Farewell and Good Luck

    It is really hard to believe that it is already time to write my last blog for my Master's course.  When I first began this journey almost two years ago, I had no idea how to blog or if I was doing it right and this has become just one of the many things I have been introduced to through this course.  One of my favorite courses was the course on child development and how we had a chance to look at the fetus as it grows all the way up until the age of eight.  I have taken child development classes for my undergrad degree, but I never got to look at this in so much depth.  I am now working with infants and being that I currently have no children of my own, I have always been a bit anxious that I was not doing the right thing or that I lacked the proper knowledge.  This course really helped me feel more comfortable and I gained a lot of useful I share with families to this day.
    Another course that I enjoyed was the course on budgeting.  It gave me  chance to work directly with my director on realistic budget issues our center has each day.  I understand now why we do the things that we do and I can explain these things to the employees now too.  Being on the other side, I never understood how limiting a budget can be, so it was so important for me to have a chance to look at this.  I also liked that we had a chance to make our own budgets because, even thought I struggled getting all my figures exact, it was great hands-on experience should I ever have to do the real thing.
     I also learned a great deal from doing my capstone project.  I never realized the information that was available on natural outdoor learning environments and I never thought I would love it so much.  I enjoyed doing the research and dare I say, creating my project.  Even though it was stressful, it seemed like something that was so beneficial.
    The last thing I learned and the one that I feel is the greatest, is the reminder of how important time management is.  There were a number of days/nights when doing homework was the last thing I wanted to do, but I stuck it out and knew that it was in my best interest.  I have always been good at time management, but this program has taught me that I can work full-time, be in school and still maintain an active personal life outside of all of this.  I moved 3 times during this program and took two major vacations out of the country and each time I was able to balance everything.  (even if it was just a bit stressful).  Maintaining a balance is truly important and it is this that I also take away from this experience.  I believe in hard work, but you also have to have time for yourself, your family and your friends.  I also learned that I really can accomplish anything I set my mind too.  
   As for my long-term goal, I really don't know.  People at work and in my family have asked me "What do you want to do now?" and I don't have an answer yet.  I am just looking forward to having some time to process what I want to do and not rush into anything.  I really enjoy my job that I am doing right now and I think I would like to continue moving up within the organization, but I really don't know what the future holds for me.  I'll just take it day by day.
   I want to thank everyone in this program and course for being so incredibly supportive.  Without all of you, I don't think I could have done this.  We have all worked so hard and I am so excited to move on to the next journey, as I am sure all of you are as well.  As of right now, I have plans to go to graduation in Orlando in Jan. 2014 so maybe I will run into some of you there.

I found these three quotes and chose to end my submission with them because they all have meaning to me in my personal and professional life.  It's been a year full of changes, which all turned out to be positive, and I think all of these quotes are great because we must accept the challenges that come along, own our lives and love what it is we do every day!!

“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine

“Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

“It’s not about how much you do, but how much love you put into what you do that counts.” – Mother Teresa

Congratulations to everyone and I wish you all the best in whatever your next adventures will be!!  Now go have a cocktail....we've earned it!!

                The first organization is the World Organization for Early Childhood Education.  It can be found at www.omep.org.gu.se/English/.  It is an international, non-government and non-profit.  There may goal is to defend and promote all children’s rights to have an education.  One of their projects that I found interesting was called Birth to Three.  Its purpose is to provide education for sustainable development and WASH from the start.  (WASH stands for water, sanitation and hygiene).  The individuals working on this project go into homes, community health centers and preschools to ensure that all children have clean water, use proper sanitation and have proper hygiene.  The organization works with the UN, UNICEF and many other international organizations.

      While there were no current jobs listed, I would like to do the job of National President of a region in Europe.  This person produces newsletters, attends national meetings and represents their assigned area in all educational aspects of Early Childhood.  I would love to represent a region in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece or Ireland because I love traveling abroad and have always had an interest in what it would be like to live and work abroad.  For this job, I believe you would need to be organized, fluent in the language of the region where you live, in addition to speaking English and be very knowledgeable on that regions educational systems to you could discuss what is going on within the region and also recognize areas that you would need help in. 

                The second organization I found is the Association for Childhood Education International which is located at acei.org.  There motto is “Bright futures for every child, every nation”.  There are different advisory groups all over the world (Canada, Peru, Oman, India, Singapore) and anyone can pay dues and be a member of this organization.  This organization produces various professional educational magazines and gives a lot of opportunities for networking with people in other areas of the world.  The one program I really liked was the “Love Me, Teach Me” program/campaign which encourages parents and teachers to interact more deeply with children.   All children have the right to have an identity, to participate in education, and the right to have security, stability and protection.  The campaign focuses on teaching adults how to do this with the children in their lives.  I also liked that there is an ACEI radio station and they have broadcasts posted on the website of various topics that are discussed.

                The position that I thought looked interesting was their Country Liaison Program position.  I could pick any place in the world and move there and my job would be to gather information about the Early Childhood practices and policies there, share this information with members of the group, provide ideas on staff development and promote international and intercultural understand (www.acei.org).  Again, you would have to be organized, knowledgeable of the educational practices of the area and willing to travel frequently for meetings and conferences.

                Another organization I found was the Pacific Early Childhood Research Association found at www.pecera.org.  I searched this website more out of curiosity because I do not know much about the Pacific Island culture or educational system.  The purpose of this organization is to support and research Early Childhood education and get the word out to others about it.  They strongly promote research and studying of EC.  They have an annual conference, produce various journals and there is a database of members that other members can connect with.  Another interesting thing I found is that the founder and honorary president, Bernard Spodek, is a professor at the University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana, which is one of my state universities located just a few hours away. 

                The last organization I searched information also had a job I found interesting because it is a job I used to do.  The site is reggioalliance.org and they have a position for a preschool teacher in Japan.  The person that does this job would work with families from Japan, the US, the UK, Belgium, Taiwan, and India.  This job is interesting to me because I have never worked with such a diverse group of children before.  I would have to have creative lesson plans based on the Reggio Emilia concept, be a good communicator with my parents and maintain an organized classroom.

                The website, reggioalliance.org is the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance and they have various conferences individuals can attend, different networking opportunities and a lot of really neat pictures and information about schools based on Reggio Emilia from different parts of the world.  The section of the website that I really liked is from Reggio Emilia, Italy and gives information on infant, toddler and preschool centers in the area.

 

References

www.omep.org.gu.se/English/

www.acei.org

www.pecera.org

reggioalliance.org

National/Federal Organizations and CoP's

     The first Community of Practice that I found that I would like to be a part of is found at futureofchildren.org.    It is made up of individuals from Princeton University and The Brookings Institution and these individuals work together "to translate the best social science research about children and youth into information that is useful to policymakers, practitioners, grant-makers, advocates, the media, and students of public policy."  (futureofchildren.org).  They write really great journals and articles on a huge range of early childhood topics and produce policy briefs each year.  The reason why I really like this organization is because they have good sound research practices and they get to have a direct impact on politicians who make early childhood policies.  One of the jobs I was really interested in is the job of outreach director.  This individual gets to work with different groups of people and share the research and work that the group has completed.  For this job, you would need excellent communication and organization skills to be able to keep track of all the different research and how it affects different groups you will work with.  You would also need great time management skills to be able to prioritize the work you do.
     The second organization is my favorite national organization that I have found and it deals directly with my capstone project:  Children and Nature Network.  This organization can be found at childrenandnature.org and I love this organization!!  Their main goal is to bring nature experiences to children and families and try to re-establish a love of the outdoors for today's children.  They base their ideas off of research they have found and share this information with a wide variety of audiences.  They have different newsletters you can sign up for and the site is loaded with different research on the topic of nature and children.  There are guides on how to use nature in your classroom and also how to have nature experiences as a family.  The job I would love to have is National Coordinator, Nature Clubs for Families.  The individual who currently has this job works with community members in different cities to establish nature clubs for families and helps them get ideas on how to do this and how to get them up and running.  You would need to be a very enthusiastic about nature to have this position, be a people-person and be able to lead and coordinate different groups of people.  You would also need to be a good communicator over different types of media because you may be communicating with individuals from all over and it may not be face-to-face.
     The last organization I found is Early Learning Leaders.  I chose this because I feel like it would be great to be part of their CoP.  This groups primary purpose is to increase the knowledge of child care owners and directors by providing workshops and a national conference on differnet Early Childhood topics.  You can become a member of this organization and have access to even more information, such as different trainings and help with getting your center accredited.  The group can be found www.naccp.org.  I would choose to keep the job that I have now and become a board member to work with this group of individuals.  The board members come from all over the US and have different levels of experience.  They meet to discuss Early Childhood issues, look over research that has been found on these issues and plans the trainings and conferences that they offer.  For this job, communication and research skills would be necessary.  I think you would also have to be a good public speaker, as they do some speaking engagements throughout the year.

     The first organization I found is great for any of you seeking information on Early Childhood issues and I hope everyone takes a chance to look over what I have found.

References
futureofchildren.org
childrenandnature.org
www.naccp.org

       

            I was able to find two local agencies and one state agency that caught my attention.  The first agency I found information on is the Early Childhood Coalition which can be found at www.eccqc.org.  The reason this caught my interest is because of a child I had in my classroom years ago that I always wanted to have observed because I thought he was somewhere on the Autism spectrum and his family refused on chances to get him observed.  I feel like this organization could have been a great asset to this family and helped them in their struggles with their child.  The organization provides support services to children with varying special needs and they focus on Creative Curriculum and the Illinois Early Learning Standards (Early Childhood Coalition).  I had never heard of this organization until I looked it up and I was shocked to see that it serves 660 children located in 33 centers and home-based classrooms.  The things I found really interesting about this organization is that they have community circles, which reminded me of our communities of practice we discussed this week, where families and other interested individuals can meet to talk about different issues or topics.  They have a meal and then discuss whatever their topic is about.  I felt like this was similar to our community of practices because these individuals are passionate about something and want to share their knowledge with others and also learn from others in the community circle. They also offer free developmental screenings for all children residing in Rock Island County, which is the county I live in and where my center I work in is located.  I did not know this service existed until I looked at the website and this is great to know because this is a great service that we can provide to our families if they would like to have their child screened.  There were no jobs listed currently available with this organization, but if there were, the jobs would require great communication, collaboration and organizational skills.  A person would have to communicate with their colleagues and also the families they are working with.  Depending on the child’s needs, an individual working for the organization would have to work with other workers or the child’s teachers to give the child the best services they required for their specific need.

            The second local organization I looked up is Bethany for Children and Families which can be found at www.bethany-qc.org/index.htm.  I drive by one of their buildings everyday on my way home from work and have done races in the past that was a fundraiser for this organization, but I was never quite sure what they did.  Before I started this grad program, I considered going to grad school for social work and this organization would fit great should I ever decide to go that route.  Their motto is “to keep children safe, strengthen families and build healthy communities” (Bethany for Children and Families).  They are a licensed child welfare agency and they have been in the community since 1899!!  They have expanded their services and now they offer foster care and child welfare services and currently specialize in at-risk youth.  Early intervention is something they are really striving to deliver to the community.  I felt this organization could be very beneficial as a resource for parents in my current position should anyone ever need to seek certain services.  Their board of directors functions like a community of practice because it contains various figures from the area, some business owners, some philanthropic investors, and some educational figures and they meet as one large group at times and they also break out into 5 different community groups.  The members have a strong desire to provide services to the community and are passionate about the work they do.  As far as jobs go, the only ones currently open are for a dental hygienist and a dentist, which I would never qualify for or want to do.  If I could obtain a job through them, I would go the social work route and try for something in either adoption or foster care services because I would love to be able to help children either find their forever homes or at least one home where they are safe and loved.

            The third organization I found is called Children’s Home + Aid and it is out of Chicago, IL and can be found at childrenshomeandaid.org.  I first learned of this organization last year because through my work you can choose different organizations to donate money to and this is one that I chose.  They protect, educate and counsel over 40,000 children, help them overcome poverty, abuse and neglect and also provide adoption and foster care services.  Their governing board is made up of various community figures and business individuals.  What I found the most interesting about this organization is that they have what is called the woman’s board and for the last 92 years,  this group of woman have “dedicated their time to help abused and neglected children” (Children’s Home + Aid).  Their big fundraising effort right now is for Early Childhood Care and Education on Chicago’s South Side.  They also focus on school readiness, crisis intervention, and parent support services.  The reason I liked this so much is because it seems rare to have a group of only women leading an organization and meeting on a regular basis to get things done for the early childhood community.  There are many jobs available through the organization right now, but the one that really caught my eye was for a program coordinator for an after-school program.   The person researches grants, provides family involvement programs and also sets up the schools health model.  I used to work at a before and after school program and I always felt it was very important to have quality after-school for kids that was safe, educational and also provided them with physical activities to participate in.  I also like that health is included in this position because this was one of the words on my wordle that interests me and I could have a positive impact on many young children in this role.  In order to do well at this position, I would need good communication and organizational skills and also be able to oversee other staff members.

            After doing some research on a variety of organizations, I realized how many there are all over and it is just a matter of looking to find one that can assist teachers or families in early childhood education.

 

References

Bethany for Children and Families-www.bethany-qc.org/index.htm

Children’s Home + Aid-childrenshomeandaid.org

Early Childhood Coalition-www.eccqc.org

As we move on...

It is so crazy to me to think we are already done with another course.  We're all moving on to our specializations and I can't help but think of how fast the time has gone by!  We should all be done by the summer if that is the case....we got this!!!  It has been so nice to be able to see a correlation between my personal and professional life and the courses that I take and this course was no different.  Just a couple weeks, my relationship of 6.5 years ended and I was left with a large feeling of where do I go from here???  Now, I'm not looking for sympathy or pity, but the irony of the situation is when I stop to reflect on where it could have all went wrong, what we truly lacked was communication.  We stopped really talking to each other and drifted apart, which created a lot of resentment in our relationship.  I don't think without this course I would have realized that and I also don't know if I could have kept going if it wouldn't have been for all of you.  The assignments kept my mind focused on something positive and it was nice to have the distraction.  I know we have never met face-to-face, but we have all shared in this journey together and I looked forward to working with each of you every week.  You have shared stories and experiences of your lives and I have learned a lot from all of you.  I wish that I could continue to work with each of you during my upcoming specialization courses in Administration, Management and Leadership, but even if I don't, it would be great to see and meet all of you at graduation.  Thank you for all the words of wisdom and good luck with future courses!!!  Enjoy the next two weeks off.....I think we've earned it!!!

Group Communication

     This post is really hard for me because I don't have a lot of experience working with teams at my work or at least not in the way I think this assignment is referring to.  I think high-performing groups are hard to leave because you are obviously quite good at getting the job done.  I think it really depends on the group though, because even low-performing groups could be hard to leave.  You have established relationships and may have even gotten to know people on a very personal level, so leaving them could be just as hard, even though you may not be as successful.  Relationships are what makes any groups and it's the relationships that are hard to leave behind.
     Again, I have not really worked or had a group that I had to leave, so I really do not know the answer to the question about which group has been the hardest for me to leave.  Just over a year and a half ago, I joined a new team of the managers I work with and I would hate to have to leave this group.  We may not always get everything accomplished or get it done perfectly, but they are a fine group of ladies and I consider all of them friends.  We have yet to establish any closing rituals because none of us are going anywhere soon.  I think we are still in the new stages of team forming and that is more where we are working on right now.
      When I think about this program ending, I think, Wow....I will have a lot of free time and a lot more money!!!  :)    But then I get sad because even though I have never met any of you face-to-face we have gone through this great thing together, struggled together, succeeded together and it is always sad and hard to leave that behind.  I think it is important to adjourn from a group because as you learn and grow, you could be best suited for other places and or you could be needed in other places.  Sometimes when you work with people for too long, no new ideas come in and there can almost be a lack in performance.  While it is hard to change, getting some fresh people and fresh ideas together could potentially make things better or at least different.

Helpful Communication stratagies

    I just read the blog assignment for this week and since I will not be returning to work until Monday, I will not be able to get any feedback from my collagues that will be helpful to this blog.  I do however have conflicts at work that I could use some of the information and strategies we learned about this week to help make them better.  We have a new flex staff member at work that has never worked with children as young as what we have at our center, so a teacher in my building was chosen to be her mentor and to help assist in becoming more comfortable in working with infants.  Since she is in classrooms in my building, I also have to work with her/help her learn the routines, rules and regulations our center follows.  This started last week and it has been a very interesting two weeks.  As the week went on, I felt like I was getting into slight arguments with this staff member every day and today was the worst one yet.   She is constantly stating how "stupid" our regulations are and is slighly disrespectful in my conversations with her. I also do not feel like she is the best person to be working with children this age and I wanted to observe her at some point this week or next to really get a feel for what she does in the classroom and if my feelings are valid or if I am just starting to not like her and in turn just don't want to see her work in my building.  This is a hard situation for me because there are very few people I can't work with or feel like I can get through to understand different things at work.
    In this situation, one of the strategies I would use is to observe without evaluating.  I feel like I have already judged her and may not give her a fair shake when it comes to the observation.  I need to just observe her open-mindedly and take in everything that happens as it is and not think about it or judge it too much.
     I think another good strategy to use would be one of the NVC concepts that says, "state what we want, not what we don't want" (The Center for Nonviolent Communication, n.d).  I've kind of molded this to my own situation and I know this particular staff member has a hard time with rules and understanding why they are important to follow.  I have been giving her a lot of "don't do this and don't do that" and maybe she needs to hear more about what we can and should do.  Maybe going on the more positive side of things would help her see why things are important and why we follow the regulations that we do.
    The last helpful strategy I thought of is to just go ahead and print out the article on the 3R's that I found and give it to her to read over.  It gives a great outline of what makes early childhood teachers great:  respect, responsiveness and relationships.  I think the article also has great guidelines to think about when a new teacher first starts because it gives them something to strive for when working with young children and their families.
    Hopefully through these three things, my interactions with this staff member will go more smoothly next week and I won't feel so frustrated and annoyed after I work with her.

References

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). NVC concepts. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

Cheshire, N.  (2007). The 3 R’s:  Gateway to infant and toddler learning. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 35(3), 36-38.