Final Thoughts

Honestly, I cannot believe that we have reached the end of this program.  It has been a very challenging, yet rewarding experience.  I have learned many things throughout the course of the program at Walden; however, three major concepts stand out.  First, our culture defines who we are, in fact our cultural identity is fused to all of the other identities that make up who we are.  As a result, early childhood education will not be effective if room is not made for the full expression of every child and family's cultural identity.  Second, to be a professional educator teachers must become skilled in the areas of self-reflection.  Reflection not only reveals our hidden biases so that we can learn to eliminate them; it reveals our strengths and weaknesses.  Finally, I learned that big change is possible even if it is a small group that is working for the change.  Passion and inspiration are powerful forces.  When someone is passionate about a concept or topic it means that in some way it connects with their heart.  I believe that it is important that early childhood educators remember this as we connect with and teach others whether they are children, families, or colleagues.  When others are truly adamant about an issue it means something for them and has personal relevance, which we should be respectful of.

A long-term goal that I have is to be an instructor/professor at the community college level.  I believe that early childhood teacher education is an important area of the field.  Teacher educators are tasked with preparing the future of the early childhood field!  It is a place of great responsibility but also great possibility to inspire and ignite social change.

Finally, I would like to thank my professors and colleagues for this amazing journey.  On February 27, 2012 I really did not know if I could work through this program or not; yet here we are.  I appreciate your comments, your encouragement, and your questioning.  I believe this program has left us with the skills we need to be professionals in our highly important field.  I wish you all the best!  If you would like to stay in touch with me, I plan on keeping my blog active.  Also, you may email me at joseph.starnes1@gmail.com

International Communities of Practice

As advocates for children and families I think it is important for us to remember that all children throughout the world are important and as humans we are all connected.  Therefore, this week I have identified three international organizations that I believe do excellent work for children, families, and education in general.  The first is UNICEF or the United Nations Children's Fund, which focuses in areas of child survival and development.  UNICEF focuses on basic education and gender quality, HIV Aids and children, and child protection and policy advocacy.  UNICEF believes that nurturing and care for young children is the cornerstone of human progress.  UNICEF is active in more than 190 countries.  A current job opportunity that is available is the position of Education Specialist, which provides technical support to early childhood programs in a given area. To obtain this position one must have a Master's, have a growing understanding of culture, and speak at least two of  the UN's  home languages fluently.

A second program I found is called Save the Children, which is an independent organization that works with children throughout the world.  They are committed to raising awareness of accountability, innovation, and collaboration throughout the field of early childhood education.  They are also currently one of the leaders in supporting universal access to preschool.  Currently, they have a specialist position in early childhood education which would provide training and support to partner centers and programs.  To obtain this position one must have a Master's and be familiar with emergency response protocols as well as quality standards and adult training.

Finally, the International Step by Step Association promotes equal access to quality education and care for all.  The program which was founded in the Netherlands, works to ensure that children everywhere have a strong start in life.  Every year the association hosts a conference and provides teacher trainings and certification.  I could not find any open positions at this organization however.

References

International Step by Step Association http://www.issa.nl/index.html

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

UNICEF http://www.unicef.org

Federal Resources and Agencies

There are several federal or national organizations that do great advocacy work for children and families.  Zero to Three was founded in 1977 with the mission "to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life"(www.zerotothree.org, 2013).  Zero to Three supports infant and toddler development by supporting learning, advocating for families, and making policy recommendations.  They also have a strong resource area for teachers and families, which features a newsletter that contains information about what parents may be seeing developmentally and how they can foster that development.  One position that they have open that I would be interested in is their Senior Writer/Training Specialist position, which is responsible for planning and over-seeing conferences, peer review and editing, and provide workshops and large trainings for staff.  To achieve this position one must have strong knowledge of Head Start policies, effective written and oral skills, and strong knowledge of early childhood development especially infant and toddler development.

Another national organization is the Children's Defense Fund whose mission is defined as an effort to "leave no child behind by ensuring that every child has a healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start, and a moral start"(www.childrensdefensefund.org, 2013).  The Children's Defense Fund is an advocacy group for the whole child not just for education and care purposes.  Currently, there are no positions open that I would be qualified for.

The final organization is the Division for Early childhood, which promotes policies and advances for evidence-based practices that support families and ensure the optimal development of young children who have or are at-risk for delays (www.dec-sped.org).  They work to ensure that children with special needs, disabilities, or are gifted/talented are receiving the programs they need to be successful.   The program only has a core group of staff; however, takes recommendations and publishes articles from early childhood professionals.  To contribute one must have knowledge of early childhood and special education. 

Resources:

Zero To Three  www.zerotothree.org

Children's Defense Fund  www.childrensdefensefund.org

The Division for Early Childhood  www.dec-sped.org

Exploring Communities of Practice

In my area there are three small communities of practice that I believe do excellent work in regards to supporting practitioners, children, and families.  The first one is the York County Directors Association which is composed of directors of local child development centers.  The directors meet once a month to discuss experiences and challenges that they may be facing in their centers.  For example, a recent meeting focused on how to support and encourage early childhood teachers.  I think a small network like this, although very informal, is a great tool which allows the members to discuss problems and share solutions.  The group is so small that they do not have any online presence.  The second group that I would like to discuss is York County First Steps, which is an organization that focuses on getting children ready for school by supporting the children, teachers, and centers in which they are enrolled.  The agency is part of a state agency which shares the same mission.  Any early childhood educator can join the group as long as their center is willing to participate.  First Steps offers trainings, professional development, parent resources, and grants for children, schools, and families.  The final organization is Easter Seals, which provides services for people with disabilities.  Easter Seals has an amazing early childhood branch which sends qualified teachers and therapists to work with children in school and in the home if the child is not able to attend school.  Easter Seals works with teachers to provide training, support, and adaptive equipment so that children can participate to the fullest extent possible.

One career that I would be interested in is a Program Manager at Easter Seals, which requires a Master's degree in Early Childhood education.  The position also requires that the candidate be organized, passionate, and inspiring all important characteristics for working with children and families.  Another career I would be interested in is being an instructor in a community college, which would allow me to help students find their own networks and sources of support.

Resources

Easter Seals  www.eastersealsucp.com
First Steps  www.scfirststeps.org

The End

As we wrap up this course and get ready to extend our learning further.  I would like to say that I have really enjoyed this course.   I believe that the skills learned in this course will help me increase my professional performance.  Many of the topics we have discussed I was completely unaware of until this course.  I would like to thank my classmates and our instructor for a wonderful experience.

The Adjourning Stage of Group Development

Inevitably, all groups must come come to an end or adjourn when their task is accomplished.  The last major group that I was involved in was a committee designed to improve the nutrition of our food options for our children.  The group originally spent a lot of time in the storming stage because we were not clear about our goals or how we should work together.  Some members of our group even felt attacked personally because they thought the purpose of our group was to make them do our jobs better.  However, over time we were able to eventually define our vision and learn how to be a team. As a team were ultimately successful, because our goal was accomplished.  If we could have worked together better from the start I believe that we could have worked together better.  The adjourning stage was somewhat difficult because after we "bought in" to the vision we all enjoyed meeting together and performing our jobs.  I also think that we got to know each other pretty well because we did spend a lot of time in argument at the beginning, which also made the team kind of difficult to leave.  Maybe teams that argue the most have the most passion, although it may be misdirected.

Disagreements and Conflict Resolution

In any fast paced environment like the work place, disagreements are bound to happen.  When disagreements arise it is okay to disagree on the points-of-view; however, it is necessary to respect the person.  The Center for Nonviolent Communication (n.d.) has two skills that I believe would be particularly effective in workplace confrontations.  The first is to differentiate between observation and evaluation.  I think that if we learn to just listen to what the other person is saying, without adding our judgments we can begin to "understand" them.  This will allow for communication to be open and honest.  The other skill is to learn to honestly request wheat we would like in a way that clearly and specifically states what we want.  For example, if I were to say that "I do not like it when you yell at me.  Instead, I would rather you talk to me in a calm voice," I would let the other person know what I want out of the communication situation.  I think if we were to implement these two ideas communication situations would improve greatly.