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!  :)

Communication/Collaboration Week 4

This week I used the self-assessments to find out my communication anxiety, my aggressiveness, and my listening skills.  I asked my husband and a colleague to do the assessments for me as well.  I was not surprised by any aspects of the assessments.  I found them to be very true on many levels and they all describe those characteristics of my communication very well.  Perhaps the only surprising thing about the assessments was the dead on accuracy of the results!

One insight that I gained regarding my communication this week is that there are two sides to my communication styles, one when it comes to my professional communication and one when it comes to my personal communication with those I love and trust.  I have a very different approach to efficiency and confidence when it comes to professional communication.  On the other hand, I have a very attentive and leisurely approach to my personal communication with my family and friends.  I did not realize that the two were vastly different!

Another insight that I gained regarding my communication this week is that there are situations that I am uncomfortable communicating in.  I realized that social situations where I do not know people and am expected to communicate with strangers is very uncomfortable to me.  Although I already knew this about me on the inside, my results and my husbands results were able to pick up on this uncomfortable aspect of social situations.  I identified one of my goals to become more confident in situations such as these.

Overall, I found this week's application to be interesting and intriguing!  I loved getting confirmation about what I already knew!

Communication/Collaboration: Week 3

Communicating with my own children versus my students:

I find that when I am communicating with my own children, I revert to mindlessness when they are talking to me.  I am not sure if it is the exhaustion at the end of the day, or just that they tell me the same story many times over, but I do not give them the same attention that I give my students.  When my students are talking to me, I am more likely to give them my full attention.  With both my students and my own children, I speak authoritatively and firmly which helps to manage behaviors in both arenas.  My strategy for these groups is to make sure to pay much closer attention to my own children as they deserve the same attention that my students get.

Communicating with my colleagues versus parents of my students:

When communicating with my colleagues, I am able to use terminology and quirky teacher jokes that they will understand.  However, when I communicate with parents, I find myself using some of the same terminology without thinking that they may not understand.  My strategy for these groups is to make sure that when I use teacher or student terminology, that I am explaining what I mean or using different words that parents can relate to.  I need to keep in mind that many of my parents are not as educated as my colleagues and this can sometimes be a barrier to communication if I assume they understand things that they are not schooled in.

Communicating with my Bible study gals versus my MOPS moms:

When communicating with my Bible study gals, I am able to share personal stories, successes, and struggles with them as we know each other intimately and have been studying together for two years.  With the MOPS moms, I communicate on a very social basis and do not share personal stories that I would share with my Bible study gals.  These two groups of women are both moms groups, but I am more closely connected to the Bible study gals.  My strategy with these two groups is to make sure that I am taking the opportunity to share stories relevant to our experiences with the MOPS moms so that I can begin to grow closer to them.
 

Communication/Collaboration Week 2

Last night I recorded an episode of "What would you do?", which is a hidden camera show that takes different situations and evaluates people's responses to situations.  The main idea behind the show is to see if people will stand up and defend other people when given tricky situations.  I watched one part of the show where a woman had a young girl standing on a street corner wearing a sign that said something about stealing and lying.  With the volume off and a general understanding of what was happening, there were many non-verbal clues that I could identify.  It was clear that the two people knew each other, the woman and the young girl.  I assumed that they were mother and daughter and that the daughter was being punished based on what the sign said.  As people would walk by, many of them stopped and spoke with the woman.  Some of the non-verbal communication that I saw included putting their hands on their hips, tilting their head to the side, rolling of their eyes, high-fives, and hugs to the woman.  It was clear which people stopping to address the mother were supportive of her discipline and which ones were appalled at the situation.  The young lady's face was down and her demeanor was very defeated.  She was clearly not enjoying the situation.

When I went back and watched the segment again with the volume on, it was clear to me that my assumptions about the situation were correct.  The mother and daughter were standing on the corner because the mother was disciplining her daughter who had stolen and lied.  As people stopped the mother and engaged her in conversation, some were supportive (those who had high-fived and hugged her), and there were others who told her she was not doing the right thing in humiliating her daughter (those who had their hands on their hips, rolling their eyes, and tilting their heads).  Based on the daughters verbal responses to her mother, she was clearly being humilitated and was embarrassed by the situation.

I was amazed that even with the small amount of time that I spent watching the interactions that I was able to glean so much information from just the body language and non-verbal clues.  It was a good reminder to me to think about my own body language and what my non-verbal clues are saying when I am engaged in conversations with others. 

Communication/Collaboration Week 1

When I thought of the question for this weeks blog, our school administrator immediately came to mind.  I teach kindergarten at a small private Christian school, that contains one of each classroom from a three year old preschool program all the way through twelfth grade. Last week we spent two full days at Teacher Development prior to the start of our school year.  During these two days, our administrator presented lots of information from a wide variety of topics.

To start with on the first morning, he presented a vision for our school and for the year.  It was evident as he was speaking that he was passionate about what he was presenting.  His presentation was filled with visuals, handouts so we could follow along, audience participation, and statistics backed by research.  I walk away from the first session with an excitement about the upcoming school year.  His vision and passion were so clearly presented with such excitement that you could not listen to him and walk away without being excited too.

He also took several opportunities to present more information, from drop-off and pick-up information to curriculum schedules.  Although the information on its own was very mundane, he was able to articulate and present it in a fashion that was not boring.  All the information he presented was well-prepared, organized, and it was evident that he has taken the time to put everything together so that it would present well.  I would say his behaviors on presenting information to his staff was very effective as we all walked away excited about the new year and also well informed.  I would model his behaviors when presenting to a crowd as his words had an impact on all of us sitting in that gym!

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have for working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I will embrace the differences without hesitation.  When I think about diverse backgrounds, I now think of all families that I work with as each family has a unique background that makes it special and different from every other family.  My hope is that I will embrace the unique qualities of every family and make them feel welcome and loved in our classroom.

One goal that I would have for the field of early childhood education related to diversity and equity is that our standards would continue to show a value placed on the unique abilities and culture of every student.  With the push from NAEYC, the early childhood field is moving in the right direction towards a level of tolerance, understanding, and equity for all children.  If we can continue moving the field of early childhood education towards an attitude of acceptance, there is a hope that the acceptance will be ingrained in the children as they grow and will perhaps spread to the elementary schools then to the high schools, and on to the greater society.  There can be a world of change that begins with our children.

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback throughout this course and allowed me to voice some very controversial feelings and thoughts as I explored my religious and cultural values during this last eight weeks.  Although my feelings were not embraced by all, there was never an attitude of irritation or ignorance and I was encouraged to continue to explore this internal battle.  I appreciate the understanding and the support from everyone!

Welcoming Families from Around the World

For this week's scenario, I will use my current setting as a kindergarten teacher in a Christian school.  I just found out that a child and her family from Iran will be joining my classroom in a few weeks. 

The five ways I would prepare myself, my current students, and their families to be culturally responsive to this family would be:
1. To invite this family into my classroom for an observation day prior to the first day that she will be in our classroom.  This will allow the child and her family to see what our school day is all about, the activities that we will be doing, what we believe in, and the culture of our classroom.
2.  After their visit, I would take the opportunity to sit down with the family to gain specific information regarding their overall culture, family culture, what their expectations are from our classroom and school, and to answer any questions.
3.  Knowing that their involvement in our school may be controversial with parents of children who are enrolled, I would try to plan a family culture night fairly close to the time that she starts to encourage the families to meet and greet each other and share a little more about what makes each family unique.
4.  I would use the new student in the "Star of the Week" within the first two to three weeks of her arrival so that she would feel comfortable sharing more about herself and her family and to allow the other children to get to know her better.
5.  I would address any insecurities or biases right away in order to ensure that misinformation is not passed on and so that our classroom culture of tolerance and acceptance is felt by her and her family.

My hope would be that using these preparations, the student and her family would feel a sense of welcoming and understanding within our classroom.  Being prepared is one way that we can encourage the meshing of different cultures in our classroom and be sure that the uniqueness of each family is valued.

The Personal Side of Prejudice

One incident that comes to mind this week of oppression, prejudice, and bias is the Chick-fil-A controversy that has taken over the headlines.  Regardless of your stand on gay marriage, the events of this week are confusing, misleading, and full of prejudice and bias from both sides of the event.  For the gay community who were offended by the comments of the CEO to the Christians who were taking a stand against the hatred that was then spoken against the CEO, both sides are dealing with and dishing out prejudice and bias against each other.  The gay community has the right to be offended by the comments, but on the other hand the CEO also has a right to his beliefs and free speech to discuss those beliefs when asked for his input.  However, the events that proceeded showed nothing but disrespect for both sides, and were full of prejudice and bias, and diminished equity by not showing respect for a difference of opinions.

My feelings about this situation center around the ideas that the CEO is certainly entitled to his feelings and when asked for his personal opinion on gay marriage he took the Christian stand that centers around his beliefs.  As a devout Christian myself, I would hope that I would be comfortable in taking a stand given the same position that the CEO was in.  Then a backlash of hatred was directed towards the CEO and Chick-fil-A, which promotes prejudice against his beliefs and the right of free speech.  However, the day when Christians flocked to Chick-fil-A to show their support also showed a level of disrespect for those in our gay community, who by God's standards we are called to love.  The event showed no love or tolerance towards the gay community, and showed Christians in a very shallow light.  Being called a Christian now lumps me into this "movement" that showed disrespect and prejudice towards those living a gay lifestyle, and quite honestly shames me to think that those who are called to "love our neighbors" are showing such great disrespect.

I believe that in order for this incident to create a future opportunity for equity, the CEO's comments should have been linked to his personal beliefs and not to his company.  Then the comments would have simply been someone asking his opinion and not a countrywide opportunity for prejudice to begin!



 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

I had the opportunity this week to be the recipient of microaggressions!  In a conversation with a casual friend, I was telling her of the opportunity that I have been given to return to my old kindergarten classroom after taking two years off to stay home with my children.  Her comment was, "You'll really miss sleeping in and having all that down time at home."  I was quite shocked by her comment, knowing what it implied, finished checking out my groceries, and left the store with a quick goodbye.  I was offended by her comment which suggests that the last two years that I have been a stay-at-home mom have been characterized by sleeping in and having all kind of time to myself.  I believe that too often that is the stereotype of a stay-at-home mom, when in fact it is usually a very different lifestyle.  I am up earlier now then when I worked, and have roughly a half hour of "down-time" between the going down and waking up of children when I can down my lunch and go to the bathroom without having someone accompany me! 

This experience has given me a better understanding of microaggressions and their impact on the person who is the target.  I am sure that the comment was not made to be malicious, as mircoaggressions usually are unintentional, but it sure felt like an attack on my character and my job.  Having experienced this has helped me to be more careful about the assumptions I hold regarding culture and lifestyles, which will make me more sensitive to the words that I say.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture: Week 3

I talked with three of my friends about their definitions of culture and diversity.  These are their explanations:

1. Culture is everything that makes us the same and different from those around us.  Diversity is understanding the differences as acceptable.

2.  Culture- religion, dress, food, laws, and social norms that a group of people share in common. Diversity- bringing different groups together to one place.

3.  Diversity is what makes things (living and not) or people different. Culture is the way humans express their diversity.

What I realized through these three different but similar responses is the understanding that my friends have of true culture and diversity.  I expected the standard responses, stating race and ethnicity, but saw the depth of their answers as reflecting the true ideas behind culture and diversity.  I believe that their definitions, particularly when combined together, state all the ideas that we have expressed throughout this course without eliminating any important aspects!  Talking with them about diversity has allowed me to see the importance of understanding, particularly in the way that I now know diversity and culture express themselves.

My Family Culture: Week 2

Blog: My Family Culture
Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.


The three items that I would choose would be our children's birth certificates, our family bible, and the family scrapbook.  I would choose our children's birth certificates because that would be all they would have of their origin, complete with their names, birth dates, our names, and our town where they were born.  It would be a lasting piece of their identity.  I would take our family Bible, as it is the basis of our religion for our family.  The words in the Bible can bring comfort, identity, belonging, and peace, all things that our family would be missing during this chaos.  For our family, our Bible is the only book that we would need to find all the answers that we would be asking.  Finally, the last item I would take would be a scrapbook that I made for my firstborn, in the weeks prior to her birth while we were waiting for her arrival.  This scrapbook contains pictures of my husbands and my grandparents, parents, and our sisters/brothers and their families.  It also contains birth dates for everyone, a small description of each person, and some words of wisdom from them about life in general.  I created this in order for my daughter to know the important people in her life and would take it with us as a remembrance of our extended family that we probably would have lost contact with.

If upon arrival in our new country we were told we could only keep one thing, I would keep our family Bible.  I would be able to write the important dates of their births and birthplaces in the pages, along with the names and information that is found in the scrapbook.  The Bible would then contain all three items in one, and would remain the backbone of our family's faith.  Although I would be sad to lose the other two, in the end it is my children's eternal life that I am concerned more about then if they know where they were born.  The Bible would give them the most opportunity to share in our family's faith.

This exercise was one that I had to look at on Tuesday (when I usually get all my work done for the week) and I put it aside until today as I was almost sick to my stomach to think of this scenario.  I am one who doesn't watch the news because it fills me with uncertainty to think of the future difficulties that my children will face, so to think of a catastrophe such as this was one that I did not want to address right away.  It was also a little more difficult to think of what I would take with us based on culture, rather than immediate need as I was first thinking that I would take my children's comfort items (their bears & blankets that they sleep with every night) for their own security rather than the things that would give them cultural background.  Their immediate comfort, which would come from their security items, seemed more important to me at the time!

Reflection on Research

As I complete this last week of Research in Education, I have gained knowledge and understand regarding the process involved in creating and carrying out research.  The first insight that I have gained, and probably the most important, is the sheer quantity of time that is required during the planning phase of research.  From my limited perspective, prior to this course, my understanding of research was the time application during the data collection portion of research.  After concluding this course, I am aware that the planning portion of the research design is probably the most intensive part.  Another insight that I gained from this course are the many considerations that must be taken into account when designing research.  From equity to bias, and cultural aspects to consent, there are so many ideas that must be looked at in order to conduct valid, relevant research.  

My ideas regarding the nature of doing research have changed in that, although the planning process is intensive, it is a must in order to be successful and validated in your research.  I feel confident in my ability to define a research question and plan the research design.  Although I would need to be under the guidance of an experienced researcher, I believe that I could be successful in the process of research design.  

One of the challenges that I encountered was choosing a topic of research that would be relevant to not only the field of education, but to my specific interests.  After choosing that topic, I also faced the challenge of redefining the idea into a workable research question.  This took a few tries and many considerations, but I was finally able to define a specific hypothesis for research.  Another challenge was simply trying to understand the limitless options in regard to the different types of research and the ways to go about collecting data.  There are many considerations when choosing the data collection methods and choosing the right one for my specific question took some understanding and thinking before I was able to identify the one that would work the best.

Finally, my perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course to include potential researcher as a characteristic of a quality professional.  In the field of education, understanding the importance of research, being able to identify quality research, and promoting the idea of being a researcher are all aspects of a professional in the field.  

International Research: Australia

I chose to look up information regarding Australia's early childhood research.  I chose Australia because during the last course, my international contact was from Australia.  I learned a great deal about early childhood from my correspondence with her.  Trish is the director of an early childhood center that was made up of about 60 children.  The main ideas regarding early childhood care in Australia is centered around the development of National Standards that oversee all early childhood centers within the country.  The development of these National Standards has lead to an overhaul of the early childhood system in Australia and the new push is towards excellence in all centers. 

From my contact with Trish, and from reviewing the website provided for this week, I learned that much of the current research in Australia is the same as in the United States.  One such research aspect is the idea of higher levels of education for early childhood workers.  With the new standards in Australia, the level of education required for early childhood teachers is increasing as the research shows that better care is provided by those teachers with higher levels of education.  There is also a push in the standards for play based learning in classrooms, which comes directly from the current research regarding the way children learn.  Low wages are also a current issue in Australia as the research also shows that those teachers who are paid better wages are more likely to stay with the career reducing staff turnover, which has been shown to have a positive effect on the children in early childhood programs.

I learned a great deal of information regarding the early childhood changes that are currently taking place in Australia.  I think the information on the website, along with my knowledge from the last class, has provided me with a better understanding of the importance of quality national standards and the impact that they make on children in early childhood programs.  I think in the near future, we will begin to see some of these changes taking place, particularly thanks to the current research on topics such as teacher education, higher wages, and play based learning.

Research Competency: Week 3 (Daycare vs. Home)

Option 2: Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field. Imagine further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present. Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families. What topic would you choose? What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be?


If I could choose any topic to research and had no limits to my research capabilities, I would choose to research the impact of raising children at home versus in a daycare setting.  The debate between choosing a career over raising children is a topic that I have always been interesting in learning more about.  As a former professional (teacher), who had two young children in daycare and gave up my career during the pregnancy of child number three to stay home due to the high cost of daycare, I can see both side of the argument.  We loved our daycare and felt that it provided a loving, nurturing, educational setting for our children, but also see the value in them being home with me during their early childhood years. 

I would focus my research on the long-term effects and outcomes of children who were raised in a home setting (being cared for by a parent) and those who were cared for in an early childhood setting on a full-time basis.  I would look at different characteristics such as attachment, social abilities, educational success, and health issues.  I believe that this research could provide valuable information to mothers and families who are having a hard time deciding on the best option for their children.  The conclusions of the research could have a great impact on early childhood as it could create a positive light for daycare, or provide the opportunity for changes that could lead to a more home like setting for early childhood programs.  I believe the research would have a great impact on children and families who are looking for answers when it comes to daycare versus staying at home.