Update on International Contact- EDUC 6162

After speaking to my contact Eric in Dubai, I was informed that the inequity that he feels that the children face is proper funding to support all children, not just those who are privileged. Eric stated that it is very important for parents to enroll their children in a school that received an outstanding or good rating. Most of the schools in these categories are private schools. Because parents are anxious to get their children in these schools, the schools have become overcrowded. There are waiting lists. One parent has a child who is in nursery right now, and she placed her 20 month old on a waiting list for one of the primary schools that received a rating of outstanding. This is really a big deal. It is unfortunate that all children are not afforded this type of luxury and are forced to attend our version of public school. Children that attend these schools are automatically placed on an academic pedestal and receive more opportunities for advancement when it comes to college placement and even sports.

The officials are now planning to build more schools in order to reduce the capacity of children in higher seeking facilities. A nursery school has opened a class for one primary grade because of the overflow of the waiting list. By 2024, there should be more schools and more room for adequate placement. Also, one particular school on the outstanding list usually enrolls children in the area automatically. They have been unable to accommodate even those who are to be rightfully enrolled. What I do like about the situation is that there is at least one school in each area that adheres to the rollover program for children. It is good that those children have an opportunity to attend a school with a good or outstanding rating.

Update on The Harlem Children's Zone organization

The Harlem Children’s Zone

www.hcz.org

The Harlem Children’s zone is an organization that is based in Harlem, New York. This organization has grown in many ways. The particular section that caught my attention is the baby college program. This program was adapted in 2000. They are well aware of the critical time of the first few years of life. This workshop is available for parents who have children within the 3 year old age range. This program is of interest to me because it serves children at a very critical time. Being that I am a kindergarten teacher, by the time the children get to me, some of them are still in need of basic learning and development skills. These skills can be reinforced in the early years. However, if parents aren’t aware of what is expected, the children will lack those imperative skills. The baby college provides parents with valuable information for their children.

I think it is a wonderful idea that all the parents who give birth at the neighborhood hospitals have the option to attend the baby college, free of charge. It is wonderful that it is an effort provided for the up and coming Harlem community. The Harlem community has re-vamped from being mainly a poverty stricken area. Even with the renovations and upward move to becoming a middle class area, there are still areas that are poverty stricken. The Harlem Children’s Zone can be credited for serving those who are poverty stricken or middle class. While viewing the site, I did not find any information that I deemed controversial. However, I thought it was relevant to my profession that 100 percent of the Harlem Gems(pre-schoolers) were pre-k ready. I was awed by this because it is so important for children to get the fundamental schooling needed which enhances school readiness. I am always amazed by the number of children entering Kindergarten that don’t colors, shapes, or  the alphabet.

The Harlem Children’s Zone is a non-profit organization that basically runs on donations and approved funding. I feel that the organization has proven to economists and others the importance of education, being with 0-3 year olds or for 3^rd graders(who by the had 83% either on or exceeding on the statewide math exam) I believe that receiving funding from outside sources and donations is not a problem considering that the organizations has made strides with the youth and the community.

My International Contacts

I was able to chat back and forth with Eric Asbury, an American teacher teaching in Dubai. Eric and I initially met via email contact. Due to his email account being checked periodically by his superior, he felt it would be safer to friend eachother on Facebook, and send messages. We introduced ourselves and from that point I asked Eric to tell me one thing that he misses about our culture, education wise. He explained to me that there is a total of 3 teachers in the classroom. That's a big difference from schools here, unless you are special education teacher.   He is the only American. He teaches 5th grade boys. One thing that he misses is the bond he is quickly able to make with the kids here. In Dubai, it's strictly teacher-student.
Eric also stated that when he is alone with the kids, which is rare, the children use profanity towards him. He has told his superiors about this behavior, and they support him, which is good. This week I asked him about the poverty/homeless demographic at his school. He informed me that the children in his class appear to be well taken care of. He asked one of his team members about the poverty rate, and he was told that poverty and homelessness is a sheltered issue in their area of Dubai.
Being able to converse with Eric once a week has been quite interesting. He is adapting to the culture in Dubai. I'm sure it was kind of hard, but he was intrigued by the experience. I have learned that education is not taken lightly there. The school also incorporates their muslim faith and traditions into the learning segment, which is why there are so many teachers in the room because Eric is not allowed to teach that. I look forward to our next conversation. Stay Tuned!

The Harlem Children's Zone Organization

The organization that I chose to sign up to is The Harlem Zone. In this week's newsletter, which was my first one, the organization was praising their president Geoffrey Canada. Geoffrey Canada received the National Freedom Award. Since 1991, the award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the battlw for civil and human rights, and who have helped create opportunity for the disenfranchised both in the US and around the world. The organization is focused on the bettering the youth of today. The program also offers a baby college. The baby college is a nine week program for expectant parents and parents with a child up to three years old. I think this is a good idea. The workshops promote reading to children and verbal discipline over corporal punishment. The organization focuses on a variety of issues in the early childhood setting. Their objective is to build a safety net woven so tightly that children cannot slip through. What a wonderful objective/focus! Some of their porgrams include:

THE THREE YEAR OLD JOURNEY

The Three-Year-Old Journey works with parents of children who have won the HCZ Promise Academy charter school lottery. Held on Saturdays over several months, it teaches parents about their child's development, building language skills and parenting skills.

GET READY FOR PRE-K

The Get Ready for Pre-K program brings in new Gems students before the start of the school year. The six-week summer session runs for extended hours during weekdays like the regular Gems program, helping children acclimate to the new schedule and readying them to start school in the fall.

HARLEM GEMS^®

Harlem Gems is an all-day pre-kindergarten program that gets children ready to enter kindergarten. Classes have a 4:1 child-to-adult ratio, teach English, Spanish and French, and run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. HCZ runs three pre-kindergarten sites, serving 200 children.

As far as diversity, the newsletter did not go into depth about it, but throughout the website it is evident that the program changes to suite the needs of the community.  I am pleased with the work the Harlem Zone is doing for their community. I look forward to the next newsletter.

Childhood Organizations for EDUC 6162

I decided to contact the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The school that I reached out to is Ajoke International School. I sent an e-mail to Mrs. Bimbo Are. I basically introduced myself and informed her that I am a student at Walden seeking correspondance regarding issues and trends that are formulated in her country. I extended thanks and my sincere grattitude for her time. I also let her know that if she or one of her colleagues is unable to correspond with me over the course of 8 weeks to kindly send me an email stating so.
The newsletter that I subscribed to comes from the website www.hcz.org which is The Harlem Children's Zone. After perusing the site  I am exited to read about all of the iniatives and trends that take place in their schools. This should be a cool and informative assignment!