Farewell

                When I began this journey towards my Master’s degree, I had no idea what to expect. I have learned so much during the past year and a half.

                The first big topic of learning was on the subject of anti-bias teaching. It was during this section of my class that I delved more deeply into culture and ethnicity and how both conscious and unconscious biases can impact our interactions with children and their families.

                I probably learned the most from the classes that specifically addressed the teaching of adults. I was concerned about how I would transition from teaching young children to teaching adults. These classes have provided me with the knowledge necessary to accomplish this goal and to approach it with confidence.

                The third area of significant learning was in the arena of Community of Practice. It was during this course that I grew to understand the parameters needed to be established and the type of leadership necessary for a group such as this.

                I would like to thank my classmates and Dr. E. for helping my hone my ideas into a feasible capstone project. Good luck to you all as you continue to follow your dreams.

                                                                   Teacher's Prayer

                                                    Lord, Please bless my students

                                                    And help them as they grow;

                                                    May I teach them faithfully

                                                    The things they need to know.

                                                    So they may face the future

                                                    Knowing they're prepared,

                                                    And when they think of school days,

                                                   May they know their teacher cared.

International Organizations Addressing Early Childhood Ed.

This week’s blog assignment was to check out international organizations in which I may be able to use my degree in Early Childhood Education. I looked into five different organizations and share information about three of them here. Although I found the missions of each of these t be interesting, I don’t believe any of them to be viable options for me for two reasons: I am not bi-lingual and my age precludes me from gaining the type of experience needed to fulfill the requirements needed.

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. The Organization focuses, in particular, on two global priorities:  Africa, and gender equality.  A major objective for UNESCO is education for all.  Although I did not find any job openings for the education department of UNESCO, I did find a description of the requirements for anyone filling these positions. UNESCO education employees are required to have an advanced degree in education, must be fluent in either English or French with a working knowledge of the other, must have a minimum of two year’s experience, must possess integrity, professionalism, and a commitment to diversity.

The International Step by Step Association was established in the Netherlands in 1999. ISSA connects professionals and non-profit organizations working in the field of early childhood education. They believe in: equal access for all children; promoting high-quality and professionalism in early years services and empowering parents and communities to be part of children’s development and learning. I could not find a link that shared information about the requirements that must be met in order to work for this organization.

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has a position open for Early Childhood Development Specialist (Preschool – 4^th grade) in Uganda. Requirements include: an advanced degree in Early Childhood Development or Social Sciences field related to international development assistance, a minimum of eight (8) years of progressively professional work experience at the national and international levels, in fields relevant to Early Childhood Development programmes is required, work experience in a field relevant to development assistance, experience working in the UN or other international development organization is considered an asset, fluency in English (verbal and written) is required, and knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) and local working language of the duty station are considered an asset. 

  

National Organizations and Jobs/Roles in ECE

            The first organization that I investigated is not only a national organization, but an international one as well: it is called Association of Christian Schools International. ACSI’s mission statement is to strengthen Christian educators worldwide as they prepare students academically and inspire them to become devoted followers of Jesus Christ. There currently 3,000 member schools in 113 countries in ACSI. Unfortunately, I could not find any positions listed for this organization; but if I could, I would like to find a position as part of an accreditation team. (www.acsi.org)

            The second organization I looked into for possible job opportunities in Early Childhood Education was National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAEYC is a professional organization made up of members who work together to promote high-quality early learning for all young children by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. Currently, NAEYC is looking to fill the position for Professional Learning Coordinator. This position provides support to the Learning and Engagement Department on a wide range of tasks, including administrative, logistical and resource development. Requirements for this job is either experience or a degree in Early Childhood Education as well as experience or a degree in teacher training. It also requires 3 years teaching experience, expertise in developmentally appropriate practice and professional development for early childhood education. (http://naeyc.applicantpro)

            The final site I searched is not exclusively for educators, it is for anyone looking for a job; the site is called Career One Stop. I was able to find two positions pertaining to early childhood education that interested me: and adjunct ECE professor for Brown-Mackie College and a coordinator of the teacher education program for Wright State University. Both of these positions require a Master’s degree and the Wright State position also requires 5 years of experience.  The part of this site that really interested me was all of the resources available on the job search tab. There is information about everything from planning your job search, to writing resumes, to handling interviews and wage negotiations; it is very comprehensive. (www.careeronestop.org)   

Organizations Affecting the Lives of Children and Families in My Community

               One of the organizations that I chose for this week’s blog assignment is Community Care Center. Community Care was organized to specifically serve the people of my small town. This group helps families pay utility bills, provides clothing and small household items, and runs a food pantry. At the beginning of the school year, children from low income homes can get school supplies. The center also provides the fixings for Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas presents to these families. During the summer, they offer a program which feeds the children who were receiving free lunches during the school year. They do a terrific job of rallying the businesses, churches, and community members in general to provide the items and funds necessary to offer these services to needy families. Having these services available relieves some of the ongoing stress that needy families face on a daily basis, which allows for a more secure environment for their children.

                The second organization I chose is called Ohio Benefit Bank, this organization serves as a stepping stone to needed benefits. People who work with the Benefit Bank can help others apply for state benefits, fill out tax forms, apply for FAFSA, apply for veteran benefits, or apply for medical insurance. For those who are unsure of what benefits they may qualify for, they have a tool that helps figure it out. Although the Benefit Bank duplicates much of what can be accomplished at Jobs and Family Services, it is housed in various areas around the county, and can be accessed online, making it easier to apply for services. The services that are rendered at the Benefit Bank are much different from what is offered at Community Care, but the results are just as important to families. Community Care deals with immediate needs whereas the Benefit Bank deals with more long-term needs.

                The third organization is a group of lawyers specializing in representing families of special needs individuals called the Special Needs Alliance. This is a national group of lawyers who volunteer their time to advocate for special needs people. Besides helping to change laws that would benefit these individuals, they also advise families on topics such as: qualifying and applying for benefits, creating special needs trusts, availability of local supports, special education, guardianships, and powers of attorney. I chose this group because I know a family that is currently in need of their services. This family recently had their disability revoked for their daughter because the bureaucrat in charge of their case had never heard of their daughter’s condition - even though they provided all sorts of documentation from doctors. Now the government not only doesn’t want to pay for her nurse, but they also want the family to reimburse past disability payments. Did I mention the girl is 13 years old and has been receiving benefits since birth? Anyway, I think that this sort of situation would be something that this group would be able to handle for the family.

                A current job opening that I found in my area is an adjunct teaching position at a community college in Early Childhood Education. My many years of experience in the field combined with my upcoming degree in Early Childhood Education – Teaching Adults would make me highly qualified for this job.

                

     I would like to take a moment to thank my classmates and Professor Shepherd for your input during the past eight weeks. I always learn something new when I read your posts each week because of the different perspectives and experiences that you share. As we prepare to break off into our respective emphasis studies, I may not have the opportunity to interact with all of you in future classes; I will miss those of you who will not be in the Adult Studies program. Good luck as you prepare to move forward toward your goals.

     This week’s topic surrounds communication which is necessary for groups. There are five stages in group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (O’Hair & Weimann, 2015). The names forming, performing, and adjourning are self-explanatory as to what happens in these stages. The term storming refers to stage in which team members begin to disagree and experience conflict. The term norming refers to the stage in which the participants have moved past their conflicts and established a pattern of usual, or normal, behavior. The stage this blog will address is the adjourning stage, the point at which the project has come to an end and the team disassembles.

     I think that the groups that are the most difficult to adjourn are those that combine a fairly long period of time with a successful achievement of stated goals. This type of group typically has reached a level of intimacy that makes it harder to say goodbye once the goal has been achieved. I believe that, in groups like this, it is important to have some sort of termination process in order for them to be able to fully commit to the next group project.

     In my own experience, I have participated in a couple of different termination processes. One of them employed a survey of all of the participants about the various aspects of the process and what each deemed as positives and negatives. Another termination ritual involved a social gathering of all the participants. Each of these rituals served different purposes; the first allowed the participants to learn from their problems and successes, while the second process allowed the participants a chance to interact on a purely social level – without any discussion of the actual project that had been completed. The self-evaluation process allows the participants to revisit the process of the project and think about what lessons learned will be useful in their next group endeavor. The social gathering, on the other hand, allows participants to just enjoy each other’s company without the pressure of a looming goal. I believe that when a group has developed a bond throughout the process, this ritual has more closure.

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

            Recently I was involved in a conflict in which the other party was defensive. In my opinion, the other party was justifiably defensive – to an extent – but seemed to be overly so. This defensiveness manifested itself as anger; but as I listened to her voice her outrage, I realized that there was much more going on besides anger and defensiveness. She was fearful that the situation at hand would morph into all sorts of bad things for her family. She was overwhelmed and depressed about several things that had transpired over the past several months, including the loss of a job that she had held most of her adult life. As an empathetic and people-oriented listener, I did not take her anger personally; I really wanted to reassure her and be a comfort. I understood that these other feelings were feeding into her anger, and that her anger would dissipate in proportion to the dissipation of those other feelings.

Unfortunately, this interaction did not go as well as I had hoped. Even though I feel as though I took the steps indicated in the text for communicating in a defensive climate, the conversation ended without anything being resolved and it has left a strain on our relationship.