Sunday, December 21, 2014

Time Well Spent


Time Well Spent

This was definitely a journey but one that I am grateful that I took. As I look back at this ride from start to finish I must say that my love, passion, and understanding for children as greatly grown deeper. I learned that having the right people in place and building the right community of practice is very important. It is also important to reach out and communicate with others and network. The best resource in my opinion is communicating with knowledgeable people and experienced people. I learned that building relationships and showing great leadership skills will take me a long way. After this course and other courses I truly know that this is where I want to be and that I want to be one of the many people that will advocate for children and make a difference.  
                                                     
      This quote is very inspirational and very true. If we do not invest or advocate who will. Our children are very important and they deserve the best opportunities.

    I just really love this quote! Children need to have fun and enjoy what they do.                                     

 

 Wonderful quote! Just be yourself in all that you do.

                                                                     
Powerful quote!
 As parents and as teachers it is important to lead by example and a positive one. Children watch everything that we do and it is important to watch what we do, how we handle situations, communicate, etc. in front of impressionable children.

To Dr. Darragh-Ernst and my colleagues,

Thank you for all the positive feedback and encouragement on my work. I have learned so much from reading the discussions and your thoughts, dreams, and goals. This has been a great and inspiring journey and a true accomplishment for me and I am glad that I was able to share it with wonderful people. I hope that we all can stay in touch through the years. If there is ever anything needed don’t hesitate to reach out. Wishing you all the best!

Shonda Jackson

Remember

 

 

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally


SAVE OUR CHILDREN     
Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in 120 countries, including the United States. The goal of Save the Children is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives by improving their health, education and economic opportunities (Save the Children, 2011).  
Job Opportunity
Summary
Early Steps to School Success provides early childhood education services to pregnant women and children birth to five years of age, education services to their parents, and ongoing staff training to the community early childhood educators.  The program goals are: 1) children will enter school with the skills necessary for school success, 2) parents will have the knowledge and skills to support their children’s education, 3) home/school connections will be strong and 4) early childhood knowledge and skills in communities will be significantly increased.
The Early Steps Coordinator provides
  • Social/emotional development, language development and pre-literacy education activities for children and parents through regularly scheduled home visits. 
  • Parent/child support and education groups in schools and community settings
  • Screening and referral for children at risk for developmental delay or health care issues.
  • “Transition to school” activities that connect parents and children to the preschool or kindergarten they will attend.
  • A book exchange literacy program for enrolled children and parents. Books are available for children from birth to five years of age. 
 
 
The International Step by Step Association
·         I chose this organization because they connect professionals in the field of early childhood from around the world.  They provide information and resources for education and help children and parents from around the world gain access to quality education.  They also provide professional development and support to early childhood professionals.
·         Job opportunities with ISSA:  Program manager of Romani Early Years Network (REYN).  Managed by ISSA, the network focuses on emerging and established Romani early childhood development professionals, as well as other professionals working in the field of Early Childhood Development (ECD) with Roma communities. The network will work to develop skills and good practice, establish effective partnerships and support professional development.  The director is in charge of implementation and support of the programs, in addition to fundraising and maintaining the budget.  Must have a university degree in related field and understand Romani children, families, and communities.  Must also have at least 3 years’ experience with international early childhood programs and be committed to the mission, goals, and values of ISSA.

I also selected the UNICEF. I believe that it is important for me to not only focus and have knowledge about the children in my area but around the world also. There were several job opportunities listed but just a handful in education.
Education Manager, P4, (SSUD12001), Juba, South Sudan
Qualifications include:
• Advanced university degree in one or more of the disciplines relevant to the following areas: Education; Primary Education, or Social Sciences fields relevant to international development assistance.
• Some demonstrative capacity to identify and monitor gender inequalities, as well as develop and implement gender mainstreaming in programmes
• Eight years of progressively professional work experience at national and international levels in fields relevant to Education programmes. Experience working in the UN or other international development organization an asset.
• Background/familiarity with Emergency
References
International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.issa.nl/index.html
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2013, from http://www.unicef.org/
 

Sunday, November 23, 2014

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


“ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development” (Zero to Three, 2013).  Zero to Three is a national, nonprofit organization that I recently just found out from a parent at work. Below you will find a link to a Project Director position that I am interested in. http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/careers/jobs/project-director-ehs-ccp-10-21-14.pdf

 

The National Association of Education for Young Children (NAEYC) is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children.   (NAEYC, 2013) I chose NAEYC because I know the significant importance it has in the early childhood field. NAEYC mission statement is to serve and act on behalf of the need, rights and well-being of young children.  NAEYC is the world largest organization working on behalf of children. NAEYC works with teachers to improve education and working conditions in early childhood education as well as the quality of the teachers. They are committed to promoting excellence in early childhood education.  Below is an available position that sparked my interest.                                               http://careerforum.naeyc.org/jobs/6597577/director-of-early-childhood-education

UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We have the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality.  That makes us unique among world organizations, and unique among those working with the young. UNICEF offer employment in many areas and also opportunities to volunteer. After looking through their website I found the job description under education very interesting. The link has been provided below.                                         http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_66519.html

 

References

 

 

 

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels


The organizations I chose were:

Collaborative for Children

Texas Department of Family Protective Services

TEA Texas Education Agency

Each of these organizations has the ability to make a difference. Collaborative for Children is a great way to work with other families and others. As a teacher or child care professional, you have the opportunity to make a lifetime of difference in the lives of children. Collaborative for Children assists in strengthening the early care and education community in Houston with knowledge, skills and resources needed to provide a quality learning experience for all children – and a better professional experience for those who care for our next generation. Influencing public policy is necessary and effective to ensure our state's children receive the opportunities they deserve (Collaborative for Children, 2014). The Texas department of Family Protective Services and Child Protective Service seems to be a great place to advocate for children and to ensure that they have the tools they need to be successful. I would love to work for this organization and make a difference in a child’s life or the family. I feel being a part of The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will allow me to have input in the curriculum aspect of early childhood. The Texas Education Agency is the state agency that oversees primary and secondary public education in the state of Texas. It helps deliver education to more than 5 million students. I would love to be a part of any of these organizations. For most of these roles the requirements are only a Bachelors degree.

                                    

References

 




 

 

 

 

Saturday, April 26, 2014


Best Wishes and Warm Thank Yous

I have really enjoyed these 8 inspiring weeks with all of you. Through your great discussions and thoughtful blog posts I have learned a lot. I always felt that you get your best lessons through your classmates and their personal stories. I truly appreciate working with a group of wonderful people who has a passion for making the lives of children better. Thank you all for sharing this journey with me and best of luck to all of your future endeavors.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Adjourning


Adjourning

Working in groups are rewarding, but working with a group of people for lengthy period of time builds bonds. I worked with the same group of females for a semester of college. We all had pretty much the same goals in life, some of us were married and most of us had at least one child or more. There were times when things became overwhelming and we wanted to quit but through the support and motivation of each other we made it through. We succeeded in our classes and learned about each other in the process. To this day we still meet at least once a month for lunch and play dates with our children. It is hard to let go when it is time for good things to come to an end, but the upside of that is everything we gained during our journey together. That is how I feel about this course. Even though we are at our end, I have gained so much knowledge from the readings and the online interactions of my colleagues.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Conflicts


There was a disagreement that I had with one of my colleagues. We were collaborating about activities to do before we had spring break.  We meet as a team to discuss issues, concerns, plan, collaborate, etc.  Well, this particular time my colleague seem to fight everything that was brought to the table and coming up with an excuse of why not to do it with her class. In order for us to do something we all have to agree with it and she was the only one that acted nonchalant and had an attitude about what was being brought to the table. We decided to let the students have game day on Friday, where the students bring board games, cards, etc. She did not like the idea and she thought the kids should just watch a movie. I explained that we had a movie day and that it would be good to watch the students interact through board games and solve problems. I did not allow the argument to go back and forth because I realize that we would not get anywhere with that. My other colleague on the team agreed with the game day and we decided to do it. She realized that she was wrong to cut off every idea I brought to the table. I decided to use cooperative strategy. We came together and talked about everything and fixed the problem. She admitted to having a bad day and apologized for fighting everything we brought to the table, and after she thought about it the game day was a great idea. I am glad I did not go back and forth because that could lead up to an argument and it is important to pick and choose your battles and that was not one to pick.