Poverty in China

I have had not luck establishing international contacts and the podcast there were available I felt did not pertain to poverty, so I decided to research http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/ which is a helpful resource to see poverty around the world.  The website helped put poverty in perspective for me and how all countries experience this issue.
I chose to research China

• Poverty has decreased in China since the 1990s.  By 2000 rural poverty in China reduced from 30.7 percent to 3.7 percent.  This is a major decrease but there are still 15 to 31 million in poverty where the total population is 1.27 billion.
• 4.2 million Chinese children live in extreme poverty and 8.7 million live in disadvantage conditions.

• China has a social security system for families to assist with poverty only in urban areas.  There is really no assistance for families who live in rural areas of China.  China has a social relief program for urban area families but the amount of assistance given is still too small to meet the families basic needs including food, clothing, shelter and education for children. 

Again, reading about poverty in other areas around the world has made me realize this is a huge issue where ever you go.  After researching, articles state that poverty goes from one generation to the next.  How can families become self-sufficient if poverty is passed along from generation to generation?  I worry that we will never be able to pull out of poverty in our country.  With the way the economy is today, we have more people struggling to make ends meet and end up in poverty.  

Reference

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre. Retrieved from www.childhoodpoverty.org 

Web Resources

One website that I find helpful that provides daily clips from publications around the United States is Early Education Initiative, http://earlyed.newamerica.net.  The Early Education Initiative seeks to promote a high-quality and continuous system of early care and education for all children, birth to age 8.  The organization provides helpful insights of issues or trends going on in different states. The website also produces a daily newsletter called Early Ed News Clips. 

One interesting article that I read on the website http://earlyed.newamerica.net that is an issue "The Half-Day Kindergarten-Common Core Mismatch."   In this article it discuss that children who attend a half-day kindergarten program is still expected to meet common core standards but do not have enough time to fit the curriculum in each day.  "Children enrolled in half-day kindergarten receive less instructional time, likely experience a narrowed curriculum, have less time for experimentation and exploration, and enjoy fewer opportunities for play" (Bornfrend, 2012).  As many states go to follow Common Core standards children in Half-Day programs are not getting enough instructional time to prepare them for the standards. 

Reference

L., Bornfreund. The Half-Day Kindergarten-Common Core Mismatch. New America Foundation (2012). Retrieved from: http://earlyed.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2012/the_half_day_kindergarten_common_core_mismatch_74939

Establishing Contacts and Expanding Resources

        This week I began reaching out to international early childhood professionals in Ireland, Singapore and Romania but had no luck establishing contact.  I received an Undeliverable message from Singapore but never heard back  from anyone in Ireland or Romania.  I waited until Wednesday with no response so I tried two more individuals including Russia and China but after no contact by Friday I decided to take the alternate route.  I am excited to learn about the World Forum and listen to the radio podcast they conduct.
        I chose and signed up for the E-Newsletter for the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies.  After looking into this website I felt this was a great choice because I want to know what is going on in Congress about Early Childhood Education along with my State.  This site is also great for me to increase my advocacy skills for childcare centers in my community and learn skills to increase the quality of centers.  It is one of my professional goals to assist individuals in  setting up quality learning centers for young children.  I look forward to expanding my knowledge in early childhood education through these resources.