Courteney+K+SE

= ** THE BABY ACADEMY ** =

Link to The Baby Academy Website

**FIRST, WATCH THIS VIDEO:** media type="youtube" key="M_cQeYKK2-A" width="425" height="350" **THEN, READ THE FOLLOWING:** **A:**

Before Dina Abdel Wahab came along, there was no help available for babies and children with disorders. Most preschools were just babysitting children, not educating or preparing them for school and life. (On top of this, only 4% of preschoolers in the Middle East even get a chance to attend preschool.)

When Dina's first child was born, no one knew that he had Down Syndrome, it wasn't until much later that friends and family noticed odd behaviors from little Ali. Dina wanted her son to be around normal children his age since it is not good for a child with Down Syndrome to be left alone or with children like him/herself. After realizing that no preschool in Egypt could fit the needs of her child, Dina decided to start her own preschool--a place that would not be just a daycare center.

Today, The Baby Academy is booming with 20% of its students having disabilities--this is a huge percentage considering the fact that Egyptian schools do not integrate normally functioning children with disabled children. Dina is considering franchising the academy and working with the government to bring The Baby Academy to those who could normally not afford it.
 * "I didn't want to change my son's lifestyle, so I decided to try to change society."**

So, what exactly is so special about The Baby Academy? Well, it is the first educational facility for preschoolers that actually focus on teaching--teaching both social, emotional, and educational ways to succeed. In order to qualify as a teacher at The Baby Academy, an applicant for a teaching position MUST have graduated from a university, speak fluent English, French, German (depending on the region work in), motivated, insightful to behavior of children, etc. Teachers are trained in Child Psychology, Behavior Modification/ Discipline, First Aid, Speech and Language Development, Teaching through Play, and Teaching Techniques. Each station of The Baby Academy comes fully equipped with a doctor (in case of emergencies), a learning specialist, a speech and language development therapist, and a child psychologist.

Visit the web to read more.


 * "Being an entrepreneur I had the flexibility of doing what I really believe in. In my past development work there was too much bureaucracy, too many agendas. Now I could put away the papers and be there to give what I felt the children needed."**


 * B:**



Since The Baby Academy does not publicize the information of its students, it is difficult to come up with specific names of the benefactors of this educational establishment. There are approximately two million disabled people in Egypt alone, and around half of them are children. In the Middle East, "special" children are gathered into "special" classes although it is better for them to be in a normal class, and only 1% of disabled students receive any help from the government. These children can go to The Baby Academy to be enrolled in class wit normal children their age.

The re ader may be asking, "Why would parents send their normal children to go to school with disabled children?" The Baby Academy has a better educational system than other educational institutions in Egypt, and-proven by the academy's success-parents believe that this education outweighs the other odds. Normal children befriend disabled children, and as they get along, their parents do as well. This is also beginning to reduce prejudice against disabled children and adults.

In the next 5 years, Dina plans to open 4 more schools--3 in Egypt and 1 in another Arab country.

Visit the [|web] to learn more.

** NOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THE BABY ACADEMY, THINK OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: ** 1. How could franchising The Baby Academy change the quality of the education and care taking of babies and preschoolers?

2. Would franchising The Baby Academy be a cogent financial move? Keep in mind that Egypt's GDP is similar to that of China, and not everyone will be able to afford it.

3. Is a preschool education all that necessary? We all talking about children under the age of 5, won't they benefit from being at home and spending time with parents, too?

4. Government intervention often means that a big sum of money will be put in--is publicizing The Baby Academy a safe move? It is good for society, but what about the reality of financial risk?

5. Just how necessary is this business? How did it achieve such economic success? Think of the demand--which is probably high considering that a preschool education is not very available in the Middle East. Think of the supply--this is a pretty recent phenomenon, and only available in certain locations.  __**BIBLIOGRAPHY **__ http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/meet/wahab.html (link) http://www.gozoorgroup.com/refrences/baby/program.html (link)  http://word.world-citizenship.org/wp-archive/362 (link)

You can click on any of the "links" to visit the websites.