Childhood Poverty in China

 





I explored the childhood poverty site www.childhoodpoverty.org and selected the country overview tab. Featured there were different countries and how poverty is affecting their children and families. I chose to focus on the country of China.

*4.2 million Chinese children live in poverty
*8.7 million Chinese children live in what they call, disadvantaged conditions
*Health (insurance) and education (school expenses) reforms are reducing the ability of poor families to utilize health for their families and education for their children.
*China has made tremendous strides in combatting poverty by making changes in economic growth (globalizing the market). However, this only benefitted people in Eastern China and poverty rates in Western China increased.
*The national poverty line in China ($1.83 a day) is low by international standards so more people live close to poverty.

Sharing Web Resources

I found a website that encompasses all issues and trends in early childhood as it pertains to children from birth to age three. The name of the site is Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, toddlers, and Families and the link is www.zerotothree.org.
This is a "national nonprofit organization that informs, trains and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers" (Zero to Three, 2013).

They now have an active blog to which they post periodically and the latest one that caught my attention was titled "The Sequesters Pain: Air Travelers get Relief, Kids not so much". This blog posted on April 26, explores the swift decision congress made to find money to pay aviation employees so the flight delays would decrease and wait time for travelers wouldn't be so severe. This change in the sequester only came when the members of congress tried to come back home from their long vacations they took and found out how impossible it was to travel when there are not enough employees there to do the necessary jobs. Unlike the aviation employees getting their jobs back, the families that count on federal assistance are in need of homes, and their young children are being dropped off Early Head Start and Head Start rosters. The sequester has effected children everywhere. The following passage is from the blog:
"Passengers who must wait a few hours on the tarmac might miss a meeting or a connection to another city. But young children shut out of early childhood programs miss out on the positive early learning experiences that help their brains make critical developmental connections, putting them on the path to success in school and in life. And while those passengers may shift uncomfortably in cramped seats, families who lose rental assistance may find themselves living for months in cramped quarters, or even becoming homeless" (Baby Policy Blog, Zero to Three, 2013).
This hit home for me simply because I am a government teacher and am now going to be furloughed. Although this will effect my personal life greatly, the kids are the ones who have to pay because it is their education that is being screwed with. And it concerns me to think whether our future generations of children will care anything about our world and sustaining it when the people in charge clearly have shown they don't care about them.

Establishing Professional Contacts...around the world
In the process of establishing global contacts I found that quite a few of the contacts I tried to get in touch with were no longer available. I also found that some of the websites for the organizations had not been updated for a few years. I did send out messages successfully to Canada, Singapore, and Africa. Other messages I sent out were returned to me undeliverable. So I wait excitedly to hear back from these countries as I am interested in how early childhood is where they are.

I chose the Zero to Three Organization after perusing their website. What drew me to them was the scientific and medical side of their research as it pertains to early childhood and young children. Their site was also very easy to navigate and contained specific information and opportunities for educators and parents alike. I also subscribed to their monthly newsletter. I look forward to learning even more about the biological aspect of how children learn and develop.

My Supports

 

My everyday supports:

-glasses/contacts

I use these daily to see correctly. If I did not have them I would not be able to drive, read, cook, clean my house, work in my garden, or teach effectively.

-planner

I use this planner to write down everything! All of my appointments, practices, lesson plans, important information, directions to places, etc. I know that cell phones can do all of those things but I like the support of my planner. I have often said that if I ever lost it- I would be lost!

-my Mom and Dad

These two are daily supports for me. I talk to them everyday and see them most everyday. They are my personal cheering section. It is really neat now because at this time of my life I am able to give back to them all they have deposited in me over the years. Without their support I would probably be depressed and unproductive.

-my best friend

She is also an educator and we are able to share with each other and vent to each other. She is someone who knows everything about me and she still chooses to love me anyway. We currently are roomates and it has been neat to have someone there to cook dinner or to watch movies with. Also, recently I had major surgery, so she has been a trmemndous help in doing certain things for me until I get my strength back. Without her, I would probably be depressed and have a lot of pent up frustration.

 

I imagine for me it would be really difficult to have some kind of language challenge. As a military child I have lived in lots of different countries and amongst different languages. I know how I felt coming into a country where English was not the prominent language outside of the military establishment. It was scary, confusing, and not fun. If I could not speak English, I would need a personal translator with me at all times, visual aids, and it would help to have all signs and textbooks to be in my language and in English simultaneously. If these things were not available, I would feel like I did when I was living in a foreign country before- scared, confused, and not enjoying the new country I lived in.







My Connections to Play

 

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.” ~ Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood)

 

“For a small child there is no division between playing and learning; between the things he or she does ‘just for fun’ and things that are ‘educational.’ The child learns while living and any part of living that is enjoyable is also play. ~ Penelope Leach (psychologist and author)

 

I loved to watch Mr. Rogers. I mean, really loved. I played with Barbies only because I loved to dress them up in pretty outfits. my mom would sew Barbie clothes for me with material she had left over from the pillows and dresses she would make. So naturally that fed into my insatiable desire for fashion now... My mom and I would go on an outing every other Saturday- yard sale-ing! I found an old medium size chalkboardat a yard sale and my mom bought it for me. I would gather all my papers (usually brochures I picked up at the bank or grocery store, etc) and line up my stuffed animals and teach them with my chalk board and dollar general chalk. Other than going outside to play- this is what I did. I would play fort with my brothers with the couches, sheets, blankets, and flashlights.

 

 

 

Growing up my mom and dad would support my play by joining in with me. I would teach them like they were students and give them tests and grades. Other times, they would leave me to myself and my brothers to play out in the yard, where we usually played a game in which I was the boss. I loved to play and pretend with my brothers. They would get thier action figures and I would get my barabies and we would play together. I would mix dirt and sand and all kinds of earthly objects into a pot and feed them "stew" like my mom did. The list goes on of all the fun things I did as a kid that came natural to me.

Play today is as important to kids development as it was when I was growing up. The difference is the type of play has changed from a more physical and interactive play to a more sedentary play with computers and video games that do a lot of thinking for you. My hope for youth of today is that they would discover the joy of companionship with a best friend, even if that best friend changes every week. And discover outside more and explore again, using their imagination as it comes to them and not as it is portrayed for them on a screen.

 

 

Play, in my life, was the way I learned. I learned how to socialize and build realtionships. I learned how not to act as well. I learned that I can't always win or be the boss, and to be okay with that. As an adult, I have learned to take life in stride, to relax more and also to look at children and know that they deserve the opportunities and more, that I had growing up. I also can use my experience with play to help create activities to help my students to use their imagination and develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.



 

 

 



Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because they help to make me the person I am. Having people around you that share a common ground and support you when needed, only helps you to be stronger. I currently have close relationships with my Mom and Dad and a few friends that I consider family. These relationships are positive in the ways that we all respect each other for who we are, we trust that we each have the best interest of the other in mind, and we encourage and offer support always in anything we set out to do. Developing these relationships was easy because we are all open and loving people. Maintaining  them took some work. You have to be intentional when in a relationship. It is never safe to assume anything.   

 Commuincation from all sides is important. Face to face conversations and speding time together are the ways in which these relationships have become what they are today. Aside from growing up in my parents home, I have developed a realtionship with them as an adult. Everyone is not perfect, so trust does get broken at times and things get said that should not, but that is where the relationship part comes in. Is it stronger than the hurt you feel? Could it ever go back to the way it was. Sure. Forgiveness. One key to all of my relationships is the need for constant grace. Like I said, people mess up. Who am I to shun them when they do?

Some of the special characteristics that exist in these relationships that make them a bit more like partnerships are that we believe the best about each other in every situation instead of assuming the worst. We give encoragement always and opinion when asked, and most of all we are for each other.

Having close relationships in my life, I feel have prepared me for being able to communicate with other people without feeling embarassed about what they might think about me or what not. This is a great tool for me to have as an early childhood educator because I can recognize the need for relationship among the families of my students. I am open to the families and very willing to learn about who they are and support them for that.Having these strong relationships in my life have also preapred me to look for the best in every family that I come across.

Quotes about Children

"If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall begin with the children." -Mohandes Ghandi, poltical and spiritual leader in India

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." -Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa

"Every child you encounter is a divine appointment." -Wess Stafford, President, Compassion International

"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." -John W. Whitehead, founder, Rutherford Institute