Time Well Spent

What I learned from this program?
-I learned a great deal about culture and diversity.  I always thought that these words were the same, however, I quickly learned the difference between the two. 
-I also learned about the correct way to research.  I learned how to be confident in doing research and it made me not so apprehensive.  I am now so much calmer at the idea of doing it!  Still not my favorite thing to do, but I am knowledgeable about how!
-I have excitingly learned about managing and owning my own child care facility!  I learned about budgeting, purchasing, staffing, and so much more than I ever imagined it to be.

My long term goal is to be become an Early Childhood Professor.  Before I accomplish or work at this goal, I want to be a Daycare Director.  In the long term I would like to teach other students how to enjoy and embrace my field of study!

To my Instructor,
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my emails and make me feel like you had time for my concerns.  I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have gained in this course.  Although it was tough at times, you showed me exactly what it means to do graduate level work and be proud of it.  Again I thank you!

To my Colleagues,
Thank you for always taking the time to read my blogs and discussions.  You always left me great feedback and comments.  I wish you the best in your future!  WE MADE IT!!!!!!  Congratulations.  Now go be great!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

            Although I would always want to work and live in the United States, it was exciting to think of working to help families and children on an international level.  Thinking of my field locally and nationally does not lead to much of a major interest change for me.  However, when I think of this field on an international level it reminds me of the importance of early childhood. 

            Save the children’s website led me to a position entitled, child protection advisor with a location of Hatay, Turkey.  The role of this person is to “provide quality technical leadership and advice for the design, implementation and monitoring of child protection related activities in the context of Syria response program” (www.savethechildren.net/jobs, 2013).  When looking at the mission and vision of this organization, I knew that I would want to be part of such an organization.  The qualifications and experience needed for this position are to have a “Master or Bachelor degree, experience with fundraising with major donors, highly developed cultural awareness, and a commitment to Save the Children values” (www.savethechildren.net/jobs, 2013). 

            United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s website has an interesting position available for a finance and administrative officer with a location of New Delhi.  The role of this person is to “provide a range of administrative management support activities to the UNESCO entitles in New Delhi, India.  He/she reports directly to the directors of entities with overall guidance from the Bureau of Financial Management” (www.careers.unesco.org, 2013).  The position pays pretty well in US dollars and seems like a very interesting position.  I looked the qualifications of this position and  they would like the candidate to have at least four years of experience and a bachelor’s degree (www.careers.unesco.org, 2013).         

I looked at the UNICEF website and looked at the careers that they offered.  I was interested in a child protection position with this company because I think that my passion for helping children would be used greatly!  According to the website this position would “play a key role in the design, implementing and monitoring and evaluation of child protection programs.  Key areas include child protection from violence, exploration and abuse, development and advocacy for legal and social policy reform and strengthening national protection mechanisms” (www.unicef.org, 2013).

 References

www.careers.unesco.org.  Retrieved December 7, 2013.

www.savethechildren.net/jobs.  Retrieved December 7, 2013

www.unicef.org.  Retrieved December 7, 2013

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

         Organizations that appealed to me!

(1)   NAEYC (I chose this organization because it is a popular organization within the field of early childhood education.)  “NAEYC’s mission is to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources” (www.naeyc.org, 2013).  There were several opportunities at NAEYC, but one that struck me as interesting was the “Council for NAEYC Accreditation of Programs for Young Children”.  The responsibilities are to approve policies, monitor and provide feedback on NAEYC operations, oversee accreditation decisions, recommend to the governing board, and review all proposed revisions to NAEYC accreditation criteria. 

(2)   UNICEF (I chose this organization because of what they do for children and families in many countries).  I would be interested in a “Child Protection” position with this company because I think that my passion for helping children would be used greatly!  According to the website this position would “play a key role in the design, implementing and monitoring and evaluation of child protection programs.  Key areas include child protection from violence, exploration and abuse, development and advocacy for legal and social policy reform and strengthening national protection mechanisms” (www.unicef.org).

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

            (1) Alamance Partnership for Children (Local)-I chose to mention this organization because it is a community of practice that is in my community.  They focus on helping families thrive, as it relates to children.

            (2) Smart Start Organization (Local)-I chose to mention this organization because it assists childcare facilities in providing funding as well as finding resources to make daycares better.

            (3) North Carolina’s Race to the Top (State)-I chose to mention this state organization because it was created to help schools show accountability, as it relates to early learning.

Job Opportunity at Smart Start of Alamance County was of interest to me.  The job title was Program Director and the qualifications were five years in EC management and a Masters Degree in the EC field of study.  I would need 7 years in the professional business area, of which I do not have.

Week 6: Five Stages of Team Development

For me it is hardest to say good-bye to high-performing groups!  Those groups that “just worked”.  Although we didn’t always agree, we did respect each other’s opinions and everyone handled discussions and disagreements with maturity and professionalism.  We had gotten past the awkward “forming” stage and figured out who would work best in which role and we were good at it.  When clearly established norms are set, it is easier for members to be able to “see the value in the differences on the team” (Abudi, 2010).  I personally, need to work with groups who have clearly established norms and haven’t wasted a large amount of time in the forming stage either.  I like to get to know the members and get to working on the task at hand, rather than spending too long just trying to figure things out and everyone trying to see who is worthy of what spot! 

            Closing rituals that seem to work for my grouping situations is that we talk about how things went in our grouping.  I like to discuss things that we thought went well and definitely things that were disastrous.  Of course, it doesn’t always happen, but I would really like to have the opportunity to do so if I had my way each time.  Saying good-bye is difficult in most situations when you are working with an awesome group of people!

            As far as my colleagues at Walden University, I think that saying good-bye won’t be nearly as difficult as if it were in a “face-to face” classroom.  I think that groupings are very different when you are in groups through an online classroom.  I honestly haven’t been in a situation where I feel that it is going to be difficult to say good-bye to anyone.  Not to say that I haven’t learned a great deal, gotten great feedback and ideas from fabulous colleagues here, I just don’t feel that saying good-bye will be hard?    

Week 2: Communication Exercise

          For this blog assignment, I watched one of my daughters’ favorite show that I have never paid close attention to!  It was an episode of “Shake it Up”.  When I watched the episode with the sound off, it was really shocking how much you can actually pick up from body language.  The show begins with children who are dancing on a stage in groups.  I am picking up on the beat of the music from the way the dancers heads and bodies are moving.  The characters’ relationship seems hard to figure out without listening to the words that the children are saying.  When the two girls are in the house they are sitting on the same couch.  One girl is reading a magazine and the other is talking to her.  Their faces look calm so it appears that they are having a friendly conversation.  Throughout the show the two girls are together so I am assuming that they are friends, because they are of two races and can’t be sisters.  They use many gestures and during the meal, one girl appears to be sad and the other girl seems to be trying to cheer her up. 

            When I was able to listen to the show, I found out that the two were best friends and dancing partners.  Both girls lived in the same building and went to the same school.  I never picked up that the little boy that went to their school was the girl’s brother because it never showed the two of them in the house.  When watching the meal scene I learned that Cece (sad girl) was told that she couldn't dance if she didn't pull up her grades.  Her mother told her this, while having a phone conversation.  When I was listening only, I did pick up that the girl was upset about what the lady was telling her, but I didn't realize that she was her mother.  Cece’s friend’s name is Rocky and she was comforting her and saying that she would tutor her to bring her grades up.

            If I were watching a show that I normally watch, I would have been able to figure out the relationships and conversations rather quickly.  If you’re watching a show, you can predict a lot of what you think that particular character has said or will say.  You know what types of looks they make and what they mean.  It would have been much easier to watch something that I normally watch, however, I wouldn't have gotten as much out of the activity.  When looking at the episode without sound or even background knowledge, you don’t know what to expect.  I think the good thing about this is that you can see it with any “open eye”, without judgments.  However, without knowing the characters or background knowledge you’re only option is to assume.  Most of the time, my assumptions were incorrect as far as relationships went.  I was shocked to learn that by not listening to the sound, I was able to pick up on the correct mood of the person.  You can learn a lot about what a person feels, simply by watching and paying attention to body language and gestures. 

Communication Week 1

The person that I feel communicates effectively in any given situation would have to be our President, Barack Obama!  Every time that I have seen him speak, he always speaks with confidence and preparedness.  Even though others aren't always on his side or believe in, he still speaks as if they do.  The President is always prepared in his speech and seems to be ready for anything that someone asks of him.  When watching the debate, no matter how mad he was on the inside, it didn't look like it.  To me, he is someone who understands how to communicate with others effectively and doesn't interrupt others even when he is passionate about something.  I would like to be able to speak to people with confidence and preparedness.  I would like to communicate without interrupting and making sure I am respectful, even when I’d rather act another way.  I would like to remain calm, no matter what is said. 

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think of working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that they feel that they are a priority to me and my classroom.  I hope that they understand that I am interested in who they are and what they bring.  I also hope that I show them just how much I want to gain their trust in knowing that I am here to make them feel part of the classroom.  I mostly hope that they understand that we are a team and I value who they are!

            I would like to set a personal goal for myself related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice!  I will take more time to continue to learn about families from different backgrounds and lifestyles different than my own.  I will show these families that I am a neutral resource and can be trusted by them.  Even though I may not agree or understand at all times, I will put my own beliefs aside, to make sure that families know that I am trustworthy and willing to put their needs first! 

            I would like to thank you all for your support, kind words, encouragements, and ideas to help me move forward in my journey!  I have truly learned so much and am honored to continue in this learning process!  I wish you all much success in your journey also!

Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

My personal experience with prejudice was recently!  I was in Target doing some “major” clothing shopping.  I went up to the dressing room and asked the clerk how many items I could take in.  She nicely said, “7”.  So, I picked out 7 outfits and went up to get my number, she begin patting down the clothing that I brought into the fitting room.  She saw the disturbed look on my face and said, “Oh this is something new we are having to do!”  So, I brushed it off and went in to try on my clothes.  As I switched out those 7 for 7 more, there was a line of people waiting to go into the fitting room.  To myself, I thought, “I wonder if they will get patted down, since this is the new policy.”  I being black and the clerk being white simply made matters ten times worse for me.  I am not always looking for the prejudice in people but I was simply outraged.  I noticed that for some reason the clerk wasn’t following her new procedures with the rest of the customers in front of me.  None of them got a pat down, but when she came back to me, she proceeded with a quick pat down again.  This time, I shook my head at her.  I really wanted to say something to her about what she was doing and decided to just leave it alone.  I know it would have been a major scene and I had to think of the 2 families that I had seen in the store that went to my school.  I was so angry and I knew it wouldn’t have been pretty.

            This incident brought back so many memories of prejudice that Martin Luther King, Jr. fought against.  We are living in a world where this stuff shouldn’t still exist!  It’s a shame when you don’t feel like people trust you because you’re black and you look like you’re going to steal.  I don’t have a reason to steal clothing.  I work every day, have a bank account, and am an honest person, without any desire to steal.  I’m so much better than that, but didn’t need to be treated like a criminal who had stolen from there before.  If I could have changed this incident, I would have spoken up to the clerk.  I would have asked her why she didn’t feel the need to pat down the other customers in the store.  I probably could have gotten the Manager over there to inform me of their “new procedure” of patting down the clothing of ALL customers, if indeed it was true.  I do plan to go back into that Target and question her if it happens again.

My Family Culture

            If a major catastrophe occurred in the US and I was forced to live elsewhere with my immediate family I would be devastated!  However, I would be most comforted to know that my family and I survived and would be together.  Family means everything to me and I believe that when a family is together, you can get through anything much easier!  The three items that I would take would have to be a bible.  Although my new destination is different than what I am accustomed to, I would still have to continue my belief in God and keep reading his word!  I would explain to others that I am a Christian and I believe in God.  I would let them know that I pray and read God’s word.  More importantly, that I am praying for a miracle!!!  The second item I would want to take would be my cell phone because I would be able to access my pictures and the world as I knew it before the catastrophe.  It would also be some sort of normalcy in a chaotic time.  I would explain to others, that my phone has many pictures in it from when my life was “normal” and it is a reminder of my life.  It could also connect me to the US.  The third item I would take would be my head scarf because no matter what I have got to keep my hair looking good!  I would explain to others that my hair doesn’t “bounce back” after a few shakes.  My scarf keeps my wrap looking good.  Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a pretty sight for long!

             If I was told that I could only keep one of the three items I would be really mad!  I mean, I only had a few minutes to grab three things from a place that I have lived for 34 years!  It is tough to even choose three things that I would take and leave everything else behind.  Valuables….history…..pictures….career….house…..car….LIFE as I knew it….and now the other 2 things?!  I wouldn’t be able to deal with that.

            As a result of this exercise, I was able to really think about what is most important to my family.  This was easy because my immediate family got to go with me.  Although I would miss my extended family, I would have to have my immediate family.  Choosing three objects knowing that my immediate family was with me, made those things not as major.  For my family, that is the most important thing to us!