A teacher's work...

Effective communication...why is it important

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 03:58:00 +0000

Effective communication is necessary but not everyone feels comfortable speaking to other people in some situations. For example, public speaking can be terrifying for some people while others may fear the one on one. I personally do not mind speaking one on one or in front of others. I am typically the 'fly on the wall' person that prefers to observe and listen before speaking.

In thinking about enacting policy change effective communication is extremely important. The reader has to understand the policy and it needs to be, concrete and complete. In order for the policy to be concrete the policy maker must make sure the audience has a clear picture of what they are trying to say. A complete policy is one in which the reader has all the information they need to make an informed decision .

In relation to my own communication skills I find that I can be both concrete and complete but not without tons of revisions. No matter what platform, one on one, small group or large group, I am able to adapt my communication to the situation at hand. My weakness deals more with the issue of being concrete as I sometimes will find myself rambling which is what leads to the tons of revisions.

Reference

Mind Tools. (n.d.). The 7 Cs of communication: A checklist for clear communication. Retrieved October 15, 2013, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_85.htm

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 04:55:00 +0000

The policy issue I am focusing on is early childhood professional development. This is a topic that affects all stakeholders, parents, children and most importantly teachers. In considering how to communicate this issue to these stakeholders I am driven to social media. The first tool that I would use is the social networking site that almost everyone is familiar with, Facebook. Facebook allows the users to post pictures, upload files/attachments and create groups. This would be an important outlet as I would be able to post information for teachers relating to upcoming training and answer questions. The second social media program i would use is Goggle+ which is another program that is widely popular. I believe that this would be a good resource because it would connect that population that may not socialize on Facebook and also it provides users with multiple options to connect.

The target audience for my policy issue would be parents and early childhood professionals. I included parents because I believe that they are genuinely interested in the credentials of the teachers so they want to know what professional development the teachers participate in. Early childhood professionals, of course, would need access to the information as it is placed there for them. I am not a big social media person so in consideration of challenges I think the biggest challenge I would personally find is that of knowing how to properly use the programs. One benefit of using these social sites to publicize my issue is that the page followers would have information relating to this topic and gain a better understanding of the topic.

Professional goals

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 May 2016 03:14:00 +0000

My work in the field of early childhood education began in high school simply because I wanted to help pay for many of the activities during my senior year. As I began looking for jobs I followed the example of my parents in choosing something not because of the pay but because it was something that I am interested in and I ended up as an infant room caregiver. This began my career and I spent over 10 years teaching in various age groups and capacities with my favorite being pre k and kindergarten. As Kagen and Kauerz (2012) noted this field has gone from invisible to the center of attention and being a part of this shift I have grown in my idea of how I want to impact early childhood education and understanding my role.

As a teacher one issue that has always bothered me was the lack of professional development opportunities for early childhood teachers. So when I consider my professional goals in a course on policies I find that easy to answer. My overall goal is to improve the lives of the children and families that I serve. In order to achieve this goal I must look to my team and work to develop them (goal 2). And my third goal is to continue to advocate for young children, teachers and families.

Each of these goals will help me as I learn more about early childhood systems and subsystems. In the past two weeks alone I have learned about new subsystems from classmates that may help me in achieving my own goals. In order to help my families and children it is necessary to know what services are available and work to connect them with those services. By the same token seeking out and encouraging professional development among my team is a necessity. I want to help them find trainings that are going to speak to them so that they can implement it in the classroom. Advocacy is a must because no one knows what teachers need more so than teachers. We have to speak up for early childhood and make sure that we stay the center of attention to continue to create policy and build early childhood systems.

Reference
Kagan, S. L., & Kauerz, K. (Eds.). (2012). Early childhood systems: Transforming early learning. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Final post for course: Influences of family, culture, and society in early childhood

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 05:54:00 +0000

Wow is the first word that cones to mind when I reflect on this course. From the first assignment I knew I would enjoy this class simply because the discussions were really interesting. My biggest take away from this semester is that in order for me to effectively do my job I have to get to know myself and be willing to accept how my early experiences have influenced me.

I especially enjoyed the Derman-Sparks & Edwards text and the study on anti-bias curriculum. There were many points including microaggressions which were eyeopeners. I also learned how the simple off hand comments of a trusted adult could affect a child.

In the major project assignment I enjoyed learning about my topic, family and community violence. As I may have mentioned this was a new topic of study for me. I typically study professional development and teacher participation. Studying this topic was interesting because I looked at it with fresh eyes. I also got the opportunity to speak with 2 individuals affected by violence. The work was well worth the time put into helping me learn to better do my job. I look forward to continuing to learn and share insights with my staff.

My final thoughts, I enjoyed this course even though there was a ton of work. I also learned more about my upbringing and how it affects the children and families I work with. The topics made for great workplace discussions and I think this is one of those courses I will reflect back on.

Thank you to all my colleagues for your openness and honesty shared throughout the class.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Family and community violence can be very difficult for an adult to deal with and even more traumatic for a child. In choosing the individuals for my interviews in this course, I knew I wanted to talk to an adult who worked with families affected by violence as well as a child who had been on the front lines. I was able to connect with a caseworker that works directly with families and helps them navigate through their difficult situations. My second interviewee is a young man who, as I said, was on the front lines, a child directly affected by family violence. To date I have a learned quite a bit from both individuals and in talking with both of them they confirmed my decision to not become a case worker because I am way too emotional. It has been very hard not to break down when listening to them talk about their work and their lives which has been my biggest challenge during the interviews. At this point in the process, I feel confident that I have learned a great deal not only from my interviews but also in the research process. The interview that has had the biggest impact on me is with the young man I've been talking too, hearing his stories of what it was like to grow up in his household and the things he witnessed. At one point his situation came to a head when he had to make the decision to leave his mother's house rather than put his hands up to defend himself at only seventeen years old.

As I wrap up my interviews I feel as though I have a good start on my project although I'm still working to narrow down my focus to complete the paper. I don't really have a question just a thought...how do we ignore children that are truly screaming out for help when they are faced with such horrifying situations. Friday was yet another example of a truly traumatic event in the lives of so many children around the world. In some way, we were all affected by the situation and I won't go on about it but how do you explain what happened to a child?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 05:53:00 +0000

Course Project: Children exposed to risk, stress or trauma...violence/fear (in families and the neighborhood)

The topic which I would like to explore for this course project is violence and fear in families. This is not a topic I have first hand experience with but one I am interested in studying. My interest in this topic is purely one of curiosity from observations of some of the children I have taught and currently serve at my facility. There are so many factors that can and do influence a child's identity including violence and fear but so many people try to these two to control others and create a sense of power. I would like to research the direct influence that violence and fear in the family have on the young child's development. I am still working on specific research questions for this topic but I do value input from my colleagues and look forward to hearing from you.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 06:00:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to my blog...

I am starting a new course at Walden and felt it appropriate to send out a new welcome for any new classmates visiting my blog. I am excited for this course and looking forward to some interesting conversations with everyone so again welcome and feel free to browse past posts. I am truly amazed at how I've grown into a blogger when I first began this I had absolutely no idea what I was doing!

Global Perspectives wrap up

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 04:56:00 +0000

I want to say thank you to each of my classmates in this course and leave you with a few inspirational gems as we prepare for our next course in this journey.

First of all, thank you for your support and participation.

Second, know that you do matter in the lives of children and their families. This thought is confirmed every day that your children show up with wonder in their eyes, seek you out for a much needed hug, share the details of their families' lives and question your whereabouts when you are out for the day.

Third, it is important that we get involved in advocacy and work on the behalf of children every day. I personally recieve infomation from a variety of resources including but not limited to
https://www.texasaeyc.org/?page_id=502 which is an affiliate of www.naeyc.org. www.aeci.org offers a generous amount of initiatives to which to get involved in.

Fourth, as early childhood professionals we are also lifelong learners. We must stay dedicated to our customers, the children, as the return on invest is extremely high in this field.

Innovation approaches to early learning: Technology and ECE

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 05:48:00 +0000

Children today have a major advantage in the classroom compared to early learning experiences 15 years ago. Technology is not going away so it is pertinent that early childhood educators stay abreast of the advances in technology and how to incorporate it into the classroom. Technology for young children must be interactive vs passive allowing children to engage in the technology. Passive media can contribute to "language delays, obesity, social withdrawal, attention problems, and even irregular sleep patterns" (Epstein, 2013, pg. 2). There are several technological devices that can be utilized in the classroom including computers, tablets, digital cameras and digital microscopes to name a few. I love technology and enjoy trying out all the new "toys" so I naturally want to bring what I've learned into the classroom. A few weeks ago I researched this topic with a focus on the negative effects of children under age two but again felt it was appropriate for older children. In researching what other teachers have done to incorporate technology in the classroom I am inspired to try out new things in the classes at my facility. As a technology teacher one I learned very quickly that young children enjoy computers but they do require that back and forth of the interactivity. They do not want to passively sit and watch as it is too much like watching a movie which will cause them to lose interest and get antsy. For me, putting a digital microscope in the classroom is a great learning tool or teaching a child to use a desktop computer and mice versus just a tablet. Some items can be quite expensive but I have found if you ask around, people are willing to donate items to educational programs. My thoughts on effective learning experiences for young children in a technology rich environment is that we are aiding and extending the child's learning. I also understand the opposite view of wanting to keep anything other than a desktop computer out of the classroom because children are exposed to technology with their families. The difference, in my opinion, is that as educators we are presenting an alternative use for technology not just as a babysitter.

Epstein, A. S. (2013). Using Technology Appropriately in the Preschool Classroom. Highscope Extensions , 28(1). Retrieved from http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/ExtVol28No1_low.pdf

Early Childhood Inclusion, sharing my thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 07:04:00 +0000

When we think about an inclusive classroom in the private early childhood many thoughts come to mind but there are some things we need to keep in mind. Creating an environment of inclusion means a shift in our way of thinking, including a special needs child should not be considered extra work for the teacher but a learning experience for everyone. It requires all stakeholders to embrace it, be flexible and wiling to observe, reflect and make changes as needed. Many times the teacher or teachers are not properly trained to accept children with disabilities in their classroom and they struggle with the class.

While every state does not have special quality rating systems for early childhood programs that have high quality inclusion program, there are 4 states that have stepped up. Georgia, Illinois, Maryland and North Carolina have created a system to identify high-quality schools as well as provide information to the parents. More states should adapt this idea because not only is it a great marketing feature but it also means more training for the teachers, which we so desperately need.

Reference

Horowitz, M. & Squires, J. (2014). QRIS and Inclusion: Do state QRIS standards support the learning needs of all children? (CEELO FastFact). New Brunswick, NJ: Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes.

Global Perspectives on Development and Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 00:05:00 +0000

Hello everyone, my name is LaTresa and currently a student @ Walden University. This is the blog that I previously used in my Masters program and even though I haven't posted for a while I still visit the page so I will revive it for my current course, Global Perspectives on Development and Learning. Feel free to read previous posts and share your thoughts throughout my page.

The three most important aspects of my life are my spirituality, my family and my career in ECE. This blog will focus on my career in ECE. I began my career in teaching in 1994 while a junior in high school as an infant teacher and I am currently a center director and trainer. I have always enjoyed participating in professional development because I feel very strongly that early childhood teachers need training opportunities and time to network with their peers. Being out of the classroom has afforded me the opportunity to become a trainer and mentor to other teachers and it has been great. The team that I have developed at my own center is awesome and I enjoy seeing their growth as professionals every day.

Questions I am posing to readers of my blog...
How long have you worked in ECE and what is your motivation (passion) to continue in ECE?
Also, what do you do outside of the classroom to promote ECE?

Time WELL spent!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:13:00 +0000

As I prepare to complete my studies at Walden this past week I took some time for reflection. I remember my first phone call from the enrollment advisor. I almost didn't answer the phone because it was an unfamiliar number but something pushed me and said go ahead. Carissa was on the end of the line and though she may have just been doing her job she did a great job of answering my questions, helping me choose a program and when I was unsure of just what I wanted she was very patient. Shortly after applying I stopped the process because I wasn't really sure of the program and then I received an email with a new program offering, Administration, Management and Leadership! It was everything I wanted to pursue all rolled into one and I was excited again and ready to start my education. That was in March 2011 and here it is April 2013 and I am finishing the program but not my education! I have learned so much from the instructors, my colleagues, the course materials and resources. The best part is that it has been such a rewarding experience, so thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone.

1) Passion! Passion! Passion! Being passionate about your life’s work is okay, in fact it is necessary! I agree whole-heartedly with Louise Derman-Sparks (2011) in her passion to create a more just world for kids! Everything I do is focused on that goal and in my coursework I have learned to channel that passion through resources, services and advocacy.

2) Be practical. Not only in the area of my capstone project but in budgeting, developing family relationships and leading my teachers and programs. I have BIG IDEAS when it comes to early childhood but through the hands on, practical work in this program I learned how to scale those dreams down to bite-sized and achievable actions.

3) Set goals. I am a dreamer and sometimes I go overboard but as I have worked through each course in this program it has been important for me to learn not only to set a goal but stay focused on that goal. I know the instructors probably grew tired of reading my application assignments because they were never 1-2 pages!

My long term goal is to put my final capstone project into action: get early childhood teachers more involved in continuous professional development

1) Host a rally for early childhood education at my facility

2) Advocate for changing the minimum standards in regards to teacher requirements

3) 100% participation in a professional organization for the teachers in my facility

I sincerely want to thank each and every instructor, advisor and peer for your support, advise and feedback during this program. I have learned from each of you and I am a better person for it. I do hope no I KNOW this is not the last I will hear from or about my peers because we are on the road to greatness and my children will experience an early childhood education like no other because of the changes we are going to make. So I hope to actually meet everyone at graduation but if not I would still like to keep in touch. I am not the most Facebook savvy person but I do try! Till we meet again...Tresa Moruri

tmoruri77@gmail.com

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Merging Vision, Passion, and Practice [DVD].

Baltimore.

Job/Roles in Early Childhood Community: Internationally

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:31:00 +0000

Continuing the exploration of jobs and organizations in the Early Childhood Community, the focus this week is on international organizations.

Organization: Association for Childhood Education International

www.acei.org

I choose this organization based on their involvement in advocacy and the various initiatives they are involved in: One such initiative is Love Me, Teach Me whose intention is to “promote the needs and rights of children everywhere (Love Me, Teach Me, 2011) based on four cornerstones.

Cornerstone 1: See Me: the child’s right to identity

Cornerstone 2: Hear Me: The child’s right to participation

Cornerstone 3: Love Me: The child’s right to security, stability and protection

Cornerstone 4: Teach Me: The child’s right to education

Another initiative, Decade for Childhood 2012-2022, describes what a good childhood looks like based on ten pillars and the concept that “Every child in every nation deserves a childhood full of hope, joy, freedom, and promise for the future” (Decade for Childhood, 2011). This particular initiative is sponsored by the Association of Childhood Education International and the Alliance for Childhood.

The Ten Pillars of a Good Childhood

1. Safe and secure places for living and learning, with access to health care, clothing, and nutritious food

2. Strong families and loving, consistent caregivers

3. Social interactions and friendships

4. Creative play and physical activity

5. Appreciation and stewardship of the natural environment

6. Creative expression through music, dance, drama, and the other arts

7. Education that develops the full capacities of the child—cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and ethical

8. Supportive, nurturing, child-friendly communities

9. Growing independence and decision making

10. Children and youth participating in community life.

Employment Opportunities

Country Liaison Program—this is a volunteer position in which ACEI seeks to create a network of liaisons from around the world to collect and share information on childhood education policies & practices, share the information and promote intercultural & international understanding. Currently there is no liaison in the United States.

Requirements

For this job I would require knowledge of current educational practices & policies and would have a means for staying in the know. There are no specific requirements listed but based on the description I would assume that it would be important for me to understand educational standards around the world.

Organization: International Step by Step Association

www.issa.nl

ISSA is a membership organization; the online community is free to join for individuals and connects professionals and organizations in early childhood. I like this organization because of the networking opportunities on the international level. The online community provides an opportunity to connect with a diverse population of early childhood professionals. The ISSA online course is also an interesting concept, to help teachers become more reflective and intentional in their teaching.

Employment opportunity

Romani Early Years Network Project Manager—“main purpose is to develop skills & good practice, establish effective partnerships and support professional development” (International Step by Step Association, 2013). Program development & support-plan & organize network events, manage communications, facilitate advisory group, promote the network’s professional benefits, develop collaborative links; fundraising & budget responsibilities—propose new activities, seek funding opportunities, monitor spending

Requirements

University degree; understanding of Romani children, families & communities; knowledge of early childhood education policy on a national level; 3 yr successful track record managing/working in international early childhood education programs

Organization: The Division for Early Childhood

www.dec-sped.org

DEC is an international membership organization but what’s special about this organization is the focus on children with disabilities. It is one of seventeen divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Their mission “promotes policies and advances evidence-based practices of young children who have or are at risk for developmental delays and disabilities” (Division for Early Childhood , 2013). What I like about this particular organization is the work they do on behalf of children with special needs and their families, advocacy, early intervention and teaching members to be advocates..

Employment Opportunity

DEC Executive Director—plan, develop, facilitate, oversee & administer all DEC operations & activities; public policy & interagency communication, fiscal planning & management. This was really the only staff position currently open but it is one that I would pursue in the future as I would love the opportunity to lead an organization so heavily invested in young children with special needs

Requirements

Ability in the oversight of financial management for non-profit organizations, initiative, enthusiasm and passion for making a difference; oral & written communication skills; prior experience achieving results w/limited resources just to name a few.

References

Association for Early Learning Leaders . (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2013, from www.naccp.org

Decade for Childhood. (2011). Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://www.decadeforchildhood.org/home.html

Division for Early Childhood. (2013, April 13). Retrieved April 13, 2013, from: http://dec-sped.org/About_DEC

International Step by Step Assoication. (2013). Retrieved April 12, 2013, from www.issa.nl

Love Me, Teach Me. (2011). Retrieved April 12, 2013, from Association for Childhood Education International: http://acei.org/programs-events/love-me-teach-me.html

National Associaion of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. (2013, March 26). Retrieved March 28, 2013, from www.naecte.org

Zero to Three . (2012). Retrieved March 29, 2013, from www.zerotothree.org

National resources in Early Childhood Education

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 00:02:00 +0000

My initial interest in early childhood began as a simple desire to work with children. Through the years my interests have evolved from a teenager needing a job to a professional choosing a career. In that time frame I have continued to keep an open mind and learn about the field. This week I expanded my knowledge of the resources available and how to get involved on a larger scale. Based on my desire to learn more about and become involved in advocacy I actually focused my research on organizations that are heavily involved in advocacy and looked for ways I could get involved with larger organizations. What follows are the organizations that I chose to research and career paths I would be interested in pursuing:

Association for Early Learning Leaders

http://www.naccp.org/

I chose this organization because it fits with my current career interests in that in an effort to enhance program quality they help to develop leaders in the field i.e. teachers. The association provides online training for teachers as well as webinars (free to members!) on various management topics and conferences all dedicated to further developing the teacher.

They do maintain a job board but it is mostly for work in other programs. I did find an opportunity that I thought I might enjoy as a part of the Association for Early Learning Leaders, Ambassador. The Ambassador is a resource specialist that helps the organizations' growth by "sharing ideas and information with the national office, recruiting new members, and facilitating the development of affiliate groups" (Association for Early Learning Leaders, n.d.). There currently is an Ambassador for the state of Texas but on the job description I would be interested in being a resource and helping others, it's what I love to do anyway. This was one of the last organizations I researched but I did email to find out the exact requirements for an Ambassador but have yet to receive the response, but I'll update when I get the information.

National Association for Early Childhood Teacher's Educators

http://www.naecte.org/

This is an organization that I learned about in a previous course and began following. Career options with this organization are to serve on the board but there are also non-employment options to submit proposals for conferences or participate in research projects. I have several topics that I am very passionate about and I would love to submit a proposal on behalf of teachers and professional development sometime in the future. The requirements to submit proposals for the upcoming conference are membership (for the lead presenter) and topic relevancy as well as properly submitting the proposal. I consider this as a future option as I want to continue to learn more about teacher education/professional development and with an ultimate goal of becoming a trainer I feel that the opportunity to submit a proposal with the possibility of presenting it at a conference would be a huge step career-wise.

Zero to Three

http://www.zerotothree.org/

Zero to three is an organization that I have consistently used as a resource for many years. I enjoy the articles which I frequently share with my staff. This is one of those websites that you go to as a resource for one topic, perhaps toddlers that bit, and four hours later you're on a whole other train of thought because there is so much information. I love the e-newsletters as well, especially the ages and stages as they are a wonderful resource for first time parents. On this website I did find a few career options, of course they are not in my area, but nevertheless the position of policy analyst. This person is involved in advocacy, policy and research as they will be required to raise awareness to current issues, stay abreast of policy changes and coordinate with other organizations. This job also requires the applicant to be able to sit at and work on the computer for long periods. The applicant will need to know policy and early childhood systems as well as have strong interpersonal skills, be responsible, multitask and enjoy working at the state and county levels. If this were available in my area I would apply for this job as policy and advocacy are two of my passions and other than sitting at the computer all day it sound like an opportunity to be involved in it all.

References

Zero to Three . (2012). Retrieved March 26, 2013, from www.zerotothree.org

National Associaion of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. (2013, March 26). Retrieved March 28, 2013, from www.naecte.org

Association for Early Learning Leaders . (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2013, from www.naccp.org

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: local levels

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 03:23:00 +0000

This week I had the opportunity to explore various organizations and communities of practice in my own community. A community of practice develops basically when a group of people with a common passion or concern work together to achieve goals that they might not achieve by working alone (Wenger, 1998). I explored several C

The three organizations that I chose this week:

The Parenting Center http://theparentingcenter.org/

Alliance for Children http://www.allianceforchildren.org/

Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System http://www.uth.tmc.edu/tececds/

The Parenting Center: The Parenting Center is just what the name implies, they provide counseling services, an advice line and classes for parents on co-parenting, communicating with your child, conflict resolution, parenting skills and family success. I chose this organization as an example of a community of practice because of the various services offered which houses several communities of practice and are an excellent resource for families. The service that I am most interested in is parenting and family life education whose mission is to provide “professionals and family members with the tools, resources and services to build successful families” (The Parenting Center, 2012). This is an organization that I would get involved with but I did not find any information in the form of employment only volunteer opportunities. The volunteer opportunities include group projects such as cleaning up playgrounds or organizing the children’s playrooms, joining board committees for the center, answering the phone or other office duties, marketing assistant, helping with the parenting advice line or assisting with social media for the Parenting Center. Other than the desire to help there are few requirements listed for volunteers but they do provide training depending on the opportunity you choose. I actually did fill out the form to volunteer for group projects and support services.

Alliance for Children: The Alliance for Children is all about child advocacy, in fact according to the website it was one of the first established children’s advocacy center programs in Texas and is the only Children’s Advocacy Center in Tarrant County. This community of practice works with police departments, Child Protective Services and the district attorney. Alliance for Children not only helps the children of abuse heal they train adults to prevent the abuse through group counseling, Prevent Now which is an education program to prevent physical and sexual abuse and Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy uses therapy dogs with the counseling program. I chose this organization because of my desire to become more involved in advocacy for young children. Again this organization offers several opportunities to get involved and the opportunity I found most interesting was that of Family Advocate. This program offers group counseling for youth victims of sexual abuse, group counseling for the protective parents, bilingual group counseling, court accompaniment, referrals, liaison between families and partner agencies. Other programs offered include Therapy Dog, Backpack and Holiday Assistance. The Family Advocate program is available to families that do not qualify for continued service through Child Protective Services but could benefit from additional assistance. This organization also works with volunteers and provides training in several areas to help the volunteer become a true advocate. In the case of actual employment you would apply with the agency that works with Alliance for Children individually.

Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System: TECPDS is an organization that “was created to ensure that high quality professional development opportunities are available statewide to individuals working in early care and education” (Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System, n.d.). This is the organization you would apply to in order to become a registered trainer in Texas. The job opportunities for this organization are a little different from a regular job in that you are simply applying to become a Texas trainer. In order to qualify as a trainer there are few steps to complete: online orientation, complete application and submit a training proposal. It is my desire to become a registered trainer and I have begun the steps needed to do so by completing the orientation.

The above are just three organizations in my local area in which I could see myself involved in. They focus on parent education, advocacy and professional development which are all areas of focus for me.

References

The Parenting Center. (2012). Retrieved March 15, 2013, from The Parenting Center: http://theparentingcenter.org/parenting-and-family-life-education/

Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System . (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2013, from n.d.: http://www.uth.tmc.edu/tececds/

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning as a social system . Retrieved March 12, 2013, from Systems Thinker : http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtm l

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:51:00 +0000

Last week marked the beginning of my final course at Walden which means I am that much closer to receiving my Masters in Early Childhood Studies. YAY!

Seven classes down!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 02:27:00 +0000

I can hardly believe just one year ago I began this program nervous and unsure of what to expect. In the time since then I have had the pleasure of meeting a very diverse group of colleagues and classmates to share the journey. As we move into our specializations I just want to say thank you to each of you for your comments, supports, thought provoking questions and discussions. It has truly been a pleasure working with you and I hope to see you in future courses! I can always be contacted through my Walden email or right here on my blog. I wish each of you continued success as you solider on.

Group experiences

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 23:44:00 +0000

I will preface this post by saying, I have never enjoyed working in groups. For one, I have learned that I am a very controlling person who likes to have things done a certain way. Throughout my entire education I always dreaded the assignment of groups because it meant that I was not in control of the outcome and perhaps the work would not be done to my expectations. As I have gotten older I have learned to relax more and work within the group to achieve a pleasing outcome.

Now as I review the five stages of team development and reflect on my group experiences I realize they were not all bad. As a matter of fact I think that the hardest group to leave was the last group that I worked with when I taught Kindergarten. Our team leaders were the director and assistant director, whom I just recently spoke with and still adore, were great leaders. They knew how to move people into positons in which they would be the most successful as well as consider their teams' contributions as part of the process. With this experience in mind I think that the hardest group to leave is one that is high-performing because you miss the cohesiveness of the group. When a group is finally performing together it is hard to leave them and start all over with a new group. As for closing ritual our group had a party before I left and I helped to train the new teacher. I have visited with some of the team members outside of the work environment and maintain a personal relationship with them. In relation to my new group, my wonderful colleagues in this course, I hope that we continue the blogs or similar blogs in which we can still share information with each other. I have enjoyed reading and responding to the blogs and discussions as well as sharing with everyone. While we know that eventually every group will adjourn it is still sad to have to move on. It is important that we adjourn so that we can start new groups with which to work and share. I think that the dismantling and forming of a group is a natural process and part of life. We have to continue to grow which is what happens when we take what we have learned from one group and apply it to another.

Managing Conflict

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:29:00 +0000

Most of the conflict in my life stems from my the center that I work in and it involves the parents, children and staff. The conflict that I will disucss now involves a child that had been in the center since he was one and is currently four years old. To my understanding this child has always been a disruption from his first day til his last yet he has been allowed to remain in the center. When I first met him he was two and a half at which point I was told that he was developmentally delayed and that he was receiving therapy through Early Childhood Interventionist. At 3 he was no longer eligible for this help and began attending the public school PCDI program. There were several issues that we dealt with on a daily basis with this child and just as many incident reports--biting (started at 4), hitting (he had a particular affinity for hitting the older children), spitting, slapping, kicking, throwing toys and pitching a fit. I maintained from the beginning that we were doing a disservice to this child, his family and every other family in our center because we were not helping him and several other families were upset that their children were getting hurt by this child. I personally have had clothes ripped, been kicked, bitten and head butted by this child and was at the end of my rope because the director refused to dis enroll him. A few weeks ago after having spent 2 hours dealing with one of his fits he was finally able to go back to his classroom. I took him to class, walked out, he began screaming, removed the child locks on the door and then ran from the room. The teacher could not catch him but the District Manager and myself were up front. The DM caught him just as he reached the front door and tried to calm him down while I continued to assist other families that were picking up their children and witnessing yet another of his fits. The DM tried for over 30 mins to calm him before he began trying to slap and spit at her. At this point he was uncontrollable and inconsolable so I had to call his mother to pick him up. He would not stay in the classroom and as always he was a safety risk so I was happy that finally something would be done about this child. Upon calling his mother and informing her of the situation she became upset because she did not understand what was going on, why we could not control him and this is was big inconvenience for her because she had to leave work. She actually hung up the phone in my face, called back to tell me that she was beginning to not feel comfortable leaving him in our care. In the back of my mind I'm thinking "Is she serious? Every child and parent in this building knows about her child, families have actually left because of this one child, teachers don't want to work with him and the children don't like to play with him because you never know what he's going to do to you but she was uncomfortable with us." I listened to her as she continued by saying that she may need to move him because every time she picked him up we had something to say. She just didn't understand. Now I'm screaming in my head, "REALLY, REALLY, YOU don't understand?" On more than one occasion he has open hand slapped her in the face while at the center but she didn't understand. Anyway, when she arrived she was still upset about the situation especially when I informed her that he would not be allowed to return until we were able to conference with her and develop an intervention plan. She was not happy about this and then began questioning what we were going to do about the other children that misbehave. I had to remind her that our focus right now should be her child and that, sadly, he was ALWAYS the aggressor. With the exception of one child, who left the very next morning, her child was the aggressor and the other children were fed up with being his punching bag. I have been at this center for almost two years now and I have written about this child on more than one occasion as I recall one of my first blog comments related to him. Within two weeks of working in the center I knew that this was a bomb waiting to explode because there were too many issues surrounding this child--safety, behavior and not being able to provide appropriate care for any other child because we were constantly focused on one and a director who would not dis-enroll.

Ok, so that was a long story but it was a conflict that I have had since I began working here not only with this child but with the parent as well. Our conflicts were numerous including the fact that I do not feel it is within my job capacity to abused by a child. As far as the parent is concerned she felt that I was the problem in this situation because I made her aware of her child's behavior. I don't usually dump on a parent every little thing there child does but in this instance I kept behavior logs, incident reports and tried to maintain the lines of communication with the parent so that she was aware of the situation. I wanted to make sure that we never had the issue of her saying, "I didn't know he was doing anything." I also think that there was, and still is, conflict with the director because she refuses to dis-enroll children that are over and beyond our capacity to work with.

In my conflict with the child I have applied the 3 R's, as I do with every child. In talking to this child I have always tried to be respectful, in my speech, my behavior and of his space. If he was upset and did not want to be touched I would let him be. On the occasion when I had to restrain him I would also explain what I was doing and why. I hope that in reading this blog no one gets the impression that I did not care for this child or that I only wanted to be rid of him. This was not the case, I have talked to other professionals about him seeking advice and I have brought extra snacks in for him as a treat. I would stand outside the room to observe him to try to pinpoint times of disruption and even after he ripped my shirt and bit me on the leg I still picked him up, held him and tried to calm him. For some reason being upside down calmed him so I would lay him on my lap with his head hanging over a little and rub his stomach to help calm him down and talk with him. At this point I thought that I had built a relationship with him because I knew some techniques that would work with him. In truth I was sad to see him leave because I knew that meant starting all over with someone else when he was so used to us. On the other hand this was a major stressor removed from my daily life.

The conflict that I felt with his mother was one that resulted from frustration. At times it was apparent that she understood what we were dealing with and she was willing to partner with us. It was obvious that she was at wits end in trying to understand her child but was frustrated with us for not doing more. I think that the final conversation had more to do with her feeling as though we were giving up on him versus her actually being unsatisfied with our level of care. The technique that I applied to dealing with her was nonviolent communication. As she yelled and attacked me it was important that I kept my own thoughts in my mind and I was able to respond without attacking her. I had several thoughts loaded in my head that I would have loved to shoot out but I did realize that her attack was not so much a personal attack on me but her being defensive. Even though at this point my empathy meant nothing to her it was still present and when she called just this week her tone was more humbled.

The final conflict I am still having deals with the director. As I stated this child has since moved on as well as a second child with which we had similar problems. They are only the tip of the iceberg because I personally believe that once we start focusing our attentions on only one child we are not effectively able to care for other children. I think that we are doing a disservice to all the children and families in our center by allowing our days to be ruled by one child. So I am open to suggestions in this instance. I have found some insight from www.thethirdside.org that I want to look into further.

Resources I used for this blog:

Cheshire, N. (2007). The 3 R's: Gateway to Infant and Toddler Learning. Dimensons of Early Childhood, 35(3).

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

· The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/

Cheshire, N. (2007). The 3 R's: Gateway to Infant and Toddler Learning. Dimensons of Early Childhood, 35(3).

My Communication Perceived as by Others

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:46:00 +0000

“God said to me: Your task is to build a better world.

I answered: How can I do that? The world is such a large, vast place, so complicated now, and I am so small and useless. There’s nothing I can do. But God in his great wisdom said: Just build a better you.”

-Anonymous

I have always thought of myself as a competent communicator, not great but not the worse, with room for improvement. This week I was challenged to evaluate myself and to allow others to evaluate me. I tried to be as honest as possible and the people that I chose to complete the evaluation did not have me hovering over them so I hope that they were completely honest. So here goes...

The biggest surprise to me in this exercise was my verbal aggressiveness scores. I rated myself a little bit lower than my mother did. According to my results I scored low on the verbal aggressiveness scale which I tend to agree with. I am not overly pushy about getting people to see my side of things, I am not disrespectful of others when speaking to them and I don't try to make them feel less than when we disagree. I asked my mother to complete this test and she scored me in the moderate range which I think is the old me. Actually I think the old me would have rated even higher because I love to argue! I do not believe in personal attacks at any point but I used to be the person that HAD to have the last word and who HAD to be right all the time. Thank goodness for deliverance! Needless to say I was surprised by these results even though I knew I would not rate in the none category I expected it to be low.

My level of verbal aggressiveness was one insight in this exercise because as I stated I was surprised by the results. Another insight I gained came from the listening styles profile. I learned that I was part of group 1 which indicated that my listening style was people-oriented. This insight wasn't so much because I am not empathetic but because in reading the scores I would think I fall more into group 2-action-oriented. I thought about it, though, and realized that I do have several meaningful relationships that began with me simply listening to someone. Even when I was in college, standing on the bus stop, people would walk up to me and tell me their whole life story. I am able to listen to people and be patient as they are talking. I thought about this again this morning during Children Church, we were talking about Joseph and the children began telling me all kinds of stories. Of course, I wanted them to understand the lesson at the same time I wanted them to feel free to express themselves. So the insight that I gained was that my perception of myself is not completely accurate especially since I had my sister in law complete this test and her scores placed me in group 1 as well.

As with any self-evaluation I appreciate learning new things about myself and this exercise was no disappointment. I see areas that require improvement such as my verbal aggressiveness and I see areas that I am proud of, being an empathetic listening but overall I have a clearer picture of who I am and how others perceive me.

My Communication Strategies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 19:39:00 +0000

I have to say that in just the past few weeks I have learned a lot about my communication style both verbally and nonverbally. I went into this course with one of my goals being to improve my skills. I love working with children but dread dealing with parents. See, I even wrote it in a negative light: working with children vs dealing with parents. In either case, I love what I do and in the year since I have started this program at Walden I have involved myself in several programs that benefit children. So when I think about what has changed in my communication since this course began the most obvious thing is that I have gone back to being quite. The difference is before I was just quite, didn't talk a lot and I was find with it but now I am a quite listener. I am focusing more on what is being said or expressed by trying to listen effectively. I don't think about my rebuttal or what I need to do next, I just listen. One of my three strategies is listening. I have read over all the resources provided and am finding that I have room for improvement in the area of listening. I am that person whose mind is always going a mile a minute and whenever someone is talking I am already thinking three minutes ahead. The next strategy I could utilize is to be more mindful of how my perception plays into my communication. I am not a closed-minded, do it my way or no way type of person but I do realize that my perception of things always plays an important role in my communication. After completing the last course in which we learned about diversity and equity I challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone and emerge myself more into the world without compromising my beliefs, of course. I think a part of that is accepting the perception of others and trying to understand where they are coming from or why they believe what they believe. And perhaps another very important step for is to be more conscious of my non-verbal behaviors. My mother has always told me that no matter what comes out of my mouth my true feelings were always visible on my face. Those readings that she gets off my face are visible to the rest of the world and as of late I realize that my body language is starting to line up with my true thoughts. I do not want to be a liar by any means but I do realize that I need to be more in control of my non-verbal behaviors especially that of disgust because I know that is a very obvious one with me.

Big Bang Theory

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:24:00 +0000

Ok this assignment was actually a challenge for me not because I don't love television but because I don't watch it like most people. I am that person that cannot really sit down and focus on the brain drain. I have to be engaged in other activities and I really just use the television as background noise. Sometimes I actually just put it on the music stations or Pandora and listen .

The first part of this assignment required me to watch a television program I don't usually watch with the sound off. I chose Big Bang Theory because it seems as though this show is on 24 hours a day on every station and I just don't get it but to be fair I had never watched the show before.

Right away I realized that the guys in the show were good friends. At least 2 of them were roommates but I wasn't sure if they were in college or not. Later in the show more of the group was introduced so there are at least four guys in their inner circle and girls but I could not discern if they were friends or girlfriends in the nonverbal viewing. The plot seemed to revolve on the guys in two groups, the roommates and the other two friends had a subplot. Everyone actually looked kinda sad in the show, there was a lot of verbal communication but the show looked a little monotonous. Looking at their behavior they sat at a respectful distance from each other, there was little eye contact and a lot of eating scenes. I could tell that there as some tension between the guys that were roommates and that everyone else pretty much stayed out it. There were a lot of downward head scene as the characters rarely looked at each other face to face and when they were eating the conversation seemed a secondary action.

Now with the sound on I was correct in assuming the guys were friends. Sheldon and Leonard were the roommates and their plot revolved around the rules of their friendships. While the other two guys, whose names I don't remember hearing were just friends. I had assumed from watching the show with no sound that it was monotonous and I was correct in this assumption. There was very little excitement in the show, even in the character's interaction with each other. Although the characters all seemed like they were familiar with each other I would actually classify them as acquaintances rather than friends. It was a fairly simple show to watch but I know that it would have been easier had I watched a show that I was familiar with. I would have known the characters and been able to guess more about the plot of the episode. Overall, I do understand the importance of both nonverbal and verbal communication but in this instance little changed in viewing the show with sound and without.

Effective Communciation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 04:20:00 +0000

There are several people that I could cite as examples of competent communicators but the one person that really jumps to my mind is my sister. My sister, Angela, started working in the healthcare field as a junior in high school and now she is a patient coordinator for several doctors in a Houston, TX clinic. When she is home with family she is this loud, opinionated ball of joy and times I have observed her working she is this quite, professional ball of joy. She is the type of person that can draw you into conversation whether she is speaking or not because her nonverbal communication is just as effective as verbal. When I read that "competent, successful communicators adjust their behavior to suit particular individuals and situations," (O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M., 2009) I am immediately reminded of my sister. As a manager myself I find that I do need to model some of her behaviors as far as communicating because I sometimes, especially last week, I find myself having to count to twenty before I actually speak. Even in personal conversations I am amazed at her ability to listen, to reflect and to help me.

Reference
O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Professional Hopes and Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 04:23:00 +0000

I know that I have said that I have enjoyed every course so far, even those that I initially dreaded, but this has truly been a wonderful journey. A course on diversity and anti bias is much needed for anyone who has contact with another human being. I learned things about myself that I did not expect or suspect but like all good things it has come to an end. With that in mind one hope that I have for myself while working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I am able to continue to be an advocate for children and always stand up for them. A goal that I would set for the field of early childhood education is that we continue to work towards being anti bias teachers and that we prepare other teachers both initially and throughout their career.

To my colleagues:

Thank you for your insight in discussions and comments and support on my blog. I have enjoyed sharing with each of you and hope that I helped you along in your journey as you have helped me. Thank you and I wish you all success in your next course and future endeavors.

Welcoming a new student

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 04:53:00 +0000

Today I work in a child care center where I just learned that a new student will be enrolling. The student is a four-year-old from Pakistan name Faizan and he is very excited to be starting school. I am also very excited to have the new student but I know very little about Pakistan and I want the student to feel at home with us. As a student in an anti-bias course I know that I have a responsibility to learn more about my new student's culture and family. In order to do I am planning some homework of my own tonight in which I will prepare myself to help make Faizan's transition easier. The first thing I would need to do is learn more about Pakistan, the people and the culture. Next I would learn more about Faizan's family by learning about their family structure and the language they speak most often at home. I would perhaps ask to speak with the parents so that we can have a sit down discussion about the transition their child is about to make. In school I would talk with the teachers and let them know, just like I would with any student, that a new student was enrolling. We would do an evaluation of our classrooms and make sure that they are not only diverse but also that we have some items from Pakistan reflected as well. As a welcoming gesture, I would probably learn a welcoming phrase to speak to Faizan on his first day. The most important thing I can do for Faizan and his family is to be respectful of them and not overwhelm them during their first days. I can only hope that my efforts would make the transition easier for the family and that Faizan feels that this is the place for him.