Reaching Out and Expanding My World of Early Childhood Education

                Reading through the syllabus for this my fourth class toward acquiring a Master’s in Early Childhood Studies, I found myself thinking about how this experience had the potential to change me as an early childhood professional.  As I read the tips for Part 1, I thought this will be different.   I must admit, I haven’t given much thought to making global connections in the early childhood world.  I was eager to make a connection with someone in the field from another country.  I sent out numerous emails to try to connect with someone but have had no success yet. My first thought was to reach out to someone in Mexico since many of the families we serve in Head Start have emigrated to our community from there.  Sadly, that email address was not a good one.  It bounced back to me. I tried another address in Croatia and have yet to hear from that person. Since the week was going by quickly and I wasn’t hearing from anyone, I decided to check into the World Forum since it seemed that the alternative was probably going to be the route I take.  I was really surprised by what I learned.  Even after over 20 years in the field, I didn’t know this group even existed.  I am eager to learn more about the work they do.  I listened to 2 podcasts that were very interesting.  I decided to try to contact George Forman who was featured on a podcast about play.

                Moving on to Part 2, I looked over the list of resources provided.  I have referred to many of them over the years.  Pre [K] Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States caught my attention. Not being familiar with it, I decided to take a look at it. In Pennsylvania, the previous governor and his administration was extremely supportive of early childhood education.  During Governor Rendell’s eight years in office, great strides were made toward improving quality in prekindergarten settings all over the state. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania has a two term limit on the Governor’s office.  The current administration does not share the same interest or see the value of early childhood education. As I skimmed over the Pew Center website, it seemed to focus on strong advocacy for early childhood education so I decided to learn more about it.

                Each step of this journey has increased my knowledge and appreciation for early childhood education.  I look forward to this course as yet another way to expand my knowledge base and help me grow as an early childhood professional.