I have sent out over twenty emails to early childhood professionals outside of the United States and have not received a single one back. I loved reading the things that my peers have learned from their contacts from other countries and I gained a lot of insight from reading about their conversations. I have been really disappointed that I have yet to establish a contact like I was hoping to. I have noticed that those who do have that outside connection gained it because of a previous relationship that was already established. The only thing that keeps me from being really jealous is the fact that I love reading about their conversations with their contacts!
I also chose to explore the NAEYC website this semester. I signed up for a newsletter on week one. I still hadn't received one on week two, so I signed up again for the free newsletter. We are now on week three and still no newsletter. If one ever comes, I will be happy to fill you guys in on it!
I decided to look at Jamaica this week on the UNICEF website. My family will be going there this summer. I know that Jamaica is a popular vacation site with beautiful resorts and vacation spots. However, I assume that there is the Jamaica that us vacationers get to see, and then there is the other story of Jamaica. I assumed correctly. The national gross income in the united states is about $50, 000. It is $5,000 in Jamaica. I also compared the educational statistics of Jamaica and of the USA. Although Jamaica's were lower, they were not as drastically low as I would have suspected.
Child molestation is a huge problem in Jamaica. The UNICEF website stated that a large number of men in Jamaica felt that it was their right to have sex with children under their care. This is something that is not talked about. Jamaica residents know that it goes on and that it is very prevalent, but it is just swept under the rug, or accepted as one of the ugly parts of every day life. This is speculated to also be one of the reasons that the HIV rate in Jamaica is so high. People and organizations have started to campaign for Jamaicans to start speaking out against sexual molestation and to start fighting against it.
There has also been many years of civil unrest in Jamaica. Children in this country have been exposed to horrific violence, fighting, and gun fire. This has resulted in many social, emotional, and behavioral problems in small children. Teachers in Jamaica have recently started to be trained in play therapy, art therapy, and other interventions to use in the early childhood education field in order to help children learn to deal with the violence that they have been exposed to.
The rate of violent discipline in Jamaica is also very high. The rate on the UNICEF website is 88.9%. I wanted to compare this to the USA rate, but there was not one given. This high rate of violent discipline of children made me think of another problem in Jamaica, which is the incarceration of children. Many children in Jamaica are imprisoned for "uncontrollable behavior". They are incarcerated at young ages in the same prisons as adults. As a resident of a country that does not incarcerate their children, this is quite a shock to me. Again, people and organizations are starting to fight against this and are looking for alternative ways to work with the children that do not include putting them in prison. However, it remains a problem.
Shana,
ReplyDeleteHow exciting that you are traveling to Jamaica! While it is often times troubling as a tourist to know that there is this dramatic gap in development between the tourist areas and the rest of the nation, it is important to support the tourism industry in countries like Jamaica because tourism is the engine that provides jobs and livelihood to much of the nation. I just always try to remember to tip generously and show kindness and gratefulness to the locals I meet.
Thank you for sharing with us about the difficult topic of sexual violence in Jamaica. While it is difficult to talk about, I think that this is a topic that is really important for people to bring to the surface and begin to combat. I am glad to hear that local communities in Jamaica are already starting to address this. I hope that they find international support and success in their work.
Thank you for sharing!
Amy