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.”
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!!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
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
reggioalliance.org
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