Time Well Spent: Farewell Message

As my program in Early Childhood Studies comes to a close, I reflect back on the last two years of my program.  I realize that over those two years so much has happened in my life from both a personal and professional perspective!  I have learned a great deal from my program and will continue to build on my knowledge each day in my kindergarten classroom!

Three Learnings from My Program:

1.  The first aspect of my program that will make a lifelong impact on my professional life is the importance of continuing my education and professional development.  I started this program during the two years when I left my job in order to stay home with my three young children.  During that time I was feeling distant from my "teacher" identity, so I decided to continue my education and pursue another degree.  As I transitioned back into my kindergarten classroom last fall, I could immediately see the impact of my Walden education on my abilities in the classroom as I implemented new things on a daily basis that I had been learning about.  Although I can not at this point see myself going back for additional degrees, I would like to take the occasional online course that pertains to my career and continue learning on my own.  This will make me the best teacher that I can be!

2.  The second part of my program that will continue to make an impact on my professional life is the knowledge that I gained and the confirmation that I had for play in early education, including the kindergarten classroom.  My own state of New York is currently pushing for Common Core Standards, and with these standards comes an increase in the academics in the classroom, which has the unintended consequence of eliminating time for play.  Feeling very blessed to teach in my small Christian school, we are able to dictate our own curriculum and standards which do not have to align with the Common Core Standards.  That means that I can continue to stand by my personal beliefs in the value of play, engage students in my classroom through a variety of play opportunities, and not have to justify to the state why I have so much "free play" time throughout my kindergarten day.  This is one of the advantages that we currently have over the public schools in our area.  We offer more traditional kindergarten that continues to focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practices, not necessarily the values and understandings of the government about how children "should" learn in the kindergarten classroom.

3.  The final aspect of my program that will make a lifelong impact on my professional career is the opportunity to complete a quality capstone project.  The capstone project gave me a chance to focus in on my passions, see the needs for social change in my community in regards to early education, and then plan a program that would allow for this social change to happen.  Although social change and being an advocate of such change is talked about throughout the Walden program, it never really saw myself as an agent of change until I was able to develop a plan for that change.  It has made me realize that one person can make a difference if they put their mind and energy into it.  At this point in my career, I am truly focused on becoming the best kindergarten teacher that I can be, but also know that when my kids are older and I can focus on social change, I am certainly capable of taking that step!

One Long Term Goal:

As I mentioned above, my focus is currently on my kindergarten classroom and making this first year of learning as valuable and fun for my students as I can.  I want to instill in them a love for learning that will be the basis for all future years.  But as I look to the future, I can see a transition from classroom teacher to administrator of a program.  This goal will be several years down the road, but I certainly would like to make that move during my career.  I also want to continue learning about and engaging in best practices and teaching colleagues about the importance of best practices, particularly considering the push for Common Core. 

Farewell:
To Dr. Teri~ thank you for helping me see the value of being an agent of change.  This class, as the culmination of my Walden experience, has done the best job at making me look at the future and seeing my own impact on my community.  I have also been the most challenged in this class, as far as working hard and putting forth effort!  Thank you for your commitment to excellence and the push for me to do my best!

To my Walden colleagues~ thank you for all your feedback and suggestions throughout this experience.  I value the time and effort that you have all put into making our classroom a success.  Continue to believe that when you put your heart into it, you can make a difference in your own classroom, program, or community.  WE are the next generation of early childhood educators!  :)

International Organizations

Unicef:

I was drawn to this organization specifically for their role as a child’s rights advocate across the globe.  They fight for the rights of children and have a “global authority” to impact important decision-makers, making them a key player in the field of early childhood.  They understand and fight against the obstacles that children all over the world are facing, such as poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination.  They state “that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity.”  That speaks to the heart of this early childhood educator.

Job Opportunities:

One opportunity that would be interesting to me is a Child Protection Specialist.  However, it is located in Kabul, Afghanistan, so that would certainly be a deterrent for me.  The education requirements are an advanced degree, preferably in the social sciences, law, or other relevant field, and 5 years of experience at national or international levels of child protection.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved June 13, 2013, from http://www.unicef.org/

 

Save the Children:

This organization was appealing to me because they have a commitment to accountability, innovation, and collaboration.  They go into the heart of communities with the mission to help children and families help themselves.  I was also drawn to them as they are there when disaster strikes, with food, medical care, and education in order to rebuild communities.  This is particularly important as there are so many natural disasters happening all over our world.

Job Opportunities:

One job opportunity is a Program Development and Learning Coordinator, based out of Jordan.  This person is responsible for supporting the program director by developing proposals, concept notes, and assessments.  The requirements for this job are an advanced education degree, and lots of experience within this field.  It also has a desirable skill listed as knowledge of Arabic!  I would certainly not qualify for this job!

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

 

World Vision:

This is an organization which I am familiar with through our church.  This organization is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and communities, and helping them tackle the causes of poverty and injustice.  They boast a staggering 85% of their total operating expenses that are used for programs benefiting children, families, and communities in need.

 Job Opportunities:

Most jobs with this organization are in the business, finance, and management areas.  There is not a large need for early childhood professionals.  One job that I would find interesting is the Senior Development Director for Fundraising.  This person is responsible for raising a minimum of two million dollars each year through private funding.  The requirements for this job include a Bachelor’s degree (no specific area) and 8 years of experience in fundraising or sales.  It is located in Atlanta or Nashville.

World Vision. (2013).  Retrieved from http://www.worldvision.org/

National/Federal Organizations:

NAEYC:

The first organization that I would identify as a Community of Practice is NAEYC.  NAEYC is a nationally recognized leader in early childhood advocacy when it comes to quality education.  Part of NAEYC’s (n.d.) vision statement is that all children will have access to high quality early education that provides developmentally appropriate curriculum, well-educated and trained educators, and comprehensive service to support all their needs.  The information provided on their website, through their magazines, and as a current member of their organization will be invaluable to me as I seek to create a goal and work towards change in early childhood quality standards.  One job posted that I may be interested in are a Manager, Affiliate and Member Relations, who supports 300 state and local components in an HR type position.  This position requires a BA and 3 years experience with a background in HR.  Although I have experience in HR in my employment background, I do not have a BA in this area.  Another position available is a Senior Director for NAEYC Academy.  This person leads a team of NAEYC staff in a Director role over several aspects of NAEYC, including standards, program quality, state affiliations, and research.  This position requires an advanced degree in nonprofit management, business administration or early childhood education.  It also seeks someone who has leadership background.  The job is located in DC, which to me would be a drawback.

 

http://www.naeyc.org/

 

 

Zero to Three:

 

The next national organization that I would identify is Zero to Three, which is the National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families.  This organization provides resources to families and providers of early childhood, specifically focusing on information, training, and supporting professionals, policymakers, and parents to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.  Their mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong beginning in life.  One position available with this organization is a Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer.  This position is also based in DC, so that would be a drawback for me.  This is mainly a marketing position, requiring an advanced degree in business, with a knowledge of early childhood development, along with 12 plus year experience in the business development field.  This position does not interest me, nor am I experienced in this field.  The second position posted is for a Technical Assistance Specialist. This person is focused on making sure all staff and consultants receive the technical assistance they need, specifically with home visits, in compliance with state and federal standards.  This position requires a Master’s in early childhood, along with 8 plus years of experience in early childhood, specifically home visits.

 

http://www.zerotothree.org/

 

 

NCRECE:

 

The National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education focuses on research, findings, and leadership activities aimed at improving the quality of early childhood educations nationwide.  The center is based at the University of Virginia.  They provide a wealth of information regarding early childhood research and initiatives provided by the federal government and states in order to improve early childhood programs and standards.  Jobs available at NCRECE were not posted, but I would imagine they would mainly consist of office type jobs and research analysts.  I would guess that they would require a background in early childhood and research.  None of these positions would interest me.

 

http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/

Capstone, Week 2

ProAction of Steuben and Yates, Inc.

This is a local organization that promotes financial self-suficiency and quality family life.  They fully support families in becoming self-suficient by partnering with them to find the programs that help them achieve this milestone.  Some of their programs include family services, early care and education, nutrition education, senior well-being, and community partnerships. 

 

Their job openings include both paid and volunteer opportunities.  Currently, they are seeking a Family Resource Center Coordinator.  This person is responsible for the daily operations of the Family Resource Center in Bath, including family programsing, parent education, drop-in play, and special events.  It requires a BA in Early Childhood and 5 years experience.  I believe that my current program would give me the education and background, but my experience would be limited in the director role.

 

http://www.proactioninc.org/

 

Steuben County Special Children’s Services

 

This is a county program through New York State, that provides services to families and children, including Physically Handicapped Children’s Program, Preschool programs, early intervention, and other special needs directly related to children.  This community organization provides service to families who are looking for resources for children with special needs.  As an early childhood educator with special needs students in my class, it is important that I have connections with the community and state to direct families to when they are in need of services.

 

There are currently no openings with this organization.  In the future if I become interested in a position, I would have to take the Civil Service Exam along with a job specific exam.  Educaitonal and experience requirements vary by job opening.

 

http://www.steubencony.org/pages.asp?PID=165

 

New York State Council on Children and Families

 

This state council provides information and resources for early childhood educators, lawmakers, families, and support staff.  The council has three major strategic goals which are to provide children and families with access to support, access to high quality care, and coordinated services for the child and their family.  They provide a variety of resources for different aspects of the early childhood field, such as the Early Childhood Advisory Council, Early Childhood Career Development, and Head Start.  There are a wide-range of informational sites that are all grouped together under this state agency.  This website will be helpful as I seek out sources for state-wide information regarding standards and quality in New York State programs.

 

The jobs in this council are all state jobs, requiring a civil service exam.  There are also educational and experience requirements based on the specific job.  There would be a variety of job options once I obtain my degree in Early Childhood.

 

http://www.ccf.ny.gov/NavPages/early.cfm

Communication/Collaboration Wrap-Up!

Thank you to all my group-mates, who followed my blogs, supported me with comments, and collaborated with me throughout the last eight weeks!  We're one more class closer to being done!!  :)  I look forward to working with you all again in future classes!

Communication/Collaboration Week 6

I have been a part of several groups over my years, from high-school through my current professional groups.  There have been some times throughout my experiences where a project comes to an end, such as when I worked on our student council in High School or the prom committee.  Those times were a celebration of a job well done as we participated in the prom and then when we graduated our student council time was done.  As this was MANY years ago, I do not remember what the adjourning process felt like.  With both there was a sadness as our time was done, but we were also focused on the next exciting phase of life and on we went.  In my professional and church experiences, I am usually the one who moves away from teams that are already formed and continue on after my time is completed.  With these experiences, I am usually relieved to be done with a commitment and excited to make more time for family. 

However, recently I was feeling as though it was time to back away from my position on our church Women's Leadership Team.  I was feeling as though I was not a contributing member of the team and was praying about my time commitment now that I was working again.  When I shared this at a team meeting, I was confirmed in my importance on the team and offered a new aspect of the ministry to be involved in which would give me a new vision on the team.  I was excited to be a contributing member again, and would have been very sad to leave this group of women!

I do believe that high-functioning groups are the hardest to leave.  Those groups where the vision is clear, where there is trust and respect, and there is excitement are the most difficult to walk away from.  I believe that when we are part of a high-functioning group, we buy into the vision and invest in the team which makes it harder to depart from that group. 

As for adjourning from my group of colleagues that are part of my Master's work, I feel that I will walk away and be just fine.  When I finished my last Master's program through Walden I was exhausted by the work load and was SO grateful to be finished.  I did not find it hard to walk away from the groups that had been established.  I believe this is easier in the online setting than it would be if we were seeing each other each week face to face as I believe there's less personal investment in each other when it's in the virtual world.  I believe that I will again be relieved to be finished and will not need an adjournment phase to my virtual colleagues. 

Communication/Collaboration Wk 5

Conflict Resolution:

This week I attended a CSE meeting for one of my students who has a hearing disability.  The committee that met consisted of myself, my administrator, our director of curriculum and instruction, the child's mother, several speech therapists, the therapist for the deaf, and the CSE chairperson.  As I sat through this meeting, there were a few areas of conflict or discrepancies between what the therapists were saying and what the child's mother really wants for him.  One area of conflict is that the therapist suggested to me that we use more visual aids for the student in the classroom.  Mom spoke up to say she did not want him to rely on visual aids as much as she wanted his to use his hearing aids and learn to listen.  After some much heated discussion, I suggested a compromise between mom and the therapists.  I offered to use more visual aids when I thought the child needed a greater understanding of what I was saying and then we would quickly phase out the visual and emphasize the listening.  This was agreeable to both parties and was included on the child's IEP.

There was also a conflict between mom and the social worker when the social worker reported that his intelligence scores were not reliable and he failed the testing.  Mom was visually upset and felt that the social workers testing was not an accurate assessment of his intelligence.  I, again, played the neutral party and reworded what mom was saying to the social worker by telling her that mom felt that they did not show what he truly knew based on the fact that he could not hear what she was asking based on the fluid that is currently in his ears.  Then I told mom that the social worker was in fact on her side saying that the testing was not reliable meaning it did not show his true intelligence.  Then I interjected my thoughts, which are that the child is on-level in all academic areas and his hearing affects mainly his social skills, not his academic skills.

Being able to intercede and play the mediator at this meeting made me feel confident in my abilities to manage conflict resolution.  As I discussed the meeting afterward with my administrator and my director of curriculum and instruction, they both complimented me on my communication skills at the meeting!  :)