Advocating for families

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Scholar Practitioners Who Impact Future Change

I feel that an educator is the most precious resource our country has; of all the jobs in this country, none of them would be possible without teachers. Educating children severely affects their lives and it also influences the lives of anyone who comes into contact with those children. Education provides an establishment for a child to base the rest of his or her life on. Without a sound education, it becomes impossible for an individual to provide for themselves and their families. I entered in to the education field to impact the lives of young children just as my former teachers did for me.

As a scholar practitioner it is my duty to lead evaluation initiatives in my classroom and share important information about evaluations with my colleagues. As a classroom teacher I will be sure to use a variety of evaluations for my students and ensure that they are culturally and developmentally appropriate. I will also help my school create an evaluation to ensure that we are upholding our schools mission.

Two downfalls to avoid when leading program evaluations is being unorganized and not using resources. If the leader is unorganized there is no way, the rest of the team can be organized. I would minimize this by utilizing available resources and getting myself organized before undergoing an evaluation.

Using Assistive Technology

Since the advent of computers, a revolution in technology-based learning has occurred and research on computer-based adaptive learning environments has shown exemplary growth (Vandewaetere, Vandercruysse, & Clarebout, 2012). It is important for educators to modify and use supportive technology in order to keep up with the interest of today’s students. According to Vandewaetere, Vandercruysse, and Clarebout (2012), research has demonstrated that, when instruction is adapted or accommodated to learners’ skills, needs, beliefs or knowledge, learners achieve learning goals more efficiently. When students are using technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others, they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by a teacher, textbook, or broadcast. The student is actively making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information.

One supportive technology I chose is Math Bingo (itunes) is an app whose object is to get a pattern of five BINGO Bugs in a row by correctly answering math problems. There are four games to choose from Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division. Math problems are presented at the top of the game screen. Feedback is presented at the bottom of the game screen. Correct solutions to problems answered incorrectly will be displayed. This app can be downloaded on an iPad, iPod, or through iTunes. This technology tool is helpful for children in grades Kindergarten-2^nd. The only thing I would change is offering it in another language.

The second supportive technology I chose was ABCmouse.com. I have used this with my students and have seen great results. This site is available on the computer, IPad, IPod, or Smart Board. ABCmouse covers domains such as reading, math, and science and is culturally responsive, allowing students to create characters that look like themselves. It offers 10 levels with over 800 lessons available for students. ABCmouse can be used from Pre-k-2^nd grade.

From my own personal experience, one challenge with using technology is that it may not always work. It has been several times were our schools internet was down so students could not access the apps.

Reference

ABCmouse: Educational Games, Books, Puzzles & Songs for Kids & Toddlers. (2017). Abcmouse.com. Retrieved from https://www.abcmouse.com/

Math Bingo on the App Store. (2017). App Store. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-bingo/id371338715?mt=8

Vandewaetere, M., Vandercruysse, S., & Clarebout, G. (2012). Learners' perceptions and illusions of adaptivity in computer-based learning environments. Educational Technology Research & Development, 60(2), 307-324. doi:10.1007/s11423-011-9225-2

Choosing the Proper Assessment Scenarios

Purposeful assessment drives instruction and affects learning. Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. Purposeful assessment practices help teachers and students understand where they have been, where they are, and where they might go next (Guiding Principle 3: Purposeful assessment drives instruction, 2016). Assessment provides educators, parents, and families with critical information about a child’s development and growth. Assessment can Identify children who may need additional support and determine if there is a need for intervention or support services ("Early Childhood Assessment: Resources for Early Learning", 2017).

This is 4-year-old Henry’s first being in a school setting. During the parent/teacher conference his teacher expressed to the parents that Henry needs guidance to start tasks as well as to complete them. His parents share that they believe he is underachieving. He tends to avoid fine motor skills, particularly drawing and writing, and seems to have difficulty managing Lego blocks. He finds it hard to socialize appropriately with other children, and will sometimes have outbursts of temper, particularly when frustrated, and cries frequently. His parents were given behavioral advice from an agency partnered with the school and started in an occupational therapy program to help with fine motor and perceptual skills. Now 5 years old, Henry’s parents are reporting that things have worsened. He is not completing task and needs more prompting to stay focused.  He is continuing to underachieve and still experiences problems with socialization, but he is very interested in geography and world political events.

Sammie is a 1st grader who lives with both parents.  She demonstrates no medical problems. Sammie has attended the same school since Pre-K.  Sammie’s teacher reports she is having problems with reading; she is not meeting the district’s reading expectations.  Sammie can read most words, but struggles decoding those she does not know. Her fluency rate is low, and she struggles with comprehension. Currently, Sammie is struggling in mathematics and spelling. Sammie met all reading expectations in kindergarten, but lagged behind until the end of the year. She does well with math skills, but fails to be successful when given word problems to solve.  Simple math sheets seem to be when Sammie scores the highest in mathematics. With modified spelling lists, she is still not successful.  She struggles spelling basic 1st grade words, and at times, misspells common sight words.

References

Early Childhood Assessment: Resources for Early Learning. (2017). Resources for Early Learning. Retrieved from http://resourcesforearlylearning.org/fm/early-childhood-assessment/

Guiding Principle 3: Purposeful assessment drives instruction. (2016) Retrieved from http://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/pdf/guiding-principles3.pdf

Policies and National Regulations and Standards for Early Childhood Education

North Carolina has an office known as the office of early learning which focuses on grades pk-3. This office supports children by promoting other linkages for reforming early education for North Carolina's children. The standards used for early childhood is Foundations which describes goals for all children’s development and learning, no matter what program they may be served in, what language they speak, what disabilities they may have, or what family circumstances they are growing up in. Foundations provides age-appropriate goals and developmental indicators for each age level (infant, toddler, and preschooler). The link to this information can be found at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/earlylearning/

NAEYC believes that policy makers, the early childhood profession, and other stakeholders in young children’s lives should “construct comprehensive systems of curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation guided by sound early childhood practices, effective early learning standards and program standards, and a set of core principles and values: belief in civic and democratic values; commitment to ethical behavior on behalf of children; use of important goals as guides to action; coordinated systems; support for children as individuals and members of families, cultures,1 and communities; partnerships with families; respect for evidence; and shared accountability.” (p.2) Foundations and one of NAEYC positions align in the belief of using goals as guides. Foundations has goals in areas such as literacy, mathematics, social-emotional, cognitive, and physical. The goals set for each age level serves as a guide for activities and lessons. As someone who has used Foundations I feel that all those teaching early childhood should use this to serve as a guide for planning activities and lessons. Everyone in the early childhood community should be using the same guides to ensure that everyone is one the same page. Guides should be research based.

1.      How can teachers use assessments to enhance cooperative learning?

2.      How can assessment in early learning be enhanced?

3.      What are some ways to create portfolios using assessment information for parents and next year’s teacher to see?

4.      What are some things you can do to ensure that all children are being assessed?

References

Akers, L., Atkins-Burnett, S., Monahan, S., Carta, J., Wasik, B., & Boller, K. (2015). What Does it Mean to use Ongoing Assessment to Individualize Instruction in Early Childhood? (1st ed.). Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/what_does_it_mean_to_use_ongoing_assessment_to_individualize.pdf

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2003). Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment and Program Evaluation. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/CAPEexpand.pdf.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). (2012). Early childhood generalist standards. (3^rd edition). Retrieved from http://boardcertifiedteachers.org/sites/default/files/EC-GEN.pdf.

Office of Early Learning. (2016). Dpi.state.nc.us. Retrieved from http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/earlylearning/

Scholar Practitioners as Program Evaluators

I am exciting about the course Evaluating and Supporting Early Childhood Programs because I would like to help my county form or complete evaluations. The county that I currently work in seems to always be adapting the latest curriculum in some subject area. However little to no evaluations are done to check the effectiveness of the newly adapted curriculum.  This course can also show me how to evaluate my effectiveness in my own classroom and ensuring that what I am doing is aligning with my programs vision. One question I have is with some evaluations already being in place within certain program how do you go about having those tweaked to become better?

After completing this course I believe I can impact the process of evaluating program quality by creating a well-planned and carefully executed evaluation for my county’s Pre-K program. This course will show be how to create an evaluation that is inclusive and replicable.

Fostering Classroom Communities

The title of the dissertation is Preschool Teachers’ Perspectives on Caring Relationships, Autonomy, and Intrinsic Motivation in Two Cultural Settings.

Explanation of the study

This qualitative study explored prekindergarten teachers' viewpoints on caring relationships and how these relationships affect children's independence and enthusiasm in prekindergarten in two cultural settings: one city in China and another in the U.S. Data was collected from prekindergarten teachers in both locations using a qualitative interviewing research strategy (Tian, 2012). Tian’s (2012) study asked the following research questions (1) how do preschool teachers in each cultural setting understand and construct caring relationships with and among children in their classrooms? (2) What are preschool teachers’ understandings of and experiences in fostering autonomy and intrinsic motivation in preschool children in each cultural setting? (3) How are teachers’ experiences in caring and their relationships with children influenced by cultural and social contexts? There was a total of 20 participants, 10 in Portland and 10 from in Shenzhen. Each participant participated in an interview. Data was collected and evaluated based off of the information given in the interviews. This study helps the education world because an improved understanding of independence could help educators expand their practices and accomplish the shared goals of education, for example meeting the developmental needs of young children.

Resources

Some important resources for this study was the actual interview questions used for the participants. The 20 participants also served as a resource. Bowlby was another resource that created a solid foundation for the conceptual framework which was attachment theory.

Supportive learning environments

Tian’s (2012) study is significance because it offers opportunities for educators to learn from one another as well as reflect on their own beliefs about education for young children. Teachers’ opinions about learning and teaching are affected by their increasingly global knowledge and changes in each society because of the influence of global trends in education.  In order to accomplish the common goal to advance education for children, it is vital to be aware of the role of culture in teachers’ viewpoints and beliefs on education.

References

Tian, X. (2012). Preschool teachers' perspectives on caring relationships, autonomy, and intrinsic motivation in two cultural settings (Order No. 3503047). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1000524245). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1000524245?accountid=14872

 

Introduction

My name is Temeka Thatch. I was born and raised in Greensboro, NC. I am currently a Pre-K teacher in Greensboro, NC. This is my first year back in Pre-K. Prior to this I taught kindergarten for five years. All of my experience has been in Title 1 schools, which serve those considered to be low class. I chose early childhood because I believe it is vital to have a strong educational foundation. I have known for a while that teaching is my life's calling. I've been working with children ranging from birth-kindergarten since the age of thirteen. At the age of thirteen, I also knew that I would one day go on to graduate from college with a bachelors', but I also knew I couldn't stop there. It is my desire to pursue an advanced degree because I am committed to lifelong learning, and I want to advance in my career. I am currently working towards a Doctorate in Early Childhood. I wish to one day teach at the colligate level, equipping future educators for the classroom.

Connecting With My Community

This quarter has been somewhat of a challenge with me trying to get back in the swing of school and balancing everything else in my life. For me this is a busy time because it is the end of the school year.  I am grateful for everything that I have learned thus far. I am now able to look at my daughter and look for milestones. My family looks at me as a resource for family members with younger children.

My passion is ensuring that pre-k is mandatory in my home state of North Carolina. This passion grew from me watching many children come into my class behind because they did not attend a preschool program through our county schools. This children struggle to catch up throughout the year often times not meeting the end of year goal.

I would love to connect with colleagues, however I share a similar experience like Stacie. Fear often holds me back from connecting with others.  I would like to change things around by overcoming fear. I would like to thank everyone for sharing during these past weeks, your insights have been very helpful to me. I look forward to working with everyone in future classes and wish you all the best of luck! Keep pressing towards your goals and dreams!

Your Personal Language and Literacy Development Journey

One memory that I have is with my own child. At seven months she begin trying to repeat words and sounds that she heard. You could make out her saying “dada”. She also tried to say her uncle’s name Samuel and John. She would match up the syllables to their name. I wanted to make sure she that she has a love for reading so I not only read to her but I encourage everyone around her to read to her as well. She has also found a love for the letter a song I let her listen to on YouTube. Through this class I have a better understanding of language milestones for my child. According to research I have found it is good that I allow her to listen to letter sound songs. Before infants are ready to speak their first word, they listen attentively to the sounds around them (Pence Turnbull, K. L., & Justice, L. M., 2012).  The articles and information from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association was very helpful in helping me know what my child should be doing at each age category.  

One topic I would like to know more about and advocate for is effects of the lack of preschool programs. According to “The State of Preschool Yearbook”, North Carolina lacks access to preschool, however, the programs that they do have received a perfect score of 10 in quality. North Carolina only serves 23 percent of its 4- year- old. NEA, which is the National Education Association, has the same belief as me, which is that public schools have a duty to be the main provider of preschool programs, and supplementary funding should be allocated to fund them in the same way as K-12 schools. It is my desire that all students will have a successful educational journey. Achievement in school influences success in life.

 

References

Pence Turnbull, K. L., & Justice, L. M. (2012). Language development from theory to practice (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, Inc.

Pre-K Access Lacking in Many Rural States, Report Says ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rural_education/2014/05/pre-k_access_lacking

 

Attachment

Children’s socioemotional well-being is critical to school success, and attachment is the foundation of socioemotional well-being. Because of this, educators from preschool to high school can be more effective if they understand how attachment influences their students this is why I chose to take an in-depth look at secure attachment. As a teacher, it is my desire that all my students share a secure attachment with me and I feel that every educator should strive to have that attachment with their students. As a teacher, I want to foster a healthy attachment with my students which lead me to read several articles, “The Prosocial Classroom: Teacher Social and Emotional Competence in Relation to Student and Classroom Outcomes”, “secure attachment”, “Attachment in the Classroom”, and“Map out a successful, satisfying relationship”.

Of all the readings, I feel that “Attachment in the Classroom” was the most helpful because it gave my ways to foster healthy attachments among my students. One thing that stuck out to me was the study conducted in the article which showed that secure attachment is associated with higher grades and standardized test scores compared to insecure attachment. That only has encouraged me to strive to form an attachment with my students. One thing an educator needs to foster healthy attachment is resources. Resources can simply be a co-worker, principal, or class. It is important to have resources because they can assist in offering ideas for helping in forming those attachments as well as understand attachment. When teachers lack the resources needed to effectively manage the social and emotional challenges within the particular context of their school and classroom, children show lower levels of on task behavior and performance (Marzano, Marzano, &Pickering, 2003).  This can make it difficult to form attachments with students.

In order to be effective, teachers must connect with and care for children with warmth, respect, and trust. We as teachers must increase sensitivity and warm, positive interactions with students. Another way for us to foster healthy attachment is being well prepared for class and hold high expectations for students. This is just one way that we as educators can show that we care about our student achievement, in addition to increasing sensitivity and being responsive. Although it can be changeling, we should try to be responsive to students’ agendas by providing choices when available. One way of fostering attachment that stood out to me was helping students be kind, helpful, and accepting of one another. Peer culture is a key component of school bonding (Juvonen 2007).

In closing, I have always believed and now research has shown that in order to be effective, teachers must connect with as well as care for children with warmth, respect, and trust. It may be easier for teachers to establish attachment relationships in preschool or primary classrooms where teachers spend more time with students than in secondary schools, and tend to a broader range of their needs. Indeed, most of the research on teacher– student attachment has occurred in early childhood settings, rather than in secondary schools. Nevertheless, even in secondary schools both teachers and students believe that good teachers establish trusting, close relationships with students (Beishuizzen et al. 2001).

 

 

References

Bergin, C. (2009). Attachment in the Classroom. Educational Psychology Review, 21(2), 141-170.

Map out a successful, satisfying relationship. (2011, November 27). Capital,D.3.  Retrieved December 20, 2011, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2521505961).

Miller, S. (2008). Secure attachment. Published by Ounce of Prevention Fund. Retrieved from
http://www.ounceofprevention.org/includes/tiny_mce/plugins/filemanager/files/Secure%20Attachment.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

language and literacy development

One area that I am having problems in is the prenatal and infancy section. I would like to add more references and information to this section.

Prenatal and Infancy

As a baby, Mariah had as many neurons as there are stars in the Milky Way (Honig, 2009, p. 96).  During infancy, babies experience speedy changes in their development and growth in the baby’s organs, senses, and size. Each of these transformations produces new capabilities. Mariah gained confidence in herself through her development in forming concepts and motor coordination and learning and using language. Her confidence prepared her to build upon new abilities that were needed for each change in new stages of development. Mariah’s mother practiced self-talk with her while she was at home with her. During self-talk, she would tell Mariah what she was doing, for example while changing her; she would talk her through the steps of changing her diaper.

Victoria also practiced Parallel talk, allowing her to tell Mariah what she was doing. Although talking to Mariah may seem simple, this simply stimulating activity helped develop her language. Using their five senses, Mariah takes information and makes a mental effort to understand it; that’s how the connections form (Brophy, 2007, p. 50). Vincent would do activities that stimulated her touch, by allowing her to feel various textures, which taught her about different environments. Touch also helped Mariah’s brain to make connections.  Mariah’s grandmother Loree would provide activities and opportunities for her that encouraged exploration and curiosity that enhanced Mariah’s overall development when she watched her on the weekends.

Mariah spent the first two months of her life at home with her mother. With her mother being a school teacher she did not have to return to work until August. When searching for daycare, her mother was extremely concerned with the curriculum and the environment. Although both of Mariah’s parents are advocates for education, her father does not believe children can retain information until they are at least one years old. However with Victoria studying the development of children she knew that this was false. The daycare that she chose offered A BEKA curriculum and the infant rooms provided lessons that fostered growth in self-help skills, language development, social development, and spiritual growth. Every day the teachers read and song to the infants. Victoria would ask Mariah questions to engage her in dialogue such as “why so much fussing” or “Are you a happy baby”?  Victoria would then turn around and interpret Mariah’s reflexive sounds out loud by saying things like “are you saying, you want mommy to change your bottom”?

Changes in fetal heart rate and motor activity when a fetus mother is speaking, shows that it can hear and this affects its preferences for language after birth in a number of ways (Karmiloff & Karmiloff-Smith, 2001) Studies have shown that infants become acquainted with and have a preference for “the rhythms and sounds of language” that they heard while in the womb (Karmiloff & Karmiloff-Smith, 2001, p. 43). This study holds true for Mariah. While her mother was pregnant, she would read “One Love” and “Peekaboo Morning” every day. At night before going to sleep she would play the baby Einstein station on Pandora. After Mariah’s birth, her mother continued doing these things. Mariah would smile, squeal, or imitate the sounds from the books and music that she heard while still in the womb.

 Infants display pre-verbal communication. One form of preverbal communication is crying, which is known as reflexive. Parents ascribe communicative functions to even the earliest of infants’ vocalizations (C.L. Miller, 1988).  Mariah would always cry when she was wet and hungry. It seemed to her parents that she would cry louder if she was hungry, it was almost like a scream instead of a cry. At eight weeks Mariah begin having problems with colic which according to her pediatrician is normal for that age. If she developed gas after eating not only would she cry she would also do a little squirm this is how her parents knew that it was gas and not anything else. According to Menn & Stoel-Gammon (2005) infants between 2 and four months begin to make more pleasant sounds.

During this time, infants also start to laugh, which was a countless reward for Mariah’s parents. Victoria and Vincent would make silly faces or sounds, and Mariah would often smile or try to imitate them.  Mariah at this stage was joining in a pre-language “conversation” with Vincent and Victoria. Mariah would coo; Vincent and Victoria would talk back; Mariah would look and laugh; Victoria and Vincent would smile and talk. In this way, Mariah is beginning to learn how to use language before she actually speaks. She developed as a typical infant should, making one-syllable sounds at four months. Her mother would always say ma back to her when Mariah would say da. Around eight months Mariah begin combining the sounds to say dada or mama. 

 

 

Advocating for child-centered curriculum and play

To: News and Record of Greensboro

200 East Market Street

P.O. Box 20848

Greensboro, NC 27420

 

Attn: John Robinson, Editor

 

Dear John,

My name is Temeka Thatch and I am currently working towards my masters at Walden University. While studying Early Childhood I have come across an important legislation that impacts the families and children of our city, state, and nation. “The No Child Left Inside” Act of 2007 is an act that many people do not know about and I am writing you to inform our city of what it is all about. “The No Child Left Inside” Act of 2007 was initiated due to the lack environmental instruction and the time children spend outside, that the “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001 was pushed out of our children’s school day. The “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001 was introduced to ensure every child receives the best education possible from the most qualified teachers which is great, however what are they  learning by being in the classroom all day and getting little or no time outside. “The No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001 has reduced environmental education as well as outdoor opportunities for children. As an educator who is a strong advocate for outdoor play, I am pushing for “The No Child Left Inside” Act of 2007 to be signed into law. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island introduced this act and I am urging our senators to get on board and support this act. If this Act is signed into law our schools would receive funding for high quality environmental instruction, it would support outdoor learning activities both at school and in environmental educational centers, further more the highly qualified teachers the “The No Child Left Behind” Act pushes for, would also be highly qualified in environmental education, and be trained and certified to model and operate environmental education programs, which include outdoor learning. If you believe that this is something we need for our children, better yet your children, then stand with me. Write letters to your legislators urging them to co-sponsor, speak with the education staff person, and visit the website www.eenorthcarolina.org to find out what more you can do. If we just sit around and do nothing, then nothing will get done. Lets’ stand together, our children’s future is at stake.

Fighting the cause,

Temeka Thatch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

www.eenorthcarolina.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA2Uav5Xk5c

http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Does It Mean to Be an Early Childhood Professional?

I apologize for the lack of education on the severity of early childhood education. From birth to age 8 are crucial years in children’s lives. What happens to a home lacking a solid foundation? Eventually it will fall? Education is no different if children lack a solid educational foundation they will be behind.

Early childhood education teaches and prepares children for their future. Children are taught how to do day-to-day activities. From birth to one-year-old, children are working on and improving their cognitive development, motor skills, emotional development, and social development. From birth to one year of age, children need to be working on and improving their cognitive development, motor skills, emotional development, and social development. The growth of children’s way of thinking and interacting with their environment is known as Cognitive development. A child’s cognitive development affects their motor development. An example being a baby trying to grip a ball. Play is a form of research. Young infants’ research exploring the world around them. Pretend play develops children’s social skills by first trying it out with their imaginary friend (Laureate Education, 2015). Children can develop their motor skills by playing a simple game such as peek-a-boo to improve their movement. Educators working with toddlers from the age of one to three potty train children and continue to help children develop their social skills. During this time, teachers also teach children to start writing their name, identify colors, numbers, and the alphabet. Children age four and up start perfecting their knowledge of all the previous things they have been taught. Early childhood education is imperative to children up to eight years old. The things that children are taught in this short span will prepare them for the life ahead of them.

During the early childhood years, teachers teach students the foundations of reading and math. We explore science by learning about weather and how it changes, living and nonliving things, and forces and motion. We also drill letter and sound recognition through our fundations program in my county. I encourage you to research the benefits of early childhood education. According to The Word Bank, Research has shown that children who are enrolled in excellent preschool programs, have a tendency to be more successful throughout their educational experience and are more competent emotionally and socially than those who do not attend high-quality programs. A study with Perry Preschool also found that students who attended their program ended up earning a higher income and were more likely to graduate from high school compared to the students who did not participate in a preschool program, and had committed significantly fewer crimes by age 40 (Schweinhart, et al. 2005). 

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2015c). A conversation about child development [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Pianta, R. (2007). Preschool Is School, Sometimes: Making Early Childhood Education Matter. Education Next, 7(1), 44-49. Retrieved from ERIC database.

Schweinhart, L. J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W. S., Belfield, C. R., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects: The HighScope Perry Preschool study through age 40. (Monographs of the HighScope Educational Research Foundation, 14). Ypsilanti, MI: HighScope Press.

The World Bank. (2010). Early childhood development. Retrieved February 4, 2016, from
http://www.worldbank.org/

Time Well Spent

I would like to start by thanking each of you for all of your support and insights throughout this program.  Walden has helped me perfect my professional goals by extending my knowledge of the field, putting a plan into action to execute me goals, and simply encouraging me. As we complete our program I must say that we are equipped to inspire, influence, and impact a diverse and changing world around us. One thing that I learn while in the program is healthy development depends on the quality and reliability of a young child’s relationships with the important people in his or her life, both within and outside the family. I will take this information as I continue to work both inside and outside the classroom. I have also learned to proofread, proofread, and proofread. I also learned the importance of effective communication. Communication in the workplace is indispensable and happens every day; each person is competent of communicating and although we do it, it doesn't mean that we are being effective communicators.

One long term goal for me is to become a professor.

I leave you with a quote from Jerome Fleishman, “Most of us, swimming against the tides of trouble the world know nothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement - and we will make the goal.”  

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

This week one international COP that caught my attention was UNICEF. I love the fact that the organization feels strongly on acting now on child preventable deaths. I have heard several community leaders say “just do it”, “don’t wait on other people, follow what’s in your heart”. This is so true because many of us sit around with great visions that could empower our children and communities; however we sit and wait for the right moment when the right moment is now! These challenges that we have chosen are not going to improve until someone is bold enough to stand up and make a change. UNICEF has a range of areas they focus on. I feel that they all are important. This group works to ensure that children are being offered quality education, HIV/AIDS awareness, child protection, and many more heavy topics in the early childhood field.

I like The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) because they lead the global Education for All movement, and promotes a holistic and inclusive vision of lifelong learning that includes early childhood care and education, primary, secondary and higher education, youth and adult skills, adult literacy, gender parity and quality education (Tang, 2011). I also like this organization because we both focus on providing education to children in poverty. Their mission is building peace, eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the[1]sciences, culture, communication and information.

I really like save the children, like UNICEF they focus on a variety of issues effecting children. They work in five different parts of the world, one being Africa. Like UNESCO, we share a common ground for education, believing that education is the road that children follow to reach their full potential in life. Last year the organization was able to over 9 million children in an effort to expand their education.

I would like to work for Save the Children working as an early childhood coordinator. I would be responsible for recruiting families, develop program activities, and conduct child screenings.  I would need Strong organizational skills, be able to travel, and be knowledgeable about prenatal and early childhood development.

References

Tang,Q. (2011).UNESCO and EDUCATION “Everyone has the right to education”. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002127/212715e.pdf

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6226565/k.BFEA/Working_at_Save_the_Children.htm

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

This week as I offered advice to my colleagues, I found myself drawn to some of the organizations that I recommended to them. Although it is my intent to positively impact improvised children who are unable to receive a pre-k education. That can be challenging because those living in poverty tend to lack health, as well as involvement in their children’s education. One COP that grasped my attention is the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education, the organization advocates the involvement of families in children’s education through activities, providing resources, and serving as a visible representative. I also like NCPIE because they have a long list of partnerships.  Another program is The Healthy Schools Program, which partners with an organization by the name of Alliance for a Healthier Generation would be great because they actually have programs that come into your school to bring knowledge about health. This would be great because it gives families and students an opportunity to eat better and understand the importance of living a healthy life.  The last organization that I was drawn to this week is CARE, which is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. This organization serves families living in poverty by offering economic opportunity and influencing policy decisions at all levels.

I currently work in a career that interest me, which is a kindergarten teacher. Kindergarten teachers must be able to operations technical devices such as IPods, Elmos, overhead projectors, and computers. They must also be able to teach students independently and in groups, modifying instruction techniques to meet the needs of all students.  It is also our job to monitor and evaluate student’s academic performance and behavior. The minimum requirement for a kindergarten teacher is to have a bachelor’s degree and successfully pass Praxis II exam.  One job that I hope to do one day is that of an Early Childhood Professor. A professor must be able to create and implement a curriculum that meets college and department criteria; as well as lead research that will advance knowledge in their field.  In order to teach at a two year college I would need to have my masters as well as teaching experience. If I chose to teach at a four year college or university I need to have a doctoral degree.

References

http://www.ncpie.org/AboutNCPIE/StateParentInformationResourceCentersDisabilities.cfm

https://schools.healthiergeneration.org/

http://www.care.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

When I begin my school for under privilege preschool children, I would like to partner with many organizations that my school currently works with or that I currently work with. One organization that I currently work with is the B Natural Academy of Music and Arts. I like this organization because I know the people working there hold children at the forefront. It would be beneficial for the students because it gives them an opportunity to do something that they normally wouldn’t be able to do. Music and arts requires memorization. Children improve their overall memory when trying to remember steps and/or notes. Research has found that learning music facilitates learning other subjects and enhances skills that children inevitably use in other areas. Another community of practice that appealed to me is, united way. We focus on some of the same things, which are education, income stability, and health. They also offer a mentor program for African American and Latino boys. This organization also works towards ending homelessness. My last community of practice I would choose is social services; they provide vouchers for parents, so their children are able to receive child care. The organization also offers EBT, Medicare, and emergency utility assistance.

Two job opportunities that interest me are instructional coordinator for pre-k and early childhood professor. A program administrator is the individual responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating an early care and education program. I would need to get a certification or licensure in school administration. I would also need a master’s degree and five years of teaching experience. Professors develop a curriculum for their course and ensure that it meets college and department standards and conduct research and experiments to advance knowledge in their field.  In order to teach at a two year college I would need to have my masters as well as teaching experience. If I chose to teach at a four year college or university I need to have a doctoral degree.

www.unitedwaygso.org

www.bnaturalacademy.com

http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/government/socservices/

 

Reflection

I would like to thank all of my collegues for your insights throughtout this course. I have gained a lot of helpful information through our blogs. I hope that we all take this information that we have gained thus far and use it in both our professional and personal lives. I look foward to working with you in the upcoming classes.

Working as a team

I would say that it is harder to leave a group that has a great performance because you feel like you are a part of something great.

Adjourning from my colleagues will be a bittersweet moment because I have gained so much valuable information while working with them, It will be a good moment in time because we have reached yet another goal and can continue moving forward, impacting our community, students, and everyone else around us.