Time Well Spent

Needless to say I have discovered several heartfelt learning in this program. As I think back to the start of this program keeping in mind my undergraduate was in a different field. I found the benefits of play in the lives of children in the early childhood stages quite interesting. I honestly believe without gaining the knowledge and concept behind the importance of play I would have been one of those teachers trying to make learning machine out of young people. The next issue that was significant to me was the realization that in order to be beneficial to young children you have to concentrate on the entire family unit. Prior to this I would have only seek to help the child which would have been very counterproductive due to parent being the first teacher to their children. In order to get give the best to children you have to support everyone that is significant in their life. My final deep felt learning was how influential biases and isms are in this field and even more how to address my own so that they want prevent me from being an asset to the field.  

My long time goal or commitment to the field of early childhood is to support and empower every family with young children to be all that they can be and advocating for the equal education opportunity for all children in the world.  Children are our future it here in their lives that that gain the significant skill to be the future leader with need to carry the world. I am committed to giving them that opportunity.

Dr. Teri,

Thank you for your heartfelt understanding, consideration, and insight. I wish you all the best that life has to offer.

Colleagues,

Wow!! We made. Thank you for all the sharing, caring and support through the months and years which ever applies. Each and everyone of you provide so much and words cannot explain the gratitude I have for you guys and gals. (Smile) I pray that you all continue to grow and wish you the best in your future endeavors. God Bless each of YOU!!!!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

 

The three international organizations or communities of practiced that appealed to me are UNICEF, Save the Children and United Nation Education.

These organizations are of interest to me due to the fact that they cater to helping and empowering individuals in some type of positive way. The UNICEF believes that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress (UNICEF, n.d.).  Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world (Save the Children, 2011). They help children and families help themselves. UNESCO’s purpose is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural discourse through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information ( UNESCO,2011).

The job opportunities that are available are as follow:  Senior Specialist Child Protection Systems at Save the Children in Haiti. The requirements for this job include:

·         BA in Social Sciences, Social Work or related areas.

·         Eight years of relevant work experience with progressively greater management and/or advisory responsibilities, in the planning, design and implementation of child protection and social protection systems at national policy, service provision and community levels.

·         Direct field experience in child protection and related institutional reform planning, management or evaluation, an advantage.

·         Relevant international NGO experience is an asset.

·         Demonstrates, applies and shares expert technical knowledge across the organization.

·         Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to manage and be a part of teams (multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary and inter-agency).

·         Demonstrated strong communication skills with ability to give effective presentations to groups and individuals.

·         Ability to build/contribute to effective partnerships.

·         Able to establish course of action for self and ensure that work is completed efficiently and effectively.

·         Ability to build capacity and coach—explain, demonstrate, provide feedback and reinforcement. Actively identifies area for learning, creates and takes advantage of learning opportunities, uses newly gained skill and knowledge appropriately on the job.

·         Demonstrates SC core values.

·         Fluency in French and English required. Creole a plus

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 United Nations

Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

 

 

 

 

 

Job/ roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

The first Community of Practice that appealed to me was the Children’s Defense Fund. This organization was first brought to my attention earlier in this program. They provided assistance to children living poverty in the U.S. and this was one of the organization that seemed to be of the most interest to me as well as one in which I can see myself either working with or for.

The next community of practice that was of interest to me was the Bread for the World.  It also targets children living in poverty specifically children who are experience hunger as a result of their poverty. Advocating for these children is one of their main objectives.

The final organization I explored was UNICEF.   UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. They believe that they can, together, advance the cause of humanity.

In considering job opportunities in the above organization I thought it might be a great opportunity to explore positions with the entities. However I feel that I would benefit far more by having a hands on approach working directly with the people who are affected by poverty.   I don’t want to work behind the scene.  To serve in this type of work atmosphere I would need sufficient communication skills which may be a challenge when encountering people who are different than me. It will quite essential that I am able to obtain resources that will assist me in support the families culturally and so forth.  

References:

Bread for the world (2012). Retrieved September 27, 2012 from http://www.bread.org/.

Children’s defense fund (2012) Retrieved September 27, 2012 from http://www.childrensdefense.org/.

UNICEF: United States Fund. (2012). Retrieved September 27, 2012  from http://www.unicef.org.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The local or state organizations or communities of practice I chose are the Mississippi Early Childhood Education Association, Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute and The State Early Childhood Council. I choose each of the organization because they support the vision that I have for the early childhood. These groups recognized the importance of providing children with the best quality education early in life. In addition, each organization understands that there are many factors that create barriers that prevent families from taking advantage of early childhood service however the above organization are working to alleviate any reason that families will not take advantage of services provided  to children of early childhood ages.

The job opportunities (currently available or not) that I am interested in is Early childhood educator in the Head Start Setting and/or various daycare and learning center atmospheres.

 The skills and experience that is required to competently fulfill the position are as follow:

Early Childhood Educator

Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.   Bachelor’s Degree, and in some cases an Associate’s degree is accepted

Preschool/Head Start Teachers

Skills

Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.

Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.

 

References:

 Education Administrators, Preschool and Childcare Center/Program. (n.d.). O*NET OnLine. Retrieved September 15, 2012, from http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9031.00

 Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education. (n.d.). O*NET OnLine. Retrieved September 15, 2012, from http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2011.00

 

 

 

Reflecting on Learning

As an early childhood professional it is my deepest hope that I can develop a strong partnership with families to provide a sturdy early childhood foundation for their children. To develop success it is important to know that it takes everyone. Therefore, one of the first things I intended to do is get to know the families. Letting them know that the environment is open and supportive as it is appropriate. I inspire to help children reach within themselves and strive to be the best that they can be with the support of their parents. Every child in any situation can learn. Knowing that children are impressionable at this time in their lives it is crucial to their success to provide them with respectful, safe and nurturing environment that truly supports them and their families. With that in mind it is my inspiration to provide the care and educationally services needed to generate more productive citizens in the community. I strongly feel that at this stage is where we as early childhood professional can make the biggest different in the lives of young children and their families.

I would like to take this time to graciously thank each of you for your contributions both on the blog and discussion boards. You have help to provide much insight into the field of early childhood for me. I really appreciated each of your comments as they were an inspiration to me. I wish each of you the best in your future endeavors and look forward to working with you all again.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world I chose was Haiti. I chose this area because since the 2010 earthquake the United States has being a very strong supporter of this country. In addition, during that time Haiti was covered on news very often I recalled being quite disturbed by the images I saw of families and children and they attempted to recover from that devastation. It took back to Hurricane Katrina but much more in-depth. Living in the Mississippi area I was not directly affected by Hurricane Katrina in the manner of having to regroup and find shelter but it did affect the whole world indirectly. As a result of that I related devastation of the earthquake in Haiti and Hurricane Katrina and their effect on the world as similar.

Many children in Haiti began life with great challenges like the lack of love, care, nurturing, health and safety that they need to survive and grow because their caregiver lack the basic surrounding to sustain this. Poverty prevents caregiver from providing the minimal basic need for children. In most cases their environment does not provide enough resources to support their needs with regards to health care, nutrition and learning. The children and their families are left to live in inadequate housing and shelter.

Unfortunately as a result of this many of these challenges place barriers on children before they can develop. Children that are provided with the essential needs of life in the early stages develop healthy. Children that do not will be susceptible diseases and illness that compromise their development in their thinking language emotional and social skills.

As I learn more of the living conditions in Haiti as an early childhood professional my heart really aches for the children and their families living in these conditions. However if I encounter children within my environment facing these types of challenges I am committed to assisting with as many resources that I can find to support the family unit and the children. Knowing that this is a critical period in children’s lives for growth and development not only educationally but for life this insight has really made me further want to explore additional sources to support and nurture families.  Hurricane Katrina did not leave the United States in this turmoil. It was event that even today we are still struggling to overcome. The children and families in Haiti live this every day and for traumatic event to come forward only sets them back even more. Considering all of this I want to find ways to help the children in Haiti I had no real idea of their conditions and at the same time I am really committed to giving children a chance despite their challenges and circumstance. If they are able to overcome these struggle and make it into an early childhood community they deserve that much.

Reference

UNICEF(2012).Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

My thought regarding the topic of the sexualization of early childhood is it is unfortunate that this is a topic that has to be addressed so early in a young person life. However I view it as a necessary evil. One of the points made in the article is that children have always been curious regarding sex and sexuality early and though it is subject that many of us are uncomfortable discussing it crucial to young children as parents and teacher to answer the question honestly and age appropriately (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). Children today are persistent in obtaining response to their curiosity with that in mind that they will get answers to their question but it may be more information than they need at their age or the wrong information.  I feel that we should not shy away from responding to their questions to control how much information they are exposed to at one time or another.

One of the first examples that come to mind was a four year reenacting one Michael Jackson videos. Amazing enough the child never missed a beat and was on point when it was time to grab or hold on to his private area as commonly done by Michael in his videos and dance routines. The next example took place in an early childhood environment when a little girl and boy about five years old were having a discussion as little kids do. Then the little girl told the little boy he was gay. The little boy not understanding what the little girl was saying to him asked his mother as soon as she picked him up what was gay. I could see the discomfort on her face however her response was we will discuss we get home. The next day the parent met with the director of center regarding the incident. The final example that further illustrates the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment is some of the dance moves that little girls are required to do in dance class. I recalled my daughter feeling uncomfortable regarding a dance move that was somewhat I would say explicit in a sexual manner. Apart of her concern was I have stress respect for yourself in everything you do. We watch video together and I pointed out things with her on the video that I feel are not appropriate. Feeling that it was inappropriate she was not comfort doing that move in the dance routine. Long story short she participate in the routine in a child friendly way that was respectful to her after careful discussion.

The implication this may have on children’s healthy development is children may be confuse by what is acceptable and unacceptable in terms of sexualization. As an early childhood professional it is important to address children concerns and question regarding sex. However I strongly feel that this should be a team effort with the parents because if the teacher and the parent are on different accords regarding what is social acceptable among children with concerns of sexualization; the final outcome is could lead to deviant behavior for the child or children as they grow into adulthood. Open and honesty is the most important factor anyone can offer a child or children regarding this topic and avoid making children feel like this something that is nasty and bad. Teach them to be proud and respectful of every aspect of their body and their nothing inappropriate about their bodies, but inappropriate things that can be done to their bodies.

This week I realize the need to discuss good touches and bad touches with children early. Prior to explore the topic this week I would not have considered discussing this topic with an early childhood age child. I feel that in order to adequately inform children on sexualization this is an area that should be included. Unfortunately children are being exposed to sexual explicit material regardless of how we attempt to keep it away from them. With that thought in mind we must age appropriately inform them on of what is consider good touches and bad touches so that they want become a victim of a pedophile. Children are very innocent and though their behavior may imply sexualization many of them are not aware of what their behavior implies. Therefore as we address their curiosity with regard to the different version of sexualization we have also inform them of the good and bad touches reduce their probability of becoming a victim.

Reference:

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf