The Cultural Competence Improvement Tool(CCIT) deals with the issue of obesity in children of color.  The site talks about how to find a health weight, ranges of weight that have been shown to increase the chances of certain diseases and other health problems.  It talks about how overweight and obesity are measured, the consequences of childhood obesity, and the risk factors of obesity-eating and child feeding behaviors, physical activity, screen time, family history, sleeping patterns, socioeconomic status, and neighborhood environment. They want to get people in different areas to get involved in making our children healthy.  So taking on the issue of how to address the risk, promote healthy physical, psychological, socio-emotional, and cognitive development. 

Childhood obesity is on the increase especially among children of color, and they are taking on the issue in a culturally and linguistically sensitive way. Acknowledging the fact that if you appeal to the culture it is more likely to have an impact, they are using a strenghts-based approach.

The information is presented in an informative way and takes on the issues of money(economists), health issues and how it affects the body(neurosciences), programs that can use the program like after-school, and in the development of healthy school age children, also to enhance any existing health and nutrition curriculum. 

Any issue that we have may be approached in different ways so that it can help in the development of our nation and the development of our children.  The way that mainstream may see an issue may not be the way to approach a culturally diverse world.  I don't see this issue in a new way, but I am happy to see it dealt in a way that can be seen as applying to a different way.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

               It looks like I am going to have to choose to do this assignment with the alternative method, today I can say it looks like it will be ok.  I love to read and this gave me a chance to read about a place would not have usually run across.  I went to read on the Childhood Poverty Research & Policy Centre and saw there is a story about a little boy named Bokyt and his sister whose name is Burulai, they are from Kyrgyz Republic.  The website is no longer funded so I don't know if there will be updates on the two children.  There is a slide show about the lives of these two children that will make you see life in a different way. One of the slide shows shows Burulai washing cups in the market to earn money and the person with her describes her as a smart girl without studying books.  The mother of this little girl says she has given up, but the little girl says she will continue to study so that she can move them into a house.  The little boy that they show works in a mine (perhaps a coal mine) and he works alongside men.  They go down into the mine and load their bags come back up and start it all over again.  There is very little light just the light from their helmets and the spaces are super small to work in.  When he gets home his mother says all she can see are his eyes-he is so dirty and tried.  The slides show the families eating together and there is prayer going on, the little girl has not lost her hope but the little boys looks as if he has.  Kyrgyz Republic is in Central Asia and most of the people speak a Turkic language, they have strong cultural and historical ties. A few interesting facts that I read about the Kyrgyz Republic is that they won a bronze medal for bandy(like ice hockey) in the Asian Winter Games,  they celebrate New Year’s on Jan. 1st, and they may still have what is called bride kidnapping.  Bride kidnapping comes from when an arrange marriage may not be consented and a kidnapping is arranged. They have a game called Ulak Tartysh it is a cross between polo and rugby but played with a goat's carcass and the two teams wrestle for the possession of the goat (talk about culture shock). 

The education system goes from 1-4th as primary and 5-11 for secondary, there may sometimes be a 12 grade.  To get a certificate of completion you must finish 9 grades of school, to receive a state-accredited school diploma you must go 11 years of school and pass four mandatory state tests in writing, math, history, and a foreign language.

China is the most populous country and their education and health levels are higher than in many countries with equitant incomes. China also receives more foreign investment than any other country in the world except for the US. 

The number of children living in ABSOLUTE poverty is 600 million worldwide, and over 10 million children under the age of 5 die every year from preventable diseases.  Out of a 100 children born in 2000, 30 will most likely suffer from malnutrition in the first 5 years of life, 26 will not be immunized, and 19 will lack access to safe drinking water, 40 will not have adequate sanitation, 17 will never go to school.  These numbers show we really need to have policies to protect our children.  The goals of the Millennuim Development Goals are to cut the numbers down by 2015- halving the poverty rate, two thirds the deaths of children under 5, and pushing for primary education for all children.  The only way to make this work is to get the information out there. 

Children of the world need help, and we can be a force of help-one student at a time (maybe a classroom at a time).  We cannot let a child give up before they can even get started.

It looks like I am going to have to choose to do this assignment with the alternative method, today I can say it looks like it will be ok.  I love to read and this gave me a chance to read about a place would not have usually run across.  I went to read on the Childhood Poverty Research & Policy Centre and saw there is a story about a little boy named Bokyt and his sister whose name is Burulai, they are from Kyrgyz Republic.  The website is no longer funded so I don't know if there will be updates on the two children.  There is a slide show about the lives of these two children that will make you see life in a different way. One of the slide shows shows Burulai washing cups in the market to earn money and the person with her describes her as a smart girl without studying books.  The mother of this little girl says she has given up, but the little girl says she will continue to study so that she can move them into a house.  The little boy that they show works in a mine (perhaps a coal mine) and he works alongside men.  They go down into the mine and load their bags come back up and start it all over again.  There is very little light just the light from their helmets and the spaces are super small to work in.  When he gets home his mother says all she can see are his eyes-he is so dirty and tried.  The slides show the families eating together and there is prayer going on, the little girl has not lost her hope but the little boys looks as if he has.  Kyrgyz Republic is in Central Asia and most of the people speak a Turkic language, they have strong cultural and historical ties. A few interesting facts that I read about the Kyrgyz Republic is that they won a bronze medal for bandy(like ice hockey) in the Asian Winter Games,  they celebrate New Year’s on Jan. 1st, and they may still have what is called bride kidnapping.  Bride kidnapping comes from when an arrange marriage may not be consented and a kidnapping is arranged. They have a game called Ulak Tartysh it is a cross between polo and rugby but played with a goat's carcass and the two teams wrestle for the possession of the goat (talk about culture shock). 

The education system goes from 1-4th as primary and 5-11 for secondary, there may sometimes be a 12 grade.  To get a certificate of completion you must finish 9 grades of school, to receive a state-accredited school diploma you must go 11 years of school and pass four mandatory state tests in writing, math, history, and a foreign language.

China is the most populous country and their education and health levels are higher than in many countries with equitant incomes. China also receives more foreign investment than any other country in the world except for the US. 

The number of children living in ABSOLUTE poverty is 600 million worldwide, and over 10 million children under the age of 5 die every year from preventable diseases.  Out of a 100 children born in 2000, 30 will most likely suffer from malnutrition in the first 5 years of life, 26 will not be immunized, and 19 will lack access to safe drinking water, 40 will not have adequate sanitation, 17 will never go to school.  These numbers show we really need to have policies to protect our children.  The goals of the Millennuim Development Goals are to cut the numbers down by 2015- halving the poverty rate, two thirds the deaths of children under 5, and pushing for primary education for all children.  The only way to make this work is to get the information out there. 

Children of the world need help, and we can be a force of help-one student at a time (maybe a classroom at a time).  We cannot let a child give up before they can even get started.

Sharing Web Resources

The website that I chose is stilling working on getting everything posted. The site's name is the National Black Child Development-/http://nbcdi.org/blog/category/early-childhood-education/.  I don't know if it was my internet or their site,  I keep running into fatal error and come back we are still working,  There were many things that I did get to read about, such as the conferences that they have held.  One that caught my eye was one on getting children ready to go to college. It was called the College Zone.  a few other things that I found interesting to read about was the Pre-k-3rd policy it is set up to help children find success in school.  There is a place to sign people up in the District to apply for a scholarship for college it is called T.E.A.C.H. scholarship.  There are places to get information on Child Welfare, Early Childhood Education, health &  Nutrition, literacy and their archives. The goal of the National Black Child Development is to empower and advance the lives of black children and their families.  The way that they plan to acheive  this is by being an advocate and educating.  The approach is a local one, they feel that these are the ones that can better articulate what is needed.  I also like the Black History facts for the week.

Our children still are being looked at in a diffeent way and misunderstood and things may still need to be explained and seen in a different way to make it easier for our children to find success.