Sharing Web Resources

Initially, I went to  NAEYC’s Global facebook page and clicked on 3 links I was not previously familiar with. First, I subscribed to NAEYC’s Children’s  Champion newsletter which will inform me of issues involving children from all over of the nation. Next, I clicked on a link that took me to NAEYC’s  Public Policy page and I learned 5 ways to advocate for Early Childhood—One, was the subscription sign-up for Child’s Champions newsletter; the other four were invitations to contact my  state representative on different issues and topics on  Advocating for children and their families.  This site was quite informative and I can’t wait to click it again on a daily basis to receive more advocacy information. Lastly, I clicked on a blog page and read an entry entitled “Chopsticks or Forks: Contextualizing Developmentally Appropriate Practice in a Global Age” written by Stephanie Olmore, the Senior Director of NAEYC’s Global Engagement (Olmore, 2016).

This blog entry was a mind-provoking lesson that sparked my curiousity and my imagination as I visualized:  1) how exciting it would be to visit a child care center in China;  2) how connected I would feel as I watched my peers while I  immerse myself into learning another culture’s daily practice such as eating with chopsticks;  and 3) compare the not-so-familiar practice of eating a meal with chopsticks to the more familiar daily practice of eating a meal with a fork and 4) reflect on the lesson learned from a new, non-english speaking child’s point-of-view using a developmentally appropriate practice lens (Olmore, 2016).

Stephanie said “I understand the deep effect culture has on learning and I

value individual approaches to learning” (Olmore, 2016).  Stephanie reminded me to put myself in a new child’s place, especially when that child is coming from another country or does not hear or speak the English language. This child and his family may not be familiar with American culture or customs but desires to learn and is fully capable.  I am reminded to use empathy, patience, be open to lots of expressions of individuality, be flexible, be authentic and further scaffold onto concepts. I enjoyed reading this global blog.

Reference

Olmore, Stephanie, (2016). Chopsticks or Forks: Contextualizing Developmentally Appropriate Practice in a Global Age. NAEYC Guest Blogger

Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/blogs/chopsticks-or-forks