Time Well Spent

Where do I begin? I have learned so much that it seems difficult to choose only three deeply felt learnings. I would say that the most important message that I learned is how important it is to respect other’s culture and diversity. I had always been taught to respect others and have enjoyed experiencing diverse cultures, but never to the level of seeing how they add to our own “tapestry of life”. Joseph (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011) inspired me with this, “Diversity is not about how we differ. It is about embracing one another’s uniqueness”. Embracing the uniqueness of others allows endearing relationships to form.

Secondly, I have learned how to make deeper and more meaningful connections to those issues in the early childhood field for which I feel passion. Through researching those topics, writing about them, citing scholars who understand the issues, and discussing such topics openly with our peers I have gleamed knowledge that has added depth to my enthusiasm about important issues. Our passion is the driving force that helps us become the voice for others and to advocate for worthwhile change.

My third deeply felt learning is that I am more aware of whom I am and that I can accomplish much as I connect to others with the same passions. Coming together with others makes our quest stronger and more meaningful. I love what Eleanor Roosevelt (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011) said, “We must do things we think we cannot do. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” I believe in myself and can therefore believe in others.

My long term goal is to awake each day with more passion, added desire to inspire others, and the fortitude to be someone that changes the world one step at a time. I know that I can be the example that others look to for guidance as they work with children. I can be a leader of change as I live my beliefs.

Just in case you were not able to view what I posted on the "Good-bye Wall", I have added it below.






These are pictures of “Balance Rock” near where I live in Idaho. It reminds me of how important it is to maintain balance in my life. Sometimes taking risks keeps our balance in check, like getting a master’s degree.

It takes many forces to keep that rock in balance as it has taken many forces to help me maintain balance as I pursued a long held dream. I owe many thanks to my husband for his support, my sister for her encouragement, my students for loving me, to all of you for imparting your knowledge, wisdom, and advice, and to our dear instructor, Dr. Teri, for her unrelenting patience, genuine common sense, and for knowing how to keep us on track. I wish you all well and hope that we many cross paths again.

Some other quotes that resonate from my heart:

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” Nelson Mandela (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011)

“No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should unlock that treasure.” Emma Goldman (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011)


Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Merging vision, passion, and practice [Multimedia]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6990/01/mm/ec_pres/index.html

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

This week’s assignment opened my eye to how blessed we are to live in a global world where we can be connected from a small rural community in Idaho to international countries. I am in awe of how much I still have to learn about the planet I live on.

UNICEF
The first international organization that I would like to talk about is UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund. I have always been in awe of this organization for advocating in almost every part of the world with focus for the betterment of children. Their areas of expertise include child survival and development, basic education, children HIV/AIDS, child protection, and policy advocacy and partnerships. They serve 191 countries ranging alphabetically from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Their employment board lists forty-three job opportunities. Of those forty-three openings, three were in the field of education. They require advanced degrees in education or related degrees and ask that you speak English along with another UNICEF language related to the country the position is dedicated to.

ISSA
ISSA (International Step by Step Association) was founded in 1999 in the Netherlands. They provide networking which links professionals and groups who are associated with early childhood development and education. They are affiliated with countries from Central and Eastern Europe to Asia, Asia, and Americas. They help programs who advocate for policy reform that affects children and families. ISSA offers resources and support to professionals in the early childhood field. Such organizations are import for spreading the word that children are important. There are currently four new employment postings. None of which I was interested in, and none of which I qualified for. They ask for extensive knowledge of the culture you would be working with along with knowledge of education practice at an international level. None of my searches led me to other positions within the organization.

UNESCO
I loved reading UNESCO’s mission. “UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.” They are specialized as a part of the United Nations. Although they do not advertise for employment opportunities at this time, they hire individuals based on their background knowledge of global trends. Professional ranking for employment with UNESCO includes junior, middle, and management. Junior professionals implement programs and projects, middle ranking employees oversee small teams, and management professionals direct particular divisions. It all sounds complicated, but exciting. This is probably one organization that I will keep my eye on.

ACEI
Association for Childhood Education International’s “mission is to promote and support the optimal education, development, and well-being of children worldwide, and to influence the professional growth of educators and the efforts of others who are committed to the needs of children in a changing society” (ACEI, n.d.). I found this organization by chance as I was working on the blog project this week. I felt appreciative of their support for educators as well as children and families. Educators of young children have a grave responsibility to advocate for children and they need encouragement and inspiration. It is important that there are organizations who advocate for their professional growth. In searching for available employment, I ran across their advertisement for internships. This would be such a great opportunity for a young student who is serious about the field of early childhood education and who is enrolled in a graduate program. This is something I wish I could have done when I was younger.

There are so many organizations locally, nationally, and internationally that influence the lives of children and families. We live in such a wonderful time that offers so many opportunities. As I think about this, I am concerned as to why we cannot seem to have bright futures for all children and their families. Alas, we must never give up trying to create the best environments for children right where we are.



References:

Association for Childhood Education International. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.acei.org/

International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

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

I chose to learn about the following four national organizations. They include the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE), Family Friendly Schools, Families and Schools Together (FAST), and Hispanic Policy Development Project. All four projects are partners working to bring together families and schools in an effort to effect a positive educational outcome for children.

The first three organizations had websites which explained their role in assisting families, children, and communities. However, I am still researching more about Hispanic Policy Development Project as they did not have a website that provided additional information.
These organizations appealed to me because they are connected in their efforts as partners that contribute to families, children, communities, and to each other. They also listed many other organizations that they work with as they advocate for better relationships between families and schools.

There were no job opportunities listed at the time I reviewed their information. However, I am interested in any assistance they might be able to offer my CoP. I would imagine that skills for being affiliated with these organizations would include experience in working with families and/or in the school systems. They would need to be familiar with child development, relationship building, be organized, and be excited about bringing families and schools together as partners.

I was pleasantly surprised at the number of groups who work in the arena of supporting parent involvement in schools. I am looking forward to learning more about each entity and how they may be able to assist my challenge of lack of parent involvement with schools in my local community.


References:
National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE). (n.d.). About NCPIE. Retrieved from http://www.ncpie.org/AboutNCPIE/
Family Friendly Schools. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from http://www.familyfriendlyschools.com/about/index.htm
Families and Schools Together (FAST). (n.d.). Welcome. Retrieved from http://www.familiesandschools.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Organizations that appealed to me are Parents as Teachers, the local PTA (Parent –Teacher Association), Idaho Head Start Association, and Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs. All four organizations support the parent-teacher relationship, cater to parents and children, and are ones that I have never belonged to before.

The organization of Parents as Teachers profiles examples of home visiting and working with parents and children in preparing young children for school by promoting “healthy development.” Years ago a program that I worked for used their curriculum. I found the curriculum helpful as I visited families. The closest PAT I can find is located in Boise, Idaho. This makes me wonder if it would be beneficial to begin such an organization locally in Twin Falls, Idaho. This organization would be helpful in promoting parenting and relationship skills for parents and children.

Joining the local and national PTA as a representative from the schools would give me to opportunity to meet parents that are already associated with being a vital partner in their child’s education. The purpose of the PTA “is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children” (Parents as Teachers, n.d.).

The Idaho Head Start Association’s mission is “to advocate for the children and families of Idaho by promoting and strengthening early care and learning.” I worked for Head Start in Idaho many years ago. I was never a member of their association, but wished our supervisor would have promoted membership. The core values of this organization embody many ideas in which I believe. Those principles include, “respect, trust, compassion, collaboration, communication, accountability, diversity, integrity, quality, recognition and celebration” (Idaho Head Start Association, n.d.).

From my past experience with Head Start, I know that they strive to build trusting relationships between parents, children, and Head Start staff. This would be a positive environment for working with parents and children in establishing developmentally appropriate skills important to being parents that advocate for children.

Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs is another organization I find interesting. The Hispanic population represents the largest ethnic group in Idaho (ICHA, 2011). ICHA provides serviced to the Hispanic population and acts as a liaison between community and government groups. They are important in providing advice to the governor about issues that the state of Idaho Hispanic population fact. For instance; studies show that there is a significant gap between Latino students and reaching current academic standards

I have a special place in my heart for the Hispanic population as I have built relationships with Hispanic children I have taught and with their families. They are an asset to our community and offer diversity that is complementary to building strong family units. For the betterment of their children, I would like to join forces in connecting this population in developing better relationships between them and the schools their children attend.

Currently there are no employment opportunities advertised by the said agencies within the community where I live (Twin Falls County). The ICHA lists employment opportunities from partnering agencies, but none were within the early childhood field. Head Start which is affiliated with the College of Southern Idaho (CSI) listed a home visitor opening. However, at this time, I am most interested in taking my challenge of parenting parents before they become parents to CSI.

The skills I foresee needing in doing this are planning and organization, leadership, public speaking, knowledge of both adult and child development, knowledge of parenting skills and how to link those skills to younger adults and children, ability to advocate and get others to advocate for parenting before parenting. Becoming a member of agencies that promote parenting and building relationships between schools/teachers and families are those that I seek to support my passion.

References:
Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs (ICHA). (2011). Idaho commission on hispanic affairs: Working toward economic, social, and political equality for hispanics in idaho. Retrieved from http://icha.idaho.gov/default.asp

Idaho Head Start Association. (n.d.). Investing in idaho’s future. Retrieved from http://idahoheadstartassoc.net/

National PTA. (n.d.). National pta: Every child. one voice. Retrieved from http://www.pta.org/index.cfm

Parents as Teachers. (n.d.). Parents as teachers. Retrieved from http://www.parentsasteachers.org/

First Post in the Last Course

Hello Everyone!

Congratulations to all who have come this far. We only have seven more weeks after this one. I am excited but am also feeling a little stressed. I will be traveling through Europe during week four of this course. It is my hope that I can look to my peers for support and help during that time.

Good luck to all of you. I look forward to hearing from you in our discussion and blog posts.


Sally

Collaboration: Week 8

It has been a rewarding and enlightening experience. I want to thank Dr. Hampshire and my colleagues for their expertise, knowledge, and support. I wish you all the best.

Good Luck!

Teamwork: Week Six

One group in which I felt a sense of satisfaction was also one that was difficult to leave. We worked together for five years. As I reflect back on the happenings, I am able to discern “The Five Stages of Team Development” as described by Gina Abudi (2010).

Throughout that period of time, this group of six women became each other’s advocates and supporters in an important work of assisting child care providers. Sometimes, it felt as if we were sisters in a benevolent cause. We became each other’s backer in personal aspects as well as teamwork aspects.

I have sometimes pondered the idea that if there would have been men in our group; would we have become as close as we did? What does anyone think about that?

When it was time for a few of us to move on, we did celebrate, and wished each other well, but there was a sense of sadness despite the well wishes. It has been a few years since the close of that group, but there are three of us who keep in contact amid living in different states. We always say we are going to get together, but because lives seem hectic with work, family, and other commitments, we have thus far faltered. However, we have not given up on having a reunion. I feel that it will happen some day in the not too far future.

Adjourning is essential to defining success or figuring out what could have been better. Either outcome merits celebration because of effort and I believe even amid any ineffectiveness there has to be some positives. My mother always said, “There is always something good in everything that happens”.

Closing rituals I have engaged in and enjoyed the most include dinner with discussions such as Sandra did in Gina Abudi’s (2010) account of one team’s effort. I have been in groups that did not have closure, and they are those that leave me open to wishing there would have been a more operative conclusion. Being able to have a ceremonial finale gives resolution to each participant and opens the door for better things to come.

I imagine that after we have all completed our work at Walden, we will celebrate our success and wish each other well. It would be awesome if we could meet each other in person. Seeing and giving each other a hug would be the icing on the cake.


Reference:

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html