Week 8- Time Well Spent

These past eight weeks have gone by incredibly fast; moreover I still cannot believe that after this assignment I will have completed my master’s program. This program has taught me a plethora of knowledge that I can take with me into both my professional and personal life.

• One of my greatest findings is about community of practice (COP). A COP in my professional life will be a very important addition to my toolbox. Being on the same page as another and sharing that dedication on working towards a common goal is something that I cannot wait to be a part of.
• In addition, to this I found out what type of leader I am and what type I aspire to be. In my opinion a leader is what drives the group, this is the person that builds the team up and is there to support their members/ colleagues.
• This course has also made me realize that my passion can take me far in life. Regardless of any obstacles that come my way, I am capable of pursuing what ever I want to. Being passionate is what makes change occur. Without passion, it would be hard for things to evolve.

One quote that I found that will always be with me is from week 2 “To learn from diversity we must acknowledge each person and benefit from her or his customs, languages, preferences, and powers” (Winer & Ray, 1994, Pg. 10).

            One long-term goal for me is to further my education. I am not sure how long it will take or how many obstacles that I might face from this goal, however I am confident that my goal in pursuing more education will happen. In addition, I want to help eradicate developmental and social problems in children. If children receive enough support, love, stability, creativity, and consistency, I am confident that this will make a positive influence on the youth of today and of tomorrow.

            I want to take this time to thank everyone that has helped me in the process of completing this course. Without the help of my colleagues I would not have had the support, feedback, and encouragement from our discussion assignments. These discussions and feedback within provided me with help while writing my capstone; without this help it would have been a lot more difficult.  I hope each and every one of you continues to follow your passion and I wish you best of luck on your future endeavors. I also want to thank Professor Darragh, for the support and timely feedback received; I really appreciate this especially when it was about questions on the discussion or application assignments.

Thank you so much every one, we did it!

References:

Winer, M., & Ray, K. (1994). Collaboration handbook: Creating, sustaining, and enjoying the journey. St. Paul, MN: Fieldstone Alliance.

Week 6- Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Three international organizations that appeal to me are the Save The Children, Unicef, and Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) organizations.

            The Save the Children organization appeals to me because they provide children from different parts of the world with opportunities to grow up healthy and reach their full potential. This organization invests in helping children from the start. Another reason why I like Save the Children is because they work in the communities and working with people within the community.

            The job opportunity that appeals to me is the Program Specialist in the Early Childhood Development field at Save The Children. This position interests me because it ensures quality program implementation through providing training, technical assistance, and management support to program partners (Careers) that cater to children’s needs from prenatal to age five. In addition, “the Program Specialist oversees and supports program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation at assigned partner sites” (Careers). This position also interests me because it not only allows me to use my Master’s in Early Childhood Development, but I already meet most of the job requirements, such as having a minimum of three years of experience working with infants/ toddler development, having a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, or related field, experience working in rural communities, being a trainer/mentor/ coach, working with or supporting professional/paraprofessional home visitors, and “a strong foundation in relationship-based work and supervision” (Careers).

            Another organization that I admire is Unicef. Unicef works with 190 countries promoting “the rights and wellbeing of every child…[while] focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere” (About UNICEF, 2015). Unicef’s goal of helping children overcome poverty, violence, disease and discrimination is appealing.

            The job position at Unicef that appeals to me is Consultancy Assignment: analysis of Vanatu Teacher-Classroom Interaction Survey Data. This job interests me because it takes place in Fiji, and allows me to observe classrooms and teacher-student interactions, outline policies, provide surveys, and present analytical draft reports (About UNICEF: Employment, 2015). The qualifications for this position is to have an advanced degree in Education or Social Science, extensive experience in survey design, and data management and analysis, field research experience, ability to use the compute, and proficiency in SPSS or STATA software statistical package (About UNICEF: Employment, 2015).

            The last organization that appeals to me is the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI). This organization appeals to me because “[they] are interested in sharing new approaches to the education of children and ensuring that these approaches are delivered in ways that enhance children’s individual skills and abilities and provide opportunities for success in life” (About Us).

            I was not able to find any job openings at the ACEI, however the ACEI does offer internships and volunteer opportunities. Unfortunately, neither of these positions interests me. The internship position focuses on doing online research and data gathering, while the volunteer position is to research and volunteer on your own time.

References:

"About UNICEF." UNICEF. 12 May 2015. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. <http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_introduction.html>.

"About UNICEF: Employment." UNICEF. 8 Oct. 2015. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. <http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_85769.html>.

"About Us." Association for Childhood Education International. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. <https://acei.org/about-us>.

Careers. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from https://chc.tbe.taleo.net/chc01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=SAVETHECHILDREN&cws=1&rid=3606

Week 4- Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

            Like in week 2, I chose two National Level Organizations that help the well-being of children and families, and the early childhood field, both the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). In addition to these two organizations, another National organization I want to share is the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

            Each of these organizations appeals to be because I think they can make a significant difference in society. For instance, the NAEYC is a source dedicated to providing high quality education to children. According to the NAEYC, “together, we work to achieve a collective vision: that all young children thrive and learn in a society dedicated to ensuring they reach their full potential” (About NAEYC).

In addition, the NAEYC website is a great resource with up to date articles and facts that we as educators can apply in our classrooms, which can make us better teachers.

            In addition to the NAEYC, the NSLP also appeals to me because this organization is dedicated to providing low-cost and free lunch meals to children who do not have the means to a nutritious meal. According to the website, “any child at a participating school may purchase a meal through the National School Lunch Program. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals”(National School Lunch Program, 2013). We live in a society where we are so consumed by materialistic things, that we sometimes forget that there are families and children that are hungry in our country. I am thankful that there are programs like this that are able to provide nutrient dense meals to those that are hungry or without the means to provide food for themselves.

            The last organization I found is the Administration for Children and Families. According the ACF website, their mission is to “foster health and well-being by providing federal leadership, partnership and resources for the compassionate and effective delivery of human services” (ACF Vision, Mission, & Values). The ACF appeals to me because their goal is to empower families and promote economic and social well-being amongst families, children, and individuals in the community.

            The job opportunities that appeal to me at the NAEYC is the director, quality improvement & program support position. The job description is that this person is able to manage the team, make improvements to existing programs, and provide high-quality customer support, training, and assistance, in addition to working together with other affiliates. In order to apply for this job I would need to be “well versed in management, quality improvement, technical assistance, and early childhood education” (Our Mission and Strategic Direction | National Association for the Education of Young Children).

            Like I mentioned in last week’s blog post about job opportunities at the NSLP, unfortunately they are not hiring. However, there are volunteer opportunities at the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).  The qualifications to obtain a position as a volunteer is that you need to be of an accredited institution and be a U.S. citizen.

            After searching the Administration for Children and Families, it turns out that since it is a national organization the only way to find jobs is through the USAjobs.gov website. However, upon doing so it seems like there are currently no jobs available for this organization. With that being said, there are no job descriptions either.

References:

            ACF Vision, Mission, & Values. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2015, from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/about/acf-vision-mission-values

            About NAEYC | National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2015, from http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc

            National School Lunch Program. (2013, September 1). Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf

            Our Mission and Strategic Direction | National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://www.naeyc.org/about/mission

Week 2- Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

            This week I chose three organizations that focus on helping children from various backgrounds. The National School Lunch Program, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and The County of San Mateo Children’s Fund.

            The National School Lunch Program (NSLP), is a program dedicated to providing low-cost and free school lunch in both public and non-profit schools. According to the National School Lunch Program, "any child at a participating school may purchase a meal through the National School Lunch Program. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced‐price meals, for which students can be charged no more than 40 cents" (National School Lunch Program, 2013). The National School Lunch Program appeals to me because there are so many children in the United States that are without food. I know this program reaches many children across the Nation who may be hungry and the NSLP can help with this deficit.

            The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a large organization with over 70,000 members in the early childhood field and with 300 regional Affiliate chapters, “all committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning. Together [they] work to achieve a collective vision: that all young-children thieve and learn in a society dedicated to ensuring they reach their full potential” (Our Mission and Strategic Direction | National Association for the Education of Young Children).

According to the NAEYC’s website, this group is dedicated to promoting a high-quality education to children from birth to age 8. This program appeals to me because it is a nationally known program that has 80,000 members whose interests are in improving the quality of the early childhood programs for children and their families. In addition, the NAEYC has a “gold standard [accreditation for] early childhood programs across the country” (Our Mission and Strategic Direction | National Association for the Education of Young Children).

            The County of San Mateo Children’s Fund is a program dedicated to helping low-income, foster children, and teens that reside within the county of San Mateo, California. This program has been in affect since the 1973 and serves more than 4,500 children from birth to age 18 (Children’s Fund, 2015). The Children’s Fund has several programs such as back to school supply distributions, Halloween costumes, holiday gift program, providing refurbished computers, the Maureen Borland Orthodontics Endowment Fund, and baby clothes for low-income and homeless families. This program appeals to me because it is a local program in my community. In fact, I have actually volunteered at this program while I was in college as an undergrad.

            The NSLP is a program that is part of the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).  The FNS offers both paid and unpaid internships for students ages 16 and older in high school, pursuing undergraduate or graduate degree. The qualifications for this internship are to be of an accredited institution, and a U.S. citizen. This internship appealed to me because I was happy to read that students as young as age 16 can apply for an internship with the FNS.

          The NAEYC has several job opportunities, however the job title that interests me is director, quality improvement & program support.  According to the NAEYC website, “this person is well versed in management, quality improvement, technical assistance, and early childhood education” (Our Mission and Strategic Direction | National Association for the Education of Young Children). They are responsible for managing a team, the improvement of the program, providing high-quality customer support, training, assistance, in addition to working together with other affiliates (Our Mission and Strategic Direction | National Association for the Education of Young Children). The qualifications for this position are to have previous managing experience in the Early Childhood Field (ECF), 3 years supervisory experience, Bachelor’s degree, and ability to demonstrate recruit and evaluate staff.

            The Children’s Fund currently only has volunteer opportunities available right now. However, in order to be a volunteer all that is needed is to be age 14 and older.

References:

Children's Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from https://childrensfund.smcgov.org/

National School Lunch Program. (2013, September 1). Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf

Our Mission and Strategic Direction | National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://www.naeyc.org/about/mission

Week 8- Reflecting on Learning

Sparks and Edwards mention, "young children need caring adults to help them construct appositive sense of self and a respectful understanding of others. They need adults to help them begin to navigate and resist the harmful impact of prejudice and discrimination" (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 11). During these past eight weeks I have learned a plethora of new knowledge. I look forward to implementing all that I have learned into my classroom. It excites me to know that I have a pocketful of new strategies and techniques to use that will not only benefit me as a better instructor, but will also benefit my students even more. Everyday at my preschool, we have a set schedule, however during circle time this gives me the opportunity to freely teach and educate my students through activities, books, and games.
I want to be a teacher that my students can remember well into their educational careers. I want to influence my students to be better and teach them important life lessons which they can take with them into adulthood. My reason for becoming a teacher is to make a significant impact on my students and promote positive experiences in their lives. In my mind, school should be fun and a place where children can freely express themselves without feeling ashamed or embarrassed for speaking their minds. In addition, parents should be welcomed into the classroom; the classroom is not only for children, but also for parents. I want my classroom to be a place where ideas can be shared and a place of learning for both children and families.
I want to thank everyone for taking the time to comment on my discussions and blog. I really appreciate the feedback. In addition, I want to thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas, as I really appreciate your opinions and getting a different perspective on the assignments. This course has given me a lot of new insight and I would not have gained as much knowledge that I have without your help.
Thank you, and I hope that each and every one of you succeed in all your for future endeavors.

Elizabeth Santacruz

Reference:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.