Time Well Spent

I have to say that this program has been the most interesting and informative program and I am glad that I chose to take these courses. Though out this program I have learned many interesting things, a few where how to become a good director and the characteristics of a good director. I also learned the many issues that an early childhood program can face and the different strategies that one can put together in order for their program to work. The most important thing that I think I have learned from this program is the importance of relationships. Building a relationship with the families, the stakeholders, and the individuals that you work with and for are what makes a program run smoothly.

A long term goal that I have for myself would be to become a program director and to make a families life better in anyway that I can. I would like to ensure that the families that I will be working for will have every opportunity possible for them to make a better life not only for themselves, but for their children as well.

To my colleagues it has been a pleasure reading and learning about your goals and the things that you would like to accomplish by taking this program. I have enjoyed reading your discussion boards and your feedback, I hope that you all accomplish what you have set out to do. Good luck to you all and thank you!

ECE Community Internationally

The first organization that I am interested in is UNICEF. UNICEF is an organization that helps build a world where children's rights are realized. UNICEF nurtures and cares for children, in which they believe that when children are cared for they progress. They are advocates for children and they believe in giving children the best start in life, because giving them the best start ensures that they may have a more promising future. UNICEF involves everyone in creating a positive and protective environment for children. UNICEF offers a number of things that will help children be the best that they can be.

The second organization I am interested in is Save the Children. This is an independent organization that creates lasting change in the lives of children across the world. This organization not only helps children but it also helps the families of those children. When there is a disaster Save the Children takes action and provides medical care, food, and education. They are there to provide long-term help with poverty, hunger, and illiteracy, they replace hopelessness with hope for the future.

The last organization is the ISSA, which is an organization that aims to ensure equal access to quality care and education for children. This organization basically promotes high-quality services that will not only empower the child, but their parents as well. This organization wants to build a strong network of individuals' that will be there to help the child reach there full potential.

The reason why I chose these three organizations is because they not only focus on children, but they focus on helping their families as well. If you are not helping the families of these children as well then the children will not have a far change to succeed in life or whatever they are wanting to do.


References:
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

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

I have explored three agencies on the national/federal levels. The first agency that I chose is the agency that I already work for, the name of the agency is CAP or Community Action Project of Tulsa. My agencies mission is to improve the economics of very young low income children and their families. We provide many different services from early childhood education to career advance opportunities for the parents of children who are enrolled in our program. I am an early childhood teacher within the agency, but I am interested in an instructional  coach position. This position basically teaches teachers to best the most effective teacher that they can be.

The second organization is the American Heart Association, this organization empowers individual's to live a healthy life. The organization advocates for getting healthy and staying healthy, they teach about stress management, there is information about how to quit smoking, and how to implement those healthy lifestyle for the children and the family as a whole. The job that I would be interested in is called Health Equity Specialist, they basically provide awareness and education on how to stay healthy and lead a healthier life.

The third organization is American Academy of Pediatrics, this organization is dedicated to the well-being of young children and adolescents. There are numerous articles on various topics like child health and family health. The organizations also lists numerous resources that are available for families and other individual's. The American Academy of Pediatrics did not have any job posting, its' an organization that you can become a member of those types of opportunities are available, there is even an opportunity to subscribe to the subscriptions they have to offer. 

  I chose these agencies because they are all about the families. Helping the family is the first line of defense in helping the children, because if we are able to help the parents by educating them on what healthy is and pointing them in the right direction by offering them the resources that will help them and their family. This I think in turn will benefit the communities for which they live because they will be able to be a more healthier productive member of society

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

I explored three agencies that are related to the state that I reside in which is Oklahoma. The first agency is Family and Children's Services, this agency is the leading provider of behavioral health services for children and their families. Family and children's' offer many different counseling services for the family also the families have access to many different resources that otherwise they may not be able to come into contact with even have knowledge about. This agency has many case manager positions open that I would be interested in because case manager's work first hand with the children and their families in order to help them with whatever goals they are trying to achieve.

The second agency that I chose is the agency that I already work for, the name of the agency is CAP or Community Action Project of Tulsa. My agencies mission is to improve the economics of very young low income children and their families. We provide many different services from early childhood education to career advance opportunities for the parents of children who are enrolled in our program. I am an early childhood teacher within the agency, but I am interested in an instructional  coach position. This position basically teaches teachers to best the most effective teacher that they can be.

The last agency that I chose is  Oklahoma Child Care, this agency makes sure that Oklahoma families have access to the best care and education though community based resources. This organization is basically a hub for resources. Families can come and get information on childcare and a healthcare benefits. The job that I would be interested in is the parent service manager, this position basically managers and helps the parents get what they need for their family.

I chose these agencies because they are all about the families. Helping the family is the first line of defense in helping the children, if we are able to help the parents by educating them and pointing them in the right direction by offering them the resources that will help their family. This I think in turn will benefit the communities for which they live because they will be able to be a more productive member of society.

A Message of Thanks

These past 8 weeks have been very interesting as well as informative. Some of us have been together since the beginning, but those that haven't it has been a pleasure learning from you, reading your posts, and responding to your inquiries. My hope is that everyone will reach the goals that they are setting for themselves as well as luck in their future endeavors and with that said I wish everyone well!! Thanks!

Week 6 Blog

I had just started my early childhood career and I was placed in a four year old classroom with a wonderful teacher this teacher taught me a lot about my job and she was very understanding and very good with the children. Though out the year we had so much fun with the children and they learned a lot. At the end of the year she decided that she was not going to return because her family was moving out of town, I was so sad to see her leave because we where a good team. Upon leaving work everyday I felt so accomplished and I felt like I had helped the children and their families. When the new school year started I was in the classroom with another teacher that really didn't have the passion for the job, so before the year was up I decided to get my own classroom and luckily my co-teacher was ready to help children and their families. I think that good groups are the hardest to leave  sometimes you may not have a choice in the matter, but it's still hard all the same. When you get into a good group a lot of things get accomplished because every one knows what is expected of them. Adjourning from a group I think is important because it gives the group members a chance to celebrate their accomplishments and to say good-bye or not good-bye, but a talk to you later because I have your number so good groups would benefit from adjourning.

Week 5 Blog

A friend and I where having a discussion about a movie that we had just got finished watching. I did not think that the movie was very good, it was actually kind of boring and I was glad that my friend had paid for my ticket. My friend began to talk about how much he liked the movie he was really trying to convince me that the movie was wonderful. I began to have a small disagreement, but I stopped sat there and thought about it I remembered what we where learning about the concepts of NVC: respectful, reciprocal, and responsive. Upon thinking about that I just listened to his point of view I eventually was able to find at least one scene in the movie that was kind of funny. Being able to communicate in a respectful way helps get your point across and the parties are more receptive to the information.

Assesments

This assignment was very interesting. It was cool to see how others evaluated me based on my communication skills. I chose my brother and my co-worker, to my surprise they both had similar results. Their results showed that I have situational anxiety when it comes to communicating with others. I tend to get a little nervous when I have to communicate with a large group of people verses a small group of people. It showed that I am an active listener or people-oriented, I try and listen to others and be as empathetic to what they are telling me as I can.

The insights that I have learned this week is that I have to try and put my anxiety to the side when communicating with people in a large group. Also because I am a good listener I realize that this is the reason people always come to me when they need to talk. This was a fun assignment is was good to find out how others assess me based on communication.

Week 3 Blog

I do sometimes find myself communicating differently with individuals of a different culture. I think it is because I am more comfortable communicating with others of my culture because I believe that they can relate to me. I think that for the most part people who share the same culture kind of grow up with similar traditions and other things that govern their family. As far as for individuals that are of another culture not similar to mine I tend to communicate with them differently especially if their home language is not English. Usually in order to communicate effectively with them I listen and I let them take their time and not interrupt when they are talking. I think that effective communication is give and take between both parties you have to listen in order to give effective feedback.

Sound and no Sound

The show that I chose to watch was the Big Bang Theory. I have never actually sat and watched this show before but I have heard that it was a really good show. Watching the sow with the sound turned off was interesting, there where six individuals sitting around a table having lunch. The relationships of the individuals seemed to be a friendly one, the non-verbal behavior that they where displaying seemed happy because there was laughter, eye contact, and their body movements where done in a joking way. The individuals all seemed to be friends. When I turned the sound on my assumptions where correct. It was a group of friends having a good time at lunch laughing at one another and joking with each other.

This assignment has taught me that non-verbal as well as verbal communication is very strong. You don't always have to verbalize in order for someone to realize what you are saying, basically actions speck louder then words sometimes.

Competent Communicator

A competent communicator to me is someone that can get there point across in an effective manner. The company that I work for sends us to training classes every summer, and this one particular summer there was a guest speaker. This was the best presentation that I have ever sat though, the speaker was very engaging. The topic of his presentation was being your best self being all that you can be reaching your best potential. The speaker had eye contact with the audience he was very knowable on the subject that he was presenting and he even had crowd participation. He spoke with authority and I could tell he was loving his job. The communication behavior that I would like to model from him would be the non-shyness that he had. I tend to be shy at times when talking to people, that would be the main behavior that I would take away.

Hopes and Goals

My hope that I have when working with children and families that come from diverse backgrounds is that I build a relationship with them. I want them to feel comfortable with our interactions and I want them to feel like they are welcome and that their children are in a safe environment where learning is important.

One goal for the early childhood field is that we as educators are sensitive to other cultures. I would like we as educators to realize that it is difficult for families that come from other cultural backgrounds to feel welcome and comfortable.

To my colleagues it has been a pleasure reading and responding not only to your blog's but to your discussion posts as well. My hope is that all of you reach your professional and personal goals on life and thank you all for this opportunity to learn with you. Good Luck!!

Families Around the World

A new family is coming into my classroom and they are from India. There are some things that I will do in order to prepare for their arrival into the program.

1. I would read over the child's file in order to learn about allergies if any, if there was something that happened significantly at birth to the child or mother, and nutritional needs if any.
2. Upon the families entry into the classroom I will have the mother fill out and individual care plan for the child, which ask things about siblings, sleeping habits, eating habits, just anything about the child that was not mentioned in the file.
3. I would sit and have a conference with the parents to try and build a relationship with them, because this is new to them as it is for me.
4. I would invite the parents to come into the classroom to discuss any traditions or customs that they may want to share about India to the other children in the classroom.
5. Lastly before the child arrives I would educate the other child about India, things like the food, the way some may dress, the customs that they have, just anything that I could think of to prepare the other children.

Hopefully these preparation will help the family feel like they belong in the class just like the other children also in hopes that a positive relationship will be built between us and them . Also it will educate others in the classroom as well as myself about their home life before they came to this country also about  the traditions and customs that they have.

Week 6 Blog

An incident that comes to mind happened years ago. My family and I where in Arkansas for our family reunion and we stopped at this diner to get something to eat. Immediately upon walking in I noticed we where the only black people in the dinner we where seated a our waitress came to take our order. Long story short there was a couple of white guys seated near us and one made it clear that he did not care for us being there, well when the waitress was bring our drink orders the white customer stuck his foot out and the waitress lost her balance. She didn't fall but the drinks spilled all over a few of my family members and the floor. The staff was very apologetic and our food was free. This happened to me when I knew what prejudice was but I hadn't really seen it until this incident.

Week 4 Blog

An example of a microaggression that I can remember happened last week in my classroom. My assistant was on vacation so a substitute was placed in their with me. It was lunch time and the children where having burritos for lunch, there is only one Hispanic child this year in my class. The teacher started to fix plates and pass the lunch to each child when she got to the Hispanic child she made the comment," I bet you eat better burritos then this at home." I don't think she intended to be disrespectful in any way. Having a better understanding of what microaggression's are I think that it is important for us as educators to be sensitive and think about what we are saying before we say it. What may be funny to us may be hurtful and offensive to others. Hearing what the teacher said made me instantly think how I would feel if that where said to me, I would feel like an outcast like my culture or the way things are done in my home where not the right things to do. Before this class I had never heard of microaggression's knowing what I know I will be more aware of what I say or do when dealing with the families and children that I work with.

Week 3 Blog

For this blog assignment I was able to talk to three individuals that where different in everyway. First I talked to a parent in my classroom who is Indian and she said," Culture to me is the traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. Diversity is when different individuals of different gender, ages, race, or cultures come together." The second individual I talked with is my neighbor who is Vietnamese and he said," Culture is what we are born into it is what our family does together, it is what my family is made of."  Diversity is different people." The last person that I was able to talk to was one of my Caucasian co-coworker and she said," culture is something that is individualized for a specific race of people. Diversity is different groups of people of different nationalities."

Hearing what others think of culture and diversity made me think that for the most part each individual had the same definition in a way. Each one talked about culture being specific to a race or nationality of people. On the topic of diversity each had the same words in the definition which was different people. I think that there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to defining culture and diversity because each person has their own views and we as individuals should always respect others.

Week 2 Blog

If  I had to choose three items to take wit me to my new country they would be my family bible, African elephant, and moccasins. These items are what represents my families identity. The family Bible is a representation of my families strong religious affiliation, my grandmother bought all of her children the exact same bible with a picture of her parents inside. Each bible has their name engraved on the front and their children's names where eventually added as they where born. The second item also represents my families identity, I would take the African Elephants that my cousins sent to me from Africa. Elephants that have their trunks in the air are said to be good luck, so my cousins sent them over to me as a sign of good luck. The third and final thing that I would bring is the moccasins that my grandmother gave to me. My grandmother was full blooded Seminole Indian and she resided in Florida. My mother was pregnant with me when my grandmother gave her the moccasins, I never got to meet her but my mother told me the story when I was old enough to understand.


Upon arrival I would be upset if they told me I only could keep one of the items, because they all mean a great deal to me. I would feel that my identity was being stolen or taken from me because each of the items are what I identify with as part of my culture. They are what my family is made of and only being able to keep one would feel devastating to me.

The insight that I have gained from doing this exercise is that my family is very diverse and unique in its own right. My families culture runs deep and I am proud that I have a family that is diverse and unique at the same time.

Research

What I have gained from this research course is a whole new respect for the individuals who put in  the time and effort to do research on young children. This class has given me many insights on early childhood research, I have gained the knowledge on the many different issues that can arise when doing early childhood research. I have gained insight on the different methods that can be used in early childhood research, power relations, equity, and variables just to name a few. To my colleagues it has truly been a pleasure reading your posts and seeing how each of us has brown since the first week of  class. Good luck to each of you and thank you for your positive feedback!!

Week 5 Blog

This week's blog assignment was about research around the world. The website that I chose to explore was Early Childhood in Australia. This website has a lot of information on early childhood, and some of the topics are the same things that we face here in the United States. Research in Practice Series(RIPS) is a section that I explored. RIPS is an easy to read resource that helps individuals who are in the early childhood field. RIPS has an array of publications that you can read, for instance Play and quality in early childhood: Educating superheroes and fairy princesses. This publication talks about the importance of play and quality in an early childhood setting. Another publication talks about transitions helping the child feel secure when parents leave. I really enjoyed exploring this website there where many interesting things, I learned that early childhood is really the same around the world.

Week 3 Blog

If I had unlimited resources I would research a Reggie Emilia environment(classroom) verses a traditional preschool classroom. The Reggie Emilia approach to learning says that the classroom is the third teacher. Reggie Emilia classroom are natural classroom, everything can be made or it was found outside. The learning is hands-on and parents are required to participate in their child's learning. Since children learn though play why not give them a classroom with real things that they see everyday like leaves, sticks, cd's, umbrella's just to name a few.

 

 

Children in a traditional preschool classroom have hands -on experiences, but the things in the classroom are ordered out of catalogs and are not things that they see outside of school. The materials are not life sized like real pot's and pans that go into the kitchen. The classroom is not a natural environment so to speck or a green environment. In the traditional classroom parents are not required to participate and I think that parent participation is key to a child's learning.