Getting to know my International Contacts Part II

When we discussed this topic, my Israeli colleague mentioned that there were different kinds of early childhood education in Israel. Some focus more on academic area while others focus on religious study (Personal conversation, 2012). In Israel, school readiness is also a big topic for debate as teachers use standards/assessments to measure children’s abilities when they enter kindergarten. As an early childhood professional as well as a mom, she doesn’t like the education system there. She believes children should enjoy their childhood and they can learn everything while playing, if teachers provide the provocation and opportunities for them to explore (Personal conversation, 2012). For those schools who offer religious/Jewish studies, they let go all the other important pieces in children’s life and only teach children religious piece. The government doesn’t pay lots of attention in early childhood education and the voice for changing early childhood education is so low that no one can hear that. Moreover, the quality of the teachers is not satisfied thus good early childhood programs are rarely seen in Israel. She is very disappointed about the education there.

After discussing with her, I learned that early childhood education varies in different countries. Depending on the countries’ cultures, early childhood education changes accordingly. One thing in common is that the quality of the early childhood professionals is very important because it is the base of a good program. Moreover, the support from the government is always crucial, no matter what countries there are.