Time Well Spent

I am so humbled and honored to be completing my Masters Program! I am forever grateful to my colleagues for your continued support and feedback. It has been a great journey to grow professionally and obtain priceless knowledge that you all offered me.

Professor Darragh, I greatly appreciate your feedback and support as well. You challenged me to think deeper and harder about how to present my challenge and I hope that I have presented it in such a way that has shown my growth. Thank you for your support and positive words.

A few deeply felt learnings from this program are:
-The importance of building a community of practice. It was a great experience to be able to discuss my challenge with my colleagues and have them respond respectfully to my passion and how I want to be an agent for positive social change. It was also great to be able to support my colleagues.
- I discovered a lot about myself through this course. I found out what my deepest passions are when it comes to the early childhood field. I can picture myself being an agent of positive social change and I have never been able to see myself in such a way before.
-Passion: I have seen how so many of you have such a passion for different issues in the field. I see how important it is to hold on to that passion and work towards changing inequalities and injustices even if it seems impossible. I have been inspired by all of you to continue to fuel my passion and I hope that each of you do the same.

My long term goal: Be employed in an administrative position in the early childhood field and make a difference at the job: such as create better communication, build positive work atmosphere, etc.

I cannot believe this day has come! I want to wish all of you the very best in your future endeavors. I hope that all of you achieve your goals and then some!
Maybe we will meet at graduation! :)  GOOD LUCK!

"Our accomplishments are a reflection of what our relationships have allowed us to achieve" ~Zero to Three 2011
I love this quote and I whole heartedly believe it. Continue to build positive relationships in the field and outside of it. You will be successful! :)

JObs/Roles in the ECE Community:Internationally

Three International Organizations that I found are:

1.      Care.org : This organization is an international organization that is located in 87 countries around the world. Their mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. They focus on helping women in these poorer countries. They believe that when they provide women with the correct resources, they can have a positive impact on their families and whole communities. They provide education, healthcare and nutrition, they seek to end gender violence and much more. I chose this organization because  I agree with their mission and the work that they do. They seem to have a large organization and they are helping so many people. I found many job opportunities on for care.org. One in particular that stood out to me was : Education Project manager in Somalia. They need a talented individual to work with the ministry of education in Somalia to work on a Youth Education project. Any person employed in this position must be knowledgeable about education but also in international affairs. They must also be able to work under harsh conditions and willing to live internationally.

2.      Helpthechildren.org : This organization is both national and international. They are a Christian non-profit humanitarian relief organization. They seek to help children and families. Their mission is to increase self sufficiency. They provide food, clothing, personal items, etc. I chose this organization because I think that it is great to help others reach self sufficiency. Their mission is something that I would like to support and I appreciate the Christian values. They did not have career opportunities but many volunteer opportunities. I would like to help volunteer to put together food and personal item boxes and help them to be sent all over. An individual in this volunteer position must be able to work well with others and show compassion for others and must be a team player.

3.      Savethechildren.org: This organization focuses on many ways to help children. They do this through education, child protection, health and nutrition and much more. I chose this organization because I feel that they are advocating for children everywhere. A few courses ago, I chose this organization to subscribe to and I receive monthly newsletters from them. Career opportunity that caught my attention: Child Protection Coordinator: Save the children organization needs an individual to work to protect children with regard to the Ebola outbreak. This individual will need to work with others to ensure the safety of children. A person employed in this position must be able to work under harsh conditions and must posse great communication skills. They will need to coordinate every aspect of the job. Managerial experience is a must.

Job Roles in the ECE Community/National Level

National Organizations that I found and would be interested in becoming part of the Community of Practice include:
1.      National Association of Early Childhood teacher Educators:

I found this organization and I think that it would be a great organization to join. The Organization is comprised of people from all over the world, which I think is a great way to learn about early childhood education. They advocate for early childhood teachers and issues concerning them. I would like to be a part of this community because it is filled with professionals who share similar passions and goals for the field. It would be nice to have that support.

Job opportunity listed on the organization website: Ohio University’s Child Development Center (CDC) seeks a collaborative, creative, and flexible Director to lead the University’s Reggio-inspired lab school.

I think that this would be an ideal potion to apply for in the future. The course of study has prepared me for this type of position. All of the qualities that a director needs have been discussed in the program.

2.      Association for Early Learner Leaders: This is an organization that supports leaders in the field such a directors and administration. They focus on collaboration, training, program quality, etc. They strive to help the leaders provide the best high quality education for their centers. What  a great organization. This is a field where we are always learning and it would be great to join this organization and stay updated on how to make my program the best that it can be.

Job opportunity:  Lawrence Montessori School (LMS) is hiring a visionary administrator who will take our four year old school to the next level of growth. A person in this position would need to have director experience. I would love a job where I could apply as an experienced director.

3.       Education Commission of the States: This is a community of practice that seeks to improve public education by sharing resources and ideas with each other. They also collaborate with policy makers. This group would be a good one to join because of the resources but also because of the collaboration with policy makers. It would be beneficial to speak directly with those who create policy about necessary changes.

Job opportunity: There were no job listings on the site but I would imagine that in order to work for such an organization, one would have to be knowledgeable about early childhood policy.

References

http://www.naecte.org/

http://www.earlylearningleaders.org/?

http://www.ecs.org/

Early Childhood Roles

Early Childhood Centers in my area:
1. Jenkins school: they cater to the whole child and are passionate about early  childhood education. They also support those studying the field. They  employ undergraduate students to give them opportunity for experience and to learn from others in the field.
2. Owl hill learning center: this center focuses on helping children as well. They also focus on parent interaction and partnerships. They partner with the school district and also work to provide many resources for parent involvement.
3. Kindercare learning center: this center is great because it also is heavily involved in supporting its community. It partners with many organizations to help children such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters, a juvenile program and they have many programs to assist early readers.

Employment Opportunities:
1. Prepnow.com is seeking qualified online tutors. This job would suit me right now as I am a stay at home mom. They need individuals who have experience with students and a degree.       
2. A local early childhood center is seeking a qualified lead teacher part time. This position would work because it is part time and I would be able to work in the field. A person in this position needs to be up to date on issues and trends in the field, have a passion  to work with all children birth to school age and be reliable.
3. Hildebrandt learning center is in need of a center director. This position would be great for me because it would allow me to utilize the skills and knowledge that  I have acquired throughout my course of study at Walden. This person would need to know how to be a director of a center, know about issues and trends in the field and have great communication skills.

Thank you

I would like to thank all of my colleagues for your comments and blogs during this course. This course has taught me so much and I have learned through all of you as well. Thank you for sharing stories and experiences and your feedback. I wish you all the best of luck in your future courses!

Adjourning

This week you read about the five stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Consider the adjourning phase for several of the groups in which you have been involved. Think about which aspects of the groups made for the hardest good-bye.

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave?

I think that high performing groups are hard to leave. However, when a project is complete and it is successful, you want to move on to the next task and be just as successful.

Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why?  

One group that I participated in was very hard to leave. The atmosphere was almost like a family. We knew that we could depend on each other and we all supported each other in every aspect of any project that we  were working on. Because of this, we were successful and it was hard to leave this environment.

What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced?

I have experienced going away parties/celebrations that were nice because they celebrated all the great things about me as an employee as well as all of the group contributions. It is nice to be recognized for working hard.

How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program?

I think that we will write a blog post to thank our colleagues for sharing their stories and their wisdom and we will wish them well in their future courses with Walden.

Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

I think that adjourning is essential because it allows for time to reflect on projects. The team can see where they made progress or if any mistakes were made. They can discuss ways to do things better or differently the next time.

 

 

Managing Conflict

Lately, I have been facing conflict at work. I have tried numerous times to explain how I feel about it and why to my supervisor, but my efforts have not really been successful. Through course readings, I have found that one strategy that I started to use and will use more often, it is a challenging strategy. I think this strategy would work best for me because most times, I just try to avoid conflict altogether. Because avoidance was my usual managing technique, I never felt as though my issues were resolved, they were just suppressed. Along with the challenging strategy, I would like to use probing as well. I need to ask more questions if there is a misunderstanding. I believe that these two together will help me to manage this conflict more effectively. I believe this because at times, the atmosphere is one where I am supposed to do a task without question. Many times, this can cause conflict within myself because many times, I feel like an explanation would be okay. 

Does anyone have any other suggestions about how to deal with conflict in the work place?

Evaluating Communication

The thing that surprised me most about how others evaluated me is that I seemed to be harder on myself than they were when answering the questions. For the most part, I ended up in similar groups when evaluated by others and myself. I think that this surprised me because I tend to be harder on myself than others tend to be.

This week, I learned that we communicate by how we perceive things. In order to avoid a negative communication encounter, we must be aware of how we perceive things, ourselves and the people that we communicate with. In the early childhood field, it is important to be aware of these things in order to have effective communication.

Communicating

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?

            I do find that I communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. I speak differently when I am surrounded by people of my own culture than when I am not. There are cultural ways of speaking that I tend to use more around people that belong to the same culture as I do. For example, it would be appropriate to use slang words if I wanted to.  If I am communicating with people that I am unfamiliar with, I tend to not speak very much. If I do need to speak, I do not use slang words. I tend to use a more proper English.

 I also communicate differently with people in professional setting versus a nonprofessional setting. There are terms and ways of communicating that each work setting uses to communicate among its employees. I have learned the ways that my current job uses to communicate among my colleagues.

Three strategies that I could use to communicate better:

·         I could get to know others and how they communicate

·         I could utilize the Platinum Rule to communicate more effectively with people of other groups and cultures.

·         I could also take more time and learn about my own communication styles to learn how to communicate more effectively with others.

Nonverbal communication

Watch the show with the sound turned off.

I watched a show that my husband chose for me that I have never seen before. Its called Gavin and Stacy. It’s a British show.

·         What do you think the characters' relationships are based on the ways in which they are communicating?

o   There is a guy and a girl on the phone together. They seem to know each other very well. They are laughing and seem to have a good relationship.

o   The girl gets off the bus and is greeted by an older woman. They seem to know each other. They may be neighbors.

o   Girl goes home to roommate/mom and has dinner. They have a regular dinner conversation.

·         What are they feeling and expressing based on the nonverbal behavior you are observing?

o   I think that the girl is feeling happy and she seems to have people around her that support her and care for her.

Now, watch the show with the sound turned on.

·         What assumptions did you make about the characters and plot based on the ways in which you interpreted the communication you observed?

o   I assumed that the guy and girl on the phone were close friends and that they knew each other well. They have never met before. They only spoke on the phone and are going to meet for a blind date.

o   I assumed that the older woman was having normal neighborly conversation with the girl. I was right about them being neighbors, but the old woman had a bit of a foul mouth.

o   I also assumed that the girl went home to a roommate, but it was her mother and they do have a good relationship. The dinner conversation was a normal one that could have been between a mother and daughter. It was a very comedic conversation though.

·         Would your assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?

o   I do think that my assumptions would have been correct if it had been a show that I know well. I would have known the relationships between the characters and may have been able to guess what the conversations would have been about.

·         I found that reading body language/nonverbal communication is not very hard when the sound is off, it is easier to focus on facial expressions and gestures. When the sound is on, I found that I paid more attention to the dialogue.

Communication

For your blog this week, think of someone (e.g., family member, celebrity, politician, friend, or professor) who demonstrates competent communication within a particular context. What behaviors does this person exhibit that make him or her effective? Would you want to model some of your own communication behaviors after this person? Why or why not?

My dad is someone who demonstrates competent communication within a business setting. He is very smart and has a wealth of knowledge about the topics he discusses at work. He uses good communication skills and maintains eye contact and uses good body language. He is able to listen to others and work with them to come up with solutions to problems.

I would like to model some of my own communication behaviors after him because I feel that they are effective. He is able to communicate with many different people in many different settings. I think that this is a great quality to have.

Professional Hopes and Goals

A hope that I have when I think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I can play an important role in celebrating their diversity. I hope that celebrating diversity becomes contagious and it gets passed from child to family. I would like to see some of the areas of concern with regard to diversity, diminish over time.

One goal that I have for the Early Childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that these issues become  discussed in more and more early childhood settings. I did not know of many of the issues that the early childhood field faces until I began my course of study. I would like to see more early childhood educators informed on the issues and willing to make changes.

I want to say thank you to all my colleagues in this course! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and stories with me! It was a pleasure to learn such a diverse group of people. I appreciate your feedback on assignments and  I wish you all the best in your future courses! Maybe we will meet again! Thank you! I have really enjoyed this class!

Welcoming Families from Around the World

My new family's country of origin: Greece

5 ways I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive:

1. I will research Greek family culture and traditions
2. I will prepare the classroom and make sure that culturally appropriate materials are visible so that the child can feel welcome in the classroom
3. I will speak to the class about Greece and the upcoming arrival of the new student
4. I will find out as much information about the student as I can prior to their arrival
5. I will do anything else that I can to make sure the student and the family feel comfortable

In doing all these things in preparation, I hope to make the family and child feel comfortable and welcome as much as possible. I want them to realize that we are educating ourselves on their traditions and customs and will respect them. I think that doing all of these things will be a great benefit because, if the family feels comfortable, we can communicate about their child and education. This will also help the student and family's transition to be a smoother one into a new school. This will also benefit me as a caregiver/teacher to speak honestly and openly with the parents and feel comfortable in doing so.

The Personal Side of Prejudice, Bias and Oppression

1.      What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression?

I was teaching a Spanish class one summer to inner city youth in my area. Over 80% of my class had some sort of Spanish background. I remember the kids who were Puerto Rican, Dominican, or Cuban, always made fun of the kids who were Mexican. It was an everyday occurrence. I would hear “It’s because he’s Mexican” or “Don’t listen to him, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he’s Mexican!”

2.      In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

In this case, equity was diminished by the other kids making the Mexican students feel that they are not important. This could lead to internalized oppression for the Mexican students. If they are constantly put down by their peers because of their ethnicity, they may try to disown their heritage and their culture.

3.      What feelings did this incident bring up for you?     

This incident made me upset and I felt sorry for the Mexican kids. I did not understand why the other students felt this way about Mexicans. Everyone in my class spoke Spanish at home and they had this in common. I just did not understand.

4.      What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

I think that the mindset needs to change. The non-Mexican Spanish students should not feel that they are entitled or better than the Mexican students. Everyone should have an equal chance. They should celebrate all the things that they have in common.

Awareness of Microaggressions

One example of a microaggression that I experienced this week was during a conversation with my co-worker. The week before the conversation, I went to the hair salon to have my hair done for a banquet. The hair dresser added a few small extensions in the front of my hair just for some color. So, my co-worker asks me "Tina, did you get your hair colored?" I, not wanting to come right out and say that it was extentsions, say " Not exactly". She continues to say, "Oh! I should have known!" (I still did not mention the extensions.)

I smiled and did a small laugh and we continued on with another conversation. I felt a little bit irritated. I wondered why she felt that she should have known without my mentioning it previously.

My observation experiences show me that microaggression is a part of everyday culture that we are surrounded by. It is on TV commercials, shows, etc. These can have a negative effect on the targeted group. No one wants to wake up and go through their day feeling judged and discriminated against. The microaggression may not be noticeable at first, but once it is, it can really have long term effects on anyone.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Definitions from family and friends:

Marcia: Diversity: An expression for several different people
Culture: An expression for groups or places that shape an individual

Nicole: Diversity is different qualities, races, or mix of cultures brought to one organization, community, area, etc.
Culture: is how you are raised. Culture is what your background consists of and what you grew up in and were exposed to, by your community, your family, your ethnic background.

Tony: Diversity: Is everything. You have to be a part of it. Its not a word, its a way to be.
Culture: the views and practices of a certain group of people; ethnic, generation, religion...

Carmela: Culture & Diversity: To me it is how one learns about other peoples culture and tries to understand the difference. That's why culture and diversity go hand in hand. If one learns about different cultures, they are exploring the true meaning of diversity. We are all diverse in one way or another, so understanding the difference makes one culturally competent.
 
Camara:

When I think of culture, I think of my family and ancestors. I think of my heritage on both my maternal and paternal side. Culture relates to all the things that make us who we are, the struggle and the ups and downs of everyday life. I relate culture to my religion, to my belief of the American dream and most importantly to how I raise my own children. My culture is unique to me because of my race, ethnicity, skin complexion, hair texture, height, build and so many other factors.

Diversity reminds me of a rainbow, each color is unique but when put together they complement each other. Diversity in my opinion gives you a variety; a variety of cultures, opinions, attitudes, beliefs, religion and ideas. You don’t have to change who you are, you just have to learn how to co-exist with other people who do not always think and feel the same way you do.

In the definitions I received, they did reflect what I have learned in this course. For example,  “Diversity is everything”, “Culture is your background”, "..Makes us who we are"..

 Individually, some definitions do lack some  factors in describing diversity and culture. If I combine all of the definitions, I do not think that they have omitted much at all.

By listening to other peoples definitions, it has influenced my own thinking about these topics. I see that their definitions stem from their life experiences. I could also combine all these definitions to make a well-rounded definition.

My Family Culture

The three items that I would choose to represent my culture would be my cell phone, my bible, and a pen with paper.

I know at first, a cell phone can seem superficial, but it has many family photos on it as well as numbers of friends and family. I do not know if phones would be working in this situation, but I would have to have hope that I can stay in communication with my loved ones if we get separated. Not a day goes by when I do not call my mom or my sisters and vice versa. So, my phone would help me to stay connected.

My bible is a symbol of my faith. Even though we may not be able to attend a church in another country, I would still want my family to hold on to their faith.

I would bring a pen with paper in order to write stories, songs or draw pictures. My family is very creative and we express ourselves in many ways. We may not have all the necessities, but we would have our creativity to express ourselves and share these with each other.

If upon arrival, I was told that I could only keep one thing, I would be very sad. I would think that our lives would not be very fulfilling. However, I would be happy to know that my family is safe and that we are together. Only having one personal item is not the end of the world and we would make do with what we have.

An insight that I gained about my culture is that it is very family oriented. Everything that we do is to make sure that everyone in the family is okay.  

Research Reflection....

I have gained numerous insights from this course about research. I was able to take a look into the research process and learn more about it. I learned a lot of research vocabulary. The chapter on Ethics was also a valuable read for me. I also feel that the course text will be a helpful reference for me in future research.

The ideas about the nature of doing research have changed for me. This course has showed me that doing research involving children, there is so much to consider. It is not so cut and dry.

As far as planning, designing, and conducting research in the Early Childhood goes, I have learned that a good plan is necessary. But you have to expect the unexpected when working with children. I have also learned that you may start out with one research question and by the end of your research, it could be a completely different question.

A few challenges that I faced were coming up with a research simulation project or question that I would find interesting and then narrowing it down into something that I could research. It look the first few weeks of the course until I finally felt that I had narrowed down my topic to something that I could work with. It seemed like every time I read a new topic about how to conduct research, I had to re-evaluate my question/topic. It was challenging but very insightful and I feel that I would be able to replicate it again.

My perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course. I can see that this field is wide open to issues that need to be studied and researched. I am grateful to those that supplied us with the knowledge that we have now about the field of early childhood.

Research Around the World

I chose the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) website to explore. I found interesting information.

What are some of the current international research topics?

• A few international  research topics that I discovered were:
• Aids
• Public and Private School Enrollment
• Infant and child mortality rates
• Child nutrition
• Health
• Early Childhood Development
• Poverty
• Education and Training

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

• I found that in Eritrea, they have "feeder schools" that offer free basic education. Through these schools, they help convince parents to send their children to school. The un-enrolled child rate is still high regardless.
• I found it interesting that the greatest concern with regard to schooling is participation of girls.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

• Some other noteworthy information I found is regarding children with special needs.
• In Uganda, children with special needs have been identified and programs were created to cater to these children and give them access to school.
• They have also trained over 5,000 teachers to handle children with special needs.

Reference
http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php

Uplifiting Stories

The issue of ethics and research on children can cause people to think of research in a negative light. However, there can be positive effects  of research on children. I could not think of a personal story but I considered what we know about children today. This information had to come from someone's research. Take the medical field for example. We have seen positive benefits. We can learn about rare diseases, symptoms of diseases and how to prevent numerous illnesses in children.
An example, with regard to the early childhood field, we have learned that children learn through play. We also know the various types of play and what and how children learn from them.

In considering these factors, I can see that positive effects can come from research on children.