inclusion are necessary for healthy child development. I find that the issue with Roma shows how cultural awareness plays a major role in early childhood education.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I see you and April decided to go to the same place this time. The information is very valuable and I pray God leads you to where you will be of value to the early childhood field. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete