TIME WELL SPENT

This has really been an exciting course as I complete my Master’s in Early Childhood Education.  I have really enjoyed my on-line education, in which I was very skeptical at first.

 
A positive learning climate in a school for young children is a composite of many things.  It is an attitude that respects children.  It is a place where children receive guidance and encouragement from the responsible adults around them.  It is an environment where children can experiment and try out new ideas without fear or failure.  It is an atmosphere that builds children’s self-confidence so they dare to take risks.  It is an environment that nurtures a love of learning.
~Carol B. Hillman (20^th Century), U.S. early childhood educator.  Creating a Learning Climate for the Early Childhood Years, Fastback Series (1989).

 

One of the first felt learning’s from this program would be being able to handle a challenge that some children have to go through.  As an educator, we must always focus on being concern, having knowledge, and love no matter what the circumstance may be.  Secondly, as we live in a diverse world, we all live around discrimination and we should be passionate for our children and their families.  This causes a child to have low self-esteem and many social problems, but with the help of staff and family we can provide some type of assessment.  The third deeply felt learning I experience in this course was becoming a leader in the Community of Practice.  I have big dreams of becoming that transformation leader and I have the confidence of accomplishing that goal.

One long-term goal is to be able to create a Community of Practice that will promote many children and families that are in my community.  Its takes a whole community to keep a child on track and maintain a healthier society.

I would like to say a special thanks to my colleagues and Dr. Darragh and wish you’ll a joyous farewell.  As a group working together, we were able to complete this course through determination.  I wish all of you the best and let’s continue to make a difference in the lives of our children, along with their families.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The first organization I selected was Save the Children, an organization that gives every child a healthy start.  This organization also gives them the opportunity to be taught and shelter from harm when disaster strikes; such as hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods.  They also have a program called Our Healthy Program which works with making healthier food choices for kids and gives them nutrition lessons and balanced food choices.  Furthermore, Save the Children considers volunteers as an important part of their organization.  They are there to create a positive change for individuals working as a team and provide excellent services.

I have always been interested in Save the Children and willing to learn more about this organization.  There job opportunities are mainly volunteers that range from short-term to long-term assignments.  Many of their areas include finance, fundraising, marketing and communications, public policy, social media, and administrative work.  They also welcome individuals to volunteer for positions in Connecticut and Washington DC offices. I did not notice any experiences or skills in reference to these jobs, but I’m quite sure you have to have some kind of passion for kids.  Also, they did state that you have to be “committed” to work in such fields.

The second organization that caught my attention would be UNICEF; I am familiar with this global organization because I have read about it off and on throughout my courses.  This organization works with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. They want to give children the best start in their life and start building a strong foundation for their future. 
        Additionally, working with governments, civil society, communities and other stakeholders to design programs and policies that help young children. This organization provides excellent opportunities for children with disabilities, because many face discrimination and lack of adequate policies and legislation.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply and become a part of their organization.

One position that I found to be interested, but not related to Education: 

Deputy Executive Director, Field Results

Qualifications include:

Advanced university degree in international development, public administration or other relevant social sciences.

At least fifteen years of progressively responsible professional experience in leadership and management, including but not limited to international organizations, governments, the private sector and NGOs.

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN language an asset.

Thirdly, I choose to select ISSA (International Step by Step Association), which has a vision for families, communities and professionals to work together to empower each child to reach his/her values of social justice and fairness.  Their mission is to maintain professional communities and develop a strong civil society that influences and assists decision makers.  Additionally, this organization promotes quality care and education experiences that create conditions for every child to reach his/her goal. 

Having 3 different pillars of action:

1. Ensuring equal access for all children
2. Promoting high-quality and professionalism in early years
3. Supporting parents and communities  to take part in their children’s development and learning

I did not notice any job opportunities listed on the website, but they did offer trainings, online courses, and other professional development programs.  The menu includes training, mentoring, consulting services and materials to support educators, child care centers, schools, parents, communities, policymakers, and teacher training institutions.  I believe if there were any openings, you would most likely need a Master’s Degree, being able to work as a team and have a developing an educational background.

                         Reference

International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved June 9, 2014 from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved June 9, 2014 from http://www.unicef.org/

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

RWJF Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to prevent childhood obesity is a national organization dedicated to reversing the childhood obesity epidemic by changing public policies and creating healthier environments in schools and communities.  This center helps to share and coordinate the efforts of policy makers, advocates and community organizations by identifying and promoting the most promising obesity preventing strategies and supporting the nationwide movement to improve food and physical activity environments.

It offers exciting opportunities in program development; communications; research evaluation earning, and positions in administration, finance and technology that are integral to our organization.  I am very passionate when it comes down to children and emotions.  I want to be able to make a difference in a child’s life and let them know that everyone deserves a chance.

Even though I did not see any job openings, it was stated that they provide competitive salaries, a collegial work environment, and an excellent benefits and wellness package that reflect our mission and goals.

http://www.healthykidshealthycommunities.org/category/resource-type/organization

Obesity Action Coalition

The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) is a nearly 50,000 member-strong and a National non-profit organization dedicated to giving a voice to the individual affected by the disease of obesity and helping individuals along their journey toward better health through education, advocacy and support. Their core focuses are to raise awareness and improve access to the prevention and treatment of obesity, provide evidence-based education on obesity and its treatments, fight to eliminate weight bias and discrimination, elevate the conversation of weight and its impact on health and offer a community of support for the individual affected. I choose this organization because it support my challenge in fighting children that are obese and giving them a chance to live longer and eat healthier.

Weight Bias Committee
The weight bias committee will focus on identifying weight bias in the general public and engaging the OAC constituency in combating bias through various OAC-based tactics. They will also work closely with the public relations and education committees on developing, producing and distributing resources on weight bias to educate the general public. The committee will work with various partners on furthering the committee’s understanding of weight bias and stigma and how it affects the population at large.  I would love to work on this committee, because work close with other committees and also the public.  Obesity is a problem and it continues to grow and grow and without a voice, it will continue to grow. Our children need to be educated about the importance of eating healthy and exercising; let’s get away from the computer games and the snacks for a while. 

http://www.obesityaction.org/  

Let’s Move

Let’s Move! Is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams. Sure, this is an ambitious goal. But with your help, we can do it.

Combining comprehensive strategies with common sense, Let’s Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years. Giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. Providing healthier foods in our schools. Ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. And, helping children become more physically active.

http://www.letsmove.gov/about   

 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: 

                 Local and State Levels

Department of Mental Health in Mississippi

Mission: Supporting a better tomorrow by making a difference in the lives of Mississippians with mental illness, substance abuse problems and intellectual/developmental disabilities one person at a time.

Vision:  We envision a better tomorrow where the lives of Mississippians are enriched through a public mental health system that promotes excellence in the provision of services and supports.

I chose Mental Health because I worked there for many years and have seen children on their good and bad behavior days.  I want to be able to experience dealing with children that has a mental health diagnose in the school system.  This organization offers many job opportunities and having to move to find the right job title is not on my list at the moment.  There are many job openings that causes for a BS in Social Work.

http://www.dmh.ms.gov/who-we-are/psychiatric-hospitals/

 

Mississippi Department of Education

Mission:  to provide leadership through the development of policy and accountability systems so that our students are prepared to compete in a global community.

Vision:  to create a world-class educational system that gives students the knowledge and skills to be successful in college and in the workforce, and to flourish as parents and citizens.

Provides resources and technical support to Mississippi’s public school system. The department also functions as a resource for federal education requirements and funding. I want to be able to ensure a bright future for every child I come in contact with and make my dream a reality.  Many schools in my surroundings are in need for teachers, teachers that are concern about their students and want to see them succeed.  In order to fulfill this position you have to obtain a standard certification and licensure.

http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/mde-home

Mississippi Head Start Association

Mission:  to provide the state’s children and families with a range of individualized services in the areas of education, early childhood development, medical, dental, mental health, nutrition and parent involvement.

I would love to give the children an opportunity to explore the world around them.  Some children don’t get the chance to go to Head Start, this is really a starting point before transitioning into Kindergarten.  We need to continue to encourage our children about turn-taking and sharing and this builds their skills when advancing into society.  I would love also to be a teacher at a local Head Start center, but there are not jobs available at the moment.  I would need to have a Bachelor degree in Education in order to work at this Head Start center.

http://www.msheadstart.org/ 

Reflecting on Learning

During these past 8 weeks, I have really learned a lot about anti-bias education.  How useful it is in the classroom, formulating goals, establishing communication, strategies when working with diverse children (culture, language and economic class), and how to communicate with children about abilities and disabilities.  The most adorning goal I have is communicating with families and providing them with a safe and comfortable environment in the classroom.  I want to be able to show them how breathtaking it is when appreciating our differences.  Diversity is human attributes, such as race, gender, color, religion, age, and disability in which our children need to understand and recognize the differences.  As educators, we have to find a way to improve education for all our children and on the other hand, promoting admiration for each of us as individuals.

I would like to take this time out and thank my colleagues for taking the time out to read my discussions and blog posts.  I would also like to thank Dr. Pickens for commenting on my discussions and giving me feedback after grading.  It has been a pleasure to provide examples and how to include anti-bias in the classroom and I hope you all have found something informative from each other and I wish everyone the best in whatever endeavor. 

“You cannot help someone get up a hill without getting closer to the top yourself.”

- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

Early Emotional Development

I choose to further examine the West and Central Africa region on the UNICEF overview website.  This is one of the regions I have heard a lot about and want to learn more about.  Some of the countries included in this region would be Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Togo (UNICEF,n.d.)

Some of the challenges the children face in this region would be poverty, in which half of the population lives below the poverty line.  As we notice on television, where children are shown from Africa are hungry and sick.  More that 40% of girls and 30% of boys are not in school, which mean more children without schooling opportunities.  HIV/AIDS is another challenge in West and Central Africa where nearly 1/3 of the 25 million people in Sub Saharan Africa living with HIV.  According to UNICEF, in 2005, 170,000 child deaths were due to AIDS; 1.3 million children are in need of pediatric care and 600,000 women are pregnant with HIV+ and yet only 1.3% receives antiretroviral drugs to prevent the spread (UNICEF, n.d.)  

Many children that live in West and Central Africa is watching their hopes and dream crumble, because many of their family members and teachers has this devastated disease, AIDS.  There are many organizations working together to help the government in this country to put children on the policy agenda.  As an educator we all know that children are at risk and experience problems when having to take on the role of taking care of their parent or sibling with HIV. 

It’s very heart breaking to look and read about the innocent children and their parents caught up in the hardship in Africa.  It’s so very shocking when I hear about violence and sickness going on in Africa, despite alI  the up to date technology and knowledge we have.  I am so thankful to have clean water, food, shelter, and medical care.  As an early childhood educator, I feel very happy to teach my children about what’s going on in other countries, how we are so bless with many things. 

                                                          

                                    Reference:

UNICEF-Children of West and Central Africa. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org

THE SEXUALIZATION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

Sexualization of early childhood is one of the most complicated issues that touch the lives of our young children.  This is something that is not taught in the classroom and surely wouldn’t be found in a curriculum.  In today’s society, as educators we encounter more and more issues of homosexuality (gay/lesbian families; masculinity in a child’s sex role; or dealing with aspects of femininity/masculinity) and that’s something we have to deal with.  There are biases in the classroom, children considered to be tomboy or sissies by other children and we must be there to handle such a situation of harassment.  Classrooms are full of children that have to challenge the negative remarks and bullying and we wonder why so much is happening in the class.  

I have a little girl in the classroom and she has a sister in the middle school, around the age of thirteen.  On this particular day, Judy comes to me and told me that her sister had a 13^th birthday party.  She said Ms. Adams, you should have been there, the girls had tiny skirts on and wearing makeup.  This party also included boys that were much older and very little parent involvement.  She saw the boys touching the girls, standing to close, and some even trying to look under their skirts. I listen to some parents when they make the statement, “our children know they are growing up fast”, I wonder why?

Another example that illustrates the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment would be the language I hear boy and girls talk in and out the classroom.  This six year old girl amazed me when she used the sex word and I always say be careful what you say and do around children.  She begin to walk down the hall and as I stood to the side and watched her she quickly grab a little boy penis. I came forward and asked her why she did she do that and she responded because it was on TV.  I pulled her to the side and told her not to do it anymore; she’s just a child and act like one. Many children are exposed to sexual messages through the media, cultures and parents.

The third example comes when me and my best friend was out for lunch, along with her two year old son.  While sitting at the table and looking over the menu, her baby starts to cry and she knew he was hungry.  She gradually pulls her blouse up and put a cover over her breast and let her baby suck her milk.  The two year old starts to star and looks at her and looks back down at the baby covered up and sucking the breast.  He gradually and slowly pulls up the shirt, because he becomes aware that something is going on under there.  This is very normal with a little child being curious and looking at his mother finding a way to sooth his brother crying.

I noticed there are kids that expose themselves to television and radio and that’s the way they value themselves.  Many develop low self-esteem, don’t care about anyone else, and don’t respect each other with bad language.  There are many ways you can help students struggle with this kind of sexual communication.  The school district has a policy for children to wear uniforms every day, from elementary to high school.  For this reason, one child can’t be jealous of the other about the clothing they’re wearing and this also help the little girls when they’re out playing and don’t have to worry about playing on the monkey bar or slide. 

Another idea would be to add such gender roles into the school curriculum.  We should be able to ensure that the parents become involved and more importantly, is able to open up and communicate whenever needed.  As an educator, we need to talk openly to our children about a caring relationship and make sure they are provided with age-appropriate material that will help them explore in a safe environment.  There is so much negative and sexual advances in the media today and as a whole.

Ways in which my awareness of the sexualization of early childhood has been influenced by study the topic this week would be I’m really not surprised about this over-sexualized world.  When I was growing up, I could hear songs by Prince and other music artists and would sing alone without a care in the world.  But this topic has really influenced my way of viewing myself in the world and the upbringing of children today.