Uplifting Stories

Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field.  Imagine further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present.  Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families.  What topic would you choose?  What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be?
I have been working as a Kindergarten teacher for 9 years.  It has been a crazy roller coaster ride with ups and downs and all arounds.  I wouldn't change that experience for all the money in the world.  As an educator you wear many hats: teacher, friend, counselor, peace maker, politicians, etc.  As much as I love working with children I feel that I can better serve them by shaping and preparing the next generation of educators.  These future teachers will work hard to engage student learning, will care so much that they will not accept failure, will be positive and know how to take charge, will be creative and humble, will be resourceful and organized.  These assets are merely the icing on the cake.  We all remember that teacher that will stay in our hearts for ever as well as the teacher who needed to find another career.  What if all teachers were like your favorite teacher who changed your life forever?

 



Personal Research Journey

As I embark on a new journey into my Masters in ECE I find myself in a new course (Building Research Competency).  The past two weeks have been to familiarize myself with research articles.  My general early childhood research topic is on quality and excellence in child care settings.  From this general topic we were asked to generate three related subtopics.  I have now narrowed my subtopics and will focus on highly qualified teachers (as well as their impact on all students).  I chose this topic because I feel that more needs to be done on educators parts to ensure high quality engaging instruction for all children.  We have all had different experiences with educators (positive & negative).  We have all had teachers who changed our lives and teachers who should be working in a different field.  My goal is to research elite teachers and share their strategies to use as a guideline with all others.  If we are to change the world one child at a time we should change our ways as well.    

 

Final Blog Assignment

Throughout this course we have studied issues and trends in early childhood education.  We have studied our educational system and have learned about issues in other countries.   Here are three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development.

• letting our voices be hears and contribute to the early childhood field and advocate for needed changes in ECE programs
• connection to the world and the problems we face globally such as poverty, equity, etc.
• how we adapt to change for the sake of our children and our future

My goal is to provide students with the resources, materials, and knowledge they will need to succeed in life.  To get them there we need highly qualified professionals to teach highly quality programs.  I hope to one day teach adult learners professionalism and the value/long term benefits of a well-rounded preschool through effective programs and practices.