Final Blog Assignment

Three Consequences of Learning Internationally:

1. Limited resources- Internationally there have been a lack of resources available to students in comparison to more developed countries such as the United States. These students are limited in their academic ability to advance in their education.
2. Political- Internationally the political systems differ from the United States so they have a different value on education than other countries. These countries are big on manual labor so being educationally inclined is not a requirement for those type of jobs.
3. Financial- The financial budget of other countries is lower than it is here in the United States. Internationally they have to proportion the funds evenly and ensure that no measure is left out and that is why less money is attributed to education.

A goal that I would have for international awareness is for teachers to be required to be assigned to an international contact each school term. That will help to bounce ideas off of one another and use creative techniques in the classroom. This will also increase awareness of the hardships that are present internationally.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

In the conversation this week, when we discussed the professional goals that we shared for the field of ECE, my contact shared with me that their aspiration was just to make the learning process much easier to achieve for their students. Sharon, my corresponding contact, stated that she has seen a tremendous deal of improvement compared to the treatment that education has received in earlier years in their country. It has grown a great deal and they are proud of that accomplishment, but compared to other countries their children are still receiving "the short end of the stick" when it comes to education.
I reflect personally on the way the we are here in the United States fighting for more educational advances, and there are countries that are wishing and hoping to have the opportunities that we have. Despite us thinking that we are still not achieving our maximum potential, there are children and educators that would be very grateful to be in our shoes academically.

Sharing Web Resources

I have explored all of the links on the website and they lead to an assortment of resources. How to become a member, what membership status perks are available, advocacy, programs and events that are coming up in the upcoming months and nearby areas, and publication access.
I had the opportunity to explore various publications that were not restricted to member only usage. I also got the chance to look at the research that is available and what is proactively being looked at in the early childhood sector internationally. They spoke heavily on inequality in early childhood and that speaks volumes to our discussions of equity in our class.

Analyses on the Inequality of Well-being

The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has released the 2016 World Happiness Report in two volumes--the 2016 Update and the Special Rome Edition, including an update on national rankings and new analyses. A key focus this year is on the inequality of happiness within and among countries around the world. The Report argues that inequality of well-being provides a broader measure of equality than is provided by measures of inequality in the distribution of income and wealth.

- See more at: http://acei.org/news/analyses-on-the-inequality-of-well-being#sthash.0RDUcY7a.dpuf

Getting to know your international contacts -part 2

My contacts did not even have to share with me the inequity that they experience with their children. The children in their schools do not have the resources needed to make education as successful as possible. Limited supplies, academic books, and even technological supports inhibit these communities from accessing the needed tools to make learning creative and interesting for their students. Nigeria is still trying to repair their government from the past demolition that was done to it from the past leaders. The students do not start their education until they are 6 years of age and often times are hindered from being able to get an education at that point. They are forced to stay at home or obtain jobs to help their families provide for each other. In Rwanda, they are opposite in a few ways compared to Nigeria. They are expanding their agricultural aspects and creating work opportunities to embrace economic gain for their residents. The students education is geared more towards labor education, but it is better than them being deprived of an education at all.