My Journey

I am very excited to finish yet another course towards my journey to completing a mater's degree in Early Childhood Studies. I can not believe how time has past. I remember when I first started and now I am down to four classes left which are my specialization courses. I feel taking this class has taught me how to become an effective communicator and how to hold an effective conversation with others. I love when we get to the end of each course because we are able to reflect on what we have learn. My colleagues I have met through out my journey have been great resources, sharing ideas/opinions, and expressing encouragement. I know I have been the same back to them on the student lounge,discussion board,and blog assignments. I feel this class has really helped me because one day I want to come out the classroom and move up to being a coach for all teachers. I am confident that I am ready to speak in front of a large group as an effective leader in early childhood.I feel this course has helped me personally and professionally. My confidence in having effective communication skills has made me collaborate within groups and help me to really realize that early childhood is for me. I am passionate and motivated about early childhood and I know the closer I get to obtaining my master's degree will increase my knowledge in early childhood.

Adjourning Reflection

I have been working with Head Start/ Pre-K for over seven years and I must say I have met so many people along the way. I have never worked in the classroom with someone that I could not get along with because I can work with anyone. We are both their to do a job and teach to the best of our ability the children that walk in our classroom daily. I have always had a great relationship with coworkers because we all work as a team. When I started working at another center my coworkers were even better. We all knew what the definition of team work was and we strived to help each other when there was a problem. I was so lucky to have coworkers like them. When we would have staff meetings or trainings they were never boring because we made it fun and talked about different issues that went on during the day. We all voiced our opinions about different things and what we could do as a center to solve issues and make it better for staff, children, and families. The discussion this week I talked about being in groups which I do not like to be in because I love working by myself and sometimes I just feel like all the work is thrown on me. Even though we had group problems they still were some nice people to work with. We always liked working as a team, but group things we froze up sometimes.

Unfortunately, at the end of the school year the agency made a lot of changes and moved teachers around to different locations including some of my coworkers. I was so upset because we were a great center who did not cause any problems. Of course we had disagreements, but we never did anything that would make administration come over and check our center out. I guess other centers were having a lot of issues and they just made a big change moving everyone around. In this week's lesson we discussed the adjourning stage which is the fifth stage of the five stages of group development. Psychologist Bruce Tuckman proposed this model and suggests that groups and teams move through a series of stages in order to achieve their peak level of performance. This stage is very important to achieve closure for the group on a positive note. This stage was actually difficult for me because half of my coworkers are gone from the center headed to another center and we go back to work on Monday which will be hard seeing them somewhere else. I feel a sense of loss and that our time together has come to an end. I also have a new center manager and office manager as well. I will have new coworkers, office manager, and boss which I hope will be great as well. I think about the good times we shared because at this stage that is important and also celebrating our success together, but we really did not have time to do this because these changes came at the last minute. Although I hate change it is a part of life. We may not want this to happen, but sometimes it has to be done. I guess the bright side is everybody still has a job working with children. I know that come Monday will be hard, but hopefully this school year is even better.

The closing rituals that I have experienced is the big changes that were made in the agency that I was not ready for. I hope to maintain communication with them and not let this affect our relationship that we have built over the years. I wish that we knew sooner that our center was breaking up that way we could have been already knowing the sudden changes. I imagine that I will adjourn from my colleagues who I have been communicating with while pursuing my master's degree will be bitter sweet. Even though I have never seen you guys the way we discuss on the discussion board and blog you would think that we have met face to face. I would thank them for their feedback, comments, and effective communication on the discussion board, student lounge, and blogs. I also will wish everyone good luck and would love to see them at the graduation. Time is getting close with four classes left to go I will feel sad because I do look to my colleagues as a sense of support by them responding to me and others by using our group discussions and blogs. It will also be a happy time because I have completed another goal and that is something to be glad about. I will truly miss you guys.

Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because working with a group that is positive and is able to work together as a team, organization, and has goals set can adjourn with positive accomplishments and conclusions.

Reference

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

Conflict Resolution

I have been working for Head Start for four years and in the Fall of 2014 I got promoted to a Pre-K lead teacher. My first year was great. I was able to get additional resources to use in the classroom, go on unlimited field trips, and do a lot more other things. I was enjoying Pre-K and happy that I was chosen to be the lead teacher in this great state program. My second year was not like the first year administration got very strict and we could not do the same things that we did the previous year. I was not happy with this,but I still did my job and did not let this bother me. After all of this, my Head Start Director called me and said that they would have to decrease my pay due to human resources making a mistake paying the new Pre-K teachers too much money. My first response was you guys are just now figuring this out? It took you all a whole year to find this out? She told me to come by and sign stating that I agree to the changes. I told her I was not going to sign anything because I did not agree to this and I was always taught if you do not agree with something do not sign it. My mom drilled this in my head and my sister and she still does till this day. Unfortunately my pay still was decrease, but I took this matter to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and they could not do anything because the lady said that they were not discriminating because everybody did not get a pay cut. I asked could they take my pay after having this for a year and she said that sometimes it takes a year before they see what the problem is especially is they are getting audit. I was so upset, but I still taught my children to the best of my ability and did not let this get in the way of my job performance. I thought about my master's degree and told myself that this is my motivation to move forward in life. Pursuing a master's degree was the best decision I could have ever made and I remind myself daily and strive to do whatever it takes to keep pushing until I receive it. I am not mad at anyone because I know what my intentions are and what I need to do to get into a new position.

Conflict resolution is a way for two people to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement among them. Eventually, I was able to meet with the Head Start Director and she explained to me in detail why the agency had to decreased my pay. Although I still was not happy, she told me to continue doing what God chose me to do and do not think that my work performance was not being notice because it was. I was thankful for that.I am glad that we were able to sit down and discuss the matter effectively and resolve a conflict that was growing between us. I am still unhappy with the agency, but I just pray that something bigger will come open for me soon. I feel that the 3 R's played a great part in this respect, responsiveness, and building relationships because we were able to create all of these in the conversation that we had with each other. I learn to resolve conflict effectively by treating everybody involved with respect.

I have a question for my colleagues what are your input and advice regarding how you guys have learned to be more effective communicators as it relates to conflict resolution skills?

Communication

My communication skills are normal especially when I already know you and feel comfortable talking to the person. I have to work on speaking in front of crowds and holding conversations with random people. In my opinion, I have a great voice, when talking to someone my body language is accurate, and my observations are good too. I assessed myself on communication and also another person which was my husband who I communicate with on a daily basis assess me as well.I also talk with my coworkers and ask them to share what they think of my communication skills. My husband said that I am a great communicator because I am easy to talk to, I listen, and I never make him feel like that I am not listening. I thought that was interesting because I already knew that I do what he explained.My coworkers told me that I am not a person who just starts a conversation off I wait until the person comes to me and then I start talking which is also true. I never start talking first unless I just have to I always wait on the person to say something to me first, but it just depends on the situation. I agree with my husband and my coworkers because their insights about me is the same way that I feel.

One insight that I gained this week is making a first impression is important. I find that others view you in seconds so much of what you need to make a good impression is common sense. Interacting with other people helps them to feed off you to know what kind of person you really are. I learned how the people I communicate with daily thinks of me and this will help me professionally to speak in a crowd. I know that I can do this because my opinion of myself and what others think is making my confidence even higher. We should not judge people, but everybody does have their own opinions whether good or bad. I think communicating with a person for yourself you will find out what you need to know without having to assume.

Another insight that I gained this week is my confidence to be a great communicator through interacting with classmates on discussions, and blogs. We may not see each other in person, but we do communicate and share our ideas. I feel this is our way of implementing our communication skills and we are getting stronger with them weekly because this class is helping us with this. I feel this will help me professionally because what I learned in this class will help me be a more effective communicator at my job and when I move up in leadership.

Cultural Diversity

Culture is how we define ourselves in this society and it influences how we see others. When I communicate with people from different groups and cultures I show that I care about their communication skills. I agree with the statement that I communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. As a teacher, when communicating with my students I always make sure I talk to them correctly pronouncing my words right and explaining to them what they mean just in case they do not know. When I communicate with adults I usually speak with them the same way,but on a much higher level because they are adults and they may not want me to explain everything that I say. When I communicate with colleagues, it is very important that you understand how they interact by observing them. I really think this helps me communicate with them knowing what communication skills that they follow. Building positive relationships with children, adults and colleagues is very important and this is what I strive to do daily. I feel that this is important with diverse families even though they are from different cultures we still have to treat them the same.

Looking back at this week's learning, communication is more than speaking or writing. To be effective communication requires the creation of a common understanding of ideas, and observations among people. Effective communication is key to maintaining good relationships with diverse families, children ,adults, and colleagues. I have learned to maintain eye contact, show good body language,and understanding better different languages that are presented to me daily. We always need to value different cultures because that makes them feel special and I know that they will do the same for us.Understanding the different meanings and types of culture is important.When we think about culture, it helps to give us a better understanding of this society ideas, beliefs, and values that we experience every day.

Communication

For this week's assignment, I observed communication with and without sound. As I completed this assignment, I came to realize that communication is really observing and may not always be a verbal conversation. I now know more about nonverbal communication, body language, and facial expressions. I recorded an episode of the TV show "Friends" this is a show that I do not watch so I thought this was a great choice. I watched the episode with and without the sound on. My assumptions were the same both ways.

The characters relationships are based on friendships because all of them are best friends living in the same apartment complex in New York. They hang out together, laugh together, and always have each others back. As I observed nonverbal behavior, I saw that everyone minds their own business and not dating each other because they take their friendships seriously. In the episode that I watched one lady was talking to another lady smiling, laughing, and having a deep conversation. I assume that they were very close and enjoying whatever they were talking about. As I continued to watch, another lady and guy were in the living room watching TV she gave him the remote I am thinking to find something else on because the lady pointed at the TV smiling. They were smiling at each other, making funny faces, and watching a movie. I finally decided to turn the sound up and they were watching a movie that the lady had rented and thought it would be nice to watch because they have not had time to just sit and relax on a Friday night.

After watching this show, I have discovered that I am knowledgeable about nonverbal and verbal communication skills just by observing what was going on. I was accurate with my observations. Non verbal communication is important as verbal communication and it is important that we treat both the same.

Demonstrates Competent Communication Skills

For this blog assignment, I would have to say my pastor Rev. Michael R. Jordan demonstrates competent communication skills at the church weekly. Rev. Michael R. Jordan is the pastor of New Era Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He has been the leader of this church for over twenty years. He is someone that I can say loves to have that effective communication with all his church members. He is the prime example of listening first to what ever the situation may be, gives his opinion, and offer suggestions to help the problem better. Pastor Jordan holds several titles that he carries out very well such as a pastor, counselor, friend, teacher, motivator, and I see him as a father figure. I have seen him have effective communication skills in interviews about the church when he puts up eye catching messages on the church sign and when he ran for a position with the county it was amazing to hear the conversations between him, his opponents, and his intentions for the job with the county. He is also a special education teacher at a local high school where he supports children with disabilities and a mentor to special needs children /parents. I can tell that he loves his job because he always has something nice to say about his week at work on sunday. What I love most about him he use to work for the salvation army helping homeless men, recovered drug addicts, etc find a new direction in life even though he doesn't work there anymore he still is an advocate for homeless people and anybody else that has a serious problem. Pastor Jordan is now working to turn one of our fellowship buildings into a shelter to feed the homeless and a place for senior citizens to hang out. I know for sure he gets blessings after blessings because he is always lending a helping hand and doing what a pastor is suppose to do going above and beyond daily. His interactions with his members, other adults, and children are real because he gives a good example of how communication is suppose to be between people.

I would want to model my own communication behaviors after my pastor because Rev. Jordan has great eye contact and listens before he comments. He is a well-known pastor that some really respect and admire and of course you have those that see differently, but I see him as a man of God who is educated and dedicated to doing what God tells him to do effectively.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I hope that as professional educators we highlight key challenges and concerns in promoting diversity and illustrate ways to incorporate an understanding of diversity in the classroom and beyond. I feel that teachers should value diversity and they need to model this to children. Everybody is different and when people value diversity they respect that we are different.Teaching about different cultures should be taught daily and provide children a positive learning environment. As teachers,we already have a lot to do,but valuing diversity is most important.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity,equity,and social justice is to make sure all professionals are educated on the importance of these issues. It is important that all early childhood professionals gain knowledge about diversity,equity,and social justice in order to work effectively with young children and families.I would also like to make sure that young children have a learning environment that is positive and welcoming for all children and their families culture is supported without people being biases, prejudices,and discriminating.

A brief note of thanks to my colleagues I would like to say I appreciate the comments on the discussion board and blog assignments they were most helpful. Thanks for the support,encouragement,knowledge,and wisdom that was shared throughout our time in this wonderful class. I have enjoyed working with you guys because some of you I have been with since our first class together and I hope it continues throughout the program. We have learned so much about diversity and equity among children and their families. I look forward into seeing you guys again so that we can continue to share our understanding and knowledge about the early childhood field through discussions and blog assignments.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

I have been notified that a child from Australia is joining my group of children at the child care center. I chose Australia because I know little about this country and it would be nice to get some children from here to enter my class in real life. (1.)I would have to learn all I can about the background of Australia, what is the dominant language use their,and culture. (2.)In the classroom I would put up pictures, books, diverse puppets,dramatic play clothes, pretend food, etc to add this country in an effective way that makes the classroom show that different cultures are being taught. I think this will help the children and families feel welcomed at the child care center.(3.)I would also get the other children in my class prepared so that they want be confused when they see another child come in the room that is not from our country.(4.)I would talk about Australia to them and answer any questions they may have. (5.)I will incorporate a day that we celebrate Australians and get parents to come in and talk with us so that we can hear from them and learn something new.

Many children in Australia are very fortunate when compared to many other countries and Australia has been called "The Lucky Country".In Australia many of the children have a uniquely Australian Life style. Australia is such a vast country that there is so much variety in this subject.

I hope that these preparations will benefit both me and the family by keeping me updated on Australia so that my children will continue to have great knowledge about different cultures. I think that diversity is a big issue and it should be implemented daily. I also feel that the child will learn how to speak another language which will be beneficial to have. Families will benefit from my preparation because we will build that positive teacher parent relationship communicating everyday so that they will feel comfortable about the classroom and know that their culture is not overlooked.

Reference

www.australian-children.com

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

A memory that I have of an incident that I witness my boss being a target of prejudice. I work at the hospital part-time in the department of guest services we help visitors find love ones and anything else around the hospital. One day I was working at a information desk with my boss who is white and gay. A black couple came up to the desk my boss spoke to them and ask them if they needed help finding something they said no. They walked away from the desk and went there way. We did not think anything of this and my boss eventually got off work. I did not get off until later that night. After my boss left, and bout hour later that same black couple came up to the desk and I ask did they need help finding anything and they said yes. After I help them find who they were looking for, they told me thank you and said we did not want to ask the other guy anything because he looked funny and talks to sweet is he gay? I told them that I was not going to comment on this and quickly change the subject. I feel that it was not right for me to discuss my boss identity with no one even though I knew which way he goes its not anybody's business. I also feel that nothing is wrong with him being gay. He does great as a boss and I do not have a problem with him.

To change this incident into an opportunity for greater equity,I feel that everyone in this society should be treated equally regardless of which way that they choose to go. I have no problem with gay people I just know that's not what I want to pursue, but I do not look at others that choose that way any differently. I live in Alabama and since they pass the law on same sex marriages a lot of people have been coming out about who they really are. Gay relationships are normal now and we just have to accept it and move forward.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

One example of a microaggression which I detected from another time was when my husband and I were looking for an apartment to move in before we got married. Our goal was to find somewhere to live that way after the wedding we would have a place to start our lives together. We decided to go on a Monday. We both took off work and started looking very early that way we could see a lot of apartments in one day. We looked at a lot of different apartments. We stop at this one apartment that we found interesting because of how they kept the environment and surroundings were clean and it made us very interested in looking at the apartment on the inside. As we pulled up to the apartment office, we saw that the apartment office did not close until 6:00pm we got there around 3:00pm so we had time to look at the apartment. I knocked on the door, but no one came to the door which I thought was very odd. I knocked again still no answer. Finally, as I was walking to the car the apartment manager came to the door and said how can I help you? I told her that my fiance and I were looking for an apartment. She immediately told us that she had no apartments that were empty and that we should try somewhere else where more blacks are living because it mostly whites that stay over here.This was example of mircoinsult because we were being discriminated because of our skin tone.I began to get upset because I couldn't believe that this lady said that. I was thinking how could she just judge us by our skin tone and knew nothing about us. We had nothing else to say and we left and found something even better.

In what context did the microaggression happen? In my opinion, this was a racial microaggression because of our skin tone and the apartment manager didn't want blacks living in the apartments. I say this because she told us to go find somewhere that has a lot of black people.

When I observed the micraggression, I was mad because of the remarks that she gave she was very rude and racial. I was trying to see how could somebody like that be an apartment manager who discriminates against blacks.

The ways in which the observation experience this week affect my perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people is that we shouldn't judge people by there sin tones because when we do it comes off as negativity and makes people very mad about the situation. Discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes will always assist in the world today because everybody is different whether negative or positive.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

The three people that I chose for this assignment: 1. Giliardo Lucas he is actually one of my Hispanic parents. (A different gender) 2. TiTi Gaiusbayode she is a friend of the family. ( A different culture she is African) 3. Patricia Thompson she is my coworker. (A different race)

Mr. Lucas states that culture is different beliefs that separates one group of people from another. He states that diversity is the difference between people. Mrs. Gaiusbayode states that culture is a person's beliefs because of their background in which they grew up in. She states that diversity is different cultures in this society. Mrs. Thompson states that culture is the main heritage of a specific group. She states that diversity is having different races and different cultures in a group.

The aspect of culture and diversity that was included in the answers was that in the video segment Gonzalez-Mena states that culture is “a set of often unconscious rules that govern everything we all do, that we learn early” (Laureate Education, 2011). The answers that the three people stated to me shows that all three had there own definition of culture. There culture is what they have been taught since they were little. For example, culture is beliefs, values that create the attitudes of people. Diversity is the differences of groups. After talking with all three of them, I feel that neither one of them label anything or judge anybody they just gave their opinion of culture and diversity.

Thinking about other people's definition of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics because every one's culture is different and diversity helps me to understand the differences of cultures. I think that both of theses topics are different and people have their own definition of what they mean to them. I enjoy talking about culture and diversity. I guess because I am getting deep in understanding about cultures and how diversity relates as well.

Reference

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Culture and diversity [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

My Family Culture

The three items that I would choose to take with me:

(1)Holy Bible (2)Family Photo Album (3)Family Recipe

I would take my Bible because I am a Christian and this is a part of my culture. The Bible helps me along my way when I am struggling with an issue. The bible is scared to christians, which I consider to be the inspired word of God.

I would take my family photo album because they are very important to me and my best friends.I feel that if I take my family photo album this will put a smile on my face and help me cope with the change of them not being around. We look to photos to help us remember the good times.

I would take a family recipe with me just in case I am allowed to cook a meal I can cook something from my culture that I eat and the people who culture I am visiting or permanently staying with can have an ideal of what my culture eats.

On the other hand, if I could only take one item with me after you told me I could take three would make me very upset. I would choose my family photo album so that I could have some familiar faces to look at daily.

The insights that I gained about myself is that no matter what culture I have to visited or stay with I know that I will survive. I also understand the importance in my life and how valuable it really is. My family culture is very important to me because it is the unique way that a family forms itself in terms of rules, roles, habits, activities, beliefs, and other areas. I think that learning about other cultures would let me know that each individual is unique and different. I would have better knowledge knowing about different cultures and be able to understand the change that will come into affect.

When I Think of Research...

I have gained that research is interesting especially information about early childhood education. It is also beneficial to anyone that needs help getting some good information on a specific topic. The different process of research were shared throughout the text book that was required for this class and by reading the assigned chapters each week helped me gain additional knowledge to use throughout the course.

My idea about the nature of doing research has changed because when I first got into this class I honestly thought it would be very hard and challenging for me. I actually didn't know what to expect, but as the weeks went by I felt better about the class and learned a lot. I thought research would be hard, but taking the time out to really understand it lets me know that research is the key to understanding the background about early childhood education.

I learned that you have to plan carefully and spend time to conduct a research study accurately. The design is very important in early childhood. Once you choose a good study to research planning, designing, and conducting research will be no problem.

The biggest challenge that I encountered was making sure I understood the course readings each week in order to be effective in the discussion, and application weekly. I was glad that I was able to learn something in order to interact with my colleagues each week on the discussion, and blog assignments.

My perceptions of early childhood professionals have a great impact on the field of early childhood education and all of the professionals in this field have a strong background, passionate about young children, and enjoy teaching daily.

I have really enjoyed this class. Dr. Todd thanks for being a great instructor and teaching me the importance of research in early childhood education. I now feel confident as a professional to take this knowledge on to the next class. I would also like to thank my colleagues for their support and feed back on the discussion board, and blog. The information that you guys gave me was indeed helpful and I hope that you guys remain successful through out the remaining classes towards our master's degree. I hope to see you guys in the next class. Good luck!!!

Research Around the World (Australia)

I chose to look at the website Early Childhood Australia. I reviewed the website and found some current research topics. There are many research topics, but I decided to look at " Early Years Connect" which is a new project.It is also a professional development package which has been designed to support early childhood education an care educators working with children with complex additional needs. This includes children with special needs/disability problems (Early Childhood Australia, 2016). The professional development package will consist of online modules, topical webinars, face-to face workshops, information sheets, etc. As a result, of these components it will support educators as well as committee members to plan for and make ongoing educational adjustments to ensure children with disability and complex additional needs can participate in programs (Early Childhood Australia, 2016). They also have more components that support educators as well. As I read about the "Early Years Connect", the most important thing that they will help to do is achieve an important vision to include children with a disability and to achieve high quality outcomes for children (Early Childhood Australia, 2016).

After exploring this website, and looking at the others relates to any early childhood organization that we have studied throughout the master's program.Each organization have different events. For example, conferences, newsletters, resources, etc. I also find additional resources to use that relates to the early childhood field. Parents can also visit this website for additional resources that are available as well. I enjoyed this website and will add this to my resource list to use in the future as I journey through the early childhood field.

Reference

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

I chose option one because I would like to share and article that I read that relates to research that benefits children and families. Early childhood education has many different research that is done which has a great impact on the lives of children and families. "A vast body of research has demonstrated that Early Child Development (ECD) programs benefit children, families, and communities. The reduced dropout and repetition rates, improved school achievements, greater adult productivity, and higher levels of social and emotional functioning encouraged by ECD programs make them a highly cost-effective means of strengthening society as a whole by ensuring that its individual members live up to their full potentials"(worldbank.org).

Evaluations of well-conceived programs designed to foster early development demonstrate that children who participate in these programs tend to be more successful in later school, are more competent socially and emotionally, and show better verbal, intellectual and physical development during early childhood than children who are not enrolled in high quality programs.

With the evaluations of these programs helping young children to be more successful, I wish that all children could go to schools that will help them get a great education because it is important. In my opinion no child should be left out from getting a good education because at the end of the day they need education in order to move through their journey in reaching their highest potential. I work at a high quality center and I make sure that my classroom environment is positive and welcoming to all my students so that they will feel comfortable learning.I love children and want the best for them and will continue teaching them to the best of my ability.

Reference http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTCY/EXTECD/0,,contentMDK:20259127~menuPK:527099~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:344939,00.html

My Personal Research Journey

The topic which I have chosen to research is Diversity in early childhood education. I chose this topic because I want to learn more strategies to use to help with my diverse children and families in the classroom.I also chose this topic because in today's society we are seeing more young children and families that are diverse entering into the schools every school year and early childhood educators have to know how to build relationships with diverse children and families. I see so many children and parents that speak different languages especially Spanish which is the most dominant one I hear a lot.I have found that being able to communicate appropriately and being able to teach diverse children effectively helps them to be able to learn and be successful through out their journey in school. For example, I have two Hispanics in my classroom this year and both of them are speaking primarily English at school and Spanish at home so I am happy that they know both languages.They are both are progressing very well and I know they will do even better in kindergarten next school year.

The process on researching Diversity has been interesting.There are a lot of great resources available that support Diversity in early childhood education. According to Barrera, Corso, and Macpherson understanding how to respond to cultural diversity is one key to successful interaction with young children and their families (Barrera, Corso, and Macpherson, 2003).We are approaching the end of week two in this course and I am getting more knowledgeable about researching resources and expanding on the learning resources weekly. Check out this link that talks about "Supporting cultural and linguistic diversity in early childhood "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWg-ZrV3wPk this is a great video on how teachers around the world are opening up with diverse children in their classrooms.

I am interested in finding out more helpful ways with diverse children and families in early childhood. I ask that if any of my colleagues are able to find additional resources that is related to my topic to please share the information with me. I promise it will be beneficial.

Reference

Barrera, I., Corso, R. M., & Macpherson, D. (2003). Skilled Dialogue: Strategies for Responding to Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood. Brookes Publishing, PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624.

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=548

Final Blog Assignment

For this week's blog although this is my final blog assignment for this class, I have really enjoyed the blog assignments that I had to do for the last eight weeks. I really think that my learning about the international early childhood field has deepen my understanding of issues and trends in early childhood.

The three consequences of learning that were most important are as follows:

1. Building a relationship with other educators and searching the internet is a great tool because it provides us the opportunity to connect with Early childhood educators from other countries around the world. We can build relationships with them through emails, blogs,and websites. Communication is important with other educators because it can increase our knowledge of the issues and trends that are main factors in other countries. I think that it is important that we can give support to each person by communicating with them about ideas, resources, and suggestions about issues that happen with educators around the world.

2.The issue pertaining to childhood poverty which I think no one should have to go through especially young children.I know that there are different assistance programs out there for low-income families to indulge in, but young children are suffering in their learning and not having the ability to learn.They are limited to a high quality education and they miss out on many of their educational opportunities and needs which also affect their outcomes for later development and well-being in life.

3. I need to make sure that I am learning additional information about early childhood and staying on target with current issues and trends around this society.An early childhood professional should have knowledge of what it takes to be effective. I also need to make sure I maintain focus on the well-being of children and their families that we serve daily. I learn something everyday in this field and I know by graduation my knowledge will have increase so that I can share with others how early childhood is a successful career field to pursue. Lastly, I am going to make sure that I advocate more for young children and families of the different changes that may occur in early childhood.

My goal is to maintain all the information that I receive every eight weeks from the different classes so that I am able to move forward with a new class sharing past information that I have learn weekly. I am familiar with current issues and trends from this class and I feel better knowing that I can advocate to change young children and different parents lives.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

After reviewing the "UNESCO'S Early Childhood Care and Education" web page, I have learned additional information on the issues of quality, equity, and access. I explored this website and came across what UNESCO'S advocates for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programmes that attend to health, nutrition, security and learning and which provide for children’s holistic development (UNESCO, 2016). They also wanted to make sure that children reach their potential to the fullest.

Access and equity

In early childhood care and education is to help vulnerable children have equal access. Countries committed themselves to “expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children." I think this is why the government was urge to expand equitable access to quality in favor of the poor (UNESCO, 2016).

Quality

Quality relates to my professional goals because I work at a high-quality childcare center. I am going to continue to work in a high quality childcare because we promote the same thing that it says on the website. It says that high quality childcare promotes motivation, confidence, and good cognitive,linguistic development, and school readiness(UNESCO, 2016). When parents and the community are involved the learning materials ensure and provide early childhood services which remains appropriate to the needs of children and increases sustainability(UNESCO,2016).

Investment and financing

The biggest problem that countries face in their efforts to expand and improve the quality of early childhood care and education is the mobilisation of funds/resources(UNESCO, 2016).Countries have to view early childhood as part of education so that early childhood education can get funding that they need. However, governments must use complementary financing measures to ensure equity of access for poor and disadvantaged children, as a pure market approach to increasing the level of early childhood provision has been shown to favor the privileged, who can afford the service (UNESCO, 2016). I have never explored this website before until now and I learned a lot about this organization in helping young children in early childhood education recieve all the learning skills they need to be successful.

Reference

(http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/)

Sharing Web Resources

Since I already know about UNICEF, I followed one of the outside links that I knew nothing about until this week's blog assignment. I started exploring United Nations Girls Education Initiative(UNGEI). I found several outside links with a lot of different information,but this one stood out the most to me. This website is provided through UNICEF's website. The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) is a partnership of organizations committed to narrowing the gender gap in primary and secondary education. It also seeks to ensure that, by 2015, all children complete primary schooling, with girls and boys having equal access to free, quality education. UNGEI is determined and committed to accelerating action on girls’ education and revitalizing the broad social mobilization and high-level political action that is needed to ensure that every girl, as well as every boy, goes to school. UNGEI focus on girls and boys empowered through quality education to realize their full potential.(http://www.ungei.org/). UNGEI serves as an education for girls. They have different countries such as Africa, Asia, Australia, and Oceania which all claim partnerships for girls education.

All the newsletters that I look at stress the importance of education and a new gender report produceed with UNGEI, was launched to report on global progress in achieving gender equity and equality in education since the year 2000.They also stated in the newsletter that it was time to shift the focus towards gender because girls will be band from benefiting education. This comes from report findings. I feel that we should not want anything to stand in the way of girls and boys getting a great education because they need this to be successful and reach their highest potential. Gender based violence is going on in schools especially with girls not having rights to a safe inclusive quality education.

The information that I found on this website is related to everything that we have talked about up until now. I really like that every website I explore they always talk about quality early childhood programs and a quality education for young children. Gender does affect equity and excellence in early childhood education. Educators should always make sure that young children are provided with a quality education. As teachers we have a lot to be concern about and be dedicated to committing to help young children to the best of our ability. We need to strive to serve children and support them daily because parents are their first teachers,but we fall next in providing a quality learning experience.

References

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

http://www.ungei.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

For this week's blog, I decided to take the alternative route and explore the Harvard University "Global Children's Initiative" website. I gain three ideas/insights about early childhood systems around the globe.I enjoyed reading research from this website. We need to protect children from significant adversity, so that we can provide them with enriched learning opportunities"(Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010). The partner organization that I looked at the most was Brazil. The collaborative Nucleo Ciencia Pela Infancia(NCPI) includes the Center on the Developing Child. This partnership has been highly successful in creating a science driven early childhood movement in Brazil(Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010). As professional educators, we should take the knowledge of what we have learned in the early childhood field and help young children reach their highest potential. I feel that we should be helping every child to the best of our ability. "Reports show that an estimate of 200 million children fail to reach their full developmental potential by age 5. Drawing on our experience in North America, the Center on the Developing Child works globally to build a broader movement to achieve breakthrough outcomes for children around the world" (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010). I feel that this is not good news to know that some children are not doing so great that's why teachers need to come together to make sure we are ready to help young children in any way possible.

Insights from my international contacts about equity and excellence requires a lot of responsibility from resources. I think that schools around the world need qualified teachers so that children can learn professionally to better serve them to offer opportunities. High quality and qualified teachers are better for children so that they can get a high quality education. I think this will help children reach their highest potential. It is with every intent to make sure all children have the opportunity to receive excellence and be taught daily to improve their learning skills.

Reference

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2010). Global children's initiative. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative

Sharing Web Resources

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

I chose to explore NAEYC website. The area which seemed particularly relevant to my current professional development was a section regarding "The Profession" Since I am a Pre-K teacher, I was interest in making an investment in the early childhood education profession a national priority. According to NAEYC, "we know that high-quality educators promote high-quality early learning, NAEYC is committed to achieving a vision in which the early childhood profession exemplifies excellence and is recognized as vital and performing a critical role in society" (NAEYC, n.d.). Although my classroom is NAEYC accredited, I want to continue having a classroom that aims for high excellence. I also look at and agreed with NAEYC vision statement mission statement, and beliefs that every child needs to be able to reach their highest potential. I have been very successful with implementing these skills in the classroom and studying ideas that are on NAEYC website for additional resources.

NAEYC for families was one of the topics found while searching. There were many great points made throughout the article, but the one section that made me think about an issue in a new way was all the ideas to help young children. NAEYC has a lot of information about children and how they are developing appropriately. I think that NAEYC has an affect on high-quality child care for children from birth through age 8. Expanding high-quality Pre-K programs would improve quality and expand the number of eligible children served. Refer back to the "strategic direction" to get more information on NAEYC

Lastly, another insight about issues and trends in the early childhood field that I gained from exploring the website is that NAEYC upholds all their values and beliefs for the sake of young children who are going to quality programs.They also break down core values and beliefs stated from the core value recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society.One of the beliefs is that Equity and Opportunity—We advocate for policies, practices, and systems that promote full and inclusive participation. We confront biases that create barriers and limit the potential of children, families, and early childhood professionals. I am glad that early childhood professionals have all these different websites/organization that promotes a well-being and strong background to help young children achieve their goals and do well in school. References

Lutton, A., & Ahmed, S. (2009). NAEYC revises standards for early childhood professional preparation programs. YC Young Children, 64(6), 88.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children http://www.naeyc.org/

Vartuli, S. (2005). Beliefs: The heart of teaching. YC Young Children, 60(5), 76.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

After numerous emails to contacts across the world, I still have no luck finding someone to connect with to ask questions about issues and trends that they may be experiencing around the world. It looks like I will be taking the alternative route. I was eager to get to know an International person to partner up with,but unfortunately it didn't happen that way.

According to UNICEF, child poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon that can be measure in many ways(UNICEF, 2015). On the other hand,I went to the website UNICEF read about childhood poverty in one country and now I am ready to share three insights/ideas I have gained from studying the website. I chose to look at childhood poverty in Namibia.First,poverty has impacts on the lives, development of young children in Namibia and their health and education. Second, I learned that some children in Namibia grow up in poor households.The poverty line in Namibia is 3,330.48 per year for extreme poverty and 4,535.52 for poverty.There is true evidence that poverty in Namibia is low for a middle income country. Third,another thing I did learn was an analysis was taken of a grant to make sure there is clean water, utilities, and sanitation. The grant system is making a contribution to ensuring that fewer Namibia children grow up in poverty. I think with these changes this could reduce poverty, improve child development, health,and mental well-being in Namibia. They have a report of Namibia household income that provides an overview of the extent child poverty across Namibia. UNICEF has various on-going projects and tools related to child poverty (UNICEF, 2015). I am still hoping to here from someone. I have faith that he or she will contact to me soon.

References

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/index_childpoverty.html

UNICEF, (2015), Child Poverty Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/index_68822.html

Sharing Web Resources

For this week's blog, I will be sharing a resource that I am most familiar with and has stuck with me throughout my teaching in Early Childhood Education. As an Early Childhood professional, I think it is important to keep up with resources about young children and families to refer back to when needed.There are so many wonderful resources out there, but I chose to follow The National Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC).I chose this organization because I am a member and this is such a great organization for young children.In addition to, NAEYC is the best way for me to obtain all of the resources I need to help me reach my highest potential with the children in my class making sure they are taught to the best of their ability. NAEYC implements high-quality learning for all children and I am positive this organization gives you all the resources you will need to connect to a professional network of educators across the country. If you are looking for an Early Childhood organization to join look into The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Issues/Trends

NAEYC has a lot of news articles, but the one that caught my attention was the one that was issued out in December during Education Week that talks about voters support higher pay for Early Educators.Voters think early-childhood educators are paid too little according to voters by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.Voters are also saying that lead teachers should have a bachelor degree in Early Childhood and aides should have a associate degree. I feel this was a great topic because Early Childhood educators deserve more for what they do and feel appreciative for doing this.

Additional Information

Week 2 Topic is Issues and Trends: Changing Demographics and Diversity and the issues and trends that I found in the news room was talking about the same thing that I discuss in my discussion this week that is needing quality teachers and quality programs. NAEYC supports centers by accrediting them and this lets families know that this center is accredited and promotes excellence. NAEYC also supports any Early Childhood center that supports the increase in diversity. NAEYC has a multi site search that you can find all the latest on diversity. I have not received any contact back so I may have to use the alternative assignment. I chose the website "The Global Fund for Children." http://www.globalfundforchildren.org The Global Fund for Children transform the lives of children on the edges of society and help them regain their rights and pursue their dreams.I understood this organization because they just want kids to be kids.

References

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/early_years/2015/12/poll_voters_support_higher_pay_for_early_educators.html?r=401814295

http://www.globalfundforchildren.org

http://www.naeyc.org/

http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

For this weeks's assignment, I was asked to establish contact with two early childhood professionals outside the United States. I was unsuccessful with The Global Alliance of NAEYC my access was denied. I further my search with UNICEF because they have a lot of local representatives who are world wide to choose from.I chose Jamaica because I was suppose to take a cruise last summer,but I didn't go so I thought it would be interesting to find a professional educator who can share with me information to help me understand issues and trends in Jamacia. In addition to, I chose South Africa because I recently saw a video on you tube on how children in Africa attend school. I sent emails to the UNICEF contacts for Jamacia and South Africa introducing myself and explaining my assignment. I hope to hear back from both of them. I hope to get some great information to share with my classmates each week we post to the blog and to help me with any questions or concerns I may have. I dont think I will need to use the alternative assignment.

Lastly, I explored one early childhood organization that I am familiar with while working with young children The National Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC).I work with a Head Start program that has several Head Start centers and all of them are NAEYC accredited. JCCEO is one of the first ten centers of Excellence in nation.I was very excited to see this organization on the list of resources to use and eager to learn additonal information that is presented on the website. NAEYC has a list of position statements and standards on issues related to early childhood education. I intend to share these with classmates through out our weeks in this class.I am also expanding my resources and researching The National Association of Head Start as well since I am a member. I think by exploring these website more with help me in the classroom to have as resources to refer back to.

References

http://www.naeyc.org/http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements

http://www.nhsa.org/

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html