Week 8: Time Well Spent

Adeiu, Adieu...parting is such sweet sorrow.


We have embarked on an incredible journey together.  A journey that has transformed me into who I am today, and I am forever greatful for the opportunity I have had.   I am very thankful for all of you to be part of my experience.  Without your similiar compassion for early childhood we would not be where we are today.  Your experiences have helped me learn about myself, you all allowed me to discuss my ideas and opinions openly and offered great creative critisim where it was needed.

I have learned many things:

1.) I was reminded that you need passion to achieve any thing you are going for.  If you want to be a leader, your need to be passionate enough for your followers to believe you and agree with you.

2.) I have an identity and a diversity all my own.  I was so caught up in my own culture that I never realized it was a culture.  There are so many things that make us different, and make us who we are.

3.)  I never considered abilities to be in the diversity category.  I always thought diversity to be cultures or ethnicity I never thought to include disabled people into the diverse category, but they are.  Diversity is not just about culture and ethnicity.



The professionals you all are is very evident in the work I was able to do with you and I wish you all nothing but the best on your future endeavors.  My own future goal would hopefully lead e to working with an agency that can help me better improve programs at all centers, evaluating and offering suggestions for improvement.

I wish you would all keep in contact with me, even if it is just to say hello.  I feel we all need a reminder once in a while that when things get tough there is still a silver lining.  I know we are all scattered throughout the country, but email is always available.

Also, I was wondering if anyone was planning on attending the graduation ceremony..either the Summer ceremony that is in Minnesota or the Winter ceremony that is in Miami?  I am unsure if I am able to attend the Summer ceremony and was told by the graduation committee that I would be able to attend the Winter ceremony if I am not able to go to the summer one.  If you are going to either (I plan on attending at least one!) I would LOVE to meet up.  I had the opportunity to meet with Corina Allen on a hockey trip, and it was very exciting to put a face to a name and work.

You are all very deserving of any achievements you will have in your life, and I again wish you the best.

I wanted to create a video good bye, but a very bad respiratory infection has taken away my ability to project my voice and when I do I sound like a frog(not how I want to be remembered!!!)

Anyway as promised here is my information to keep in contact:

CJMPSU@gmail.com  (After an email I can provide address for snail mail corrispondence or phone number)

If you are ever in the central Pennsylvania area please send me a message and we can hopefully get together.

Finally a quote:  "Children should be seen, heard and believed" (Bumper Sticker on my friends car)

Week 6: Job Roles in the ECE community: Internationally

In my past post I discussed my interest in UNICEF, I did not look ahead for this post when I originally posted.  So I have included what I wrote there here because I still feel that UNICEF would be an amazing place to work.  So much opportunity and experiences.

UNICEF:  http://www.unicef.org/

UNICEF is a world wide force that helps realize the rights of all children.  The group tries to influence decision makers, and many grassroots movements.  Their focus is on nurturing and caring for children as an important factor in child's development, and human progress.  UNICEF works with other groups to overcome obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child's path.  They believe that proper care at the youngest of ages will help create a strong foundation for a child's future.  They do education for communities, promotion of education for girls to be able to become strong members of their community, they support immunizations for children and be certain children are nourished.  They educate communities on diseases such as HIV/AIDS and how to maintain a safe environment.

Job Opportunities:

There is a job opportunity as a Representative in Mongolia.  In this position you would provide policy support and guidance in emergency situations, provide policy support in creating a common connection with the county programs, participate in organizational and institutional imitative to strengthen UN coherence to be sure these common services are achieved to the best extent possible.  The requirements for this job are way beyond my current experiences and my achievements.

You would need advanced degrees in Social Sciences, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development or a related discipline.  10+ years related experience, fluency in English, broad understanding of social policy and equity issues are just a few.

They also offer a Junior Professional Officer position, none are available at the moment but it is focused on men or women interested in acquiring experience in international development cooperation activities and would be closely supervised by senior UNICEF officials.

They also offer opportunities for volunteering, and more information can be found by mailing United States Fund for UNICEF

International Step by Step:  http://www.issa.nl/index.html

The International Step by Step organization promotes equal access to quality educational around the globe.  This organization feels that all children are deserving of quality education and quality care no matter where they are located.    The core members are located in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, although there are many other general members located in other areas such as the Americas and other parts of Asia.  They have a special focus on the years of birth through primary school.

Job Opportunities:  I could not find any Job Opportunity listings for this organization.  They are based out of the Netherlands.  I feel that if I were to create my own job, i would want to do one that was like an Ambassador.   Perhaps the delegate from the Eastern portion of the United States.  My responsibilities would be to visit programs that were involved with ISSA, and help them establish quality care and education for the children.  I would network with ISSA, and advocate for these children involved in the programs in Easter United States.  My job would require extensive travel, excellent communication skills, organizational skills, and I would also believe that being bilingual would help as well.   Since this job is not a real one, and I have made it up from my interests with the organization I would also believe that you would need at least 5+ years experience in a leadership position.  I would need to gain more leadership experience and learn new languages to help work with the other programs.

Academy of Educational Development: http://www.fhi360.org/en/AboutFHI/index.htm

This organization is dedicated to improving lives by finding solutions to human development.  They employ staff that are experts in many areas such as education, health, nutrition, and civil society.  They feel that every individual should have the opportunity to reach their highest potential.   They work with the focus of Innovation, mutual respect, passion, accountability, commitment to excellence, and team work.


Job Opportunities:  The job search for this organization was rather interesting.  Since the organization works in many different countries and locations you had to choose which areas you were interested in.  There were 118 current positions to be applied for, but I was not sure where exactly they were located so I chose a few different areas.  I of course started with US, NY, NY as it is the closest to where I am currently located.


With that search 9 positions had appeared.  Some in the IT area which I am not at all qualified for, or communications for Public Relations.


One job was for a Research Assistant which caught my interest because it managed and supported activities within the contracts of the organization, participated in site training, and worked closely with senior members to conduct research and put together research studies.   The requirements were that of a MD/Ph.D in Public Health with 0 years experience.


Another job was in the Education sector, Administration Associate the ideal candidate would facilitate communication between clients, partners and collaborators.  Prepare correspondence, memos and reports.  Coordinate travel schedule, prepare rooms for meetings.


The requirements for this job include: Bachelors degree plus 2 years related experience, experience working with executive staff, advanced knowledge of Microsoft word and power point, experience writing, drafting and editing proposals.
   The job is also located in Washington, D.C.


A final job that caught my attention is located in Liberia.  It is the position of Technical Officer II.  This position would oversee the implementation of ongoing and newly started ICT-and Education activities withing LTTP and a new imitative to deliver pre- and in service curriculum material electronically.  This candidate would develop, deliver, and manage ICT in education activities.  This would be for teacher trainings, promoting collection of educational material for the classrooms.  The candidate would also task plan and work with external partners to develop programs.


Job requirements are the practical knowledge, skills, and abilities that would come from studying in an education, social science, information technology or a related field at a university level as well as 5 years experience or a combination of both.  They would also demonstrate experience in teacher training programs in Liberia.  Knowledge of the use of technological equipment and proven management and organizational skills.


This last job has interested me very much, and I would feel qualified for a position if I knew anything about Liberia.  I must admit that I had to use a map to locate the area.

References:

Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm


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 November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

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

When it comes to the field of Early Childhood Education there are many organizations that are striving to do the very best for children, and to help educators in the field as well as parents understand what is best for their children.

NAEYC:  www.naeyc.org

NAEYC is an organization that every one in the Early Childhood field knows and understands.  The support that NAEYC offers to professionals and parents alike is very beneficial to the development of children, they are up to date on the  The organization focuses on children birth through 8 years old.  NAEYC helps families find high quality child care for their children.  

Jobs Opportunities:  

The job available now according to their website are three jobs available, none of these jobs appeal to me but they are: Chief Technology Officer which requires a BS or a MA in Information Technology and 5-10 years of IT management experience.   The other jobs are for Editor positions requiring a BA and a minimum of 5 years editing experience.   I have no interest in IT or Editing so I will discuss what job I would be interested in if it were available or there was such a job

I would love to be one of the employees who visit different centers and judge them for their accreditation.   My assumption of requirements for this job would be a Master's degree with close to 5 or 10 years experience in the field of early childhood.  I am assuming this is what is required as this job is not posted and is just something I show interest in.

I would also like to visit colleges and review their early childhood programs, their classes and professors against the national standards.  I would assume this job would also require a master's degree with 5+ years experience in a college setting, as well as early childhood setting.

Zero to Three:   www.zerotothree.org

Zero to Three is a National Organization that informs, trains and supports professionals and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of the children they supporting.  They wish the support the health and development of infants and toddlers in their early years, as these years are the most crucial to the development of a child, millions of connections are being made in the brain.  How children are taught, and interacted with in the early years will help to transform them later in their lives.   The site offers a monthly news letter offering strategies for parents and giving information about the latest policies and trends.

Job Opportunities:

There are currently no careers available at this company, but if I were to create my own job at this company I would want to be a workshop builder, creating workshops that will help parents and caregivers train and learn more on given topics or issues that are effecting their children.  I would assume the requirements of this job would be for an ideal candidate to have a Bachelors degree in the field with at least 5 years experience, and a Master's degree would be preferred.

UNICEF:  http://www.unicef.org/

UNICEF is a world wide force that helps realize the rights of all children.  The group tries to influence decision makers, and many grassroots movements.  Their focus is on nurturing and caring for children as an important factor in child's development, and human progress.  UNICEF works with other groups to overcome obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child's path.  They believe that proper care at the youngest of ages will help create a strong foundation for a child's future.  They do education for communities, promotion of education for girls to be able to become strong members of their community, they support immunizations for children and be certain children are nourished.  They educate communities on diseases such as HIV/AIDS and how to maintain a safe environment.

Job Opportunities:

There is a job opportunity as a Representative in Mongolia.  In this position you would provide policy support and guidance in emergency situations, provide policy support in creating a common connection with the county programs, participate in organizational and institutional imitative to strengthen UN coherence to be sure these common services are achieved to the best extent possible.  The requirements for this job are way beyond my current experiences and my achievements.

You would need advanced degrees in Social Sciences, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development or a related discipline.  10+ years related experience, fluency in English, broad understanding of social policy and equity issues are just a few.

They also offer a Junior Professional Officer position, none are available at the moment but it is focused on men or women interested in acquiring experience in international development cooperation activities and would be closely supervised by senior UNICEF officials.

They also offer opportunities for volunteering, and more information can be found by mailing United States Fund for UNICEF

These three organizations stand out to be because of their dedication at a national and international level as well, all working for the betterment of the future of our children.

 

Week 2 Blog Post

www.hildebrandtlc.com - I wanted to focus on this website because they are not only my employer but they have a program that I feel is great! They partner with businesses in the area to offer high quality childcare to the businesses they pair with, so their staff members have child care for their children. All centers are NAEYC accredited and strive for quality care, staff members and programs for the children involved in their care. Job opportunities: I already work for this company as a teacher in an infant and toddler setting. They do have a posting for a job as a Program Specialist that I am almost qualified for. I am approaching my third year working with the company, and they request a specialist have worked with the hildebrandt company for over 3 years, as well as demonstrating excellent communication and leadership skills.


www.cdfc.com: The child development and family council website is a website for a non-profit organization in Centre county Pennsylvania. Their mission includes offering education that is inclusive and educational to all children involved, allowing for enriching experiences to help the children grow. They also offer a safety net program which partners with Children and Youth to assist families in affording quality child care. Job Opporunities: None listed at this time, but their programs in school age would be beneficial to me to gain experience working with older groups of children, and parents of other children.

www.pakeys.org: PaKeys.org is a site I use to find out about seminars and conferences in my area. There are also opportunities to do web based learning to gain training hours in early childhood. It is a requirement of my job to obtain 24 hours of training each year. This website lists all the trainings in Pennsylvania by county, and also offers a link to web based learning trainings which you can download work sheets, gain access to a online classroom and complete the class at your leisure. Job Opportunities: There are none listed at this time but I would love to have the opportunity to run workshops for different centers focused on development. I would need to obtain my teaching certification as well as some experience in leading workshops. I would also have to master a focus of early childhood in order to offer a class focused on a certain subject.

Job opportunities: not currently available but I would love to be involved with the development of the staff at child care centers. I would like to go into their center and observe, take notes and then return to offer suggestions to improve their practices, their room set up and routine if they feel they are having issues with any of those aspects. I would help then learn the way to observe their children effectively and how to best interact with parents for the betterment of the children.

I know that for many of the jobs I would wish to apply for I would need much more experience working in the field. It is great that I have the education, and will continue to read articles and attending trainings but many of the individuals in the positions I seek have had multiple years experience in different levels of the field. I know in order to work my way up into a position of Education Specialist in a program, I need to familiarize myself much more with the program I wish to work in. As of right now I have 4 years experience working in a child care setting as an infant/toddler teacher, and 2 years experience working as a family therapist. These experiences have helped me gain skills working with children and families, but more experience is often required to move into the higher positions to be sure I can work in the environment.

I have not had experience with Preschool children, or leading a staff, so I would need to gain more experience with these aspects.
If I were to seek becoming a professor of Early Childhood I would need to obtain a teaching certification, as well as years in a educational setting. I would start out first running seminars, moving into full day conferences to build my resume with those leadership skills.

 References:

CDFC. (2012) The Child Development and Family Council. 10 May, 2012. http://www.cdfc.com

Hildebrandt Learning Centers. (2012). Hildebrandt Learning Center. 11 May, 2012. http://www.hildebrandtlc.com

PAKeys. (2011) Pennsylvania Keys . 11 May, 2012. http://www.pakeys.org

The Beginning of the End

Hello fellow colleagues!

Here we are, at the beginning of the end.  The final course before we complete our Masters Program.

I look forward to all that is to come!  I hope to learn along with you, to learn from you and to hopefully teach you all something as well.

To the new beginnings that will come along with our end.


Best of luck to all of you.

Week 8: Colleague Communication

This course on communication has been amplified by the assistance I have had from my colleagues.  Effective communication involves more than one person, and my colleagues have responded to my blog assignments, and my discussion posts.  I have also had many encounters with classmates discussing the application assignments that have helped me gain a better understanding of what the assignment entailed.

We worked together many times during the discussion posts, collaborating on answers and supporting each other with thoughtful comments, expanding the discussion.

I hope to see many of my colleagues in more courses, even though i know we are comign to the end.  I am also unsure if any of my colleagues will be following along my same path: Teaching Adults.

If they are not, I wish them all the best of luck in their pursuit of this masters degree.  They have all worked very hard to this point.