Time Well Spent

This has been such an amazing journey. I am truly grateful and blessed to have been able to push myself with the help of friends, my professors, and my colleagues. I have many memories and great things I have learned and accomplished, but the top three things that I feel are my deeply felt learnings from this program is:

-Gaining knowledge of the different and plentiful resources that can help me with advocacy, as well as being able to give these resources to others is one of the greatest things I have gained from this program.

-My wonderful professors that I had throughout this program, who helped me to be a better researcher, advocate, and educator. I am truly amazed at how much they cared for our education. It makes me feel honored to have had the opportunity to be taught by these wonderful educators.

-Lastly, I am truly thankful for all of the connections I made with colleagues. It is with your help that I was able to reach my fullest potential, and learn from one another’s experiences to bring to life the projects we did throughout this program. I thank Dr. Embree for all of her positivity and help. You are truly amazing!

One of my long-term goals is to become a trainer/educator for up and coming educators. I have always wanted to teach and mentor those who have the same passion as I do for the early childhood education field, but want someone to teach them who has gone through the ups, the downs, and the experiences to help them in this field be better and great educators.

My farewell message to my colleagues is to always strive for greatness. We have come so far, and we were all there for one another through this academic journey. What ever you set your minds to, just know that you can do it, no matter what. To my wonderful instructor, Dr. Lisa Embree, you really have been such a monumental tool in all of our learning and success. Personally, I was nervous in the beginning, but your guidance has given me the confidence I needed to succeed, and I thank you so much for everything you have done.

Some inspirational quotes that I love that I feel would be inspirations to you all as well are:

You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”
― Oscar Wilde

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
― Plato

Good luck to everyone, we did it!!! C/O 2015

Jobs/Roles in the ECE community: Internationally

The international organizations I chose to examine more closely is Children International, University Research Co. ,LLC (URC), and FHI360. I chose these organizations because they are focused on the vulnerable child and helping them get the proper social and health systems possible to create an environment that is safe, as well as allow for the proper developmental growth of all children. They also allow for individuals to sponsor children to help provide these much needed and important services. These organizations are helping with ensuring equal rights and access for children all over the world, and are pioneers for social change.

The job opportunities that are available that are of interest to me from Children International is a Sponsor Service Representative. The job qualifications are to be fluent in both English and Spanish, have a can do attitude, be flexible, and to be serviced geared and willing to help all callers, whether they are angry or not.  Also, you have to be familiar with MS office suite, type 30-40 wpm, and have well oral and written skills.

Next, the job that interests me from URC is Team Leader Health Worker Performance and Productivity. The skills and experience needed for this position is  as follows:

At least 8 years of experience designing and implementing international HRH programs in Africa or Asia

        

 At least 5 years technical experience in human resources, human performance science, and experience implementing performance management systems in developing countries.

      

 Experience in and knowledge of quality improvement systems and approaches as ways to improve clinical care outcomes and human performance

          

Experience developing and managing operations research in human resources or related performance and quality management.

        

 Experience working with international aid organizations, such as WHO, and experience supporting country leadership organizations, such as ministries of health, as they implement programs related to human resources.

          

Knowledge of and experience working with communities, CSA, and/or private sector organizations.

          

Experience in leading and coordinating diverse technical teams and individuals

          

Strong writing and oral presentation skills in English; conversational fluency in French desirable

          

Strong communication and interpersonal skills that will enhance coordination and collaboration throughout the project

There are a lot of skills and experience needed to perform this job at its highest level, but I feet that  it can have a lot of rewarding outcomes both personally and professionally.

Lastly, the job opportunity from FHI360 I found interesting is Advisor, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research. The experience needed for this position is to have a Master’s degree in public health, social sciences, or related field, 8 years expereicne in advising, monitoring, evaluating and research, with a particular and extensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS, excellent oral presentation and written skills, as well as extensive research experience.

Reference:

Children International. (2015). Retrieved from

https://www.children.org/

University Research Co., LLC. (2010) Retrieved from

http://www.urc-chs.com/

Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

The organizations I chose to look at job opportunities are NAEYC, The U.S. Department of Education/USAJobs, and The Association for the Early Learning Leaders. I chose these organizations because they are well known, as well as can help with getting ground within the early childhood education field where you may be able to make a larger impact on a Macro scale to appeal to the masses.

For NAEYC, the job opportunity was as a Reliability Manager. The skills and experiences needed to fulfill this position is that supervises a team of 3-4 Reliability Specialists. Working under the supervision of the Director of Program Standards and Assessment, the Reliability Manager oversees activities supporting the NAEYC’s ability to conduct reliable, valid accreditation site visits. Major tasks include design, development and modification of reliable and valid accreditation tools and processes, and ongoing monitoring their reliable use by NAEYC’s nationwide team of site visit assessors. The Reliability Manager and team collect, compile, and analyze data on system performance and use it to inform continuous system improvement.

As far as Education needed, a minimum of a BA in Early Childhood Education/Child Development is required; a MA degree is preferred. Three (3) years of experience in the field working with young children in an early childhood program and a sound understanding of its ECE practices is required. Three years supervisory experience leading staff, contractors, and/or volunteers is desirable. Travel is required, as well as understanding and knowing NAEYC standards and program goals and requirements.

For the Department of Education, I was interested in the Education Program Specialist within the Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. The Division administers Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to improve and enhance outcomes for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. The Division, together with parents of children with disabilities, individuals with disabilities, researchers, technical assistance providers, professional development providers, and service providers, formulates an agenda to improve the quality of math interventions and education for children and youth with disabilities.

Experiences needed to make sure the job is done properly is as follows:

Degree that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours of course work in a field related to the work of the position, or 4 years of experiences understanding principles and practices of the work in the education program specialist, or, a combination of school and experience that demonstrate understanding of the position and requirements needed to complete job.

The third job from The Association for the Early Learning Leaders is the position of Director of an Early Childhood Education. I would need at least 5-10 years experience in the field of ECE, as well as supervisory experience and knowledge of state minimum standards and accreditations. I would need a Masters Degree in ECE, or related field, or a Bachelors degree with 3 years experience in a supervisory position.

References:

Department of Education/USAJobs. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.usajobs.gov/JobSearch/Search/GetResults?OrganizationID=ED&ApplicantEligibility=all

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/about/jobs

Association for the Early Learning Leaders. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.earlylearningleaders.org/networking/apply_now.aspx?view=2&id=304599

Reflecting on Learning

Being in this class has given me a lot of insight into different ways of looking at the educational mirror so to speak. I love working with children and families and being able to see all of the growth and potential is very rewarding to me. My most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families with whom I work for is to be able to continue understanding and committing my knowledge and teachings to those children and families I work for. I would love to be able to teach others respect, tolerance, empathy, and understanding of diversity in all of its aspects, but especially as a learning tool for children and their families. Anti-Bias education is so important to me; I want to be able to show others that they too can incorporate this not just in the educational realm, but in their personal lives as well. The more educated and equipped we are to prepare and teach not just the children, but the adults within the lives of children, the better prepared we can be to continuing the spread of anti-biased teachings.

I would like to say thank you to all of my colleagues for sharing their experiences and professional and personal thoughts on the issues we discussed during this course. I enjoyed being apart of this education journey with you all, and I thank you for allowing me to learn from you. I would also like to thank Dr. Kein for being so supportive of our learning and educational experience. You have made such a great impact on me; all of us as educators and I thank you for giving us topics that really made us dig deep into ourselves. I wish everyone the very best in the future courses and endeavors!

Warmly,

Ketrice~

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

When I went to the UNICEF website, the area of the world that I chose was The Middle East and North Africa because this is a part of the world I hear a lot about when it comes to violence, children, and the women in these countries fighting for their human rights, and rights to be who and what they want to be, but are limited for many different reasons. When I was reading about this particular region, some of the challenges that children are facing in this part of the world is the violence, not being able to continue or enroll into school, or having the chance to possibly drop out and not get an education. What was most striking to me is that in Nigeria and the near region, over 800,000 children have been forced to flea their homes because of the violence in Nigeria. In the surrounding countries of Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, the amount of children who are leaving their homes and fleeing has doubled in the last year. What was most alarming to me is that a UNICEF Regional Director stated that “The abduction of more than 200 girls in Chibok is only one of endless tragedies being replicated on an epic scale across Nigeria and the region,” says Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “Scores of girls and boys have gone missing in Nigeria – abducted, recruited by armed groups, attacked, used as weapons, or forced to flee violence. They have the right to get their childhoods back” (UNICEF, 2015).

This kind of trauma and stress to children can make them feel as if there is not safe place to be a child, to be loved by parents, and that adults can use them in any way they see fit, even if it means the well-being of the child is in jeopardy. This can cause sadness, confusion, and mislead children to think that there is no future for them to look forward to. This has opened by eyes both professionally as well as personally. I feel like I was truly blessed to have the opportunities I had as a child and as an adult, but when I see what other children around the world go through, it makes me feel so sad. We can take things for granted, and the children who really need and want an education, to feel safe, and to know that they are loved by the adults in their life. It makes me want to continue to advocate for children and be an advocate for the children within my classroom.

Resources:

Dakar, G. (2015). UNICEF. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/media/media_81518.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

As an early childhood educator, I am exposed to some many different things; some good, some bad, and some disturbing. Sexualization in early childhood education is becoming more and more prevalent. I am always amazed and how much children are exposed to at an early age when it comes to sexuality and the over exposure of gender identity when sexuality is concerned.  Now, it seems to be a norm, which is sad to say, but with the TV, Internet, advertisements, and radio, children are going to be exposed to sexualization at a young age regardless.

When watching television, you see children doing things that adults should be engaged in. for example, the toddlers in tiaras show is about pushing little girls to parade around like a woman with big hair, make up, and to exude sexiness to be in a pageant for people to judge them on their beauty. Children at this age should be being children and not worried about how they look, and how society perceives their looks. Girls have a lot of pressure from media and the Internet to look and be a certain way, why start this at such a young age?

As a teacher, I do see children who are exposed to sexualization in different ways. For instance, girls come in in dresses and heels with make-up on, and I have had little boys come in with cologne on and are allowed to ‘shave’ which I found very alarming. Children already have gender roles in their head at the age of 2.5-3, which is the age I primarily teach. They believe girls have to be thin, with long hair, heels, dresses and makeup, while boys believe they have to be strong, no crying and to ‘man up’ and where manly or boy colors. Children should be allowed to wear colors that make them happy, and to understand that at any gender, you can do anything; the sexes should be presented to children at a young age as equals and not greater than or lesser.

Children want to be the stars and actors/actresses they see on television as well as in animated movies. I had a little girl, who was listening to kids bop, and the song she was listening to had adult content, but children were singing it, and she knew every word. Also, the way she danced was that of an adult. She was moving her body in a provocative way. It is so hard to try to intervene to let children know what is and what isn’t appropriate, but once they leave and go home, or are around peers in another setting, things will change and the children will pick up on things that are overly sexualized.

The implications this may have on a child’s healthy development is that they can grow up with a warped sense of self image and this could lead to low self-esteem, low self efficacy, as well as depression.  It is important as an educator to always allow for children to see the positive side of being who they are and positive outcomes of genders. I want girls to feel empowered to be and do whatever they want regardless of how they look, and for boys to feel empowered to do the same and to feel emotions without the negative stigma that comes with it. Having books and different literature, as well as videos and images of positive behaviors and self image will help children to ask questions, but also to gain an understanding of the world around them in positive ways that foster healthy development.

My awareness has been modified by this week’s topic is by always keeping a close eye on how children interpret the world around them. Also, I want to be able to always bring in positive images of men, women, and the LGBT communities that allow for children to see social roles as positive and to allow for acceptance, tolerance, respect, and understanding. Children are curious, and we have to make sure we are explaining these curiosities in the most positive way as possible.