Time Well Spent

I have been looking forward to the day I finish my courses through Walden and finally have my Master’s degree.  Has it been two years already? I am filled with emotions and am so thankful for having the opportunity to grow in my understanding of the early childhood field.  My time spent with you has challenged and changed me.  I have growth both professionally and personally.  Through Walden I have had the opportunity to let my passion for children become my voice for advocacy.  I am grateful for this program and all I have interacted with.  Three deeply felt learning's from this program are:

• We must collaborate and communicate with people local, nationally, and globally and advocate for positive social change.  Our untied voices are stronger and more effective together than individually.  There are others who share the passion we do.
• To become an expert in one’s field you must continue adding to your knowledge and skills.  As a lifelong learner I will continue improving my methods and understanding through professional development opportunities.
• Advocating for young children’s developmental needs and becoming an agent of social change.  There are many challenges in the early childhood field that need be addressed and there are many groups, and organizations that can assist us in spreading awareness. 

 

A long term goal is to work for an agency or organization that provides professional development opportunities for educators in the early childhood field such as ESC Region 20 or the HighScope Foundation.  I would love to instill the love for learning in the children they serve, help develop effective learning environments for children of all abilities, and contribute to their understanding of developmentally appropriate practices.  As a lifelong learner I will continue improving my methods, collaborate with colleagues within the early childhood field and advocating for children everywhere.

It has been exciting and educational time learning from all of my professors and colleagues.  Thank you all for sharing your stories, experiences, knowledge, and wisdom.  Thank you all for contributing to my discussions, groups, blogs, and assignments.  It has made me a stronger educator and advocate.  I wish all of you nothing but the best as you move forward to accomplishing your goals and passions.  I sincerely hope our professional paths cross again as we continue growing in the early childhood field and advocating for social change.

 

International jobs/roles in the ECE

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) is one of seventeen divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) - the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted.  The DEC promotes policies and advances evidence-based practices that support families and enhance the optimal development of young children who have or are at risk for developmental delays and disabilities.  They are currently seeking an Early Childhood Special Educator in Japan.  They are seeking an experienced individual with a Masters in early childhood education.  This individual will screen and/or supervise the screening of infants and toddlers to determine the likelihood of developmental delay, determines the appropriate curriculum, strategies, and goals for a program of intervention that address delays or potential delays in these areas, and provides assistance and training to family, extended family members, and childcare providers to implement a home-based intervention plan. Provide consultation to preschool teachers to ensure a smooth transition from Early Intervention to the special needs preschool.



Save the Children gives children in the United States and around the world what every child deserves – a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When disaster strikes, Save the Children put children's needs first, they advocate for and achieve large-scale change for children, and save children's lives.  They currently have position as a program specialist who will provide training and technical and management assistance to program partners to ensure the effective coordination, implementation, and monitoring of K-3 afterschool and summer programs focused on literacy, physical activity, nutrition, and family engagement.  Under the supervision of the Kansas Deputy Program Director and working as part of the Save the Children state team, the Program Specialist oversees implementation of integrated programming at assigned partner sites which will number approximately eight to ten.  This full time position prefers a Master’s degree in education or child development with a minimum of 5 years in related work. 

The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy based on the image of the child, and of human beings, as possessing strong potentials for development and as a subject of rights who learns and grows in the relationships with others.  This global educational project, which is carried forth in the Municipal Infant-toddler Centers and Preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and has inspired other schools all over the world, is based on a number of distinctive characteristics: the participation of families, the collegial work of all the personnel, the importance of the educational environment, the presence of the atelier and the figure of the atelierista, the in-school kitchen, and the pedagogical coordinating team.  They currently do not have any employment opportunity. 

References:

The Division for Early Childhood: http://www.dec-sped.org/index.aspx



Save the Children: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm



Reggio Children:
http://www.reggiochildren.it/identita/reggio-emilia-approach/?lang=en

Jobs in the ECE community: National & Federal

The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE) purpose is to promote professional growth, discuss educational issues and concerns, advocate for improvements in the early childhood field, provide a communication network, has many publications, and cooperates with other national and international organizations concerned with the study and education of young children.  NAECTE accepts advertisements for positions or events of interest to early childhood teacher educators.  Family Health Centers of San Diego is in need an exceptional Child Development Specialist to help us further their commitment to the community and provide top-notch care to those who trust in their support.  This position will significantly impact the organization by providing high-quality assessment and intervention activities for children ranging in ages 0 – 5 and will also work on an interdisciplinary care team to participate in developmental intervention services.  This position requires a B.S. in Child Development or Education, coursework in Special Education, minimum 1 year of working with young children birth to 5 years, current CPR, and bilingual required. 

            The National Head Start Association’s (NHSA) mission is to coalesce, inspire, and support the Head Start field as a leader in early childhood development and education.  Their vision is to lead.  To be the untiring voice that will not be quiet until every vulnerable child is served with the Head Start model of support for the whole child, the family and the community.  To advocate and to work diligently for policy and institutional changes that ensure all vulnerable children and families have what they need to succeed.  They currently have a few positions available in the Dallas, TX area.  The position I am interested in the most is for an Early Childhood Center Manager.  In this position I would plan, direct, and coordinate the academic and nonacademic activities of preschool and child care centers. 

            A professional organization that I am very interested in is the High Scope Research Foundation which inspires educators to inspire children.  They are an independent nonprofit research, development, training, and public outreach organization.  Their mission is to lift lives through education.  They envision a world in which all educational settings use participatory learning so everyone has a chance to succeed in life and contribute to society.  They are currently seeking an Early Childhood Specialist.  They will be responsible for providing educational leadership to the teaching teams and families of the program. The Early Childhood Specialist will assure the implementation of the High Scope Curriculum in the classrooms administer the Preschool Quality Assessment (PQA) on teachers within the agency.  For this position it is required for one to have a graduate degree in child development, previous HighScope experience required, PQA reliable assessor certification preferred, and a minimum of two years previous early childhood teaching, caregiving, working with families required.  Looks like all I need is to be PQA certified for this position.

References

http://www.naecte.org/

http://www.nhsa.org/

http://www.highscope.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

This week I have imagined myself in a variety of jobs that foster the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field as a whole.  It has inspired my thinking about the places I would like to work but also the roles I might like to take on, now and in the future.

Education Service Center, Region 20 (ESC-20) vision is to be the definitive choice for leadership, innovation, and the advancement of learning.  ESC-20 provides assistance to districts in the successful development and implementation of a school readiness integration model of coordinated funding that brings school districts, Head Start programs and child care providers together in a mixed delivery model.  I chose this center because they also provide leadership to ensure the effective regional implementation of appropriate instructional strategies in early childhood settings through technical assistance and professional development in the areas of developmentally appropriate practices and curriculum.  I have been to many professional development opportunities at this location.  Attending them gave me an insight into adult education.  Sadly, there are no current positions available at this time.        

T.E.A.C.H. is a research based comprehensive strategy to educate and retain early childhood practitioners, positively impacting outcomes for the children in their care. T.E.A.C.H. provides educational scholarship opportunities for people working in regulated child care centers and family child care homes.  They increase the knowledge base of early childhood professionals working with young children‚ thus improving the care these children receive, encourage child care programs to support the continuing education of their staff, reduces staff turnover by supporting the above goals while also requiring from participants a specified time commitment to their sponsoring program after their scholarship year.  They provide professional development for teachers and family child care home providers currently in the field.  What I like most about this program is the fact that they create a model of partnership for improving the quality of care that children in child care programs receive.  I would enjoy working here because of the impact they make on the early childhood workforce.  There are no positions available at this time. 

The University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) Child Development Center is licensed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and accredited by The National Association for the Education of Young Children.  The Center is a Texas Rising Star Child Care Delivery Service Provider.  The program is designed to enhance children's emotional, social, creative, physical, language and cognitive development through creative learning experiences in an educational environment.  I would consider a position as a lead teacher because their curriculum emphasizes developmentally appropriate play experiences based on the children's interests and ideas and encourages critical thinking skills.  Currently there are no positions available at this time.  If there were ever an opportunity to work at this location I would.

For more information visit their websites:

http://www.esc20.net/

http://www.texasaeyc.org/TEACH/

http://www.utsa.edu/cdc/

Wordle

Gracias!

 

A very special thank you to all who have shared and helped me grow throughout our Communication course. I enjoyed our many discussion boards and blog posts which your input has helped me grow into a more competent communicator.  Through you I have gained valuable knowledge and information that will forever stay with me.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart in helping me develop my communication skills over these past 8 weeks.  I am eager to begin work with my specialization in Adult Learning.  I wish everyone well as you continue your degrees and specializations.  Good luck and fare thee well!

I bid you ADIEU

I have been working with the same group of Kinder teachers for the past five years.  We were part of a group who shared an identity, had common goals, and had interdependent relationships with each other.   We have helped each other professionally and personally, worked along side one another, and fed off of each other's strengths.  We worked well as a team and became a group of friends.  Our group was cohesive and we identified ourselves "as a sing unit rather than a collection of individuals, which helps hold the group together in the face of adversity" (O'Hair & Weimann, 2012, p. 268).  We were never in competition with one another because we fully trusted our group.  Sadly, this past academic school year was our last together.  The entire team had to part due to other employment opportunities, moving out of town, and opening a new school.  This high performing group was the hardest goodbye any of us had ever gone through.  It took us years to develop the partnerships and friendships we had established.  They became a pat of my primary group like family. 

As a part of our adjourning ritual we cried with one another while wishing each other luck in our future endeavors.  We laughed, hugged, and shed many tears of sadness and joy.  We promised to keep n touch, meet up and have lunch or dinner,  and always cherish all the memories.  It is going to be very different working with a new group and in a sense starting over.

 

I have really enjoyed all that I have learned from Walden's professors and my colleagues but I am looking forward to the end of our program.  My family and I have sacrificed so much for me to continue my education.  The thing I can never have back is the time I spent away from my family.  I have missed many moments from my sons developing years even though all know it is for the good of my family and my job as an Early childhood educator.  I will miss learning and sharing our thoughts and ideas in a very safe and nurturing learning environment.  When we first stated this course we did not know each other and were forced to work with complete strangers.  Our online group transformed into a learning community and we are no longer strangers.  We are a group of people who have a shared identity, have common goals, and had interdependent relationships.  Luckily we will still be ale to communicate with each other through online sources such as blogs or even Facebook. I hope to meet many of you at graduation and wish you the best of luck on your journey into the next chapter. 

 

The Adjourning stage is where "the group members reflect on their accomplishments and failures as well as determine whether the group will disassemble or take another project" (O'Hair & Weimann, 2012, p. 257).  It gives us the opportunity to look back and reflect on our relationships, accomplishments, and is a great way to give closure to the group.  

 

Reference:

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.