Time Well Spent

      I have learned so much throughout my journey here at Walden and it was very difficult to narrow all that I have learned into three deeply felt leanings.  Here is what I came up with for myself as most important.

1.     This program has reinforced that there is always more to learn and as a life long learner I will be able to continue to increase my knowledge, growth, and experience in the field.

2.     I have learned the value of equity and justice over equality and the role each of these aspects plays in the early child field.

3.     I have also learned the value of communication and collaboration in becoming a successful agent of social change.

One long-term goal I have for myself in the early childhood field is to continue my formal education and work towards my PhD in some aspect of the field.  

I am really not very good at farewells, so as we each go our separate ways, following our own aspirations and dreams I can only hope that our paths will cross again in our work to positively impact the early childhood field.  I have valued our time together, and found you input and comments a necessary tool in my personal growth and success in this program.  I wish all of you the best and success in future endeavors.  I would also like to give a special thanks to our instructor and the time she has spent providing the individual feedback and help needed to complete this program on a positive note…I hope positive for all.

Here is a link to my final WORDLE…it contains all the terms I found and now feel are important to my growth in the field: http://www.wordle.net/delete?index=7215976&d=VUYA

One of the hardest parts of this program has been the lack of face-to-face interactions.  While we have all worked together and interacted, with out these types of interactions and physical presence I feel the personal connection of actually being in a classroom is kind of lost…I do not know what half of you even look like.  I am sure this will somehow change as online studies become more prominent. 

Here is an email address for anyone that is starting a network of contacts for early childhood professionals…I would be happy to provide more information, just email me at kiykojayne@gmail.com

Take care everyone. It has been a wonderful experience!

Job/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

What an intriguing assignment.  It seems I have never really thought about looking for job opportunities outside of my local area.  It is appealing, though I never considered, nor have I wanted to leave my home state.  However, after completing this venture I have decided if the right job or opportunity arose in the early childhood field that fueled my passion I would have to consider a life change.  Three international organizations that appeal to me and why are:

1.     UNICEF or the United Nations Children’s’ Fund (n.d.) is a national organization that advocates for all children around the world.  I chose this organization because of exactly that.  UNICEF (n.d.) continually and consistently works tirelessly to ensure the rights of children.  UNICEF (n.d.) is setting the standard in providing services to and for children in need across the nation and setting national policy concerning the rights of children.  UNICEF (n.d.) is a mandated advocate for the protection of children’s rights and sanctioned by the National General Assembly.

2.     NAEYC or the National Association For the Education Of Young Children (n.d.) is a national organization focusing on educational, developmental services, and resources surrounding early childhood and young children acting on their behalf in order to protect their personal rights and well being.  The NAEYC (n.d.) is an organization that is appealing to me in that it actively promotes developmentally appropriate practice with an abundance of resources and research available to early childhood professionals.

3.     NIEER or the National Institute for Early Education (n.d.) is a national organization that conducts and shares research to promote effective and high quality early childhood education for all children.  NIEER (n.d.) provides independent advice and technical assistance to educators, journalists, policymakers, and researchers.  I like NIEER, in that it is a national organization that facilitates national and state discussions on early education that promote and encourage policy changes in the early childhood field that benefit all children, including universal access to preschool for all children.

Job opportunities that interest me are:

1.     Early Childhood Consultant: provide information and assistance to ECE programs, business and industry, communities, public officials, and state and federal agencies that in order to assist in developing programs, guidelines, and public policy that promote the overall improvement and quality of early childhood programs.  Specific skills and/or experience I would need to fulfill this role are my education in early childhood, knowledge of licensing regulations, and excellent communication and writing skills.

2.     Professional Development Specialist and/or Coordinator: assists early childhood professionals in reaching personal professional development goals. Specific skills and/or experience I would need to fulfill this role are knowledge and/or experience of early childhood careers and the education and/or the professional experience needed to achieve them, excellent communication and writing skills, and some administrative skills.

3.     Director of Educational Programing: leads a company team that ensures that high-quality early education curriculum is provided for the early childhood programs they serve.  Specific skills and/or experience I would need to fulfill this role are strong administrative and management skills, excellent communication and writing skills, organized, extensive knowledge of early childhood development, and developmentally appropriate practice.

These are positions in the early childhood field that interest me, however I still truly enjoy interacting with children.  I have been told that as a director I spend to much time on the floor.  I have to ask if that is even possible…have you ever tried to talk to a parent, addressing issues about their child…a child you weren’t familiar with?  I never have that problem! Over the years I have found this promotes better family relations and increased parent involvement in the program.  I would think that all of these positions would require getting to know the families, staff, and programs in order to provide valid and useful information …what’s the number one rule for success…know your clientele. 

References

NAEYC (n.d.). National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://www.naeyc.org/

NIEER (n.d.). National institute for early education research. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://nieer.org/

UNICEF (n.d.). United nations children's fund. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://www.unicef.org

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

·      Three national/federal organizations or communities of practice that appeal to me and why are:

1.     Zero To Three: a national nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals, and policy makers the tools and information needed to nurture early development (Zero To Three, n.d.).  Zero To Three’s mission is to ensure that all young children (babies and toddlers) have a strong start in life (Zero To Three, n.d.).  I chose this organization because of its support of families, professionals, and policy makers in that as an early childhood professional I believe that a strong start in life is key for all children whether at home or in school.

2.     The Center for Childcare Workforce: a national organization that strives to improve the quality of early care and education for all children through research and organizing that help ensure early childhood professionals are educated, receive better compensation, and have a voice in their workplace (CCW, n.d.).  I chose this organization because I have long believed that improvement in the quality and the importance/relevant ratio in society and community support begins with fair wages and educated professionals.  Something as simple as fair compensation would decrease the high turnover rate of early childhood educators providing program stability and there is nothing wrong with asking those professionals to have the education and or experience to have that compensation.  I feel that the early childhood field is still overcoming the babysitting stigma.

3.     The Children’s Defense Fund: a non-profit organization that has worked tirelessly to support policies and programs that lift children out of poverty, protect them from neglect and abuse, and ensure access to health care and quality education working at federal, state, and community levels across the United States (CDF, n.d.).  Their mission is to advocate for children paying particular attention to poor and/or minority children and those children with disabilities, educating the nation about the needs of children and the importance of preventative investments for children and families (CDF, n.d.).  I chose this organization because of its advocacy for children and families of all sorts to achieve their fullest potential.  I believe all children and families deserve equitable opportunities for potential outcomes.

·      Job opportunities I am interested in are:

1.     Child Development Director of Operations: Relating to families in difficult and unique circumstances, providing family support, ensuring best practices in the child development department, and providing quality child development services to children 0-5.

2.     Adult educator or professor: Teaching child development and/or diversity courses at a local community college or online.

3.     Early Childhood and/or Anti-bias/Diversity Consultant in Early Childhood helping programs to provide anti-bias program environments through training, modeling, and support.

4.     Family Engagement Facilitator: working with programs to support family engagement and participation.

·      All of the jobs I would like to pursue seem to have some degree of consulting.  I really like the idea of providing training, sharing what I have learned, and engaging parents in the education of their children.  I think I have adequate leadership skills, but excellent communication skills that would be beneficial in these types of positions.  This isn’t necessarily a skill, but I am also willing to consistently continue my education and professional growth in order to be efficient in knowing, providing, and ensuring the best possible information concerning early childhood.  Some other skills I posess that would be beneficial to any of these jobs is that I am persistent, consistent, a problem solver, and I am not afraid to ask for help!

References

CCW (n.d.). Center for the child care workforce. Retrieved September 28, 2013, from http://www.ccw.org/

CDF (n.d.). Children's Defense Fund (CDF) : Health Care Coverage for All of America's Children, Ending Child Poverty, Child Advocacy Programs. Retrieved September 28, 2013, from http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Zero To Three (n.d.). Zero to three: National center for infants, toddlers, and families. Retrieved September 28, 2013, from http://www.zerotothree.org/

Exploring Roles In the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Three local and/or state organizations or communities of practice that appeal to me and why I chose them are (links and information about my choices are listed in references:

1.     Teacher Research Initiatives: Teacher Communities Of Practice is an organization that advances the knowledge of teaching and learning in the early childhood field.  Though this initiative is sponsored by a national organization, the NAEYC, the communities of practice that it provides contact information for anyone to participate in are from all over the United States, including locally…for me or even for you.  This organization provides contact information about multiple projects for educators to learn more about and participate in communities of practice surrounding the specific goals and methods for that project in the early childhood field.  I was drawn to this organization because it continually posts multiple projects and communities of practice with the contact information to become involved as they become available.

2.     The Center For the Study of Child Care Employment is a local organization out of Berkley, CA that conducts and provides cutting edge research surrounding the early childhood field that is aimed at proposing policy solutions geared towards improving how early childhood educators are prepared, supported, and rewarded for the work they do to ensure children’s optimal development.  I chose this organization because I believe that children’s optimal development in early childhood settings begins with the early childhood professionals that work in them.  Preparing, supporting, and rewarding early childhood professional’s for the extremely important job that they do is vital in providing quality care for children.

3.     Child Action is a local organization that supports Sacramento County families, educators, and childcare networks.  I chose this organization because it offers communities of practice for both families and early childhood educators.  This organization supports educators in changing and enforcing state policy, provides employment support, training, and employment listings for parents and educators, and assists families financially in order for their children to attend quality programs.  This organization also funds several programs that provide financial assistance for educators to pursue professional growth and further their education.

Job opportunities (currently available or not) that interest me are:

1.     Licensing Program Analyst for the State of California: LPA’s are responsible for licensure of public, private, and (just recently) in home early childcare facilities enforcing guidelines set by Title 22.

2.     Early Education Specialist/Consultant for new and starting early childhood programs of all kinds.

3.     Teaching ECE classes at local community colleges.

4.     One of my aspirations that is non-paying and not necessarily a job, but the next step in my professional experience that I would like to achieve is presenting at NAEYC, CAEYC, and/or SAEYC conferences about an aspect of diversity, my journey as an early childhood professional, or the importance of reflection in any aspect of working with young children.

To fulfill each of these roles will be challenging, but not beyond reach.  While I believe education is very important in the early childhood field, I also feel much credit can be given to those who strive, learn, benefit, and improve from experience.  I would not be where I am today in my thinking and passion for the early childhood field without both the education and experience I have received.  Throughout my journey at Walden I have also come to value the importance of reflection in accomplishing my professional goals in any aspect of the early childhood field.  It is because of all this (my passion, education, and experience) that I feel in order to become an “effective” early childhood professional all these aspects are equally important and necessary.  While every individual brings any one of these aspects to the field of early childhood, an individual that possesses all three will surely make a change or be the driving force behind change!

References

Child Care Law Center (n.d.). Child care law center. Retrieved September 14, 2013, from

http://www.childcarelaw.org/

CSCCE (n.d.). Center for the study of child care employment. Retrieved September 14, 2013,

            from http://www.irle.berkeley.edu/cscce/

NAEYC (n.d.). Teacher Research Initiatives: Teacher Communities of Practice | National

Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC. Retrieved September 15, 2013, from https://www.naeyc.org/content/teacher-research-initiatives