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

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

During my research of programs in my local and state area I was able to find different organizations that offered support to the ECE community. Within these programs I also found jobs I would be interested in. When I broadened my search to national and federal programs I came across some programs that in my opinion offered a different type of support for our ECE community. 

1. Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI)

ACEI is a global community of educators and advocates who unite knowledge, experience, and perspectives in order to exchange information, explore innovation, and advocate for children. The Association promotes and supports the optimal education and development of children, from birth through early adolescence, and the professional growth of educators and others committed to the needs of children in a changing society.

*This organization was appealing to me because it not only reaches out to the children and families in need but also educates the educators of those who are teaching them As educators I feel there is always room for growth and knowledge in the field. 

2. National Association for the Education of Young People (NAEYC)

NAEYC is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age 8. The Association administers a voluntary, national accreditation system for high-quality early childhood programs, sponsors a variety of initiatives to improve professional preparation of early childhood educators, and produces a wide array of early childhood resources. NAEYC membership provides participation in both national and local services through the Association's network of over 300 local, state, and regional Affiliates.

*This organization is one that I personally use as a reference throughout my studies and when i am searching for new ideas. 

3.Nation Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI)

NBCDI provides and supports programs, workshops, and resources for African American children, their parents and communities in early health and education, health, elementary and secondary education, child welfare, and parenting. Affiliate chapters in many regions of the country provide direct services at the community level.

*In our society today as an African American I see so many families in search for assistance and those who understand the struggle they may be facing. I have used the information from this organization and requested to become a member so that I could receive more information on how to help those not only in my community and future center but also how to reach out to those closet to me. 

Jobs:

Assistant Child Care Specialist

*For this position I would need more field experience

CIE: Head Start Family Development Worker

*I must be bilingual in Spanish and English for this position

Adjunct Faculty: Child Development

*36 recent months of working with young children

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

As the end of this journey is winding down I have started to look for positions that will directly be related to my masters degree. Opening my own early childhood facility has always been a dream. While working for the school district I have learned the stepping stones for this dream can start here. 

A few positions I have found and seek to apply for are:

• Early Childhood Learning Center Instructor
• Early Childhood Learning Center Curriculum Coordinator
• Early Childhood Learning Center Aide

Each of these positions are part of a program through the school district I work in that offers an early childhood learning center for children of district employees. 

The requirements for these positions consist of:  

1. High school diploma or GED required; college hours preferred. 
2. Physically able to lift, carry, push and pull up to 50 pounds. 
3. Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills. 
4. Minimum of one year successful child care experience in a licensed child care facility. 
5. Experience as a lead child care instructor preferred. 
6. Knowledge of Texas Child Care Licensing standards preferred.

Working within the early childhood field I have come across some interesting organizations that appear to only be just faculties that offer care of assistance to families. As I worked for them I began to see they were more than that they were actually places that expressed the true definition of community of practice. These organizations are:

1. The Children's Courtyard
2. Kids R Kids
3. YMCA

These facilities take the time to reach out to their communities and provide assistance and special programs to the children and families within it.

Colleague Overview

As this course has come to an end I have learned so much in the terms of communication. Along with the help from the resources throughout the course I would like to especially thank my fellow colleagues. I have learned working in the early childhood and education field you can never learn enough to help improve your professional and personal being. I know with the help of this blog and our discussions we were all able to see and learn about topics in a different manner than our own. I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their opinions and views throughout this course. I look forward to working with some of you again in future courses. 

Good luck on your journeys 

Lauren 

Adjourning

As corny as this may sound I am a strong believer of "Team work makes the dream work"!! When working in a group in order for it to be successful you have to form a bond with your teammates. In most cases I have figured out the best groups are the hardest to let go of. I remember back in college I was in an experimental teaching course and we had to work in groups to prepare our lesson plans and make sure we had all of the tools to teach the lessons. At the end of the semester it was hard for us to just say goodbye to one another. We had formed a bond working so closely on a weekly basis it seemed as if we couldn't function without one another. We formed more than just a group we formed a friendship. On the last day of class we all had to stand up and tell what we learned from the course and how it had effected our lives; we all expressed how going into the classroom helped us overcome our suspicions and fears of standing in front of a group teaching but we also expressed how we enjoyed getting the opportunity to form a bond between our teams and class.

Through out this masters program I believe I have in a way shared the same bond. On a weekly basis we all look forward to reading how differently each of us have dealt with the topic or theme of week. To be able to see how what someone else learned can me applied to our experiences.

In order to have a successful team I believe the team has to form a bond and work together to get the best quality of work out of each other. When groups are not connected I believe it is shown through their work.

Conflict Resolution

As much as we would like to prevent this, there is always going to be some type of conflict in our life. I believe it is up to us on how we choose to resolve and deal with the problems that we are presented with. My biggest conflict right now is with my significant other. As much as we care about each other there are things that cause us to not be able to get along. Like with any couple you have to think of ways to have productive conflict resolution. In this situation I would say this is unproductive conflict. Although we are trying to prevent this, unproductive conflict "has a negative impact on individuals and relationships involved." (O'Hair&Wiemann 2012).

We both were trying to figure out what it was that was causing our conflict, one of the biggest issues was our communication. We decided one of our strategies would be to channel our communication. "We don't think much about which available channel to choose in order to deliver a message"(O'Hair& Wiemann 2012) when speaking to one another. We learned there are times when communicating face to face may not be the best option in order to get our points across without upsetting the other so have decided to write letters exchange them and then talk about the feelings about what was read. 

In order for a relationship to be successful on has to be willing to compromise and be cooperative. We realized this was another effective conflict strategy for our relationship. Although we may different views on how things should done we agreed that attempting to hear the other persons point of view that maybe we could meet somewhere in the middle and be on a common ground and come to a resolution. 

Conflict can ruin peoples lives not only with the personal relationships but professionally to. It is very important to make sure we as educators have productive conflict resolution strategies in place to help keep things productive in our lives and work place. 

Resources:

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

Similarities and Differences

Through out this week's evaluation of my communication styles they have made me think more in depth on how my ways of communication is presented by others. Looking at the results from the test I took myself and the results from the two people I asked to take the test I was surprised by the results. When I reviewed the results of the communication anxiety test the results I read for myself stated that I felt uneasy about some of the elements of communication but according to both of the results from the other people who evaluated me their scores stated that I was confident in my communication anxiety. The next test was listening styles and with my results and the two other results they were both generally the same. All of the results expressed that I am people, action, content and time oriented. I was surprised how close the results for this test. For the last test verbal aggressiveness. The results from my exam were kind of an eye opening to me. My results and the results of the two people who evaluated me expressed that I often resort to character attacks and ridicule when talking to others who do not share viewpoints. I did not like the outcome of this but now that I know I plan to change this and make sure to present things differently. 

I see myself taking what I have learned from these evaluations and applying them to my personal and professional life.

Cultural Diversity

Growing up in a world where we find ourselves communicating with multiple different people, at some point we are going to come across someone that is different than we are. Even though we would like to say we communicate with everyone the same I can personally say this is not the case. I realize that I communicate with males and those of a different race different than I do with those who are of the same race and women. After my last course and from what I have learned in this course I am able to pay attention to the differences.

When it comes to communicating with males I find myself  communicating in a manner where I will always be taken seriously. Kind of hard to express but I have been told my tone and demeanor is a lot different from communicating with a female and and a male. I have always been taught to stand your ground and do not let gender push you away from anything. With that in mind I make sure I always give off the impression I can handle my own. 

From personal experience I have learned the same way I would talk to certain friends who happen to be the same race as I am, I can not talk to my friends who are not the same race the same way. The way some of my friends communicate has been expressed to me that it is kind of offensive. Even though I know I am not intentionally trying to offend anyone there is just some things that should not be said. 

From personal experience and from what I have learned this week the top three strategies I would use to communicate more effectively would be to listening silently, ask questions at the end to clarify understanding, and try to take a piece of what was shared and apply it to your professional and or personal life.