Archive for the ‘International’ Category

Silvia Moron: a Strategies for Children Intern

Posted in International, K-12, MA Legislature, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Philanthropy, Strategies for Children, tagged , , , on May 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Screenshot 2023-05-22 at 7.27.47 PM

Silvia Moron and State Senator Jason Lewis

Silvia Moron grew up in Haiti, and when she arrived in the United States in 2009, she wanted to be a diplomat.

“My dream was to work for the United Nations and be an ambassador,” Moron says.

To start her career, however, she decided to become a nurse. She loves helping people, and this career would, she decided, give her the stability she needed to pursue her dreams. 

Today, Moron is an intern at Strategies for Children. She’s studying political science at Bunker Hill Community College, and she plans to transfer to a four-year college to study foreign relations.

Moron also runs the Sephora Moron Foundation, which she launched in 2020 to raise money for poor children who don’t have access to education. Put all this work together, and it adds up to Moron’s vision of helping the world by becoming an ambassador who represents poor people, advocates for excellent health care, and promotes education.

What drew Moron to Strategies was the chance to learn about advocacy and policy.

Back in January, on the first day of her internship, Moron joined Strategies’ staff at the Massachusetts State House for the release of the Early Childhood Agenda.

“It was super-exciting. It was my first time at the State House, and I got to pose with Senator Lewis, and he posted the picture on Facebook,” Moron says of State Senator Jason Lewis (D-5th Middlesex). “And I talked to him about Strategies.”

(more…)

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In quotes: child care is also expensive in the United Kingdom

Posted in Cost and affordability, International, Quotes, tagged on February 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

“Of the multitude of problems plaguing the UK, one issue is rising toward the top of the pile—and it has nothing to do with Brexit.

“Calls to tackle the exorbitant cost of early-years child care are growing louder ahead of the next general election, due within two years. There’s no easy fix for a system that’s become dominated by private interests, and any meaningful reform would likely require an injection of public funds at a time when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is focused on tightening spending to bring down inflation.

“The average cost of a full-time nursery slot in Britain is about £14,000 ($17,000) a year, but it can be double that in London and other places. After taxes, the average household income is just over £32,000, making the UK the most expensive country in which to obtain care for children aged 2 and 3, relative to wages, in the 38-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.” [The United States is the second most expensive country.]

“The expense is particularly painful with prices for just about everything rising, and it’s eroding decades of progress in getting more women into the workforce… ‘Unless politicians wake up to the fact that this will be a doorstep election issue, they’re going to meet some very, very angry parents,’ says Sarah Ronan, who leads work on early education and child care for the nonprofit Women’s Budget Group.”

— “UK Getting It ‘Totally Wrong’ on Soaring Child Care Costs,” by Olivia Konotey-Ahulu, Bloomberg, February 13, 2023

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A princess advocates for early childhood

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, International, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten, Social-emotional development, tagged , , on December 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The Prince and Princess of Wales came to Boston last week, and one issue on the royal agenda was early childhood.

The princess, also known as Kate Middleton, visited Harvard to meet with researchers at the university’s Center on the Developing Child.

For Middleton, it was part of a long-standing commitment to young children. As the Royal Foundation for the Prince and Princess of Wales explains on its website:

“Over the last decade, The Princess of Wales has spent time looking into how experiences in early childhood are often the root cause of today’s hardest social challenges, such as addiction, family breakdown, poor mental health, suicide and homelessness.”

In 2020, The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (the prince and princess’ royal titles at the time) released a report on the public’s opinion of early childhood in the United Kingdom based on the responses of half a million people — and factoring in the impact of the pandemic. Among the report’s observations:

(more…)

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In quotes: moving to $10/day for child care in Canada

Posted in Child care, Cost and affordability, Funding, International, Quotes, tagged , , on April 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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“With the signing of today’s agreement, we’re making $10‑a‑day child care a reality for families across the country. Today’s announcement will save Ontario families thousands of dollars each year – with fee reductions starting as of Friday this week – while creating jobs, growing the middle class, and giving our kids the best start in life.”

– Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

“Since last summer, the Government of Canada reached similar agreements with the governments of British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Yukon, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. The governments of Canada and Quebec also reached an asymmetric agreement to strengthen the early learning and child care system in the province.”

“In total, the Government of Canada is aiming to create approximately 250,000 new child care spaces through Canada-wide agreements with provinces and territories… These new spaces will be predominantly among licensed not-for-profit, public, and family-based child care providers.”

– “$10-a-day child care for families in Ontario,” News Release from Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, March 28, 2022

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In quotes: early education and African-American history

Posted in Diversity equity and inclusion, International, National, Pre-kindergarten, Quotes, tagged , on February 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

“Too often neglected in the history of early childhood education are the stories of women teachers and especially African American women teachers. Find out more about Betsey Stockton, a pioneer early childhood teacher and an African American freedwoman living in the 19th century. Stockton traveled extensively, establishing schools for Hawaiian children and adults on Maui, preschools for African American children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and preschools for Aboriginal children in Canada. After settling in Princeton, New Jersey, she organized and taught in schools for African American children for 30 years, until her death in 1865. Her story shows how one teacher engaged with new approaches to teaching young children and positively impacted the lives of hundreds of children and their families over several generations.”

— “Black History and Early Childhood Education: Five Resources to Explore for Black History Month,” NAEYC, February 3, 2022

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In quotes: how other countries invest in child care

Posted in Child care, Funding, International, Quotes, tagged on October 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“Typical 2-year-olds in Denmark attend child care during the day, where they are guaranteed a spot, and their parents pay no more than 25 percent of the cost. That guaranteed spot will remain until the children are in after-school care at age 10. If their parents choose to stay home or hire a nanny, the government helps pay for that, too.

“Two-year-olds in the United States are less likely to attend formal child care. If they do, their parents pay full price — an average $1,100 a month — and compete to find a spot.”

“The U.S. spends 0.2 percent of its G.D.P. on child care for children 2 and under — which amounts to about $200 a year for most families, in the form of a once-a-year tax credit for parents who pay for care.

“The other wealthy countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development spend an average of 0.7 percent of G.D.P. on toddlers, mainly through heavily subsidized child care. Denmark, for example, spends $23,140 annually per child on care for children 2 and under.”

— “How Other Nations Pay for Child Care. The U.S. Is an Outlier.” by Claire Cain Miller, the New York Times, October 6, 2021

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Voices from the Field: Shelby Holt’s work in the United States and the United Kingdom

Posted in Boston, Early educators, Family engagement, Higher Education, International, Pre-kindergarten, Professional development & preparation on September 28, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Shelby Holt

 

This is one of a series of blogs featuring first-person accounts from early educators across Massachusetts.

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My name is Shelby Holt and I work as a K2 Teacher & Grade Level Leader at Match Community Day Public Charter School in Hyde Park, Mass. I studied early childhood education at university; however, I’ve been in the field since I was 16!

After my father’s encouragement to discover a fitting career path during high school (maybe so I’d remain a bit more focused on my studies!!), I found my first internship at a Head Start program in Framingham, Mass. Since then I’ve remained passionate about early childhood education: I’ve been teaching and leading in Massachusetts, New York, and London since 2008. (And being a big sister — I’d like to think that I’ve been an early childhood educator since 1990.)

I feel an adrenaline rush each morning when my alarm goes off. As I drive to school I make a myriad of decisions for how the classroom will feel and look that day. Every job is important, but being an early childhood educator means that I get to help all the children in my class prepare to be successful in the future. I’m sure anyone reading this can recall a particular moment from their time in kindergarten. So much of it is magically formative. I remind myself that each day I could cause a breakthrough memory in a little heart. (more…)

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The Wonder of Learning Exhibit — See it while it’s still in Boston

Posted in Early educators, International, Pre-kindergarten, Professional development & preparation on September 27, 2018| 1 Comment »

 

As we blogged this summer, the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development is hosting a terrific exhibit called “The Wonder of Learning: The Hundred Languages of Children.”

The exhibit is a dynamic professional development experience, a multimedia immersion in the Reggio Emilia approach to early learning that was developed in Northern Italy. Reggio sees children as crucial partners in their own education. Reggio also focuses on using the world — nature, neighborhoods, art, and artistic materials — to engage children.

At the heart of the exhibit is an effort to share innovations in early education to ensure that as many children as possible have teachers who are well-versed in Reggio’s creative, instructional strategies.

Early educators from across the region and the world have been attending the exhibit and participating in related workshops and events. (more…)

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Canada’s plans for its children

Posted in Child care, International, Pre-kindergarten on September 13, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a Canadian child. Source: Prime Minister Trudeau’s Flickr page.

 

“Accessible, inclusive, high quality early learning and child care is critical to giving children the best start in life. The Government has made historical investments of $7.5 billion over 11 years to provide quality, affordable child care across the country. By 2020, up to approximately 40,000 children may benefit from quality new subsidized child care spaces across Canada. This will support parents in the hard work they do for their families by giving them peace of mind with the knowledge that their children are getting the care they need and deserve.”

The quote above comes from “Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy,” a plan developed by Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s minister of Families, Children and Social Development. Duclos’ work drew on the input of thousands of Canadians that was gathered “through roundtables and town halls, in person and online, via conversations and conferences.” (more…)

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In quotes: World Health Organization shares its “Nurturing Care Framework”

Posted in Infants and toddlers, International, Quotes on August 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

“If we change the beginning of the story, we change the whole story.”

Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development website

 

“The new Nurturing Care Framework… is designed to serve as a roadmap for action, helping mobilise a coalition of parents and caregivers, national governments, civil society groups, academics, the United Nations, the private sector, educational institutions and service providers to ensure that every baby gets the best start in life.”

“The Framework describes how a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach can promote nurturing care for young children. It outlines guiding principles, strategic actions, and ways of monitoring progress.”

“Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development: A Framework for Helping Children Survive and Thrive to Transform Health and Human Potential,” The World Health Organization, 2018

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