Time Well Spent

TIME WELL SPENT

 
The top three things that I learned from the program and what stuck with me the most is the importance of being anti-bias, the positive effects of being anti-bias, and the benefits to being anti-bias. The importance of being anti-bias and how much it affects our families was one of the take-aways from this course. If we are not anti-bias, but work in education are we truly in the right field. Another deeply felt learning is the different programs both nationally and internationally that help both children and their families on becoming successful beings in society. When all the education organizations work together, we are able to pull through and make a difference. The last  deep learning was about the leadership styles. As a leader, you want to make sure you are doing things that will get the job done, no matter what anyone thinks it is about doing what is best for the children and their families. 

A few long-term goals that I have are to eventually move from being a school teacher, but to a position such a an parent involvement coordinator where I am hands-on with families and students as well. I love working with children, but when I can found a job that allows me to work with both children and families, that will be an accomplishment. Another goal that I have is to one day be apart of the Board of Education. I want to be that educator who is out in the schools but at the same time can voice my opinions on what is good and not so good for the schools. 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The first organization that I choose is UNICEF. UNICEF is a organization that works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has also spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Their belief that all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world. This is my reasoning for choosing UNICEF, they are the organization that will help to strengthen families which can lead to better partnerships with educators. The job opportunity that interest me is Consultancy: Paper on universal Child grants and Dignity and Shame, SIP Section, PD - NYHQ, Requisition #515330. The qualifications consist of
An advanced degree (Master's) in social sciences, international development, or other related field;
15 years of experience in social protection, preferably with experience of research on dignity and shame in social policy and a recognised expert in the field with a strong publications record.
A minimum of ten years of progressively more responsible and high level professional work experience with gender, research, field programming and communication in international development;
Excellent writing and analytical skills, especially in synthesizing complex information for multiple audiences (UNICEF, 2018).  Although this job is out of my league, it still would be a great experience.

The second organization is Save the Children. In the U.S. and around the world, Save the Children does whatever it takes — every day and in times of crisis — to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children's unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach. We do whatever it takes for children — transforming their lives and the future we share — because we believe every child deserves a future (Save the Children, 2018). Making sure that children are healthy and is a great way to build partnerships with families, this is why I chose this organization. So that I can have resources to help families in need in my area. My ideal job for Save the Children is Program Specialist, Early Childhood Development. This job does not require a bachelors' degree but it is preferred. Minimum 3-5 years' experience required working with infant/toddler development and

willingness to travel 40% of time to in state sites between Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. I love jobs where I can travel and move around a little. I also love working with smaller children so this is definitely a plus.

The third organization is Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  or OECD. Their mission is The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. This is a very important mission for educators because if the families feel secure and financially able, then they will be more amp to build partnerships and become involved with their child's education. For this organization there was not a job that interested me, therefore I did not choose one. 

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

1) National Association for the Education of Young Children
The first organization that I chose was NAEYC. NAEYC is an organization that is filled with information such as blogs, articles, and other organizations that can help childcare providers and Early Childhood Educators better serve our children and their families. When we work with organizations whose top priority are the children and their families, you are sure to receive the utmost quality care and services. The mission statement for NAEYC is that they promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children (NAEYC, 2018). There were many jobs at NAEYC, but the one that interested me us the quality assessment assistant. The qualifications includes associate's degree required, 1-2 years clerical/administrative experience, experience in early are and education settings a plus, ability to work independently and excellent organizational skills. I possess all of the qualifications that are listed plus more. The only exception is that I do not live in Washington, D.C.

2)National Child Care Association
The mission of this next organization is to promote the growth and safeguard the interest of quality early childhood care and education focusing on licensed, private providers of these services (NCCANET, 2018). The importance of having this organization on the COP is that they can ensure that the children who are attending private organizations are receiving the adequate amount of education as those who are not. They are also focused on licensing which is also a plus. Ensuring that providers who are licensed are giving their children the quality education they need is the importance of having this organization. For this organization is was hard to find the jobs and/or where they were located on the website.

3)T.E.A.C.H Early Childhood National Center
This organization, like the others, focuses on child care centers and that they are receiving all the information and education they need to be helpful to children and their families. They also work with moms who are in low-wage jobs find more higher paying jobs. What I love most about the organization is that they work to deliver high-quality, outcome-focused services.  These types of services are needed to ensure that our children receive the utmost care possible. For this site, I could not locate any jobs. 


https://www.naeyc.org/
https://www.nccanet.org/
http://teachecnationalcenter.org/about-the-center/funders-and-partners/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The local and State Organizations that I chose are:

1. Bulloch County School System-SPED
2. Bright From the Start
3. Bulloch County BOE

My reasoning for choosing these organizations are because in some form or fashion they work closely with children and have a huge impact on their education. I also chose these organization because they have always been the ones that I look forward to being apart of whenever I complete my Master's in Early Childhood. In order for me to reach the BOE, I am going to have to put in both years and time in Education. 

Bulloch County School System has teaching jobs in 2/5 elementary schools and the they have SPED jobs in 3/15 schools. I have applied for positions for the Bulloch County School System, but there has not been a budge to hire. Furthermore I am taking an alternative route to secure certification, but they still will not call. I became discouraged but later realized that God had better plans for me, which was to work in a neighboring county. Eventually I will find work in Bulloch, just not at this present moment. In order to be a general ed teacher, I need to have a general ed certification, and to be a SPED teacher, I need SPED certification. I am currently working towards my general ed certification, but I will take the SPED test to become SPED certified. SPED is more of my calling than general ed.

Bright from the Start is a state organization that takes care of Early learning such as childcare centers, Head Start, and Pre-K. Bright from the Start has one opening as an nutrition educator. This does not relate to my field of expertise, but I always check back periodically to see what comes open. The jobs that I would love to have are child care consultants. They go into child care centers and work with directors and staff to monitor and help improve their facilities. This requires bachelors's, and 1 or more experience in a classroom.

The Bulloch County BOE (Board of Education) has no openings and maybe a while before they do, but prayerfully I can become a member once my children reach high school or college. I would love to voice my opinions on subject matters and the importance of education for the youth. They are our future and need the utmost care and push to strive for better. Qualifications for Georgia are be willing to serve, be a qualified voter, eligible to vote and reside within the school district’s political boundaries. Although simple, the local body still have their qualifications as well. 

https://gsba.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/all-in-favor-gsba-candidates-brochure.pdf

https://www.applitrack.com/bulloch/onlineapp/

http://decal.ga.gov/BftS/DecalJobs.aspx

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

This course has really brought out the inner feelings that I have hidden when it comes to certain biases, but it has also given me a cure to overcoming them. This is my hope for the future, to continue to overcome the challenges that I will face regarding biases. I have learned that although I may not agree with their views or decisions, I must still respect their children and families. This past school term, I was encountered with a same-sex family, but this did not stop me from treating the child like all the others, nor did it hinder me from teaching their child to the best of my ability.

The hope that I have for my families, both current and future, are that they see that I am an anti-bias teacher who loves to work with children no matter their race, abilities, or family structures, I will always be there for them to ensure that they receive the education, attention, love, and care needed to have a successful year. In order for the child to succeed, the family must also be in a position to help them succeed. So not only will the child be my priority, but the family as a whole.

I will like to thank my cohorts for all the encouraging words as well as the criticisms, because they have helped me to see ideas from different perspectives of life. So again, thank you and I wish you all the best in the LAST course of this program!!! WE DID IT:) 

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world that I chose is East and Southern Africa, with the focus on the country of Ethiopia. From the home page of the region site, various countries are experiencing various crisis such as Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia, and others. But there are many people around the world working to help them make the most of the unfortunate situations and circumstances. Ethiopia has a huge problem with malnutrition and undernutrition in their children. Although they have managed to get the percentage down, there is still a lot of work to be done. 

When children are malnutrition and undernutrition, it not only causes problems with health, but with cognitive and developmental stages. Health in Ethiopia is detrimental. The UNICEF Ethiopia's website makes a statement that says "we say NO to lack of access to healthcare; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and basic nutrition (UNICEF, 2011). It also says we say ENOUGH to children at risk of death in the first 28 days of their lives (UNICEF, 2011). These two statements alone explain the circumstances of children in Ethiopia who suffer from malnutrition and also the extent of its effects on children. 

Reading about the circumstances that affect the children of Ethiopia and the hardships that they endure makes me help children that I encounter both in my professional life as well as personal. There are children right here in my very own region and town that are dealing with food scarcity; and reading about the severity in Ethiopia as well as other countries in the region opens my eyes to the importance of helping others, especially when there are children involved.



Reference
UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The information provided in the article was not so much of a shocker to me because as a head start teacher I have witnessed some of these examples. Children making remarks and dancing in perogative ways is something that parents find joy in. Instead of redirecting them to put that energy into sports, they instead promote them by laughing and encouraging them. At school on the playground, I have witnessed children dancing on the swing poles as well as on boys thinking that it is cute and the thing to do. When I witness such activity, I immediately stop the children and tell them that this is not appropriate and little boys and little girls do not behave in this way. I explain to them that they can remain friends, just not dance together, but instead play together.

When you google "twerking" and other grown-up things on the internet, videos including children pop-up as well. In order for children to behave in this manner, they have to get the behavior from somewhere and it comes from mainstream. Children are on youtube just as much as adults are these days watching and learning from various videos. Girls think that because mom twerks it is okay. Boys think that it is cool to dance with girls and call them all kind of names because their "daddy" does so. 

In order for children to be successful, we have to build partnerships with our parents and guardians so that we can keep the children active in the right things and not just watching television and other electronics all day. It is okay to engage in some electronics but we must monitor them more and push more academics instead. 

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

In my professional life as an educator I have experienced ageism. Ageism is discrimination against a certain age group and in this particular setting it was millennials. I am the lead teacher in the three year old classroom and I have a teacher assistant who is in her mid thirties. Before the parents come to me, they will first approach my assistant. When there is a problem, they will go to my assistant before coming to me. I believe this has a lot to do with her years of being at head start but most importantly her age. 

I will admit, yes I can be a little shy and this is something that I am working more on each and everyday I step foot into that classroom; but even if I wasn't such a laid back teacher I believe that they still would approach Mrs. Pinkney before they approach me. There are already request for children to be in her class and as I forestated I believe this is due to the longevity of being on the job as well as her age. 

Older adults seem to believe that anyone under 30 can not do the job as well as someone who is 30 and older so they cling to the one that is older. I have been a head start teacher for two years now and experiencing ageism has showed me that being bias hurts and leaves a huge impact on the victim. It makes you feel that you are not good enough although you have put in much time and effort to get where you are. This is why I practice being anti-bias daily. Not only professionally but personally as well. 

Affirming Communication

Affirming Communication

The observation that I observed took place inside a grocery store (Wal-Mart). The parent and her child were walking pass the toys department and he spotted a toy that he liked. The mom stops to look at the picture frames which are across from the toys. While his mom is watching frames he runs back to toys to grab the toy.  "He said mommy can I have this toy?" She says "No son, not today." He says "Mommy, Please!" She again says "No, not today!" At this point she has become a little angry, he sees this and throws the toy in the buggy anyway. She then yells to him "Didn't I tell you there will be no toys today?!" Because her tone is now harsh and with more base he begins to scream and cry uncontrollably. She continues to yell for him to be quiet, but his screams and cries only get louder.

When we use tones that are harsh it makes the child feel like that really messed up and there is no coming back from it. This is what I noticed in this situation. Whenever the mom would get loud and raise her voice, the boy would do the opposite as if she was joking. If she would have continued in her friendly and calm voice, he would have been more suceptible to listening to his mother. Children understand that when parents get loud, it's a problem. 

From the article "The nature of teacher talk during small groups" it says that teachers should use language that encourages children through specific feedback (Danjei & Durden, 2010). Although this article is for the teachers, parents, guardians, grandparents can still read the information and get a understanding of how we should talk with kids. It is important that we give feedback to these children to why they can or can't do or have something.

The observation made me realize that it is important to keep that teacher tone, a tone that is nurturing and shows that you care about the child and their feelings. Overall I learned that I do pretty well when talking with children, but I have learned that I need to work on is being more observant and listening to the situations before jumping to conclusions and assuming about incidents I did not see. 




Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81.

Affirming Environment

Creating Affirming Environments

If I were to open a home care center, I will ensure that it will be similar to a preschool so that children can get a feel of what it is like to attend school and the expectations that teachers will require. Instead of housing all children in one area, I will buy a small trailer for those who range from ages 3-5, and inside the home I will house infants through 3 year olds. There will be one big learning table for the two and three year olds while the infants and one year old will also having learning tables in their area. In the trailer there would be one big learning table for the children to sit and learn. 

There will also be learning center such as housekeeping, blocks, writing, etc. for the children. The children at my center will also have a curriculum to follow to help them with their developmental skills, both cognitive and physical. I feel that it is very important for children to be able to express themselves, but to still maintain some form of routine so that there will not be chaos. I will also ensure to have an anti-bias home care. I will not cater to only one race or one income bracket, but it will be open for all. It will also display anti-bias throughout the classroom through the use of dolls, languages, pictures, etc. 

I will also hold special events at my center to make it more family oriented. There will be a multicultural night, mother-son dates, father-daughter dates, and any other activities to keep the families involved in their child's education. I will also establish ground rules that any form of bias that it is brought to my attention will be dealt with accordingly because we have a ZERO tolerance for such. 

The video really helped to give me a plethora of ideas because it helped to put in perspective what to do at my own center, and beneficial it will be to family. 

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Welcome to an anti-bias learning community. Baltimore, MD: Author

What Have I Learned

What Have I Learned

One hope that I have to gain from working with diverse families is that they see that I am not a bias teacher and that I want their children to succeed just as they do. I also want them to know that I am here not only for their child, but for them as parents as well. Any questions that they have I am here as a teacher and a confidant to answer them. I will help them in anyway possible and lead them to all resources I know possible so that they can become successful.

One goal that I have is to be an advocate for those families who are different and feel that they have no one to back them. I want them to know that I am not only here for my own kind, but for anyone who is receiving improper attention due to them being diverse. No matter the form or fashion, we all deserve to be treated the same.

This course has been a challenging one, because I had to step outside of my comfort zone a little more than normal, but I would like to thank professor and all the group colleagues whom have left encouraging words on both my blogs and discussions. They have not went out void and I really take them into consideration as I transition back to the classroom on the next day. Once again, thank you!

Creating Art

Poem about Diversity

This class has taught me a lot about the importance of accepting diversity for the betterment of the children and the families. It is important that we not only accept diversity in the form of color, but also in the form of able-ism and trauma. This poem explains what I have learned in this class my feelings towards diversity as an overall subject. 

Judith Goegone

Start Seeing Diversity

Start Seeing Diversity

My classroom is full of diversity, and I love it. There is this one student in particular in my class who is a foster child and his foster mother is older. During the beginning of the school year, the children would always say, "Johnny your grandma here!" But in actuality it was his foster mother. They know nothing about foster parents and that Johnny is a foster child, they just know a lady picks him up everyday who is older like some of their grandparents. So once the family left, I explained to the children, that every family is different and not all mother's look the same. I explained that some children have young mommy and daddy's while other's have older mommy's and daddy's.

After this mini lesson, we then read the story of Pinocchio. My reasoning for choosing Pinocchio is because it tells the story of an elderly father who wanted a son. This story helped to explain my point about Johnny and his mother and how no matter if they are old or young, the love will never change. 

Diversity Video

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

The times that our children are in now are very different from the times in which we lived. I can understand why some parents do not want to expose their kids to things such as homosexuals becuase it may go against their religion and values. So instead we choose to brush things under the rug. I believe that we should avoid placing these same-sex books in our centers due to the fact that it is against religions and goes against the values that are set forth. If the book was only brought our for reading time and explained to the children, it would be better this way. I think that we expose kids to some things early and this is one of them; this is left for the parents to handle.

If a parent and/ or family member came to me explaining that they do not want anyone gay or lesbian teaching their child(ren). Then I will make sure that the prinicipal, supervisor or whomever gets the message so that the child's culture and needs can be met. We are here to work with the families and if the parents make special request, it is up for us to fulfil. 

Thank You!

THANK YOU💓❤❤

This has been one of my challenging terms thus far, and I know that it is only going to get more challenging from thenceforth. Although it has been a challenging year, I still managed to finish way better than I began. The first two weeks were hard and stressful, but by week 3, I began to get the concept of how Dr. Williams like to do things. Dr. Williams you are the first person that I want to acknowledge because you pushed me to put forth my best work, that you knew I had all along in my inner self. The comments left on my post, blogs, and assignment were a big help, and I really enjoyed working with you this summer.

To my fellow blog mates,  I would like to thank you as well for leaving your comments and reviewing discussions to leave me meaningful comments that I am able to take in not only my professional life, but my personal life as well. I wish you all the best in the rest of your Master's degree studies, myself included because we have became as one big family here to love and support one another. 

Adjourning

Adjourning

When you have worked with a group of people for so long you all become family, and it is like you have known each other for years. This is what I had when I worked at Wal-Mart, and this is what also made it so hard to want to leave. I felt like I had known these people all my life, and we were always down to help one another, no matter what we were doing, if someone needed help, we helped.  Although I did not like the job much, the people and the customers made the job worth-while. When I moved onto another position it was very bitter-sweet. 

When working with a high-performing group, it is very hard to leave because everyone on the team is doing their job and holding their wait. You don't know what you may get when you work with another group or partner. They drive may not be like the drives that you are used to. If all this is no established in the beginning, you will end up pulling all the weight.

When you have to leave a group that has established norms, this is hard because you have became very accustomed to working with a certain group and you all have worked good together effectively and built a solid foundation of trust. But once you have to leave and move on to another group, you have to develop a new group all over again with new attitudes aboard.

Adjourning from groups have taught me the importance of keeping in touch with those who you have met alone the way. Some I have regrets, and for some I do not. The crew at Wal-Mart I still keep in touch with a few because I live locally and I see them whenever I am shopping in the store. When it comes to undergrad, I made so many colleagues and my professors were so helpful, I regret not keeping in touch with those who mean the most. There are some undergrad Child and Family development majors in which I still communicate with through facebook, but my one friend who I built a bond with slipped through my hands, and that I regret.

When adjourning from the Master's program, I believe that it will be bitter-sweet because reading the blogs and discussions have gave us all a bond, and in order to keep this bond, we must reach out to one another. When adjourning it helps to bring one another closer together on a professional and personal level, which is needed to help one another.

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

Conflict Resolution

Conflict Resolution

There was a situation that arised at work a few weeks ago which lead to me and another coworker having disagreements about the matter. It went as far as the teacher walking out of the classroom on me and leaving me alone with the kids. The supervisor was not there at the time to resolve the conflict so it was left to us to do so on our own, which of course did not end well. If we both would have used a more NVC approach such as empathetic listening it would not have been so much of a big conflict. Another approach would have been that we both quit trying to out talk one another and listen carefully we could have came to an agreement to agree to disagree and left it at that. The following Monday, she came to school and apologized to me and me to her for we both were wrong and we realized that things got carried away way to fast and we could have just agreed to disagree. 

I as a Communicator

When I reviewed my results and the results of others, nothing really surprised me, but what did surprise me is that we all agreed that I am a good listener. The reason that this was a shocker, because I did not think that my husband would rate me as a good listener being that he always says that I never listen to him. Learning about my different aspects of communications, my strong points and weak points, it helped me to learn where I need to be at both professionally and personally with my communication skills so that I can help my families and children. 

The two insights that I learned this week came from the listening style assessment and communication anxiety assessment. I have learned that I am a good listener who puts to much trust in others, which does not always mean that I will get the same in return. This makes more conscious of who I should trust to protect myself. The communication anxiety assessment enlightened me on the importance of being confident around children, families, and colleagues so that they can trust me. 

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

Cultural Communication

Cultural Communication

The three strategies that I would use to help me communicate effectively with people or groups are: 

1) The Platinum Rule-Do to others as they would like to be treated (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmund, 2011).

2) Don't expect that just because you know a person's culture you can predict his/her behavior (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).

3) Put the culture and the person first.

I have been practicing these strategies in communication with different cultures before I knew they existed. There are two hispanic children in my classroom and their parents both speak english, but not very well. This is why I communicate with them differently than I do my parents who are American born. I let the Hispanic parents initiate anything they want to ask or any remarks in general, so that I can know how to follow up their questions with an answer in which they can understand. One of the parents have an older daughter who is able to ask things that she may not know how to word, which makes it easier for us to communicate with her and her family. I listen to all of my parents and their concerns, but I pay closer attention to my Hispanic family and their concerns and issues because I do not want them to feel like they are being treated any differently than any other family. I also want them to know that I am here for them and their child. 

GGonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc."Looking at Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures" (pp. 80–81)

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Chapter 4, "Interpersonal Communication and Diversity: Adapting to Others" (pp. 85–114)

Communication Assumptions

Communication Assumptions-Grey's Anatomy

The TV show that I chose to watch was Grey's Anatomy. I have heard a lot of people on my social media speak about how great the show is and the excitement that goes on in the episodes, so I decided to take a look. I watched the first minute of the show in silence and thought that the characters were all friends and happy with one another. I also thought that they all got along, and crying to one another due to a case or patient that might have affected them. During the nonverbal behavior, I could see that there was some anger between characters as well as sadness in the conversations that were being discussed. 

After turning on the volume, I could see that my assumptions were somewhat right. There was anger and sadness, but not how I imagined it. One of the doctors was yelling at another doctor that I thought was a student, but she was actually a doctor, and the doctor who was overly emotional with her friend was actually overemotional with her lover. These both took me by surprise because I knew once I turned up the volume, I would be right. If I was watching a show that I watch on a regular, I would have definitely had all the answers because I am familiar with the show and know all about it. 

Competent Communication

Competent Communication

There are a lot of people that I engage with on a daily basis that I have look up to for effective communication techniques, but the two that stand out to me the most are my mom and my dad. When communicating, my mom gets her point across and means what she says. She does not let anything back her down and she will fight to the end for her cause. She is also constantly asking questions to assure that everything aligns with what you said and how you said it. This is why I want to model the behaviors of my mom because she says what she has to say with meaning and pride. She also lets nothing detour her from her believes and what is right. My dad on the other hand is humble and willing to listen. Sometimes, he do not even put up a fight for some causes and just let bygones be bygones. I want this same mentality to a certain extent. I want to remain humble during communication while still getting my point across. When you are humble people are more open to respecting you and listening to what you say. This is why I would love to have a mixture of both mother and father.