EDUC 6990 CAPSTONE: PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD FIELD
This course has increased my interest in Early Childhood literacy. I am now interested in teaching on a larger scope in hopes of decreasing the illiteracy rate and increasing the percentage of college graduates. Education starts with our youth, it is important that we start teaching the basic fundamentals such as reading and writing in early childhood centers and elementary schools. Literacy is an issue that impacts nations globally. It is also an issue that should be addressed globally instead of being ignored when it comes to the minority. My educational experience has been limited to only teaching in the Atlanta Metro area. I have yet to educate children internationally. So far, my teaching background has been in a classroom setting at various early childhood centers and elementary schools in Atlanta. When I began a career in early childhood education, I assumed traveling was not part of my job description. Howeversince taking this class, I have found a few organizations I would love to work with to improve literacy internationally. One organization is the World Literacy Foundation (WLF). This particular organization was founded after CEO Andrew Kay discovered the high illiteracy rates in a United Nations article (Kay By 2003). Kay founded the World Literacy Foundation to transport and distribute books to Africa. Kay wanted to create an online resource of eBooks available in different languages. The World Literacy Foundation also provides tutoring services and multiple literacy resources to students (Kay, n.d.). The fastest way to be involved in the initiatives of the World Literacy Foundation is by organizing my own pop up library and by hosting local book drives. I am also to work remotely as a Blog writer for the WLF that is accessible worldwide.
An interesting point I discovered in developing countries is that only twenty- five percent of young people can actually read. This lack of basic fundamentals has caused a systematic legacy of illiterate generations (Provost, 2014). I am deeply disturbed by that because low or no literacy has detrimental effects on the quality of life. An organization that shares the sentiment in regards to literacy and its effect on quality is Save the Children. This global organization created a program called the Literacy Boost which aims to ensure all children are equipped with the ability to read, write, and perform basic mathematics (“Children’s”, n.d.). Similar to my COP, the Literacy Boost program has realized that students do not always learn the skills they should in the classroom. Because students are not learning as expected, Save the Children has created a supplemental program to improve literacy development. The program involves the community in the process by providing libraries, literacy resources and supplies, and assesses reading skills (“Children’s”, n.d.). The program services over thirty countries throughout the world. There are several ways to be involved with Save the Children. One way is to create an online account with Save the Children which will allow me to log on and read to my children. This approach will give children access to books around the world allowing to broaden reading skills. A more hands on approach to join Save the Children is to become a skilled volunteer. As a skilled volunteer, I am able to work between ten and forty hours a week in selected states within the USA.Although the positions are not paid opportunities, I will allow to build my professional knowledge base and professional relationships in this field of work.
References
Children's Literacy Programs. Retrieved from https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/global-programs/education/literacy-boost
Provost, C. (2014, January 29). One in four young people in developing countries unable to read, says UN. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jan/29/illiteracy-education-young-people-developing-countries
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