Sharing Web Resources

The Association for Childhood Education International has been a very interesting and informative sight to study. I particularly found interest in the section on Global Summit on Childhood and their annual conference. This is important to my professional development because it allows early childhood professionals to come together to learn new and informing information, as well as the different issues that are affecting children and their families. As stated by ACEI, “the  Executive Board has opted to offer Summits on Childhood throughout the Decade. This will provide continuity to the discussions on childhood and hopefully provide continuity for relationship building and collegial networking as well” (2012, p.1). Being able to network with other early childhood professionals is very important to professional development.

Also, while reading the different articles on the website, I did read something that made me feel controversial, as well as, something that made me think about children’s rights and the association of businesses. I read an article entitled, Children’s Rights and Business Principles. There was a sentence that read, “at the close of the launch, difficult questions and considerations were brought out, particularly concerning how to mainstream children's rights and how to make them a business driver, as opposed to a set of requirements” (ACEI, 2012, p.1) The article had some great things to say concerning children, but I am a bit confused by the statement.

In addition, the website also highlighted how different countries and politicians have supported equal rights for the education of all children. India has upheld new laws concerning all children be able to get a quality education regardless of income. I think this shows how people from different countries are starting to see the importance of quality early childhood education.

In conclusion, I found an amazing amount of information concerning topics such as; gender discrimination in education, child poverty in economically advanced countries, global trends and more. One important thing I learned from researching the website is that children all over the world suffer from the same things. Poverty, poor nutrition, lack of quality education, and other issues seem to plague children worldwide. All of these things are issues that have to get better in order for children to have a fighting chance at becoming successful in their adult lives.

References:

Association for Childhood Education International. ACEI Upcoming Conference Schedule (2012). Exploring new ways of joining together. Retrieved online from,

            http://www.acei.org/acei-news/acei-upcoming-conference-schedule.html