Getting to Know International Organizations

Researching organizations that operate on an international level to combat poverty was very eye opening. There are a great many who offer relief for a great many issues but not too many focus solely on poverty and the nations who suffer so greatly from it. The Borgen Project does just this but highlighting nations and cities around the world and working with United State political leaders to get involved with the process. 

Photo Credit: borgenproject.org

This organization started with one man seeing a need for those needing assistance and taking the initiative to pull in leaders of our great nation to help those. Clint Borgen felt it was important for a nation with great power and influence to assist those who truly need it.

The facts of poverty listed under the Global Poverty 101 tab offered a look into the impacts poverty plays daily for young children and their families. Many children are severely malnourish and some do not live past the first month of life because of this. This page also showed how our nations budgets compare to helping end world poverty which was quite minimal in comparison so some of the funds needed for other ventures.

While I have always thought of a nation being able to take care of its own, I feel now it is import for greater nations to step in and offer a hand to those who need it. This truly is not much different than how we help so many of those within our nation by offering food banks, soup kitchens, and other types of resources. It truly did just take one man to start this organization so to think the impact this made, I now feel that anyone can make a difference no matter how small it may seem to them. 

Notable Mention

While this is not international and still in the infancy stages of development The Bezos Day One Fund. I choose to highlight this one solely because while it is not international, this will have a great impact on our nation. This organization will offer free preschool for homeless families and will use a montessori style of teaching. This organization truly will be one of a kind and will offer something many others have not so it will be exciting to watch this one grow as time goes. 

Research That Benefits Children and Families

Photo Credit: quotemaster.org

Sitting here pondering how many questions in the field of early childhood development are unanswered and only thinking of one to use as a potential for research to have an impact is difficult. Having a child with special needs brings up quite a few ideas, having a nephew who succumbed to cancer while young offers more, thinking of my two other nephews who were adopted through the foster program and the impact is has play on each ones short life could be examined, and the one that baffles me often is how are children raised by the same parents so different as adults? All of these could yield interesting and pertinent results but I will focus on children who move multiple times due to military connections and the impact this may have throughout the lifespan of the person.

Photo Credit: sipsofstillness.wordpress.com

A study of this sort could add so much to the field of early childhood development due to many children are born into military families (some with both parents serving). These children are not offered an option but to pack up and move yearly in some cases. My son is almost fourteen and has moved ten times and attended just about as many different school districts. A positive contribution this can add would be stabilization for families with children as to not disturb the momentum of development. With this stabilization, the children are able to form better bonds with other children who are not constantly rotating out of each other lives. Also, the stress of always wondering when the next move is going to take place can be replaced with the notion of safety and security of not having to uproot again. Thinking longitudinal, the results of being offered a less nomadic lifestyle could yield more confident and successful children who have not have to relearn or have to catch up to different standards or lessons when moving so often. 

As my life is quite unconventional due to military ties, I often wonder how different things would be for my son and students if each one were offered the opportunity to stay in one place until ready to move on his or her own accord. 

My Research Journey

My search simulation topic is for fine motor skills and the impact the development (or lack of) has on future academic success. The reason this topic resonates with me so greatly is because I all too often encounter young children in my classroom who struggle greatly with these skills. Many cannot tear tape or paper or even hold a pencil with a developing tripod grip. I spend a great amount of time fostering these skills as I feel personally these are quite important but I would like to know if I am doing this all for naught or if there is a good reason for investing this time and effort in fostering these skills for young children. 

Photo Credit:https://skillsforaction.com/handwriting/pencil-grip-overview

So far in this course, learning how to properly and accurately use a critical eye when I come across various articles has saved me a great deal of time and effort. In the past I have often tried to hard to make my research fit my topic even if it was so far past. Also knowing how to properly search for content has helped me a lot. Often I can get to a point to where I am pinpointing a topic too much that I cannot find any research to assist my study. 

Have you encountered any research to offer more insight about fostering fine motor skills? In your experience have you seen a correlation between well developed fine motor skills and academic success? Or even the lack of these skills and a child still being quite successful in primary school? 

Changing Demographics and Diversity

The early childhood professional website I will be examining further in this and the coming weeks National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). This organization publishes a peer reviewed journal, Young Children, about every two months. This journal offers a wealth of knowledge and information pertaining to young children the ages of birth through grade three. Most of the journals have an overall theme with information regarding the theme for the journal. This is not a free subscription but I am fortunate enough to have access to this journal through my current place of employment. I hope one day to become a member of NAEYC so I am able to always have these journals. 

The website offered from NAEYC offers other ways to gain information through the many resources offered under the Resources tab on the home page of the website. Some of these are free while others do cost. By completing a simple search by way of the topics tab for "Diversity", I was able to find different article and position statements about this subject. Since this is a topic that is covered time and time again, there are more than likely previous journal articles from Young Children that can be accessed through the Walden University Library database. This is a free tool for all students and I highly recommend it. 

Resources
https://www.naeyc.org
https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc

Expanding Horizons and Resources

Part 1: Expanding Horizons

Looking through the website for Global Fund for Children it was very inspiring to learn of the major impact this organization is making. 

While some organizations focus on one area to assist children, this organization is taking on many to offer children the best chances in life. Partnering with over a 125 grassroots organizations in over 45 countries to bring attention to the many hardships and struggles for children. With this sense of outreach to take on the major crisis impacting the children in an area, I am excited to learn more about how the Global Fund for Children has an impact in various areas of the world. 

Part 2: Expanding Resources

For this section I have chosen National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAYEC). 

The reason for selecting NAEYC is simply because this organization has always been a source of information for me all throughout my journey of becoming an early childhood professional. 

The mission statement of NAEYC is "Mission Statement. NAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children" (naeyc.org). With this in mind it is clear the passion being passed to others and how important these years of growth and development truly are. 

The amount of content on the website naeyc.org is vast and can apply to not only those working directly with young children in a professional manner but also administrators and parents. I often refer to the website as well as the journal, Young Children, for further information on a topic when I need support. If you are not familiar with NAEYC, I highly recommend searching the articles, blogs, or even finding a training even sponsored by them.