Time Well Spent

Deeply felt learnings from this program

     When I think back on everything that I have learned from this program, there are many things that come to mind.  First I would have to say is this program taught me that in education we do have a chance to make a difference through drive, determination, collaboration, and perseverance we have opportunity, we just need to be willing to take the first step. In studying issues and trends in education, I have also learned that the field of education is dynamic and forever changing, growing, and embracing new and innovative inclusive environments and practices that consider the diversity of all families and cultures with hopes of instilling an anti-bias approach to learning universally so each and every student has the same opportunities at learning.  In studying education on more of a national level, I have come to understand how many individuals it really takes to set forth standards and guidelines that educators embrace, learn from, and incorporate in everyday practices.  I have also become aware of the differences of educational opportunities there are or in many cases are not available to children. For this I am thankful for the opportunities that children in the area we live in have not only in education but in nutrition, shelter, and support.

Long term goal

One long term goal that I have for myself is to further my education and pursue my PhD.  I would love to be a college professor someday. 

Farewell Message

I just want to thank all of the classmates I have had the honor of sharing thoughts, discussions, and blog assignments with.  I have met some amazing, vibrant, exceptional individuals in the online community at Walden that I never would have ever had the chance to meet. I have learned so much about other cultures and the challenges other educators face in different parts of the world that has made me view the value of education in such a different way.  I also want to thank Dr. E. for making me see beyond my immediate surroundings and encouraging me to develop my thinking more on a global scale viewing not only what obstacles we can see in education, but the ones we don’t.  I also want to thank her for making me realize that value and importance of collaboration in the education field, it has definitely inspired me to have more faith in the value of what we each bring to the field, no matter how small of an organization we work for.  We all have the ability to make a difference.

Favorite Quotes about Children

"Children see magic because they look for it." ~ Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

“A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." ~ Carl Sandburg

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to always and forever be explaining things to them." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you, and their souls, the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands.  Take time with them, teach them to have faith in God. Be a person in whom they can have faith.  When you are old, nothing else you've done will have mattered as much." ~ Lisa Wingate

“The soul is healed by being with children." ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“Nothing you do for children is ever wasted." ~ Garrison Keillor, Leaving Home

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."~ Emilie Buchwald

Retrieved from: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/children 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

   

      The first organization that interested me was the National Association of Young Children (NAEYC).  Their center for applied research is dedicated to strengthening the connections between early childhood research, practice, and policy (NAEYC.org)  One of their primary goals is to encourage and support those individuals working in the early childhood field to become critical consumers of research  about early childhood development and education (NAEYC.org).  My first priority as a professional is to teach at a community college or pursue my PhD so I could teach at a university as well.   They have an opening for a faculty specialist, family science.  Job responsibilities include collaborating with department faculty to develop, implement and coordinate child and family development majors online with residencies programs, on campus and online teaching, advise students in the online with residency program and provide service to the department (NAEYC.org).  They are looking for a candidate with a master’s in family studies, child development or a related field, experience in developing, implementing, and teaching online courses (NAEYC.org).  I would need some continued education to be qualified for this position in early education and experience online teaching to qualify for this job but it certainly looks like a great position.

     The second organization that interested me was Children International.  Founded in 1936 it was originally dedicated to healing disabled children and providing outreach services to widows and orphans (Children.org).   Their mission has been expanded to raise support for the world’s poorest children by creating unique sponsorship program capable of forming personal and lasting connections between one needy child and one compassionate sponsor (children.org).  They currently have an opening for a program officer/health and nutrition.  Responsibilities include maintaining knowledge of existing health and nutrition programs and align with global best practices, conduct date analysis to determine appropriate measures for program improvement, seek grant resources through development of technical approaches, identifies and work to establish complementary programs/partnerships in the areas of health and nutrition in children (children.org).  They are looking for a candidate that is Spanish/English bilingual, master’s degree in public health or related field, experience in program design, data analysis, excellent communication skills, grant writing experience, and experience with Microsoft office.  I would need additional schooling.  I have 12 years grant writing and data analysis experience from my previous career as a research chemist and have taken Spanish but am not fluent so I would need some additional classes.  It seems really interesting to me even though I would probably need a lot more education to be qualified!

     The third organization that interested me was UNICEF.  UNICEF is the leading humanitarian and development agency working globally for the rights of every child (unicef.org) Their mission is to provide every child with safe shelter, nutrition, protection from disaster and conflict (unicef.org).  They have spent over 60 years working to improve the rights of children and families by partnering with leaders and policy makers to advance the access of children’s rights, especially the most disadvantaged (unicef.org).  They currently have a consulting position for improving the education quality in Uganda.  Responsibilities are to offer support to the government and its partners to improve the quality of education.  The individual will be required to build on previous initiatives and offer options to move forward (unicef.org).  Qualifications include a master’s in education, minimum 8 years of research and analysis experience, excellent organization and communication skills, familiarity with Uganda education and developmental partners (unicef.org).  As with the other two positions, additional education would be required for me as well as familiarizing myself with the education system in Uganda.  It just looks like it would be an amazing experience for the right candidate!

References

Children’s International Retrieved from https://www.children.org

National Association for the Education of Young Children Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org

UNICEF Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org

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

     When I began researching different national and federal organizations that benefit children, there was a vast majority to choose from.  Each organization had beneficial qualities that contributed to the health and well-being of children and families.  I was really surprised so many were available.
      The first one that interested me was the National Association of Young Children (NAEYC).  Their center for applied research is dedicated to strengthening the connections between early childhood research, practice, and policy (NAEYC.org)  One of their primary goals is to encourage and support those individuals working in the early childhood field to become critical consumers of research  about early childhood development and education (NAEYC.org).  My first priority as a professional is to teach at a community college or pursue my PhD so I could teach at a university as well.  Their current job opportunities includes college level instructors, this would be my ideal profession, if possible as an online professor.
        The second one that interested me is the Save The Children organization.  As part of their mission, the Save the Children organization gives children in the United States and around the world what every child deserves- a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and care when disaster strikes. (savethechildren.org). They provide quality education and preschool programs books, supplies, and educational toys as well as health and nutrition programs that save children's lives and protect children from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence in all regions of the world (savethechildren.org).  The job opening that interested me was a basic education learning specialist.  The basic education learning research specialist will extend the Department of Education and Child Protection ability to provide technical support to country offices to expand access to quality learning opportunities (savethechildren.org).  This opportunity focuses on learning outcomes across sponsorship and Save the Children International sites.  He/she does this through the support for the implementation  of the Literary Boost assessment component, including data analysis and evaluation (savethechildren.org)  Master's degree required in education as well as 3 years applied research, experience with quantitative analysis methods and computer skills proficiency in Microsoft office.  I will have a master's shortly, quantitative analysis experience from my career as a research chemist, and computer experience but no previous experience in applied research in education.
          The third organization that interested me was the Committee for Children.  Their vision is to invest in developing new ideas, initiatives, products, and services that provide social-emotional development, safety, and well being of children (cfchildren.org).  Their job opportunity as an instructional designer is to design and develop e-learning courses through defined educational standards.  In addition, they work with researchers and developers to ensure e-learning courses are accurate and reflect the content necessary for quality education (cfchildren.org).  Qualifications include bachelor's degree in education, instructional design as well as 5-7 years of e-learning curriculum design  and experience with e-learning development tools such as Storyline, Captivate, Articulate, Adobe Creative Suite, and Photoshop.  I do not have any experience with the e-learning development tools but about 2 years ago  I was asked to help design the e-learning curriculum for an online high school in science.  It would have allowed me to put my past profession as a research chemist together with my new profession in early childhood but between opening a business and four children, and an online master's program, life was just too busy.  I thought designing e-learning programs would always be interesting though and it was an opportunity I was sad I passed up.

References

Committee for Children.  Retrieved from http://www.cfchildren.org

National Association of Young Children (NAEYC).  Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org

Save the Children.  Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

     In Massachusetts, we have many organizations established with the mission of providing services to individuals in need.  In addition, many offer additional services such as job training, professional development and organized play groups for children and families.  The first organization that appealed to me was the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children (MassAEYC).  Their mission is to collaborate with families, educators, and agencies to support high quality early education and care through professional development and advocacy (MassAEYC.org)  An affiliate to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the largest and most influential organization of early childhood educators dedicated to improving the quality of programs for children birth through eight.  I was interested in working for this organization as an instructor.  I am actually hoping to further my education and enter a PhD program upon completion of my master's degree.  To teach one of their courses, I would need to become more specialized in a specific area of early education.  In our area we have an instructor from a local community college who also provides professional development opportunities for this organization. This is something I would really like to do.
       The second organization, community of practice that I found appealing was People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE).  Their mission is to mobilize and utilize both public and private resources to affect the improvement of the economic and social quality of life for low income residents. (PACEInc.com)  Their programs have included fuel assistance, child care subsidies, family literary programs, family visiting program, health coverage assistance, and training programs for teens looking for employment.  As part of this organization I would like to be part of the grant writing process for the family literary programs and working with childcares and schools to support literature in children.  I have a friend who actually has this job and she works with all the local schools and childcares and with her help has been able to bring in additional funding for books for the children in addition to the workshops, trainings, and seminars she organizes promoting literacy.  In my previous career as a research chemist, grant writing was an essential part of my job and it was something I very much enjoyed.  Writing for education would be very rewarding and hopefully with my previous work experience, my master's degree and director of my own childcare I would be that much closer to being qualified for this.
       The third organization that appealed to me was the Massachusetts Children's Alliance.  They are an advocacy center in the forefront of child abuse intervention.  Their mission is to foster collaboration and communication among agencies and provide sensitive and culturally competent coordinated response to child victims and witnesses. (machildrensalliance.org)  Services include investigation teams, mental health evaluations, victim advocacy, training, and research (machildrensalliance.org)  In childcare, we sadly see many cases of dependent care children who have been through very stressful unfortunate situations and need additional services to help them through the traumatic events they have suffered.  Organizations like this one give these children the services they need while being sensitive to their individual experiences.  A job opportunity that would interest me would be that of a child councilor.  I have not made the decision if I want to pursue a PhD in education or in psychology but that would be my ultimate goal if I chose psychology..

References

Massachusettes Association for the Education of Young Children (MassAEYC).  Retrieved from http://massaeyc.com

Massachusetts Children's Alliance (MACA) Retrieved from http://www.machildrensalliance.org

People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE). Retrieved from http://www.paceinfo.org/

What lead me here

People say a picture is worth a thousand words and I couldn't agree more.  In 2009, after a 12 year career as a chemist I made a life changing decision to leave my career behind and open a family childcare.  I am not going to pretend that my journey to early childhood has been an easy one, but I will tell you it is a decision I will never regret.  I can go on and give you many reasons I am here but the four most important ones speak for themselves.....Ashley, Abigail, Tyler and Allyson.

Welcome to my early childhood blog

Week 8 Good bye and thank you!

      These last eight weeks have not only taught me about better ways to communicate professionally but personally as well.  I am thankful for the great discussions and all the personal experiences that many have shared along the way.  I wish everyone well!  Thank you!