Sharing Web Resources- Harlem Children's Zone

For the last couple weeks I have studied the Harlem Children’s Zone website. At the heart of their work is the desire to prevent another generation of young people in Harlem from being lost to poverty. I found this organization to be very inspirational in decreasing poverty in a section of New York that often falls prey to this issue.

As I visited the website, the section that caught my attention was the issues that this organization addresses. One issue that I have educated myself enormously on this week is poverty. In an article by the founder of HCZ, Geoffrey Canada, titled “Winning the War on Poverty through Education,” Canada talks about his fulfillment in ending the long-lost war on poverty and providing a high quality education for all children. This information is particularly relevant to my current professional development because there is so much that I can do as an educator to help end this war on poverty. Children should not have to suffer such an ordeal and more importantly, every child should have a means to education.

What I found interesting on the website is how HCZ has this elaborate growth plan that benefits only the children in Harlem. I really commend Canada for initiating such a great organization that has turned many of the lives of children and their families in Harlem around. What about the rest of the cities in the country that are overpowered by poverty? What can we do to ensure that they have a growth plan that focuses on the children and their education? I feel that if there is a way to get funds to this particular program, then there should be a way to get funds to other programs as well that are deemed effective in the early childhood field.

I actually ran across a current article via the website that was published just yesterday announcing Geoffrey Canada as the recipient of the second Harvard Graduate School of Education Medal for Education Impact, the highest honor given by the Ed School. Clearly, economists, neuroscientists, and politicians give a huge thanks to a man who has devoted his life to the succession of all children. No one really has a problem investing in this program because its outcomes are unbelievable. This organization is life-changing for children who thought maybe an education was out of the question. With an organization like HCZ, the future is very bright for not only children and their families but for this nation.

There are so many good people out there who have devoted their life to children and their future. It is one of the reasons why I decided to go into the early childhood field in the first place. I wanted to reach children at an age that is the most important in gearing them in the right direction. I learned that yeah, poverty is out there but just acknowledging it is just the beginning. Educators like Geoffrey Canada founded an organization that has proven successful beyond the eyes of society. It is amazing what a vision can start out to be and what it grows to become. I know that the early childhood field is a field worth investing in because children are the essence of this world. We need them more than we know. It is truly great what great insights I gained from exploring HCZ’s website. It is one of the many successful organizations that are leading us into a brighter future.

Getting To Know Your International Contacts- Part 1

I still have not received any response from the three early childhood professionals from South Africa, Philippines, and Bulgaria. I am not giving up hope because I know that even if I received one email from one of the professionals that I can learn a great deal about early childhood education from their standpoint.

I listened to the podcast of Susan Lyon on the World Forum Radio. After her encountered with a young boy’s conception of the word “city,” she began pondering about the way children think. This led her to bring the “100 Languages of Children” exhibit to the San Francisco Bay area (the Northern side) subsequently visiting Reggio Emilia. Upon deeper inspection of listening to the podcast with Susan Lyon, I learned that she communicates her passion for young children and how children see and understand the world around them.  Throughout her professional career she found ways to advocate for young children through her projects and exhibits.  It is with these projects that opened the door for collaboration between public and private schools, discussion groups, round tables, and professional development.  

After reading about all the countries presented to me on poverty on the website of the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s page, the one that really intrigued me was Kyrgyzstan. I was unaware of some of the information that this website displayed. Even though Kyrgyzstan’s health and education levels are still much higher than in countries with a similar income, I still find it troubling how the use of kindergartens has declined from 30 per cent at independence to 6 per cent in 2001. Kindergarten is an important year for all young children to grow and develop certain skills that are vital to learning.

Three insights that I gained from studying the website are as followed:

• The importance of education in young children’s lives is vital. Education helps in the development of young children, physically, mentally, and socially.
• Poverty is perceived as being generational and we have to do everything in our power to prevent poverty cycles.
• No child under the age of 16 should be working in any country. School should be the number one priority. 

Sharing Web Resources

Last week, I was asked to contact two early childhood professionals from around the world. At first, I e-mailed seven early childhood professionals. I then realized out of those seven early childhood professionals, only four bounced back. I haven’t heard anything from the other three but I am waiting patiently. I took it upon myself to email nine more early childhood professionals but all nine of those bounced back. So, in total I e-mailed sixteen early childhood professionals.

In the meantime, I did the alternative assignment on the early childhood organization The Harlem’s Children Zone. The link to the website is http://www.hcz.org/. The Harlem’s Children Zone is one of many early childhood organizations that main focus is ending poverty for children and their families. It is an organization that is helping make a difference for children and families who did not believe in a better outcome in life. I liked what I saw on the website so I decided to subscribe to the newsletter. The types of issues that The Harlem’s Children Zone newsletter addresses are community, education, children, poverty, and health. The newsletter does a great job focusing on all of its issues.

Out of all the issues that the website presented to me, one issue that caught my attention was the education. Since 1970, The Harlem’s Children Zone has worked with families of young children who missed school on a daily basis. The goal of The Harlem’s Children Zone is to get all of their children into and through college successfully through a wide range of programs. They operate pre-school programs, after-school programs, and high-quality charter schools.  It is really quite remarkable what this organization is achieving with the children and families of Harlem.

Besides cultural diversity, I learned that there are many other issues that need to be addressed in the early childhood program such as poverty, health, and community. Every child needs to be in a community that supports and encourages education. We all have to work together to ensure that our children’s future is bright. 

Contacts for Early Childhood Professionals Around the World

Over the last couple of days, I have waited patiently for one out of the seven early childhood professionals that I have contacted to e-mail me back. Six out of the seven early childhood professionals that I contacted bounced back (the one from Philippines). Hopefully, my contact from the Philippines will contact me soon. In the meantime, I will search for additional early childhood professionals and will let my fellow colleagues know any leads that I may get. I sent e-mails to South Africa, China, Philippines, Singapore, Hungary, Ireland, and Lithuania. My e-mail went like this:

My name is Stacy Thomas. I am in my fourth Masters Course in Education at Walden University Online. As my first assignment, I was asked to establish contacts with early childhood professionals around the world. I am interested in developing a professional relationship with you so that I can gain insights from how early childhood education over there is different from here in America. Thus, from the insights I gain from our conversations, I hope to take some of the advice that you share with me and implement them in some of my classes. Over the next eight weeks, if you decide to communicate with me once a week, I would love to learn as much as possible about your work, the state of the early childhood field in your country, your concerns, as well as your hopes and dreams. My email address is stacy.thomas9767@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you soon!

Stacy Thomas

With the websites that were provided for me to study, the early childhood organization that caught my attention was The Harlem's Children Zone. I know for a fact that it is a community-based organized that is specifically designed to enhance the quality of life for children and families. I have never been to New York but if I ever decided to visit one day, I would be honor to contribute my time to such an organization. I remember watching 60 Minutes a couple months ago and how impactful I found the segment on The Harlem's Children Zone. It is amazing how even education still perserveres when life is trying to knock it down. I have really enjoyed studying this website and I definitely look forward to learning fresh information on the topic.

I know that I have not established any contacts, but for those who have, was it a difficult process to tackle? And if so, how did you find the means to not give up?

My Supports

What is support? Is it knowing that someone is there to catch you when you have fallen? It is having someone who you trust to listen to you when you have had a bad day? Or is it team work? Support is all of the things I just listed and many more. Support is need in every day especially in my classroom setting.

There are several factors that I view within my daily environment that are supportive to me. Here are just a few factors I feel are a great deal of importance:

• Effective communication. I need to be able to have meaningful conversations with others. Without effective communication, my life would seem meaningless. I enjoy talking to others. Especially my students and their parents. It would kill me knowing that nothing worthy is coming out of my communication.
• My family. Family means everything to me. I do not know who I would be without my family. I talk to my mom and my sister every day. Blood is thicker than water and I feel that if it was not for my family, I would not be where I am today. There were times when I had to ask my mom for help with my children and she was always there to watch them for me. My life would be a wreck without my family and that is a fact.
• My calendar. I have every appointment to every event that my children are in on my calendar. It also helps me to know what day it is. I feel a calendar is a support for everybody. If I did not have my calendar, how would I know what are the plans for that day? My calendar is very important to me.
• My car. Now I think I can speak for everybody who has a job how important it is to have a car. Gas prices have gone down a tad but still not enough to see people smiling when they have to put $40-$60 worth of gas in their cars. My car supports me to get to wherever I need to go. Without my car, I would have to walk to work and that is not a good thing.
• Team work. I work with my students' parents to reach a common goal: to ensure that every child reaches their full potential in my classroom. There is no "I" in "team." Nobody can achieve anything alone. We always need to lend a hand to others.
• My cell phone. All my contacts are in my cell phone. I think everybody has a cell phone and to some extent that cell phone is ALWAYS with them. Technology has taken a toll on today's generations but cell phones holds a great importance in not only my life but in others' as well. Without my cell phone, to be honest, I might go half crazy.

These are just a few of the many factors that supports me in my daily life. As one can see, many of the factors I had ranged from emotional to physical support. Either way it goes, support is support. I was asked to imagine myself with a specific challenge, one that I do not currently have. The challenge I chose is the inability to speak. How would I communicate with others effectively? How would I support this challenge that I have? These are the questions that sticks in my mind. When I think about what kind of supports I would want and need emotionally, practically, and physically, the first thing that comes to mind is that I would not want people to look at or treat me differently. I would just not have the ability to talk and I know how quick people are to approach those with disabilities. That is basically what this whole blog is about. To show how important support is not only for those without disabilities but those with disabilities as well.

Here are just a few factors I feel that will support me with my new found challenge:

• Patience. I would appreciate it greatly if everybody were to take the time to communicate with me (in this case, ASL (American Sign Language) would be used). One thing I dislike is when people are impatient. That is why I take the time with my students' families to build relationships with them. Without patience, I feel that nothing can be accomplished.
• Languge acquisition. In this case, I would have to learn along with my friends and loved ones sign language. I wouldn't necessarily look at this as a downfall though. Acquiring a new language is always a plus. I feel it would strengthen me as an individual and support me in a tramatic way.

Support comes in all shapes and sizes. Support is getting what you need on a daily basis. In the words of Muhammad, "Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave."

My Connections To Play

"It is better to play than do nothing." -Confucius

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." -Plato

These are just two of the many quotes that I feel summarizes what play represented for me in childhood. There was not a day where you did not catch me outside playing with my cousins. Play is the best way to discover a lot about a person. Confucius and Plato could not have said it better. It has been said that play is children's work. Children work hard at their play because they can make it up themselves. The best part about children's play is that they learn a great deal while having fun. I can recall a few of the play items I used to play with as a child.

I can remember it as if it was yesterday. I used to LOVE to jump rope. I cannot even remember why I stopped jump roping but it sure made my childhood a whole lot of fun!



My Big Wheel! I'm a big kid now! I used to think I was so cool riding down the street in my Big Wheel. Nobody could tell me anything and I was in control. I had fun racing with actual cars. I even had some scars from falling off my Big Wheel. This was my baby.

Franny was what I named her. My baby doll. I carried her everywhere with me. The store, the mall, when I took a bath, you name it. Franny was there.

It is so funny how easily I forgot about all the play items I admired as a child. My mom was always supporting play when I was younger. She prepared me to be road safe. She prepared me for walking and cycling independently by telling me and showing me from an early age how I can keep myself safe on and around roads. She also familiarized me with the neighborhood. We walked and cycled in the local area and she helped me to identify safer routes to play spaces and other places I needed to access independently in our community. There was not moment where my mom was not actively supporting play in my childhood. I thank her for that. The role of play in my childhood was huge. I do not I would be as sociable as I am without the chance to play with fellow peers of mine. Play gave me the opportunity to conquer my fears and to have fun. I would not trade that in for the world.

Play today is very different from the play in which I engaged as a child. Play is of central importance in a child’s life. Despite its central importance in children’s healthy development, play—in the creative, open-ended sense in which I use the term—is now seriously endangered in the United States and many other countries. It is being pushed out of children’s lives for a number of reasons. For one, children have become dependent on electronic entertainment: television, videos, and computers. Secondly, kindergarten programs in the U.S. focus so strongly on teaching literacy, numeracy, and other academic subjects that many children no longer have time to play in kindergarten. Thirdly, this academic approach to early learning is shifting downward. Three- and four-year-olds are now expected to engage in far more early writing and reading activities than ever before. This should not be a requirement for young children. Lastly, the amount of time spent in sports and other organized activities for young children has increased greatly in the past thirty years, beginning with pre-schoolers, so that children have little time for their own play activities. I hope that by some miracle we as educators can involve play into children's lives again. Depriving play from them is just going to affect them academically, socially, mentally, and emotionally. We do not want this to happen. We want to see the sparkle in children's eyes because they are having fun and learning.

I had such a great childhood mainly due to the fact that I was given the chance to be a kid. I did not have responsibilities or had to worry about school standards at such a young age. I was given the opportunity to have fun without any consequences. I just feel the U.S. along with several other countries has lost sight of what play represents in children's lives. No child should have to bear the thought of not having recess. That is just cruel and unusual punishment. I believe that even has we enter adulthood, play still has a significant role in our lives, especially if we have children of our own. We are all a kid at heart.

Relationship Reflection

It's funny to even think about how some of the relationships I have gotten myself into have even started! But, out of all of the relationships I have developed and maintained, one thing remains evident in my mind: importance. In order for me to have a "relationship" with another person, they have to mean a great deal of importance to me. Relationships/partnerships are important to me because I can learn about the interests people have, form a connection, and develop life-long friendships.



With equal importance is my favorite cousin, Charlisa. My relationship with her is important because I practically watched her as a baby. I've had the pleasure of watching her grow up from a baby to a beautiful young lady. I enjoy the fact that she calls me from time to time to check up on me and my children. I am always there for her when she needs me and she is there for me when I need a babysitter (ha ha).



Shelbie is my oldest child. She is my life and my heart. My relationship with her is positive because I continue to be involved in her life. I make her feel love and let her know that I love her as I do my youngest child, Braylon. They are both my pride and joy and gets and deserves nothing but the best from me.

Besides my children and Charlisa, I have positive relationships with several people. They include my mother, my older sister, Shawndrae, my cousins, my aunts, my co-workers, my children' fathers, and God.

Of course, every relationship I have is different. With my sister, it's on a bonding level. Most siblings don't get along as adults. Well, it was the opposite for my sister and I. We didn't get along as children and now she's like the best friend I've always wanted. We talk almost everyday and always give and ask each other for advice on anything. With my childrens' father, however, it's on parenting level. I have to have a positive relationship with them for the sake of my children. Factors that contribute to developing and maintaining each relationship are patience, work, communication, strength, compromising, acceptance, and time. It takes time and work to develop relationships and it take times and work to maintain them. I didn't expect to not end up with the father of my children but I had to adjust to that. My relationship with them is specifically about the children.

As I have mentioned, it takes patience and communication to develop and maintain relationships. Over the years, I have learned that often my patience is very limited and my communication is not very thorough. I had to discover that with my children' fathers. We may disagree on things but in the end, communication and patience is the best way to go. I learned that in order to move forward, effective communication is needed and that may take practice. That's okay. Nobody's perfect and we're only human. The good thing is that I learned from my mistakes and so have my children' fathers and we can now discuss anything without emotions getting in the way.

My experiences with relationships/partnerships, including my ability to be an active, reflective contributor, impacts my work as an effective early childhood professional by revealing that every relationship I am in is what I make of it. I have to form positive relationships with families and their children in order to understand what the child's needs are and then using them in the class setting. Sure, I might get frustrated with separating my personal relationships from school relationships but that is what being an effective early childhood professional is all about. Finding a balance in it all. You can find out so much about a person by simply forming relationships with them. That's the approach that educators like myself need to involve in a class setting. Relationships are what you make them.