A Great Journey Providing Quality Education...

First of all; I am grateful for having the opportunity to learn more about the current issues and trends in the early childhood field, not just within the United States but also internationally. This experience has allowed me to better understand the meaning of high quality care, as well as the importance of it. Reading all the great stories others shared was a huge eye opener to the many issues we face in our everyday lives simply trying to provide high quality education and care to our children, families, and colleagues.

Three consequences that I experienced in regards to learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development are;

• Learning about the inequities that currently exist internationally
• Similar factors across the world that affect high quality care 
• The importance of advocacy around the world 

My goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations is to;

• Continue to stay in tune as well as open more doors of communication with my international colleagues. In this field, no matter how much education and/or knowledge you have support is always needed. 

Finally, I’d like to take a moment to wish all my colleagues, both here and there :) ; the best of luck in all they hope to accomplish in this field. Early childhood is not an easy field to work in but it is a GREAT field, a field that allows us professionals to make a difference in the lives of many children and families.

Getting to know Another Professional From Roma!

While browsing through the REYN blog I came across a story regarding this young woman named, Laura Bosnea. She was elected to the local council in Rascani City in 2015, as one of the first Roma woman in Moldova. Laura was married and a mother by the age of 21, but she never saw herself as a stay at home mom, a housewife. By the age of 28 she became a community mediator between Roma and the local administration.

Laura’s purpose within the community was to help disadvantaged people and fight for justice. Since her fight, 79 children have been registered in schools, the streets of Roma have lighting, and garbage bins have been installed. For some, they may see this as minor accomplishments but Laura fought very hard for these minor accomplishments. Laura has come to realize that her mission is in Roma; her future plan is to build a community center for women and children from vulnerable groups. Her future plan is to continue her education and graduate from law school so that she may continue with her mission and bring change into Roma.

REYN. 2015. From Where I stand.
Retrieved from: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/3/from-where-i-stand-laura-bosnea

Similarities, or Not?

I have been exploring the RYEN blog for the past six weeks and during this time I have come to see many similarities with issues in the field of Early Education between Romania and the United States. I have read about issues that include; affordable care, health, poverty, quality care, language, promoting linguistic and cultural diversity, and inclusion. Some of these issues are handled differently, yet they are issues that still affect our children. During my search this week I came across a post titled “Why do Roma skip the first language?” After reading this post I thought, why take their language if in the end they are still receiving a second class education?

In the cases of most children whose first language is Romani, their knowledge is ignored. In some cases, it is used by Romani assistants as a transit to language of instruction. A child with parents from different groups may be speaking two different languages (e.g. Vlax Romani and Rumungri Romani) and will still be perceived as mute by the vast majority of schools. Some systems would place this child into a special school for children with disabilities, where Romani children are regularly overrepresented.

Be it 30 years ago or today, Romani children are guided into losing their language, part of their identity. Often, parents make the choice in advance and do not even speak Romani with their children. As Roma and Travelers we are taught, directly or indirectly, to neglect our identity. We are eager to blend into the mainstream society. As a result, we gradually lose the language and all of its dialects, generation by generation. What is worse, we do not get anything in exchange, our children still end up with a second-class education, sidetracked to Roma-only schools and special education for children with mental disabilities.

It may be difficult to build on a language which is not unified across communities, especially if dialects vary from community to community. But we at Romani Early Years Network do not seek for easy solutions. We promote linguistic and cultural diversity every day in a year (REYN. 2016). All this has made me very curious, how many other countries make their children skip their first language?

REYN. Why do Roma skip the first language? 2016
Retrieved from: http://reyn.blog.issa.nl/why-do-roma-skip-the-first-language/

Inequity in Quality!

While going through the REYN blog I ran across a wonderful lady named Vesna Perhoč; a women who only came to substitute as a teacher in Macinec, Croatia for one month, that month turned into 25 years. She automatically fell in love with the children and wanted to make sure they received a quality education. At that time it was not her dream job. The school has 70% Roma children, most of them are not fluent in Croatian when they started first grade, and they live in extremely poor circumstances. When she started working she knew immediately that children should feel comfortable in school environment. She painted their classroom and drew some cartoon characters on walls. ‘After a while I realized that it is not about what I do but what they can do, it is important that children become active learners.’ To do that she had to learn a lot, and she did.

Her goal was to create a community for these children because soon they would be members of society where they would learn to contribute to the community. In the short movie you will see how Vesna Perhoč started to apply the child-centered approach she had learned during Step by Step training 10 years earlier. Although the children’s reactions were great, it was not easy. Vesna Perhoč continued to learn, and started to reflect on her own practice from another angle when she was introduced to the ISSA Principals.

In 2012 she received an ISSA Certificate of Excellence in Child-Centered Approach. In 2013 she became a facilitator in workshops for parents which give her an opportunity to get to know Roma community even better. The following year, she became a Step by Step trainer which allowed other teachers to learn from her professional path. As professional learning community facilitator and mentor, she discusses with her colleagues their everyday practice. Vesna Perhoč has been a member of REYN from the start and member of REYN-C in Croata. As an active REYN member she advocates for quality education for every child especially those coming from vulnerable families.
Regardless of inequity in quality of education this town had to offer, her goal was to create a community for these children because soon they would be members of society where they would learn to contribute to the community, and she did just that. 

REYN. “The Teacher” – a movie about the opportunities and importance of quality in education2015
Retrieved from: http://reyn.blog.issa.nl/the-teacher-a-movie-about-the-opportunities-and-importance-of-quality-in-education/

Let's Promote Lifelong Learning for all Children!!!

As an advocate for Early Childhood not only do I believe that children deserve a quality education, I also believe that all children; regardless of race, gender, or disability should all be included. Inclusion is crucial for many reasons, when you have a classroom full of different children their all these children learn from each other in more ways than one. In September 2015, 17 Sustainable Development Goals were formulated at the UN Summit. Goal 4 says: “Ensure inclusive and quality education and promote lifelong learning for all by 2030.” At this point we don’t know how this goal will be reached, but we do know that most of us agree that we want Roma children to be included in good quality education (REYN Blog, 2015). This is one of the most beautiful goals I have ever read, and one that I will make sure to, as least with the children I have control over.

In order to teach a child, the teacher and the child need to share a common language. What happens when a child has not learned this common language, the language that is used in school to teach (REYN Blog, 2015)?  This has always been an issue for me, a child is very capable of learning anything and they want, what’s important is how it’s taught. I do not agree that a child and a teacher must know the same language in order for the child to learn. What I do believe is important, is that teacher must have the skills to teach the child.

For the most part, many individuals in Roma truly support the early childhood field, but just like in any other country, policies continue to anger and frustrate educators as well as parents. It is very obvious the passion that many individuals in this country strive to give all children a better education. My hopes and dreams is for Roma, and all countries to be allowed to promote lifelong learning for all children.

REYN. Invitation to interact on inclusive and quality education for Roma children. 2015
Retrieved from: http: http://reyn.blog.issa.nl/1768-2/

Poverty in Roma

In October 2015, Stanislav Daniel, the ISSA Program Manager/ REYN Coordinator shared a beautiful story in their blog titled “International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.” Stanislav shared statistics and his knowledge of how poverty is affecting many in Romani, especially the children who do not even get a chance to develop due to the conditions of poverty they live under.  According to the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) data from 2011; about 90% of households in the Romani settlements are below national poverty levels. Housing evictions present a permanent threat to many Romani families in informal settlements.

Before I visited the UNDP data website I asked Stanislav if he would be so kind and share statistics with me on the effects of children versus an education due to poverty. “How many children are affected by this when it comes to education? Are many left without even a chance to enter into a classroom?” As of today I have not received a response so I decided to visit the website and was very disturbed by what I read.

Roma in the region are excluded from economic, social and political life. Compared to non Roma citizens, Roma are more likely to live in poverty, have a higher risk of unemployment, stay in school for fewer years, live without access to drinking water, sanitation and electricity, and live in substandard, overcrowded homes. Roma are more likely to suffer from chronic illness and have less access to health services (UNDP data. 2016). Here in the United States we all know how poverty affects many, but the “no child left behind laws” prevent children from not attending a school. In Roma 1 out of 2, that’s half the population do not even have the opportunity to go to preschool let alone kindergarten.

Stanislav believes that change can happen, it might take a long time but it can be done. In the meantime; many children will continue to suffer and not even get a chance to develop to their fullest potential. This is all so heart breaking to me, I think that if many Americans knew exactly how much they have compare to others they would be grateful and make changes within their own lives. Riches or not, if you want a difference in your life take advantage of the opportunities to do something about it, we have these opportunities!

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. 2015
Retrieved from: http://reyn.blog.issa.nl/international-day-for-the-eradication-of-poverty/#comment-49968

UNDP data. Roma data. 2016
Retrieved from: http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/rbec/en/home/ourwork/sustainable-development/development-planning-and-inclusive-sustainable-growth/roma-in-central-and-southeast-europe/roma-data.html

Sharing Web Resources!

I received this email from Noeleen O’hara regarding my request to join their blog.

Dear Maria,

Thank you for getting in touch. I presume when you ask about our blog, you are referring to REYN Blog; They blog is open to the public to read and comment upon and should you like to write for the blog , then please send any articles or ideas to me and I can publish, edit, research and support you to deliver that. You are also very welcome to Join REYN, as it is free to all people working with or interesting in making a difference in the lives of Romani children and their families.

You can Join REYN here: http://www.issa.nl/reyn-member/register 

Please get back to me if I can be of any further assistance.

Best wishes, 

Noeleen O’Hara - Communications Officer

ISSA – an international learning community powered by its members

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Childs Rights Home|Hooglandse Kerkgracht 17-R|2312HS Leiden|The Netherlands

Tel: +31(0)71 516 1228|Mob: +31(0)63 914 8404| Fax: +31(0)71 5161220

I then followed the link to get more information and also view their blog and I came across this information on their website where they talk about the rapid changes that is affecting the children and their families across the globe. “Societies across the globe are experiencing rapid changes which affect children, their families and the practitioners working alongside them. Living, as we do, in a more interconnected and interdependent world the stability of our economies and societies are impacted by factors beyond our borders; the effects of conflict, climate change and epidemics in once remote countries can now have repercussions in local communities” (issa. 2016). It’s apparent that many countries are experiencing many of the same issues.

The UIC Mission: 

To initiate and support educational change processes in order to ensure a high level of all children living in Lithuania the quality of education in line with the requirements of an open democratic society.

In Lithuanian

UIC misija:

inicijuoti ir remti švietimo kaitos procesus, siekiant užtikrinti aukštą visų Lietuvoje gyvenančių vaikų ugdymo kokybę, atitinkančią atviros demokratinės visuomenės reikalavimus