Time Well Spent

Throughout my masters program, I have learned many things.  I have learned the importance of knowing myself, my beliefs, my passions, my goals, and my biases in order to be the best teacher possible.  I have also learned the importance and value in networking with others in my field, not just in my building or community, but also around the country.  When I network with others not only am I gaining new insights, ideas, and perspectives, but my feelings, ideas, or frustrations can be validated.  Finally, I have learned (or confirmed) that following my passions and beliefs is the best way that I can improve the field of early childhood education.  I am working currently in the classroom and district, but I now plan to take my work to a city and state level.

My long term goal is to continue working towards all children being able to access a high quality early childhood education.

Thank you to my instructor and colleagues throughout this program.  I have been beyond impressed with the quality of discussions, and the knowledge and experienced we were able to share with each other.  I have not only learned from your perspectives and experiences, but have been inspired to think more deeply about my teaching and career.  Good luck to all in your future endeavors!  I’m sure our graduating class will accomplish great accomplishments in our field.  Hold on to your passions and beliefs, and allow them to guide you.  And always believe and speak up for what is best for the children, as they are always our central focus.

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5220315/Early_Childhood_Education

Jobs and Roles in the ECE Community: International

Three appealing international organizations:

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF):  UNICEF is an organization that has become one of the most well-known and productive advocates for the rights of children.  As a child advocate myself, this is an organization that has always interested me.  They are active in over 190 countries and territories and have developed the authority to influence our world’s largest decision makers.  A major focus of UNICEF is the physical health, mental health, and education of young children as well as disease prevention and treatments.

Save the Children:  Save the children is an international organization working to help vulnerable children and families living in poverty in over 120 nations.  They not only offer assistance to children, but also families, caregivers, community members, and others who work to improve their lives.   They help children access education and healthcare, as well as those affected by natural disasters, conflicts, and ethnic violence.  I am very familiar with this organization as it articulates and work towards my passions. I, like Save the Children, truly believe that all children have the right to quality health care and education.  Their disaster relief is renowned, and one I have donated to many times.

The International Step by Step Association (ISSA):  ISSA is a membership based Community of Practice creating a network for early childhood professionals and organizations across the world.  Their goal, much like my capstone goal is to promote equal access to quality education for all children, especially in their early years.

Job opportunities of interest and necessary skills and experience:

Child Advocate and event organizer for Save the Children:  Necessary skills would include passion for helping others, organization, ability to create and maintain relationships with partners and organizations in my area, as well as ability to advertize and network to spread the word of my events, passion, and cause.

UNICEF Junior Professional Officer:  This is a program for professionals to work with the government while acquiring experience in international development cooperation activities.  I would be contributing to the implementation of UNICEF’s country programs.  In order to do this, I would need time, commitment, and passion.

National Level: Jobs/Organizations in the EC Community

National Organizations:

National Head Start Association (NHSA):  The NHSA’s goal and vision is to lead the early childhood field in providing vulnerable children with the education, health, and family support they need to be successful in life.  They also advocate for the need for all children to receive an early childhood education.  I chose this association because its mission and vision align very closely with my own.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC):  NAEYC’s belief’s are also similar to mine in that they feel all children should have access to a safe, high quality early childhood education.    In this, they support families, staff, and children at the local and national levels.

The National Association for Protecting Children:  This organization focuses on the well being of children in their families and communities.  They assist and encourage families in providing their children proper nutrition and education, and also work with communities in coming together to make neighborhoods a safe place for children.  This organization appeals to me because I have always felt that the focus on ‘problems’ in the education field are focused solely on the schools and teachers.  Many have abandoned the idea of ‘it takes a village.’  This organization focuses on the ways the communities and families can work to provide for the needs of young children.

Job Opportunities:

Classroom Teacher:  This is still and as far as I can see my number one job interest in the field of early childhood.  I feel that the best way for me to work to improve the lives of young children is to work with them daily in a hands-on manner.  Skills for this job include passion, dedication, patience, time management, knowledge of content and young children, and enthusiasm just to name a few.

Neighborhood Watch Coordinator:  With this, I can work with in my own community to improve the safety of our neighborhood children, while bringing unity between neighbors.  Skills for this job include leadership qualities, communication skills, organization, and the ability to rally others into working towards positive change.

Local or state organizations or communities of practice:

1. The River Bend Association for the Education of Young Children (RBAEYC):  The RBAEYC is an organization that works to create high quality early childhood education through education, professional development, and advocacy.  They currently hold meetings, discussion groups, and conferences throughout the eastern boarder of Missouri.
2. The Association for the Education of Young Children (AEYC-MO):  This is an organization for early childhood professionals in Missouri.  Their goal, much like the RBAEYC, is to work to improve the well being of all children by focusing on quality early childhood education and developmental services for children birth through age 8.
3. The Child Day Care Association works with families to help find quality child care, keep their children healthy, and maintain a work/family balance.  They focus strongly on working with the families in identifying quality childcare as well as maintaining a state of good nutrition among their families.  They also work with Early Childcare Professionals, Employers, and Community leaders.

I chose these organizations because they all work to improve the quality and accessibility of early childhood education in my area.  This is a common goal of mine.

Job opportunities of interest:

• Early Childhood Teacher- This is my current job, and not one that I ever plan to leave.  I feel that working daily with young children is the best way to ensure that they are receiving a quality education.

• Parents as Teachers Parent Educator- I would love to work in the homes of underprivileged families to help them work with their children, foster development, find needed resources, and identify any problems or varying abilities at as early of an age as possible.

Skills and experience needed to competently fulfill these roles:

Both of these jobs require a strong passion for children.  They also require a large knowledge base of how to best foster development, teach children, and guide families.  Knowing how to seek out and utilize resources is another skill that would be needed to fulfill these roles.  Patience and respect for children, families, and coworkers are imperative skills in any job in the early childhood profession.  Also, the ability not to judge others, and instead attempt to aid others.

References

Association for the Education of Young Children-Missouri (AEYC-MO) (2008).  Retrieved from

www.aeyc-mo.org

Child Day Care Association (2012). Retrieved from http://www.childcarestl.org/joom/

The River Bend Association for the Education of Young Children (2009).  Retrieved from

            http://www.rbaeyc.org/about.htm

Reflection

• An explanation of your most passionate hope for your future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families with whom you work or will work.

My most passionate hope for myself and my students is continue working to bridge the gap in the quality of education that children of different socioeconomic statuses receive. I truly believe that ALL children are entitled to a quality education, however part of this must come from the home.  So in my work, I must continue to work with families in educating them and building accountability so that they feel responsible and empowered to aid in their children’s education.

• A brief note of thanks to your colleagues.

Thank you for the support, encouragement, patience, challenges, and ideas.  Reading the challenges and successes that others encounter and realizing how similar they are to my own make me feel supported and empowered.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

For this week’s assignment, we were asked to choose a region of the world from the UNICEF website to explore.  We were asked to look for challenges in the area that would affect the emotional development of the children living in this region.

• The area of the world I chose and why.

I chose Latin America and the Caribbean.  Not only is this the only area of the world that I have traveled outside of the US, but it is also where the majority of our immigrant students and families come from in the school that I teach, so I felt it to be beneficial for me to expand my knowledge of the region.

• Detailed Description of some of the challenges that children in this region of the world are confronting.

This is an area of the world that is considered to be the most unequal.  There are staggering gaps that leaves millions of children and their families at risk.  There are many challenges that children in this region are exposed to, the main one being poverty.  60% of children living in this region under the age of 12 years old live in poverty.  An alarming 1 out of every 5 children in this region experience malnutrition.  Violence is also a ramped problem in this region.  Around 85,000 children die each year due to violence in the home.  Violence affects over 6 million children and adolescents.   There are also frequent and harsh natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding that destroy villages and towns.

• Explaination of how these experiences might have an effect on children’s emotional wellbeing and development.

We have learned the many affects that living in poverty can have on a child.  They are often stressed, worried, tired, and hungry, just to name a few.  Chronic malnutrition affects children’s growth through a variety of ways, among them: low birth weight, stunting and frequent illness. It can also affect a child’s emotional wellbeing, because their needs are not being met.  Distress from destroyed villages due to natural disasters also affects children emotionally.  Having all of your belongings and your home destroyed can make a child anxious, depressed and stressed.  These natural disasters can also lead families to other problems such as poverty and malnutrition.

• Personal and professional reflection, insights gained and the influences they may have on me as a person and as an early childhood professional.

I’ve always considered to myself to be fairly aware of the problems in the world.  However, I was shocked and saddened to learn of these statistics in a region so close to our own, and a region that so often feeds in to ours.  I left this site feeling helpless.  As educators, the best thing we can do for any immigrant children and families is to learn as much as we can about their culture and what life was like for them in their native country.  That is the best way for us to help support them developmentally, socially, and in their transition to the culture which they have moved.

References:

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

Sexualization of young children

Much like many parents, fellow teachers, and early childhood experts, I my concern is growing quickly about the sexualization of early childhood.  Some examples of this are the dolls many children are playing with and the characters they are seeing in movies and television show that they watch that show inappropriate outfits and overly dramatic make up.  I see the implications of this daily in my classroom.  Many of the young girls wear skirts and shorts that are very short, and refuse to have it any other day.  Children are being exposed to images of sexualiztion that they cannot understand.  This can confuse, and possibly even frighten them (Levin & Kilbourne 2009).  It is our job as the adults in these children’s lives to help them to make sense of what they are seeing.  Without our help, they can develop poor self identity, begin participating in sexual activity at a very young age, and even put themselves in situations that can lead to sexual harassment and abuse.  While I was always aware and concerned with this topic, this week’s readings have made me begin to question what I can do to help protect our youth from what can happen due to this sexualization.

Resources:

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1–8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf