When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

Being part of the Early Childhood field, consequences are always arising.  Being part of a joint effort to enhance the lives of our children is always rewarding.  Reading my colleagues statements about the experiences and goals they have set for themselves are always encouraging and are just the many reasons why I fight and support for the continuous growth in the community.  As a professional in the EC field I have worked alongside some of the best influential people that I have made it their life’s mission to improve the quality of education and quality of life for each child.  I have become a vocal person within the last few years instead of being the observer in meetings.  This is a must for anyone that is in need of making a difference.

A goal that I have set after using this collegial experience to enhance my position in the EC field is to speak louder.  I have always been a vocal person but to speak about subjects that are going to make a difference in my community has not always been observant.  As I continue my journey with the last part in the Master’s program here at Walden University I am continuous need of discussion and experiences from my colleagues and professors.  Those particular interactions will always be of great value to myself and to others involved in the EC field.

My Hypothetical Family Situation

With the growth of our family we have decided to adopt a little boy at the age of three that has recently diagnosed with autism.  William has been in foster care for most of his life and has displayed behavior that was consistently odd as his past foster parents stated.  Hence the reasoning to have William tested for any type of special need. 

The hypothetical family is a middle class family.  Both parents work full-time within the education world, but not hands on with the special needs side of the department.  They have two other biological children ages 9 and 11.  Both girls who were excited to have a little brother join their family of four.  William would be in a local Head Start program during the time both parents would be at work.  The mother being the most involved for her working hours mirror the time William would attend the program.

This family would need lots of resources for William to support the new findings of his diagnosis.  All three sectors of comprehensive systems; Health, Early Learning and Development, and Family Leadership and Support. 

Questions for my colleagues?

·         As I continue to work this family situation, do either one of you ladies feel that this is realistic?

·         Can you see this family using one of your programs?

·         What type of support groups are available for families living with an autistic family member?

·         Do I need more information for readers to get the background of my hypothetical family situation?

As I continue working on this assignment I am amazed with the local resources for families with autistic family members.  Working more on this assignment is always a refresher and a reminder of the importance to complete research on situations that are evolving in our programs.

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

There is more than one type of strategy that are being used by advocates and organizations that influence the political will toward improving early childhood systems in order to foster the well-being of young children and their families.  But the one that comes to mind immediately is the educational strategy.  This is used to help the general public, or a specific group of people to gain an awareness or better understanding of an issue (Kieff, 2009).  By using the educational strategy we can for example use the role of an early childhood educator, the importance of that position and what is needed to become a quality teacher in that role.    With my assignment last week and this week, Early Care and Education was the view that I chose that is very important to me.  Using the educational strategy is what I use daily to get certain topics across for my organization, community, and my superiors that are looking for better ways to improve our children’s lives. 

Working with the military community for most of my career, Early Care and Education has been on the topic for many reasons.  One that comes to mind is the supporting the children during post-deployment.  Our men and women are coming home not realizing that they are scarred from the deployments and it is affecting their child’s development and future education.  This part of my profession challenges me, but I love every part of the challenges.  Zero to Three and the National Association for Education for Young Children (NAEYC) are both great advocating organizations that back their findings by using the education strategy.  Using research and statistics are one way to get the communities attention.   I have attached the links to both organizations below so that anyone can read about what they are all about.

http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/funded-projects/military-families/

http://www.naeyc.org/

Kieff, J. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education: Making a difference for young children and families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc

Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

When I think of education, it involves the parent, family and the community.  All must be involved in order for education to be effective.  Reviewing the Parent and Family Stories, I found myself feeling connected to them.  We all want our children to be successful in society and that is what these families are stating.  One specific conversation stood out to me and it was the gentleman that spoke of spending time with our children now and to not wait until later.  Our children need us now more than ever and modeling for them the way to respond to challenges in life is important. 

As a parent and educator, I can relate to every parent that spoke on media segment.  I want the best for my two children and for every child I come in contact with in my community.  I did not use the Head Start program in my community, but I used a private preschool program that used a similar curriculum to prepare my two for their educational journey.  I insure everyday that my two are ready for school by insuring them both by telling them how proud I am of them and telling them both that they need to do their best each day.  As an educator I am very involved with my families and community.  Promoting in my community the program we offer is the number one way I get them to engage in their child’s future.  Using experiences I have had personal and professionally have also assisted with getting the community engaged in our program.

Parent/family involvement is an essential system element for all strands of service in the early childhood field.  Our program can only be as successful as the families want it to be.  I truly believe that in order for our programs to get funding, our families have advocated alongside of the educators.  Having them in our corner assists with politicians pushing for funding, research, more educators, etc.  Some of our best advocators for EC programs have been parents of children experiencing or have experienced challenges within early childhood education programs.  Education will always be a topic on the table for our communities.  We will forever move forward with improvements to insure our children the best of education for their future.  Our families, parents, and community will only make that a stronger foundation for our children.

Quality Programs for All Children

Advocating for change is what I hope for.  Public opinion is needed simply because some of the best resolutions to some major problems have been improved.  I believe every child no matter what cultural background, race, gender, or economic status deserves to partake in a high quality educational program.  We have seen what happens to children that have been given the opportunity to belong in quality programs.  What I see changing in the hope of public opinion in the next five years is more educators dedicating their time to children that are not able to participate in quality programs.  I see more people in the community wanting to be involved with the wellbeing of all children.  We live in a very fast and forever changing society and with that in mind Kieff (2009) has implied that globalization is everyone in the world has some influence on everyone else, it may be either a positive or a negative influence, but there is an interdependence among all the citizens of the world (Bigelow & Peterson, 2002; Clinton, 2007).  I believe this is so.  This will only strengthen our services, systems, policies, and advocacy with early childhood education.   With the technology as it is this will happen.

Seeing others advocating for what is important in the early childhood education field is only going to strengthen our young children and their families.  Seeing the better good in others influences our little ones and to see them laugh and learn through the wonderful enriched programs our communities provide and support.  I hope to see our children follow in our footsteps to improve the already great programs we have. 

Bigelow, B. & Peterson, B. (Eds.). (2002) Rethinking globalization: Teaching for justice in an unjust world.                 Milwaukee, WI. Rethinking Schools Press.

Clinton, W.J. (2007) Giving: How each of us can change the world. New York: Knopf.

Kieff, J. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education: Making a difference for young                              children and families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc

 

Early Childhood Education Public Policy and Advocacy

Early childhood education has been a big part of my life since I can remember.  Having worked with children beginning at the age of 6 weeks old to 18 years old I have witnessed the challenges that the families have with the development and wellbeing of their children.  Sitting with the teachers and the parents, coming to the table with a plan to assist with the successful development of their child has always been a passion for me.  Advocating for a child daily, I take on that challenge for my community.

I feel that it is essential to have advocates in the EC field that are skilled and confident.  An advocate is someone that is dedicated and proactive stance taken by individuals in response to particular issues that concern them.  In early childhood education, the purpose of advocacy is to promote ideas and seek resolution that will affect children and families in positive ways (Kieff and Casbergue, 2000, p. 13).  An advocator must feel that they are in control and know what they are speaking of.  They are going to be expected to be the expert in the subject they are advocating for and not knowing the answer can land them in a predicament that may lose the audience that was supporting them. 

I have set the following goals for this class and hope to meet them:

·         A better understanding of what is expected from an advocate

·         Investigating what areas in EC are in need of advocating

·         What challenges do advocates face and how they overcome them

I know a few of them are not as important as the others, but I want more for my families and their children, my program, and my community.  I would fight until the last bit of energy was taken from me in order for my community get something that they needed in order to better the quality of life.  I hope to gain a better understanding of others, advocates so that I can only rise up and become a stronger and efficient advocator.

Reference

Kieff, J., & Casbergue, R. (2000). Playful learning and teaching: Integrating play into preschool and primary programs. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to say Goodbye

The last eight weeks have come and gone so fast.  As I have always closed out my blogs for the class I want to wish each and everyone of my colleagues the best of luck with your program.  I will be moving into my specialization classes, Advocacy and Public Policies, which I am very nervous.  I am excited about the journey that I will be embarking on.  Communicating and collaborating with all of you has been a joy and I hope to see you some of my remaining courses.  Good luck to all of you!