Friday, May 23, 2014

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

I have two contacts I have connected with abroad.

The first of my contacts is Chris Hussey from Early Education—The British Association for Early Childhood Education in London, England. Chris just recently completed his Master’s Degree. Chris is a teacher working for Early Education. According to Chris, his duties at Early Education are a variety of things such as, “editing and proof-reading of our publications and general content, and being the voice of an early years practitioner” (Hussey, Early Childhood Education). My interaction with Chris Hussey is great; he is very thorough in his explanations, and will give me further details about his work and childhood education before I even ask. On the downside, Chris mentioned that he is in and out of the office and may take a while to respond to my e-mails, which could delay some assignments.

My second contact is Nektarios Stellakis from World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP). So far I have not had much contact with Nektarios, although, she has not told me her job title or about her duties, but has responded to my questions about poverty. Nektarios mentioned that poverty is a big issue in Greece, and had risen in 2009. According to Nektarios, “one in three children in Greece live in poverty” (Stellakis, Early Childhood Education). With the OEMP’s limited funding they are not able to help as much as they would like. The OEMP helps poverty-stricken individuals by spreading the word about the issue of poverty.

My exchanges with my partners have taught me how childhood educations in other countries are run. For instance, in London, it is the norm for a child to attend some sort of pre-school education before starting formal school. Luckily, for children in London, there is a major emphasis on play and creativity in the classroom. In regards to poverty, Chris Hussey mentioned that poverty in London is prevalent, and varies by the area.


Reference:
Hussey, Chris. “Re: Early Childhood Education.” Message to Elizabeth Santacruz.. 16 May 2014. E-mail.


Stellakis, Nektarios. “Re: Early Childhood Education.” Message to Elizabeth Santacruz. 12 May 2014. E-mail.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Elizabeth,

    I am glad that you were able to connect with several people for your assignment. I can't wait to hear what they have to say about their country.That was very interesting that Greece has that many children living in poverty. I am happy to hear that London emphasis on play. As I have been researching it seems that poverty is everywhere.
    Thanks for sharing your information.

    LaNea

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Elizabeth,
    I am so glad that you were able to make contact with professionals in or field of study in another country. Chris's experiences sounds so interesting, and at least Nektorios responded with some information about poverty.

    ReplyDelete