Final Post

 

It’s hard to believe this is my final blog post for my Master’s Program at Walden University! I was hesitant at first to go back to school and earn my Master’s Degree. I was wondering how I would handle my job and my family, but I managed and now I am getting ready to complete my dream of earning a Master’s! I have learned a lot through this program, but if I had to share the things that stuck with me the most I would saying:

·         Learning how to effectively implement a culturally diverse program

·         Learning better ways to communicate and work as a team

·         That learning never really stops. Even after the completion of this program, I feel that there is more I need to know in order to be the best teacher I can be.

 

My next goal is to become a Board Certified Teacher. I have accomplished all of my goals this far, I might as well try to accomplish them all!

 

I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of my instructors and class mates. I have learned so much from all of you! Good luck in all of your future endeavors!

Job/Rules in the ECE Community: Iternationally

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The three organizations I was most interested in were: United Nations Children's Fund, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and Save the Children. Each one of these organizations was established to provide aide for children in economic distress.

The one I would be most interested in working for is United Nations Children’s Fund. They have several different job opportunities both locally and internationally.

·         General Service (GS) staff are locally recruited and provide administrative and support services across all areas of the organization and in all locations.

·         National Officer (NO) staff are nationals of the country in which they perform functions of a technical and professional nature. National Officers are recruited locally.

 

Education
International professionals are normally required to have an advanced university degree in a field relevant to the work of UNICEF. In some cases, extensive qualifying work experience may be considered instead. Please be sure to check the academic requirements of the vacancy announcement you are interested in.

 

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

Three Federal Organizations that Appeal to Me:

The National Association for the Education of Young Children www.naeyc.org

National Child Care Organization www.nccanet.org

National Association of Early Childhood Teachers/Educators www.nacete.org

Three Jobs I would be Interested in:

·         Project Manager, Early Childhood Equity

The Project Manager, Early Childhood Equity will lead and advance the youth and family projects designed to promote youth development.

Job Description

The Project Manager, Early Childhood Equity will lead and advance the youth and family project(s) designed to promote youth development and/or family enrichment. This position will have direct oversight of assigned activities related to these efforts and will interact regularly with other department members to continuously develop structure, fund, implement, evaluate, innovate, sustain, and spread equity strategies and data throughout the Y movement.  Specifically, this position will organize and lead aspects of these efforts that engage local YMCA staff and leadership in activities to ensure that YMCA Associations will adhere to standards and performance requirements.

·         Developmental Specialist for Early Intervention program

 

Non-profit organization in Las Vegas, NV is looking for Developmental Specialists for our Early Intervention Program, working with children from birth to age 3 who have special needs. Bachelor's Degree in this field is a MUST, preferably in Early Childhood and/or Special Education; however, psychology or similar field may be considered. A minimum of one year experience working with children from birth to age three is required.

·         Assessment Reliability SpecialistAssessment Reliability SpecialistAssessment Reliability SpecialistAssessment Reliability SpecialistAssessment Reliability SpecialistAssessment Reliability SpecialistAssessment Reliability SpecialistAssessment Reliability Specialist

Position Description
NAEYC seeks an experienced, goal-oriented candidate to serve as the Assessment Reliability Specialist, reporting to the Reliability Manager. The Assessment Reliability Specialist will support the work of our Accreditation System which administers a national, voluntary, professionally sponsored system to help improve the quality of care and education provided for young children in group programs throughout the US. This position works as a member of the national team overseeing the process of accreditation for early childhood programs.

 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

After doing research for this blog post, I found three organizations that would appeal to me. Each of these organizations supports children and their families by offering parent support and education and programs to help young children grow and develop.

·         The Children’s Advocacy Centers of Virginia (CACVA) [http://virginia.nationalchildrensalliance.org/index.php?s=3319] provide training, support, technical assistance and leadership on a statewide level to local children’s and child advocacy centers and communities throughout Virginia responding to reports of child abuse and neglect.

The Virginia Statewide Parent Education Coalition (VSPEC) 
www.vahealth.org/childadolescenthealth/EarlyChildhoodHealth/VSPEC/

• www.vahealth.org/childadolescenthealth/EarlyChildhoodHealth/VSPEC/ is a public/private coalition of professionals and parents working to advocate for and ensure that all caregivers have access to quality parent education, information services and support necessary to raising happy healthy families.

Wingspan www.wingspanworks.com
 is dedicated to developing young children’s social-emotional skills,

• problem-solving abilities, and healthy decision-making. Their evidence-based programs and training prepare educators, parents, and other caregivers to build children’s abilities to succeed in school and life.

I am currently teaching First Grade, but a few job opportunities that I would be interested are listed below:

Licensed Clinical Social Worker/ Therapist
Prosperity Eating Disorders and Wellness - Charlottesville, VA
$100 an hour

Required experience:   Psychotherapy: 3 years Required license or certification: Licensed in Virginia Required education: Master's Job Title: Child Care Licensing Specialist   Salary: $47,881.60-$77,792.00   Job Type:   MINIMUM: Bachelor’s degree in Child Development, Early Childhood Education, Child Psychology, or a closely related field PLUS two years of experience in childcare administration involving one or more of the following areas: administering or enforcing child care regulations; managing a child care facility or school; managing a licensed private child care business; implementing government-sponsored early childhood education programs; and/or providing guidance and counseling on child care issues to the general public and/or to social services clients. Licensed or Licensed Eligible Therapist Crossroads Community Services Board - Lunenburg, VA Required experience: Providing therapy services: 1 year Required license or certification: LCSW, LPC, Clinical Psychologist Required education: Master's

Final Blog for Communication

Interacting with class mates online is a different experience then interacting face to face, but none the less I have enjoyed sharing information with my classmates and have gained much information from them. I appreciate the feedback to discussion responses and the blog comments.

I believe most of us are leaving this course and venturing into our final course in the effort to complete our Master’s Programs. Personally, the journey from no college degree to Master’s degree, all while raising a young child has been difficult, but extremely rewarding.

I wish you all the best of luck! Though we don’t always get the respect we deserve, we are shaping young minds and no one has a more important job then we do!

Contact info: april.brooks3@waldenu.edu

I am also on LinkedIN if anyone else is and would like to connect.

Adjourning Stage

I have recently entered the “adjourning stage” when I left the pre-school I had been working at for the last 12 years, to teach first grade in the public school system. I held many positions at the center from Assistant Director to Kindergarten teacher. I had been working with the administration team and other teachers for a long time. Leaving that collaborative community has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I left a situation in which I knew everyone and how to do everything to asking someone how to use the copy machine.

I think leaving a long standing team is difficult for many reasons. Some of those reasons include, comfort level. I grew to know how and what my co-workers did well and where they needed support. Having to learn all of this information again can be intimidating to many people.

I am hoping that my adjourning stage with my colleagues in the master’s program will be similar to what I have experienced leaving my old preschool. I hope to stay in contact with and continue to network with these people. I also wish them the best in their continued journey as teachers.

 

Conflict Resolution

I generally try to avoid conflict. I am not a person who is constantly playing devil’s advocate or trying to stir up trouble in a situation. I am quick to look for compromise in a situation. The only time I refuse to compromise is if it is involving something that I feel ethically tied to.

The two strategies I look to the most are compromise and promoting a supportive climate for communication. I feel that the best thing to respect the views and perspective of the other party involved, just as you would want them to have for you.

I am practicing my communication goals and am trying to strengthen the areas in which I showed to be weak. One of those areas was group communication. I am entering group communication situations now feeling more prepared to be involved the discussion instead of hoping to blend into the background.

I am excited to keep working on my goals!

CommunicatonSurveys

I enjoyed taking the communication surveys this week and comparing my results with the results I got from a family member and co-worker. The results of the three surveys were all very similar. I was not surprised and felt that the results were very spot on from what I previously thought of about my communication skills. Here are the results of my survey:

Communication Anxiety- Moderate

Verbal Aggressiveness- Moderate

Listening- People Oriented

What I am taking away the most from this survey is that I need to find was to ease my situational anxiety when in small group situations. I made that one of my goals and I am excited to start working on it.

Week 3 Blog

After thinking the question over in my head several times “Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?” I would have to say, no. I try to be very respectful with anyone I am talking to. I am mindful about who I am talking to and what might be appropriate in that situation, but as far as respect and politeness, I communicate the same.

Different kinds of communication are appropriate for different situations. For example, when interacting with the parents of my students I am very careful to keep the conversation polite and professional. I draw a line on what information about myself or my personal life I am going to reveal to them. With a close co-worker I am polite as well, but may reveal different aspects of my personal life that I would not to parents.

As far as communicating with people from groups or cultures that are different from mine, if I know what is considered respectful in their culture, I am careful to give that respect. My brother in law is from Bolivia and it is very common in the Hispanic culture to hug and kiss on the cheek when you greet someone you already know, or someone is being introduced into the family or close circle of friends. This is not something I do with other members of the family, but I always do with him and any of his family members. I think it is important to embrace certain practices from other cultures as a form of respect.

Week 2 Blog

This week’s assignment was to watch a television show with no sound in order to zone in on non-verbal communication. I decided to watch a show on Disney channel called “Ant F.A.R.M”. For those of you who have never heard of this show, it is about a group of tween aged children who are attending an advanced academics program at a local high school even though they are much younger than their high school aged peers.

While watching the show with no sound, I noticed that the characters use facial expressions and body movements to convey may verbal signals. I could pretty much understand everything that was going on, just by watching their physical behaviors.

This helped me to realize that our body language says a lot. I will be more mindful of my body language, especially during staff meetings (J) to insure that I am not sending the wrong signals. 

A Model of Good Communication Skills

I have been teaching for several years and have had the opportunity to work with many different kinds of people. In a field like teaching, communication goes on non-stop all day long. Whether it be with children, parents or co-workers, there is a constant need to relay thoughts, collaborate and manage tasks together. Without strong communication skills it would be extremely hard to be a teacher.

When thinking of a person who shows very strong communication skills, and someone I would like to model my behaviors after, the first person to come to mind is the assistant director that I had when I was teaching pre-school. She was very kind and respectful with parents and staff, but also funny and personable. She was able to keep her calm, even in very heated situation between parents or other staff. She always managed to give good, thought out responses even during an awkward moment with a parent.

Even though I have been teaching for 10 years, I hope to gain skills form this communication course that will help me to navigate sticky conversations with parents.

When I think of research...

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

 

Going into this course, I knew nothing about research. I am walking away from this course with a general understanding of, Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Method research designs

 

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

 

I also learned about the many components of carrying out a research project, from choosing a question to research to putting it all together into an experiment and documenting the outcomes.

 

 

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

 

I learned that considering ethics and quality should be the starting point of any research project. Ensuring that a project is ethical is very important in making determining whether or not the outcome can be considered reliable.

 

What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

 

My first challenge was in deciding on a research question. I had trouble choosing a question that was related to my topic, Children with Autism that was specific enough to do a study on. With the instructors help, I was able to choose the question “What kinds of interactions do preschool age children with autism share with their typically functioning peers?” I feel good about the end product of my research outline!

Research Around the World

What are some of the current international research topics?

 

I chose to focus on the website, Early Childhood Australia: A voice for young children, the Australian equivalent of the United States, National Organization for the Education of Young Children organization. A few of the research articles listed on the sight were: Developing Social and Emotional Skills (https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood/professional-learning/developing-childrens-social-and-emotional-skills ), Sign Posts for Building Better Behavior (https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood/programs/signposts-building-better-behaviour ) and Managing Life’s Ups and Downs (https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood/about-emotions/managing-life%E2%80%99s-ups-and-downs/ups-and-downs-resources-families-and )

 

 What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

 

One insight that I gained is that many of the common early childhood issues we are dealing with in the United States are also being dealt with in Australia. Dealing with difficult childhood behaviors, separation anxiety and stress among parents and care givers.

 

 

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

 

This website was very informative and easy to navigate. One thing I thought was interesting was that they hold a “Live Wire Forum” focused on educating teachers how to use and utilize technology in the classroom. I found this very impressive. Technology is a big part of our everyday lives, it is important that teachers understand how it can help accelerate learning.

 

References

Early Childhood Australia http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

After doing some research online for this week’s blog assignment, I found a great example of research involving children with a very positive outcome! The article that came across, Promoting Social Behavior of Young Children in Group Settings: A Summary of Research (Dunlap and Powell 2009), explains the positive effects of preparing typically developing children to interact with “Focus Children”-children with social and emotional behavior problems. In this experiment, the typically functioning child was coached by the teacher on how to how to initiate interactions with the focus child, what to say and how to say it. Dozens of studies, including this one, with children described as exhibiting behavior and conduct disorders and autistic have demonstrated that this basic approach can be effective in increasing social responses by the focus children and also in promoting the focus chil­dren’s initiations with other child interactions (e.g., Odom et al., 1999; Ragland, Kerr, & Strain, 1978; Strain, Shores, & Timm, 1977; Strain, Schwartz, & Bovey, 2008).

In my opinion this is an ethical way to conduct research with young children. No one is harmed and in fact both parties involved learn and gain skills from the research experiment.

I understand that inclusion and equality is important among all children, despite their differences. But, the truth is that throwing children social and behavioral issues into a room together and hoping that everyone plays together happily is not a reality. It actually does an injustice to both parties. The typically functioning children may be afraid to interact with the focus child for fear of upsetting the child. The focus child will have difficulty improving social skills if never given the chance to have peer interactions.

Giving children skills to work with peers who may interact differently than they do, will help teach them to be compassionate and caring.

This was a great article and I encourage my classmates to read it if they have a chance http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/do/resources/documents/roadmap_3.pdf

 

References

Dunlap & Powell 2009. Promoting Social Behavior of Young Children in Group Settings: Summary of Research, Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children, Retrieved from: http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/do/resources/documents/roadmap_3.pdf

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose for research simulation project is, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Young Children. I have always been interested in the nature of learning disabilities and what it is like functioning with one.

My brother was diagnosed with ADD while he was in elementary school. I remember how hard school was for him. My mother would work with him for hours after school, just trying to get through his homework assignments. She would make flash cards and charts and other tools to help him retain information. Seeing his struggle to learn and my mother’s struggle to assist him, inspired me to want to become a teacher. Seeing his progression through the support of my mother and his teachers showed me that all children can flourish when given the chance.

Of all of the learning disabilities I am familiar with, Autism Spectrum Disorder amazes me the most. I have worked with several children who have the disorder and as the name suggest, there is definitely a spectrum when it comes to the level of the disorder that the child displays. To me this disorder shows that cognitive abilities are not the only factor in a person’s ability to function in society. Autism makes it difficult for the individual to express themselves and cope in social situations. This lack of social skills makes living a completely independent life hard.

As a teacher, I would like to learn more about this disorder in order to fully guide and facilitate developmentally appropriate learning in children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder.

If any of my colleagues has personal experience working with children who have ASD or a family member who has it, I would love to gain some personal insight. Thank You!

What I've Learned about ECE Internationally

Three Consequences of learning about the international childhood field:

·         The need for Pre-schools is different in other areas of the world due to mothers staying home until children reach Kindergarten age.

·         Curriculum changes based on what academic areas are the most important.

·         Religion plays a key part in not only Pre-schools, but primary school as well.

One goal for international awareness of issues and trends in Early Childhood Education:

·         I think that an “Issues and Trends in Early Childhood Education” course should be mandatory in Early Childhood Bachelor’s programs throughout the world. Knowing what is current in the field should apply not only to Master’s students, but anyone seeking a degree in Early Childhood. 

Sharing Web Resources

The website that I have been researching and following is the National Association for the Education of Young Children website www.naeyc.org. I have learned a lot from the NAEYC website over the last several weeks.

While searching the website I found a very interesting article titled “Anti-Bias Education: Holidays and Fairness” this article discusses how to make decisions about incorporating the holidays, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween into your curriculum and classroom routine during those times of year. There are links detailing how to deal with each holiday and what to consider when choosing activities to include in your classroom and program.

I found this link very helpful. During the holidays I enjoy celebrating with my students, but also understand that there are religious and cultural differences that I need to respect. I want everyone to have a good time and feel valued and included. This article gave me some great ideas. I enjoy utilizing the NAEYC website because the resources are extremely credible and there is an endless amount of them.

 

References

www.naeyc.org

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

Hello!

My international contact is in Iran. From her I have found out that there are several differences between Early Childhood Education here in the U.S. and in Iran.Though, there are pre-schools in her city, which they call Kindergartens, many mothers do not work and keep their children at home until time to attend elementary school. There are also no men teaching in the Kindergarten programs in her city. I hope to gather more information from her, but contact has been difficult due to the time difference and our busy schedules.

Studying inequities this week gave me the opportunity to reflect on what I can do as a teacher and member of my community to help work against inequities in education.  

Sharing Web Resources

The website that I have been researching is The National Association for the Education of Young Children. The section of the website that interests me the most is the section regarding professional development opportunities. In this section there is a list of training opportunities, annual conference information and other accreditation and training opportunities. This information is relevant to me as I am constantly looking for ways to better my teaching skills and stay abreast of current issues in Early Childhood Education.

 

A portion of the website is entitled, Effective Advocacy Resources. There is information pertaining to how members of the community can support the field of ECE through voting and lobbying. Politics play a large part in how child care centers are funded and how they are regulated. Citizens should understand that they have the ability to change policies through being an active member of society.

 

A new insight that I gained through my website research is how much information can be obtained through this website. I have spent hours scrolling through the NAEYC website and each time I see something that I did not see before.

 

 

References

 

The National Association for the Education of Young Children www.naeyc.org

Getting to Know Your International Contact

Overseas Contact

 

I contacted an organization called “Thrive” that was trying to connect me with an Early Childhood Professional in Pakistan. After several emails and no response, I gave up hope with this contact and began searching through social networking and people that I know for another one. I know that there is an alternative assignment, but I am really interested in making contact with someone overseas and discussing the similarities and differences between education here in the U.S. and education in other countries.

 

It turns out that one of my co-workers has a daughter in Iran that teaches young children. Her name is name is Farnaz Fahool and she teaches a private Kindergarten class in Mashhad, Iran.  Phone calls will not be possible due to the time difference and our daily schedules. I have emailed her and I am waiting on

a response.

 

Information on Poverty

 

The website that I chose to research was the National Center for Children in Poverty ( http://www.nccp.org/)  This website contains a wealth of information about poverty and it is well organized and easy to navigate, I have some basic knowledge on how poverty effects young children, but after doing research on this website I learned much more. I learned that there is a difference between being “poor” and being “low income”. The National Center for Children in Poverty defines
children living in families with incomes below the federal poverty threshold – $23,624 for a family of four with two children in 2013 – as poor and children

living in families with incomes below twice this level as low income. (http://www.nccp.org 2013)

I also learned that the percentage of low income families in the state where I live, Virginia, is a lot higher than I thought. The low-income percentage is 36%.

Doing this research has made me want to contact my local social services office to find out what I can do to help aide in the war against poverty. I am just one

person, but if I can even help just one child, I will feel that I am making a difference.

 

References

The National Center for Children in Poverty http://www.nccp.org