Time Well Spent

Throughout my Masters in Early Childhood Studies I have learned a lot about myself and others.  I have relearned the value of self-reflecting and how it benefits both you and your mission.  I have learned and redefined my passion in the early childhood field.  I found that I am very passionate about the inclusion of all children, especially the young children that demonstrate challenging behaviors.  I am a firm believer that all young children should have high quality, safe and equitable education and care no matter what their ethnicity, race, gender, ability level, or family type.  During this program I learned about research and how important it is for the early childhood field.  I also take with me the knowledge about diversity and now understand that it is a long hard journey that begins with me taking a little step and is a lifelong process.   

Saying good bye is a hard thing to do. 

I want to thank all my colleagues that have supported, commented, and shared their ideas with me.  Without your support this program would not be meaningful.  You are what made this program successful for me.  I hope that we stay connected with each other.  Thank you for helping me grow and improve my abilities to make social change in the early childhood field.

If you want to keep in touch with me, my email address is mcghees4@yahoo.com.  I hope that we can continue to support each other on our journey.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

1. Save the Children can offer you the chance to work alongside focused, inspiring people and play an important part in ensuring we keep our promises to children. They are committed to helping children and families help themselves.

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.BF0B/Home.htm

Job Opportunities

1. U.S. Headquarters Positions

Headquartered in Westport, Connecticut with a major office in Washington D.C., our staff is a diverse group of people working in a variety of specialties including:

• Program and policy work in the areas of U.S. programs, Child Protection and HIV/AIDs, Education and Child Development, Health and Nutrition, Hunger and Livelihoods and Humanitarian Response.
• Marketing & Communications
• Resource Development
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Information Services

2. U.S. Field-Based Positions

Save the Children runs and coordinates programs for children and families in 29 states across the country. Our field-based positions work with local and national partners to implement programs in Early Childhood and Education, Literacy, Nutrition and Exercise.

3. International Field-Based Positions
Our U.S. headquarters also recruits a limited number of qualified individuals to support field-based programs in a variety of International locations. In addition Save the Children International and 30 national Save the Children organizations around the world also recruit for positions overseas.

“All children deserve access to high quality, stimulating, developmentally appropriate early childhood care and education. We believe that early intervention promotes the healthy growth and development not just of individual children, but of entire communities” (ICRI, n.d.). This organization believes in helping families and children with the necessary resources to overcome poverty.

http://www.icrichild.org/

The only job posting was for a marketing intern, the qualifications are:

The ideal candidate will have:

• Some experience creating and implementing marketing strategies and programs in various marketing segments including but not limited to print, branding, online and social media
• Ability to effectively work in a team environment
• Ability to influence and communicate successfully
• A deep-rooted commitment to changing the world

The International Step by Step Association (ISSA) is a membership organization that connects professionals and organizations working in the field of early childhood development and education. ISSA promotes equal access to quality education and care for all children, especially in the early years of their lives. Established in the Netherlands in 1999, ISSA’s network today stretches across the globe from Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia, Asia, and the Americas.

http://www.issa.nl/index.html

I did not find any job openings on this cite.

Resources

International Child Resource Institute. (n.d.).  International Child Care Resource Institute homepage.
                Retrieved October 12, 2013, fromhttp://www.icrichild.org/

International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2013,
                from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved October 12, 2013, from
                http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

The following is the website for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).  I have used this organization for much of my studies at Walden. It has helped to keep me informed of new information concerning early childhood.  NAEYC has also provided me with needed resources and gives opportunities to build networks among colleagues.  It also offers learning and research opportunities. A position that I would be interested posted on this site is Regional Technical Assistance and Special Projects Manager. I will meet all the qualifications when I obtain my M.S. in Early Childhood Education.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) at http://www.naeyc.org/

Division for Early Childhood (DEC) is an international organization that specializes in early childhood with a focus on children that have special needs.  Within this organization you have research opportunities, professional development, leaders, students, and policies.  There is also a discussion forum to participate in. The position that I would be most interested in with this organization is Specialty Set: Initial Early Childhood and Early Intervention Special Education. For this position I will meet all the qualifications when I obtain my M.S. in Early Childhood Education.

Division for Early Childhood (DEC) at http://www.dec-sped.org

The Children’s Defense Fund. The mission of the Children’s Defense Fund is, “to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities” (Children’s Defense Fund, 2012). There weren’t any positions open that interest me.

References

Children’s Defense Fund. (2012).  Our history.  Retrieved from
            http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Division for Early Childhood. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dec-sped.org

National Association for the Education of Young Children.  (n.d.).  NAEYC mission
            statement.  Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/about/mission

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

1. New River Valley Association for the Education of Young Children. The following is the national, state and local websites for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).  I am a member of this organization and I feel that it has helped to keep me informed of new information concerning early childhood.  NAEYC has also provided me with needed resources and gives opportunities to build networks among colleagues.  It also offers learning and research opportunities.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) at http://www.naeyc.org/

NRVAECE at  http://www.vaece.org/localchapters_NRVAECE.html

Mission: NRVAECE is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs and championing the rights of young children.

To fulfill its mission, NRVAECE will:

• Support families and professionals who want to ensure the best beginning possible   for every child
• Nurturing and respecting all young children
• Professional growth for our members
• Quality programs, which are developmentally appropriate and reflect current finding in our field
• The importance of maintaining high standards of professional conduct
• Continuing to be open to new ideas and willing to learn from the suggestions of others

 Job opportunity available through this organization that interests me: This organization will help provide me with the information and resources needed to open my own early childhood education center.

2. Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia. This government agency works specifically to provide services and supports to infants and toddlers through age two who need early intervention due to signs of developmental delay. I am extremely interested in following and supporting the growth and development of infants and toddlers and doing what I can to provide the structure and support in their everyday lives to bring that about.

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/early_childhood/index.shtml

Job opportunity available through this organization that interests me:

Early Childhood Program Manager

POSITION REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS: Master’s degree with management and leadership experience, including supervisory experience; or an equivalent combination of training and experience. License as RN, OT, Educator, PT, and Speech Pathology encouraged. Knowledge of early childhood development, growth, needs, services, fiscal planning, grant writing, state standards regarding early intervention and Part C, service coordination, social services system, and private agencies dealing with children for the age of 0 to 3 years.

3. The Virginia Infant and Toddler Specialist Network. The goal of this organization are to improve the quality of care and education that infants and toddlers receive while away from their primary caregiver. Increase the educational level and competencies of infant and toddler caregivers/teachers and director. Promote community connections to increase awareness and use of available resources and services that support healthy, safe, and nurturing care for infants and toddlers. Implement an effective, efficient, and accountable infant and toddler specialist system and increase its capacity to offer services.

http://www.va-itsnetwork.org/

Job opportunity available through this organization that interests me:

VA ITSN Statewide Director

Education:  A Master’s degree from an accredited institution in infant and toddler or early childhood education, child development, or a related field.

Qualifications: Must be a highly motivated individual with excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills. Must have knowledge and understanding of early childhood programs, infant and toddler development and group care, Part C, Early Head Start, infant/child mental health, and experience working with child care or other early care settings. Must exercise independent judgment and initiative in oversight and management responsibilities of the VA ITSN. Must be able to collaborate and facilitate linkages with other early childhood leaders within the state. Must have a background in adult learning, personnel management and leadership, teamwork, program development and evaluation, knowledge of the Virginia professional development system, and best practices in early childhood development. Must be a strong team leader. Must possess a valid driver’s license issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia and be able to travel independently by car, air, or train to attend meetings and conferences and deliver presentations. Must be able to effectively use the telephone and must possess the skills and ability to use equipment necessary to carry out job responsibilities (e.g. computer, telephone, and fax machine).

My Wordle

<a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/7006205/Early_Childhood_" 
          title="Wordle: Early Childhood "><img
          src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/7006205/Early_Childhood_"
          alt="Wordle: Early Childhood "
          style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd"></a>

http://www.wordle.net/gallery?username=Catherine

Thank You

Well here we are another 8 weeks gone by and we are at the end of another course. I want to say a special THANK YOU to each and every one of you for whom I would not have been able to make it!!!! You have all been so very supportive and informative, I can’t say thank you enough. I hope the best for all of you as we enter into our specializations. I hope to keep in touch with you all as we journey through our specializations. I am going into the Administrative, Leadership and Management courses; I hope to see some of you there.

Catherine

Adjouring

The hardest group I had to adjourn from was my cohort at Virginia Intermont where I received my Bachelor’s Degree. We were a group of 15 to start and dwindled down to only 4. We were there for each other and built wonderful friendships. After we graduated we all kept in touch for about a year or so, now I am only in contact with one other. It is sad that we built such a wonderful bond and now we don’t even know where the others are in their lives and careers.

It will be hard to once again adjourn from such a wonderful and supportive group of colleagues. I believe that we all have the same vision in mind. We all have a passion for children (at least I hope we all do). We all want to make a difference. We all want to make a change in society. With that being said, I will always feel connected to my colleagues for these reasons. I will always know in my heart that we are serving our purpose. I do not believe we would be in this degree program if we were planning to do otherwise.

I do believe that we need closer so that we can experience our success as well as build new relationships for our future endeavors. I am taking the Administrative, Leadership and Management endorsement for this degree; hopefully I will see some of you there also.

Conflict Management

This week I had a conflict with my youngest son, he is 19. He still lives at home, dropped out of college and quit his job. We are constantly arguing about his education and employment. He gets very defensive when I mention him going back to college or getting a job.

I have learned this week to incorporate cooperative strategies by striving to produce a solution that will benefit the both of us (O’Hare & Wiemann, 2013). We sat down and came up with a compromise that seems to benefit the both of us. He decided not to go to college right now but will keep an open mind about it. He also agreed to get a part-time job and I will continue to help him with the insurance on his car, as long as he is working.

The three R’s (respectful, reciprocal and responsive) may positively impact communication by using them as a guide to communicating. The three R’s were very beneficial in our conflict resolution. We have learned to respect each other’s opinion. I had to learn to respect him not going to school and he had to respect my needing him to pay some of his bills. We were both very responsive to our agreement.

Reference

O’Hair, D. & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. Boston, MA:
                Bedford’s/St. Matin’s.  

Evaluating My Communication Skills

After taking the evaluations of myself I realized better of how I communicate. I am an empathetic listener and very trusting of others. I can have a conversation and not attack the individual person but the position. I do well speaking in small groups but am very uncomfortable in a large group or in front of others, this one I knew. My husband did the evaluation of me and he knows me so well, we came up with the same answers. My colleague, my teachers’ assistant, came up with similar scores as well, but she did see me as being more confident in speaking in public. Both saw me as an empathetic listener and an overall respectful communicator. I have learned that I need to have more courage in speaking in public and that I am very self-conscious about how I speak.

Communication with Others

I do feel that I communicate differently with different groups of people. When I am at home with my family or friends my communication is more relaxed and I don’t worry about how I sound. When I am with the families I work with, children and colleagues I am more aware of how I sound and try to take their feelings into consideration. At home we just cut up and carry on not worrying about what the other thinks because that is who we are. I have even had friends ask us how my husband and I have been together for so long, since we were 15 years old, if we don’t get along; I just have to laugh and say we do get along this is just how we do it.

Professional I try to listen better and give good vibes from my body language. As an early childhood educator it is important for me to put aside any biases while communicating with others, to have an open mind and to be considerate of their beliefs and feelings.

Communication Within A Television Show

I recorded an episode of “How I Met Your Mother”, my son watches it but I have never sat down to see what it is about. With the sound off I observed that this was a group of friends, they laugh, hug and meet at a local restaurant. They seem happy with each other and seem to like each other’s company. They seemed to be very comfortable and relaxed talking to each other. There seemed to be many relationships among this group of friends but I could not tell who was with who except for one couple that was always holding hands and sitting together.

With the sound on I was not surprised to find out that I was right about the one couple, but I thought maybe there was another on but it turns out that they are just friends. There conversations were for the most part pleasant but the one character Barney seems to be the trouble maker.

If I had been watching a show that I knew well I do believe that my assumptions would have been more on target because I would have known who was with who and about their relationships.

Communication

When thinking of who demonstrates competent communication within a particular context my center director, Linda was the first one to come to mind. She has a way of explaining what she is trying to by using examples and descriptive speaking. She uses ideas and personal situations that others can relate to and have a better understanding.

I hope to be able to communicate as well as she does with our families, staff, and in everyday conversations.

This is very effective with her communication with parents as well.