Contacts and Poverty

I have had no response from the contacts that I sent emails two weeks ago, and I am curious to see if any of my classmates have had better luck. Because I received no communication from educators around the world, I had to complete the podcast assignment this week.

 I listened to the podcast on Susan Lyon. She is an early childhood professional from the San Francisco area. She brought a concept called "100 Languages of Children" to northern California after visiting Reggio Emilia.  She also started the Innovative Teacher Project where she offered participating schools round table discussions on how to use this approach to give children a wonderful environment to learn.

 I have had no communication with early childhood professionals, so I went to the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center's page. Wow, what great information! I was shocked when I read that 600 million children worldwide live in poverty. I cannot even comprehend the magnitude of this issue. It is definitely an issue that our country needs to improve on.

 I was interested to see how poverty affected children in China. Education is a top priority in China and even poor families say that they would not let poverty prevent their children from a proper education or entering higher education. However, like in other countries, the limitations are still there. There are no additional funds to invest in additional education programs or private tuitions for after school hours. Also, children of poor families are not able to get the vaccinations not covered by the state funded immunization plan. In times of need, poor families often relied on relatives, friends, and neighborhood committees. 60 % of urban households receive the Minimum Living Standard Security Allowance.