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. 

Modern Family

For this weeks assignment I decided to use the show Modern Family. The episode I watched was Suddenly, Last Summer. I decided on this show because of the reviews and commercials I had seen about the show and it seemed to express multiple levels of communication.

 Show on mute:

Watching the show on mute I was able to determine which couples were together and their families. 

During the show they have moments when they sit down and talk to the camera as couples which helped me determine them clearly. 

I would say this couple is married, I saw a wedding ring on both of their fingers. The husband is very hard to read he doesn't really show and defining emotion. The wife always seems to be happy she is always smiling and seems to have a lot of excitement in everything that goes on. 

I did not see a wedding band on this couples hand so I would say they were common law married depending on if marriage is legal in their state. This couple seem very happy as individuals. Their facial expressions are clear and you can clearly tell between their non verbal communication how they are feeling at the moment. 

This couple appeared married observing the wedding rings on their hands and also the children that were in the scenes with them. The expression on the wife's face seems frustrated and then she changes to showing some expressions of happiness. The husband always seemed to be in a good mood. He always seemed to have a smirk or smile on his face. 

Show with sound:

The assumptions I made about the couples in this show were correct. Also what I observed through non verbal communication was correct once I was about to hear what the characters were saying. 

I feel if I was watching a show that I knew well I would not have to assume the feelings that each character was having. For example if I would of been watch Law and Order I would be able to tell you exactly how each character was feeling based on their emotions because I know the characters. 

Even though this show was fairly easy to read the emotions on some of characters faces I could understand how it would be difficult to do in a show where they did not show a lot of non verbal communication. 

Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field

Effective Communication 

There are multiple different sections in the field of education. When working so closely with children and their families it is very important to make sure to have effective communication skills. From this week alone I have learned in further detail how much communication can have a determining factor on those around us. 

The one person I choose that I feel demonstrates competent communication is my Aunt Belinda. She has been a teacher for 20 years and growing. Working with children she has to have patients and strong understanding in order to be able to communicate effectively with the children and their families. I have observed first hand the way my aunt communicates with the all types of children in her care. I have observed her deal with disrupted children in her classroom and the way she communicated with the children. She made sure to give the direct eye contact by getting on their level and speaking with them and not at them. As I have studied before and she has explained to me children respond better when you show them you are listening and want to hear the issue rather than scold them for their wrong doings. My aunt is definitely someone I would like to model because her methods have helped her be the prosperous person she is today. 

Professional Hopes and Dreams

My professional journey I can say started out kind of shaky, but I would not change the lessons I have learned along the way. One hope I have for working with children and families is that I can help influence the both of them into a positive direction in the futures. One goal I would have set for the early childhood field related to diversity, equity, and social justice is to pay closer attention to the underlining message we are sending to our children. During this course the study of this topic has really touched my heart and made me realize how important it really is especially with working with children. 

Working in this field requires a true love and passion to the education of children. I wish all of my colleagues the best of luck along their journey and remember it only takes one educator to show a child they believe and care about them for them to prosper. Best of wishes and Good Luck.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

1. Learn what their views are on education 
2. Think of ways to relate their views and what we have to offer here at our center
3. Study key facts about the country that was I can show the family I am interested in the new culture experience they will be bringing to our center. 
4. Learn what holidays or special celebrations that are key to their cultural and speak with teachers of the classrooms the children will be going into, and think of ways of adding these celebrations to our curriculum.
5. Be able to relate to the families special needs and be sure to find a way to accommodate them. 

From previous experience I have learned how important it is to know as much information about a new possible family coming into your center. Especially when coming from a different country the center has to keep in mind this is the first representation of how a new place. I would hope incorporating these five ideas that it will make the family feel at ease and comfortable with their children being in our care. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

Sometimes the memories we would like to forget are the ones that last forever.

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/ or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? 

        A memory I have of someone being prejudice was when I was working at a preschool and I observed a 3 year old teacher speaking and treating one of her students differently. After a parent teacher conference the teacher learned about this child's home life and how his mother did not "fit into" the category of parents as her other children. This teacher decided she wasn't going to work as hard with this child because she felt as if it would be a waste of her time because the mother would not follow up with the learning strategies at home. 

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice, and/ or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

         As an educator this teacher should not have allowed for her personal biases about the mother and their family life interfere with her responsibilities as an instructor. She allowed for her personal biases to diminish her equity of this particular student on a chance of receiving the same amount of support and encouragement as the other classmates. 

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

         This incident makes me think how many other students not only in preschool's but in public schools that teachers have the same mentality as this teacher did. It makes me sad to think about how many children out there who are not given a chance or automatically labeled because of their life outside or school. 

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

         In the preschool setting I have learned each teacher is as good as their director. In this situation I believe in order for this type of behavior to change the teacher would have to see more direction and a better example set from the director in order to change her mindset on treating her students the same. 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Learning about microaggressions this week aloud for me to really pin point some situations that I have witnessed that were unsettling for me. In my last management position my director and I were in the process of looking for our summer hires for our summer program. She explained she knew of someone that she felt would be great for the position the only issue was that she was pregnant and did not feel she would be able to adequately perform her duties because of this situation. She then explained that she didn't exactly have a choice but to hire her because of the discrimination law. After having this staff member come in and sign her hiring paper work the director and her assistant as I had witnessed before proceeded to joke about the way this staff member talked, the things she said and mocked her actions. I would not have made a big deal about the situation except I now realize this was a racial microaggression that had occurred one to many times.This situation made me lose respect for my superior and her assistant from this day forward.  

   

Even though some may not see any harm in the things that they say or ways they mock others I realize it can be hurtful and send off the wrong message to those around them or even to that person and make that person change their perception of you as a person. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

When I was deciding on the three people to choose to ask this week's discussion questions to I wanted to make sure the answers I received would in some way be different from the person I previously asked. 

• 3rd Grade teacher is Alief isd:

"Culture is way we life our lives. It is the traditions we have and the ways we as people choose to raise our children and the morals and values we choose to instill in them."

"Diversity is the change and differences we see from the outside looking in. Diversity is what we view in others that is abnormal from our everyday life."

• State wide truck driver: 

"Culture is in which the way the society sets each race into groups. Culture is the way we are raised and the way we choose to raise our children."

"Diversity is the differences in which we are share that make us separate from everyone else."        

• Full time college student (Junior)

"Culture is the characteristics in which makes us who we are, in a way it is like asking what is our race."

"Diversity is the ways that makes you different from the rest."


During this process of course I never expressed the notion of what was a right and wrong answer but instead I wanted to present the question as what was the first thing that pops into your head when asked this question.

The aspect of culture being traditions and ways of living are some examples of ways I have studied about culture during this course. This week asking others outside of this course who are not studying and thinking of these topics every week as myself was very interesting. To be able to get what I like to call a random point of view sometimes is more appealing than those I receive in a course with me. 

My Family Culture

If I had to choose three items that would remind me of my family culture I would have to think about the three items that we hold the most close. 


The first item would be a miniature version of the American flag that was given to my family when my grandfather passed. 

The next item I would would choose would be a collage of my family members. There isn't anything most important than family and what better way to remember them when their away than to look at pictures of your happy times. 

With everyday that goes by I wear a remembrance of my late grandfather. My final item would be my urn charm with his ashes inside. 

If once I arrived at the destination I was told I could only keep one item I would choose my collage of pictures of family. if I could not keep all of items that mean the most I would rather see the images of the great times shared. 


I have learned this week to spend more time with my family because I never know when I will lose that opportunity for any reason. I have also learned to appreciate the items I have that help to remind me of those I have already lost. 

When I Think of Research.....

When I think about research there are multiple different thoughts that comes to my head. First I think of the possibilities of all the information I could retain from any topic. Through out this course I have learned that even though research can be extremely beneficial it can also provide you with information that may be more detrimental to your research than accurate. Not all research is good research.

When I first started this course the idea of research frightened me. I didn't know how to accurately know how to look up information for a research project or how to determine if the information I was using was beneficial. I have now learned how to determine how to determine which research is going to be helpful to my topic of study or if it is even useful at all.

When it comes to research within the early childhood field I have learned it is important to have a general topic and then subtopics when it comes to research. During this process I have learned that I have a broader spectrum that I can research on.
 
Without knowing the proper way to research and what information is useful in my study. I found myself struggling to complete research studies and apply the information I found into my current papers.
 
One topic that stood out the most to me was the study between right wrong and the ethics of the study. Ethics is a vital part of the successful early childhood study.

I have learned the positive impact that research can have on my professional early childhood study interactions. Even though I have learned a lot from my personal and professional experience this course has allowed for me to learn how to increase my understanding  and apply it to my professional outcomes.







From the beginning of this educational journey I have learned one of my biggest supporters has been my fellow colleagues. I would like to thank you for all your support and insight during this process. 

Research Around The World

"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for future." JFK

Since the beginning of my journey in this Masters program I have tried to keep my focus in an area internationally that in some way is related my life or those within it. From the beginning I have been studying different areas in Africa, specially in the Ghana surrounding areas. 

A few of the research topics that caught my attention were:
       "The development of an integrated Early Childhood Development Urban Model Training Program for Informal Minders and Community Volunteers in Ghana"
      " The Status of Coordination and Supervision of Early Childhood Education in Ghana"
      "Parents' and Caregivers' Perception of Early Childhood Development Needs and Quality: A Study of the PLAN- Assisted Programmes in Bawjiase, Ghana"

Something I have learned within this education field is no matter what part of the world you are in their is always someone else reaching out to resources in your nation to make theirs better. The ECDVU in SAA "is committed to improving the quality of life for children and their families in Africa. This program seeks to accomplish this through working, on a sustained basis, with ECD leaders from across the continent."

While looking through this website I found multiple journals I would like to look deeper into and possible apply them to my professional life. 

Uplifting Stories

Children are our world and our future and if I had to choose any topic to research on it would be:

"Would the health and happiness of a child if parents were more involved?"

Even though there are plenty of researches on this topic I believe that I would conduct this and try to accomplish a better outcome. I know that I would conduct my research for an extensive period of time to where I would be able to see the beginning middle and ending results to the research. Some researches are done with a short time span on them and the results they may be seeking are possible but were not even enough time to see through.

Every parent wants to be the best parent they can. They want their children to love and care for them and know they love and will do anything within their power for them. I just believe some parents do not know how to "be a parent". I believe with this research it will bring parents and children closer together and the outcomes of the research will be positive. 

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I decided to venture on for this course was equity and excellence in care and education of children, families, and EC professionals. During my last course this was a topic that I feel I applied more towards my personal and professional life more than others. I have so many visions for my life and I believe with more in dept research and knowledge on this topic it will be a great stepping stone. 

When I first started learning and reading on this topic I was aware of the dynamics in a way but I did not know how much it can actually be applied to the early childhood field. I am very big on learning new ways and ideas to implement programs and activities to children. I have realized with doing so the children are more likely to express with the families their experiences and the families will want to be more involved.    

I have learned throughout the process of this course and research charts that research it self can be overwhelming if you do not know how to evaluate the information. Even with the helpful hints that we have on how to read an article and what information to absorb I personally am glad that we have the opportunity to be able to learn as a group because I still sometimes become lost and use the help of my colleagues experiences to help guide me.  

As we continue on this journey is there anyone who has found an alternative way to research and know figure out a better way to go through all of the information that can be provided that is not use to their study? 

3 Consequences

As we have been studying these last 7 weeks I have used the UNICEF.org website on multiple occasions. On Friday March 1 they did a special on Good Morning Texas. Even though I know this segment informed those who watched the segment but watching this just made me feel amazing to know that this organization is getting out and informing those right here in Texas. I wish I would of had the opportunity to go to the location and watch this live. 

Consequences 

My first consequence of learning internationally is that no matter where you go and the information you receive, educators and those who work closely with children only want what is best for them. Most of our hopes and dreams for ourselves fall into the success of the children we come encounter with. 

My next learning area was the different web sites that I researched and used to incorporate a better program in my school. I plan to continue to refer to these programs and hopefully  be able to take some time and volunteer for one of their internships during my grad school career. 

My final learning area is to start to apply what I am learning in my courses to improve in my current position. I choose my field of study based on what I wanted to pursue in the future and with the help of this course I have discovered the most important factors in running a high quality program.