International Professional Contacts

During this week, I was reminded that I have re-established a connection to one of my colleagues within my organization and my goal is to keep the line of communication flowing.  We have been able to revisit the history of the organization and reflect on the tremendous changes that have taken place within our organization.  Educators have been provided the right tools and resources, additional support has been increased and the level of programming has taken early childhood to a new level of sustaining excellence at all times.

Looking at issues of quality care in Europe, my colleague shared with me that due being in another country providing the same services that have been developed and implemented in our organization are different, based on the fact that local community support is limited like in the US. She also shared that there is less stress (fewer violence and crime) and better opportunities to concentrate on educational goals and aspirations.

In our discussion, we focused on the fact that times have changed for European families has there is a push to provide early childhood services for children under 3 years old.  In the past families were provided the opportunity through government funding to have one parent remain home with their new born until age 3 or 5 to establish family bonds and of course early childhood was not readily available.  Early childhood has become a prominent focus for the development of children in Europe, especially Germany.

On a professional level, my colleague wants to go back to the regional team to provide support, train and give feedback to those in the field, as well as be a strong advocate that will ensure that policy and procedures are met without the concept of basing decisions on individual interpretation.

The hopes, dreams, and challenges are to ensure that goals are met and that collaboration will take place with families as they are the starting point in the development of their children. When families feel that they are apart of the program, there is a connection that will assist in meeting the needs of the child.  During our discussion, it was pointed out that we as professionals must go beyond just providing feedback to families.  We must establish a dialog and continue the dialog to build upon.  After all, we want everyone who are a part of the life of children to be advocates that will voice their opinions that will make a difference for excellence.

I have been enlightened during my conversation this week, that even though we have standards and guideline that measure our programming, measurements of success really comes from family feedback. As early childhood educators we need to partner with parents, (communicate and collaborate), which will lead to the catalyst of providing the voice of advocacy that will have an impact on those who make the ultimate decisions in policies and procedures.  After all we want children to be self-sustaining and productive citizens that will reflect a positive investment for the future.