Time Well Spent

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

― Nelson Mandela

                                                     

When I began my journey at Walden in 2012, I never imagined what the experience would entail now that it is ending.  It has been a life changing experience. I am extremely grateful to Walden for the opportunity to study with colleagues globally and that alone has been extraordinary. Although I have experienced much adversity and personal losses during this process; this has definitely been time well spent.  From this program:

1.     I have learned a great deal about who I am as a person, educator, and leader.

2.      Personally, I have matured in my way of thinking as it relates to issues and trends affecting children and families in the early childhood field.

3.     Professionally, I learned what advocacy is really about and have a clearer understanding of my role as advocate in the early childhood field going forward. 

A long-term goal is to follow through with opening and operating the Look Again Organization that my husband and I started 4 years ago. The organization is to provide parent and family education and support for the at risk families in our local community and statewide. It has not developed beyond articles of incorporation and establishing the board. I can now shift my focus back to obtaining a 501C 3 non-profit status.

                                   

I would like to thank my colleagues who have made the experience richer in so many ways. I appreciate the new perspectives acquired through the discussions posts and blogs that will have a lasting impact on my professional career. I wish the best for each of you as you continue to operate in your passion of improving the lives of children and families. Feel free to contact me at audreymoye1@yahoo.com

God Bless!

                                     

I would like to thank you Dr. Dartt for your helpful feedback and the motivational weekly newsletters.

Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Three international organizations that appealed to me:

The Clinton Foundation/Clinton Global Initiative appealed to me because of its global collaborative partnerships with businesses, governments, and individuals to work for solutions to transform lives and communities. Issues are improving global health, increasing opportunity for women and girls, reducing childhood obesity, preventable diseases, creating economic opportunity and growth, and helping communities address the effects of climate change. Retrieved from http://www.clintonfoundation.org/our-work

Job opportunities

Membership Coordinator

Duties: Track and record invitation and response data, as well as report on member and participant statistics related to all Clinton Global Initiatives’ events.

Education/Experience

Skilled with data entry, management, detail oriented and well organized. Must have ability to work independently and as part of the team. Demonstrate strong written and verbal communication skills and have the ability to analyze data-based and apply creative thinking to the decision-making process.  A minimum Bachelor’s degree required and 1-3 years of work experience.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) appealed to me because of its commitment to diversity and inclusion within its global movement and dedication to improving the life of every child, workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, disabilities. The organization efforts to hold everyone accountable to the promises made for children to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease resonated with me.

Job opportunities

TA for an Education Cluster

Education/ Experience

Coordinator, P-3

Excellent advocacy skills for education provision in humanitarian crises, and excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Education

An advanced degree in selective disciplines relevant to the Primary Education, economics, social sciences, or fields relevant to international development assistance. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/

World Vision appealed to me because it is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice (World Vision, 2014).

Job opportunities

Business Development Officer: Child Development and Protection

Education/Experience

Bachelor's degree and work experience in international relief and development in various geographical areas. Experience acquiring and/or managing grants from US Government agencies, institutional foundations or major individuals preferred. Proven work experience leading successful proposal development. There were several related job opportunities. Retrieved from http://www.worldvision.org/about-us/who-we-are

Exploring the Context: Connecting With the Present

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

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) appealed to me because of its mission and dedication to improving the well-being of all children from birth through age 8 and the principles of engaging their families.

Principle 1: Programs invite families to participate in decision making and goal setting for their child.

• Principle 2: Teachers and programs engage families in two-way communication

• Principle 3: Programs and teachers engage families in ways that are truly reciprocal

• Principle 4: Programs provide learning activities for the home and in the community

• Principle 5: Programs invite families to participate in program-level decisions and wider advocacy efforts

• Principle 6: Programs implement a comprehensive program-level system

http://www.naeyc.org/familyengagement/principles

There are job opportunities within the US Department of Health and Human Services which fall under the umbrella of NAEYC that varies according to regions.

Head Start appealed because of the work and services that are provided for at risk children and families. Head Start programs partner with local Smart Start Partnerships, braiding Smart funds to increase and maintain high quality, comprehensive services. http://www.headstartnc.org/about

Job Opportunity
The job opening is for an Education Coordinator in a community action agency that serves 600 children. Minimum educational requirement is a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Development and five or more years of experience in early education. The candidate also must have excellent interpersonal skill and exemplary verbal and written communication skills. Must also have the ability to review, interpret and analyze data to ensure individual child and programmatic goals are achieved. In addition, The Education Coordinator in this agency will provide training and technical assistance to more than 85 teaching staff members. www.wagesnc.org

National PTA/PTO appealed to me because of its’ strives to create and maintain family/school/community partnerships through higher teacher morale, active parent involvement for greater student success through National Standards for Family-School Partnerships.

Standard 1 - Welcoming All Families

Standard 2 - Communicating Effectively

Standard 3 - Supporting Student Success

Standard 4 - Speaking Up for Every Child

Standard 5 - Sharing Power

Standard 6 - Collaborating With Community

http://www.pta.org/programs/content.cfm?itemnumber=1804&navItemNumber=3339

The National PTA has an opening for a Corporate Alliances Specialist. The Corporate Alliances Specialist is responsible for supporting National PTA in the area of resource development to expand the cause of supporting and connecting home and school. Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills are required. Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail is required.  Minimum Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience is required.
http://www.pta.org/about/content.cfm?ItemNumber=3907

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Local or state organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me:

Smart Start

I chose Smart Start it because brings together all the people involved in a young child’s life. The families, teachers, doctors, caregivers, social workers, and others to ensure children have all they need for healthy growth and development.

http://www.smartstart-nc.org/

Child Care Network

I chose it because of its mission to provide children with the highest quality early care and education and to serve as a supportive network and resource for families.

http://www.new-hire.com/jobs/availablejobs.asp?job=2635

North Carolina Food Bank

I chose it because of the high poverty and unemployment in my local area of North Carolina. The North Carolina Association of Feeding America Food Banks provides a collaborative, collective force for North Carolina Food Banks to provide access to healthy sufficient food to the hungry people in North Carolina. http://ncfoodbanks.org/about-us/

Vidant Health

Vidant Health is a health facility that offers many different services to meet physical and mental health care needs of families. It is also work in partnership with East Carolina University as well as the local community college through teaching and providing resource information to the community.

https://www.vidanthealth.com/vidant/services.aspx

•Job opportunities that interest me are:

1.     Child Life Specialist

Qualifications are a minimum of Bachelor’s Degree in early childhood, human development or related field. Experience working with children and families in environment other than healthcare. Completion of Child Life Certification is received upon completion of one course.

·        Knowledge of behavior and child development

·        Ability to play and organize activities

·        Leadership & good communication skills

http://www.blankchildrens.org/child-life-specialist-qualifications.aspx

https://www.vidanthealth.com/vidant/ServicesDetail.aspx?id=4096

•Skills and experience needed to competently fulfill these roles:

I would need to take a course to receive certification to become Child Life Specialist. There are no jobs presently available for this position.

2.     I would like to teach adults at Lenoir Community College as an Early Childhood Instructor. They are working towards an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education or Early Childhood Diploma. Although, there are no available positions, I have been encouraged to submit resume and apply for instructor position.

http://www.lenoircc.edu/About_LCC/Positions/positions.htm

3.    Position: Professional Development Coordinator – CCR

To provide, coordinate and manage both the professional development of early childhood professionals, as well as technical assistance services provided for child care centers and family child care homes by the Children & Family Resource Center. Partner and collaborate with community and/or state college and university programs to facilitate the availability of appropriate courses and programs for child care providers.

http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?Job_DID=JHM7YK696W36H39HT1V&siteid=cbindeed&showNewJDP=yes&ipath=EXINDsep_google_feed%2cEXGOO

 

 

 

Communication and Collaboration in Early Childhood

                                                       
Dear Colleagues,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your professional knowledge and personal experiences that contributed to the expansion my knowledge and perceptions of early childhood. Reading your discussions and blogs enhanced my knowledge in what it means to effectively communication and collaboration. This has been an extraordinary learning experience that will be significant my life throughout my personal and professional life.  As we venture off in different directions, I would love to stay in touch with you.  Please feel free to contact me at audreymoye1@yahoo.com

Thank you Dr. D. for your assignments feedback and discussion posts that prompted me to think deeper about the issue of communication and collaboration.

God Bless you all!

 

Meeting Adjourned!

This assignment reminded me when I was asked to head the project at our church while we were in the process of opening a license center. I was chosen because I was more familiar with state childcare regulations, health and safety regulations and other aspects of the division of childcare and the rating scale.  I think we moved through the stages quickly because the three of us knew each other well, attended the church and had the same agenda. We were all committed to the project and experienced an honest, positive, supportive working relationship (Abudi, 2009). Initially, we functioned at the clearest established standards through our strong commitment in making this happen for our church. The team quickly turned to a high-performing group because the project of getting our family life center in compliance was organized and executed fairly rapidly. It was hard leave the team because of a deeper connection formed by working closely on something we were passionate about, and I had no doubts of its success when I stepped away.  The closing ritual experienced was having dinner at a local restaurant to commemorate and celebrate our outcome.

When adjourning from the master’s degree program, I imagine a feeling of sadness at the prospect of not having future opportunities to learn and share different prospective from my colleagues that I have grown accustomed to; from some the entire cohort. At the same time, I imagine a sense of connection and empowerment through knowledge obtained from them that I will carry that has broadened my understanding of aspects of early childhood in improving my professional development. The adjourning process is essential for a team because it allows evaluation of goals and reflection on skills learned or those that might need enhancing for future projects.

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

Resolving Conflict

Strategies that might have helped me manage or resolve the conflict with my husband concerning the sale of our daughter’s car more productively are:

1.       If I would have displayed empathetic emotions as oppose to anger and actively listened to his opinion in addressing the problem, which was the decision to sell car and the price when resolving conflict, not him personally.

2.       Instead of becoming offensive because of my misgivings with the sale itself and the price, I could have put forth more of an effort to offer a solution to reach a compromise; although we disagreed.

These strategies might be effective because it would have likely diminished my feelings of apprehension and there would be a supportive communication climate, which would allowed us a chance to empathetically explore the issues involved in the conflict (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012). For example, we would have shared information and both of us would have been empowered in offering a solution to arrive at a compatible goal which was the price.

A broader range of solution to my disagreement is that we could have been more receptive to one another’s ideas and feelings about the decision to sale the car and what the price would be.  I could have stated my desires precisely and not so loudly to avoid misunderstanding which was the reason for the conflict that took a day to resolve because neither of us was willing to give up our position. 

Yes, the principles of nonviolent communication could have helped such as differentiating feeling from thinking to be able to identify and express internal feeling in a way that does not imply judgment, criticism, or blame (The Center for Nonviolent Communication, n. d.).