I selected the Central and Eastern Europe Region. As I contemplated a region that gained my interest, I thought of my friend who traveled to Turkey during our undergraduate classes. She always had so much to share so I was curious to learn more for myself.
One particular challenge I found is this region is that many children face violence including exclusion, deprivation of parental care, homelessness, and drug use. Children facing such challenges can struggle with feelings of positive self identity because of the lack of nurturing move from their parent. Children also need the support of strong parental involvement and care to learn how to handle emotions is a positive way.
Another challenge I found in this region is that children are often placed in institutional care due to family poverty, violence in the home, or disability. Despite strenuous efforts institutional care is often a first resort rather than a last resort. These situations led children to be more vulnerable to violence because of the separation from parents and society. This is harmful to their emotional development because they are also not gaining the opportunity to build strong relationships, handle problems in positive ways, and feel the love and nurture from a family.
As I reflect on the readings, I am saddened to see the trouble many of our children face across the world. As I think about my friend sharing all the wonderful stories of Turkey, I also have to remind myself that she was seeing the world from the outside in and only on the surface, just like a person coming to the United States might see. Each country faces many challenges that in turn can impact our children. One positive aspect is to see that these challenges are identified and ways to eliminate these challenges can now be implemented. As a professional, seeing many of these challenges and stories displays yet another reason why we are not just educators in the academic area, but we must also focus highly on other areas including the emotional component. We are responsible for helping teach our children feel a sense of self worth and build their ability to problem solve in a positive way.I think about a quote I have hear so many times; "children will always remember how you made them feel." This is a constant reminder that we are important role models in each child's life.
Jo,
ReplyDeleteSometimes other people do not realize the importance of our role as educators in the lives of our children and because of that we also see ourselves as people who are just doing our jobs. I think it is about time that we should be proud and let people know the importance of our role in educating our children. I agree with you that we do not only teach them academically but we provide the foundation in children's development making sure that we cover all four developmental areas which are essential to their survival in the future.
Thank you for your great post.
What are some universal methodologies that you believe will help improve the self worth and self esteem of families victimized by poverty?
ReplyDeleteJo I'm an advocate for social justice for the rights of children who lives are affected by the devastation of poverty. My question is can children that live in these types of environment as a child, become productive human being as adults. I'm in the process of doing an independent study on this topic after my graduation from Walden. I'm very eager to know what revenues to take so that I can help make the necessary changes in the lives of these children and their families. Keep up the good work you do as an early educator; for we need more teachers like yourself. Great Blog!
ReplyDeleteJo,
ReplyDeleteI also picked this region and was surprised at how quickly they seem to institutionalize children. I wonder why this is the first answer, and I just assumed because it was the easiest for the government, rather than really solving the problem at hand.
Shannon
Jo,
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that children are placed in an institution as a first resort since that takes them away from their families. I will research more about this. Great Post!