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

Three national/federal organizations or communities of practice that appeal to me include:

NAEYC

The first one I chose that appealed to me is a very popular organization within the early childhood community, NAEYC. I chose this organization because of the fact that it is a well respected organization and provides valuable resources for anyone interested in the early childhood field, especially those who work with children. Their goals include:

1.      Improving professional practice and working conditions in early childhood education.

2.      Supporting early childhood programs by working to achieve a high-quality system of early childhood education.

3.      Building a high-performing, inclusive organization of groups and individuals who are committed to promoting excellence in early childhood education for all young children. (NAEYC, 2014).

NAECTE

The second organization I chose is the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE). While researching this site, what appealed to me the most was their purpose statements that include important issues to help support those in the early childhood field. Some of those include:

• To advocate for improvements in early childhood teacher education
• Provide a forum for consideration of issues and concerns of interest to educators of early childhood teacher educators
• Provide a communication network for early childhood teacher educators
• Facilitate the interchange of information and ideas about research and practice
• Use, as vehicles, the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, conferences, resolutions, position papers, and other publications
• Cooperate with other national and international organizations concerned with the study and education of young children (NAECTE, 2013).

NEA

The third organization that I chose is the National Education Association (NEA). The reason this site appealed to me was the statements made regarding the importance of children receiving quality education during their early years. This is my life; this is what I believe in and what I strive to do every day. “Research shows that providing a high quality education for children before they turn five yields significant long-term benefits” (NEA, 2014). They further state that children who have had quality education during early years may be less likely to repeat grades, get in trouble with law, or need special education (NEA, 2014).

Job Opportunities:

Head Start on a national level, such as National Head Start Association or Head Start Bureau. These agencies are all related; however, are in different areas of the US. I have also found that if I worked for the US Department of Health and Human Services, I could apply to work for the Administration of Children and their Families. There headquarters are positioned in Washington, DC.

As I was researching positions for Head Start on higher levels, the majority stated that a Master’s in Early Childhood is a must along with excellent written and verbal skills, able to encourage and practice critical thinking, self-reflective and empathic, respectful and accepting approach to others, works collaboratively and creatively with others at all levels and areas.

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

National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.  NAECTE. (October, 2013). Retrieved from

http://www.naecte.org/

National Education Association. NEA. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/18163.htm

 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Local or State Organizations/COPs

Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach

“The mission of Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach Services, Inc. is to provide educational, health and direct outreach services to people in need on James, Johns and Wadmalaw Islands and at the Neighborhood House in Charleston, while encouraging and supporting self-sufficiency and self-esteem” (Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach, 2014).

I chose this organization because of the work they do in this area with regards to supporting the immigrant population that is growing in this region. Our Lady of Mercy holds literacy classes for families, GED preparation and has a child learning program for 3 month olds to 3 year olds. There are also ESL classes with child care, life skills classes for parenting, budgeting, health and nutrition and an after school program to help children with homework, they bus the children themselves. Immigrants in this area can take advantage of these services to help improve their way of life and those of their children.

Rural Mission

“Our mission is to restore the foundation of our community – its families – by repairing the homes in which they live. We believe that human dignity thrives in a place that is safe and secure. We are committed to ensuring that no matter how modest a home may be, its residents can sleep easily, knowing they are safe within it. We are strengthened by volunteers, engaged leaders, donors and deserving neighbors who are all guided by something greater than self” (Rural Mission, n.d.).

I chose this organization because it supports an Immigrant Head Start Agency. I work for another Head Start agency and although many problems need addressed, I very much believe in the program. I was extremely happy to see that there is a Head Start program completely dedicated to the needs of the Hispanic families in the area. I did not even know it existed until doing research for this area. It is supported by an agency in Virginia and is open 10 months out of a year. The serve infants, toddlers, and pre-school children.

South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center: A voice for those in need

“SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center wants to share information on legal topics which affect those we serve – the disadvantaged. We have authored a number of pamphlets, bulletins, brochures, papers and manuals on topics which include housing, education, immigration, consumer affairs, public benefits, health and family, with many translated into Spanish. All printed materials are online for consumer and professional use. We have policy papers for the professional on SC laws and state policies concerning our clientele. Most of these materials can be downloaded.

In addition, we offer continuing educational training for the professional and the community, who seeks to update their knowledge on SC law in areas we advocate. Go to our Training page to see what classes might interest you” (South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center: A voice for those in need, n.d.).

I chose this organization because of the legal support they offer for immigrants and their families. One of the main things that caught my attention and that appealed to me the most was the fact that they are concerned about the children who are here, not by chose, but because they are with their families, but in many cases have no rights because they are not citizens.

Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach. (2014). Retrieved from

 http://www.olmoutreach.org/OLM-About-Outreach-Mission-and-History.htm

Rural Mission. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ruralmission.org/about/

South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center: A voice for those in need. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://scjustice.org/brochures-and-manuals/immigrtion/

 

Job Opportunities

I would love to advance within the Head Start Corporation, whether it is here in this area and a local agency or even higher up in a State or Federal agency. The skills I would need would be working experience which I have been gaining since 2006 and the degree I am working on plus some administration classes. I also have been considering continuing my education with a doctorate degree in the Early Childhood field.

Reflecting on Learning

My most passionate hope for my future in working with children in the early childhood field is that with each year the things I have learned will become easier to do and that teaching an anti-bias classroom will become second nature. This is just the beginning for me and any children that I may teach but I hope that with each class I get better and they are able to learn in an environment that they feel welcomed, accepted, and cherished so that they flourish. I want the children that I teach be able to look back on their first years of learning with happiness and take what they have obtained from me and build a great career of learning.

I want to thank all my fellow bloggers for being so supportive and active in this course. It has been a great 8 weeks and I cannot believe that it is over. I am sad that this is almost the very end, but also extremely happy that it is. We all worked so hard, enjoy your Holiday celebrations and I hope to see you all in our last class!!!!

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I have chosen to investigate the East Asia and Pacific region, more specifically the Philippines. I chose this region because this is where my husband’ family was born and raised. My husband is actually the only one here in America out of his family. When I can, I choose this area so that I can learn about life there and then tell my children. We believe that our children should know all they can about where it is part of their heritage and culture comes from.

 

The challenges that the children in this region are confronting right now are from the effects of Typhoon Haiyan. This has been devastating for the entire country, the children now are dealing with more than just not enough food and water; a majority are homeless. Schools have been demolished as well as just about every other building in their towns and villages. People are cramped together in some of the structures that have survived, but they cannot stay for long. Clothing is another issue for people; many just have what they are wearing. So many children and families lost everything during this storm. Children have seen death and destruction and are trying to cope as best they can. They have not been to school since the storm, mostly because they have no schools to attend at the moment. The government, along with UNICEF, has started making tent schools which they hope to have up and running fully in January. However, the students lost all their school supplies along with their other personal belongings during the storm so this is now another issue for children to worry about. Because of the storm, the government is also concerned about the health of the children. They are holding a vaccination drive to help and they are including Vitamin A to improve immunity against infection.

 

These experiences will stay with the children in this region for life. The effect on the children’s emotional wellbeing and development may vary; however, all children will in one way or another be affected. Children in this area have seen death first hand. They have experienced loss in several ways; loss of life, loss of homes, loss of security, and loss of belongings. This may cause children to become insecure and withdrawn. Children are also dealing with health issues with the aftermath of the storm which will also affect their development. Children who are not healthy will have problems learning.

 

Personally, this has been heart breaking. My husband has not been able to find his cousins and it is stressful thinking about “what if”. I have realized how lucky we are to be here but I pray for the families daily. I think about the problems that I face with my families and the obstacles that they need to overcome and I realize that they are minimal compared to the devastation that the children and families of the Philippines are dealing with because of the storm. We are blessed to have the resources and help available and I will continue to reach out to my families so that they can help their children become successful.

 

UNICEF (n.d.). Information by country and programme. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/

 

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The sexualization of young children has been something that I have seen evolve over many years. Today things are different from when I was growing up and one thing that has extremely changed is how we show our little girls to be. I personally do not like the images and stereotypes that are stressed for the younger children. I do not believe that little girls should be worried about hair, clothes and make-up before teenage years.

Television and the shows that are geared for younger children are not giving children positive, healthy role models. Children are seeing more that you need to have a specific "glamorous" look to be popular and have friends. Advertising is another area where children are being targeted. Children are being shown that they can be pretty, funny, popular if they have these brand shoes or clothes. Many times the effects that this type of marketing has on the children and their families can be extremely harmful. Children may become depressed because they do not have what society is saying they should. Music today is an area where children are hearing things that they should not be listening to. There are now CDs made of young children singing, but the songs that they are singing are adult songs. I do not believe that just because it is a child’s voice it makes it appropriate for children to sing. The lyrics are basically the same, they may take out the “bad” words but you cannot change to meaning of the song. I do not believe it is suitable for children to sing about shaking any part of their body.

Children’s self-image/self-esteem can be destroyed if they set themselves up for failure at a young age. Children need to be praised for the good works that they do, not for how they look and the clothes they wear and the music they listen to. More and more children are dealing with depression and anxiety when they should just be enjoying being a child.

Because of the discussion this week about sexualization of young children, I have become aware of how much influence society has on our young children. To me, television, advertising and music are more concerned about how much more money they can make then whether or not children should be viewing and listening, and that is very sad.

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Over the past year, I have been dealing with my own racisms at work from my boss and other co-workers. It has been a very challenging year, to the point where I almost quit on many occasions. Luckily, I did find support with 2 other workers and through them we have worked out several of our issues. However, during the roughest part I could have easily created an atmosphere in which my anger and hurt from my boss was taken out on my children and families. I hope that I did not do this, and in fact I am very close to a majority of my families, but when dealing with the hurt that was caused to me I could have made any one of my families feel bad because of what I was going through. Because I am aware of how my own experiences can affect how I respond to others, I need to make sure that I do not allow my hurt and anger reflect in my teachings and dealings with my children and their families. I realize that it is not the fault of the families I serve, and I need to keep separate how my boss makes me feel and my position as teacher.

Observing Communication

Since I work in an early childhood setting, I decided to observe a child communicating with another adult in a different environment. While I was at the park with my grandson, I noticed several other young children with adults so I chose one to observe. With this observation the child I focused on was trying to gain the attention of his mother. She was talking with another mother and not really talking to him at first. Finally she stops and asks what it is that he wants. She does not seem too happy but she gets up and takes him over to the swings. She tells him she is not going to push him for long and that he needs to find something else to do. The boy does not say anything to this but you can see how happy he was to be on the swing. After she is done pushing him, she tells him she is going to sit back down. The boy waits until the swing stops and then jumps down and runs off.

 

What I noticed the most is that the mother seemed more interested in talking with the other mother than her son. The communication was not very often or long before she left and went back to the other mother.

Lisa Kolbeck, from the media segment this week, discussed how young children should not be closed off while speaking. She also stated that children communicate in different ways, many times using their bodies to help with their communication. From the observation that took place in the park I believe that the mother could have tried listening to her son a little more and that she could have taken the time to allow him to express his wants and needs. The mother could have also engaged more in play with her son at the park also so that he could have felt more important and respected.

 

I believe from what I observed that the child did not feel important and he was disappointed not only with not having the communication that he tried for, but also not being the center of play with his mother. As for myself, I know that I communicate better than what I observed, however there is always room for improvement. I try to engage in conversations with my children to get them to tell me more. Open ended questions are a huge part of the day. One problem that I have is the amount of time spent with each child. In the video segment this week, two girls were shown talking with Kolbeck. That would be great but I have 17 children and I am not able to get to every child like that on a daily basis. One thing that I would love to do is spend that kind of time communicating with each child and help them with their play. I found that the way she just kept helping them along with their by adding tools they needed to be the animals was great. This was a great learning experience for the children because they were not just discussing things about owls and cats, they were doing living it.

 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Communication with your children [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4066646_1%26url%3D