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 "
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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.

Professional Hopes and Goals

As I look back over the past eight weeks and begin to think about working with children and families who come from very different and diverse backgrounds I hope that I can offer an environment that has trusting relationships, love, compassion, patience, respect, and consideration for all children and families that I come in contact with. This course has really touched my heart in so many ways.  One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that each child and family is provided with the services they need in order for their children to be successful in school and within the community.  I also hope that each child will receive a fair and equal education regardless of their social identities.

A goal of mines when it comes to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to see anti-bias education for children, parents and all education people who deal directly with children and families. I think that if better understanding of culture and diversity was to happen, better communication will transpire between everyone.

I would like to thank all my colleagues because I have learned something from everyone. I enjoyed reading the discussions, blogs and learning about how others have dealt with situations similar to me, it made this experience somewhat easier. 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Working as an early childhood teacher in head start, I chose to India as the country of origin from where the family is coming from. I chose India because this year in my classroom I have a new student who has come to us from India.

In order to prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family I will and have:

1.      I will try to learn some simple welcoming words in their language, and knowing how and when to use them.

2.      I would make them feel comfortable fixing food that is similar to what the family eat or are used to. We have worked closely with the family to make sure that this child gets the foods he is used to as well as informing the about getting him to try new things. In addition this family is vegetarian so we have been challenged to get him to eat.

3.      I will learn what the family values and structure, culture and traditions are in order to know how to support and incorporated these into the curriculum.

4.      Add items to the classroom setting such as dress up clothes, food in the play kitchen and toys and/or puzzles, etc. that correspond with India’s culture.

5.      Sitting down with the family before the child beings and discuss topics such as likes/dislikes, beliefs, traditions, and their expectations of their child and work together to meet these goals.

I hope that these preparations will benefit both the family and myself because I will be able to include the cultural norms in the class curriculum and involve the other students in the understanding of the new culture.  I hope this will make the family and child feel welcome and as eager to learn about our culture as we are theirs.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

An incident where I witnessed someone as the target of bias and prejudice happened when I was working in public school. During the holidays of Christmas and Easter I observed children of the Jehovah’s Witness beliefs being unable to participate in the celebrations.  During the celebrations these students were sent to another classroom of students who were not celebrating at the time.  This sent the message to students, "if you don’t believe like us you are wrong."

For me, I remember feeling this was sad and unfair for the excluded students because they received a message "you are different and we don't completely accept you for your beliefs/traditions."  I felt as though the teacher could have turned these celebratory traditions into educational opportunities for the students to exchange/share cultures. By creating an environment where students learn and share cultural beliefs and traditions all cultures become accepted and welcomed; therefore, all students are equal with no dominant culture influence.

A book/movie that I feel shows the power of bias and prejudice would be that of “The Green Mile”. The main character John Coffey has a healing touch and when he was trying to save two little girls, which he is found holding bloody and dead. He is found guilty because he is a large black man in 1932. He was only trying to help the girls but because of his skin color he is sent to the electric chair. Of course, this is a fictional story but what do you think the outcome would have been if something like this had happened in 1932. Even though they found out who the real killer was they still executed him.

Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggressions occur when verbal behaviors create feelings of uncertainty, inferiority or marginalization even if there was no offense consciously intended (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.).

One microaggression detected this week was at my work we have 4 centers and 8 classrooms and there are only 2 African American teachers. During a conversation among my co-workers about why one center is getting something that we had asked for but were not getting one of the teachers said, “It is because Ms. A works there and well you know she is black”. I was taken aback by this statement; I could not believe that she thought this was the reason. She continued to say they, Ms. A and Ms. B always get what they want because if they don’t they will say that the agency is discriminating against them. Wow….this had never even crossed my mind and to hear it coming from a co-worker really bothered me. This was a definite act of discrimination and prejudice against these ladies.

Before this class I have not ever heard of microaggressions but I realized that I have dealt with them all my life. Since I married my husband at the age of 17 after our son was born I have been told and talked about. People will say they will never stay together they are too young well we have been together since we were 15 and will be celebrating our 23^rd wedding anniversary in July. I feel sad that people never even gave us a chance they stereotyped us because we were young and had a baby by saying it would never last.

This assignment has cautioned me to be aware of things that others say as well as to be very careful before I speak and do the same to another.

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Microaggressions in everyday Life. [Video
              Webcast]. In Perspective, Diversity, and Equality Retrieved from  https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fweb
apps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1958978_1%26url
%3D

             

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

What is your definition of culture?

·     Culture is people’s ideas and ways of learning

·         Culture is learned behaviors that teach us about our heritage

·         Culture is the way we walk, talk and live. It is what we are made up of, our race, religion and ethnic
  backgrounds.

What is your definition of diversity?

·         Diversity is having different cultures in the same area

·         Diversity is having many different types of things in a group

·         Diversity is how we are all different

Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples?

·         Surface culture is mentioned in the form of race and ethnicity

·         Family culture in the form of heritage, religion, the way we talk and live

·         Social identity is the form of how we think, learn, walk, talk and live.

Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?

I don’t think any aspects were omitted.

In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?

I have learned that culture is the way we eat, sleep, talk, worship, celebrate holidays and live (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 55). I have learned from asking the questions to my friends, colleagues and relatives that we all have the same general ideas about culture and diversity. In these past three weeks I have discovered that there is much more to culture and diversity than what we see on the surface. I know have a better understand of getting to know about how we are all different and I will be able to take this knowledge into my classroom and help my children understand that we are different and we can learn from each other.

Resource:

Derman-Sparks, L. and Edwards, J. (2012). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and
            Ourselves. Washington, DC; National Association for the Education of Young Children

My Family Culture

I find it ironic that we are doing an assignment that has us placing ourselves in the middle of a major catastrophe, with so many people devastated my Hurricane Sandy. As I was thinking of the three material things I would bring with me, I have a heavy heart for those who are being relocated.

1.      I would want to bring my photos so that I would be able to reminisce about those who are no longer with us. I want to be able to keep my memories of my children when they were small and the last 23 years with my husband.

2.      I would take my birth certificate, for identification purposes.

3.      My children’s baby books, though they are grown men now I still look back at them and remember their childhoods.

Being told when I got there that I could only take one item with me would be just another devastation. I would want to keep them all, but if I was only allowed one it would have to be my photos. These I have from myself as a baby to the marriage of my oldest son. These would help me to keep memories alive.

This exercise made me really think about what is important to me. First and foremost it is my family, which is why I chose the pictures to keep everyone close to my heart. I was saddened very much to think about having to leave my current life behind and begin again.

When I Think of Research....

When I first began this course the thought of research terrified me and having 3 different professors really worried me. After it is all over I realize how important research is in working with young children and their families. I want to be able to provide them with the correct information and make them comfortable in every way possible.

This year in my classroom I have a child from India, this being rare in our area. This child and his family are also vegetarians, which put a bind on our cook, who has never dealt with this in her years of head start. It began as a challenge for our staff but through research and communication we have done our best to make this family as comfortable as anyone else in our classroom. Every time I speak with this family I hear from them, thank you and you are so kind. If it wasn't for research on his culture and beliefs I would not have known how to accommodation them and for this I am thankful.

I want to say thank you to all of my colleagues for all your support, ideas and sharing of your knowledge that helped me though this course.

I especially want to thank you Dr. Walker for taking over our class and being so kind to us and not making and major changes to the course. Again, Thank You!!!

Best wishes to you all and I hope to continue this journey with you.

Research Around the World

I decided to explore Early Childhood Australia, A Voice for Young Children,   http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/. Their mission statement: Early Childhood Australia will advocate to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years. This says to me that we are all striving for the good of the children.

The resource themes explored on this site are Being Belonging and Becoming, School Readiness, Baby and Toddler Sleeping and Childhood Obesity. These are all issues that we have explored and experienced and should have further research.

I found the Research and Practice Series very informative, the discussion of topics such as Partnerships, Respecting diversity and The Code of Ethics are just a few of important issues deserving further research.

This is a website that I will go back to for more research to gain new ideas for everyday classroom issues. This site contains an abundance of information for educators.