Time Well Spent

Hello Dr. Darragh and Colleagues,

I am excited and honored to have made it this far by completing my master's. It has been a struggle working two jobs , having a baby, and going to school. I thought about giving up and starting back later, but I push through it and finishing up strong. As our journey comes to a close, I am happy because I can say that I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I thank God, my supportive and encouraging husband, mother, sister, family and friends for supporting me and letting me hear those positive words daily. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to communicate with some wonderful classmates through out the program and wish you all nothing, but success.

My learning experiences from this program are:

As professionals, effective communication is the main factor in early childhood that is essential for children and families.

All leaders has his or her own style and the way they want to lead, but however knowing the team, methods to succeed, positive influence, and helping others to achieve is what I would want to stand for as an effective leader.

Our community is better with resources and communicating with other early childhood professionals to create a strong learning environment.

My long term goal is to continue with my education and pursue the next step which is a degree in education specialist, but for now apply for the early childhood specialist position and stay advocating for young children.

To my classmates that I have interacted with over the last two years thanks for your opinions and ideas during the discussion and I wish you guys well. I feel this is an exciting time in our lives and we should be happy.

To all of my professors these past two years, I just would like to say thanks for the feedback on all my assignments because without those my discussion, applications, and blogs would not have improved.

Good Luck to all of you and your professional growth in the early childhood field and feel free to contact me by email to keep in touch. Nice communicating with you all and if I decide to attend graduation I hope to see you guys there.

vonecia.west@yahoo.com

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The Three international organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me are: United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF), Save the Children, and Academy for Educational Development.

The reason I chose UNICEF is because this organization protects and defends the rights of every young child. I also love that this organization because it has spent years working to improve the lives of children and their families. All children have rights to fulfill their highest potential to make the world a better place to live (http://www.unicef.org/). My second chose for an international organization that appealed to me was Save the Children. The reason I chose this organization was because they invest in childhood everyday. They also give children the opportunity to learn and be protected from harm are danger. I feel that every child deserves a healthy start and this organization makes sure that they save children lives and for the well being of their future Retrieved from (http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm). The third international organization that appealed to me was Academy for Educational Development(AED) because they stand for making a positive impact on people's lives to create and implement solutions to critical problems. AED aims to strengthen the environment for a positive development. I love that AED is a nonprofit organization working globally to create solutions to issues in health, education, social and economic development (http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm).

A job opportunity that I found, on an international level that I am interested in is: U.S. Field Base Position working with local and national partners to implement programs in Early Childhood and Education, Literacy, Nutrition, and Exercise.The main function of this job is to implement the development of appropriate strategies to achieve Literacy, Writing, and all other developmentally appropriate subjects in early childhood. Most of the skills and experience that I would need to competently fulfill this role I already have especially knowledge in child development and 8 years of experience in the early childhood field. I am confident that I can carry this job out and obtaining my master's will also prove my knowledge in the early childhood field.

References

Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).(n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

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

For this week's blog assignment,I will select three national/federal organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me and explain why I chose them, job opportunities that are currently available, and skills/experiences needed to fulfilled the roles.

One of the national/federal organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me was Childcare Resources of Alabama. Childcare Resources makes quality child care happen by partnering with families, child care professionals, and the community. The strategic goals of Childcare Resources are: Training Child care professionals, helping families locate child care, providing parent education services, and offering child care financial assistance to low-to- moderate income working families. To learn more about this organization please go to this website ccr-bhm.org.

The second national/federal organization or communities of practice that appealed to me was United Way of Central Alabama, Inc. United Way has a rich history in helping neighborhoods and communities in Central Alabama. Education is one of their main focus and the cornerstone of individual and community success. The strategic goals of United Way include expanding access to high quality Pre-K, providing resources to meet the basics needs of children. United Way also fight for a positive, community impact by improving lives of others through quality education, financial stability, better health, and access t0o services. To learn more about this organization please go to this website uwca.org.

The third national/federal organization or communities of practice that appealed to me was The National Head Start Association. NHSA is a nonprofit organization committed to the belief that every child regardless of circumstances at birth, has the ability to succeed in life. The strategic goals of NHSA is to lead so that every child is served with the Head Start model support for the whole child the family and community. They also will advocate to work diligently for policy and institutional changes that ensure all vulnerable children and families have what they need to succeed. To learn more about this organization please go to this website nhsa.org.

The reason I chose all three of these is because they all provide some type of advocacy for children and families. I feel this interest me because I have a background in Early Childhood and looking at all these different organizations helps me to expand my knowledge in this field.

A job opportunity that is currently available that is of interest to me is an Education Specialist working for the Department of Early Childhood Education. The reason this job interests me is because I still will be working with the Pre-K program I just want be in the classroom, I will be supporting the teachers in anyway possible. I would love to be an education specialist I want to see what other teachers are doing in their classroom and things that we can support them in. As a successful education specialist, I could reach many young children and families by teaching teachers and supporting them on how to provide a high quality educational program.

After completing my master's on April 30, 2017, I will have the education and experience to carry out this job. I hope to get this job. I still want to work with children, but not in the classroom I just want to come in and support the teachers with any issues they may be having. I am confident that I will have everything met in order to pursue this job effectively and successfully. I wanted to let my classmates know that this job is posted on children.alabama. gov under careers.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

As an early childhood educator, I feel as if my first responsibility to my community is to be an educator to young children so that they are able to learn from me and get that Head Start in life. I have to teach young children and help them understand effectively. The first community of practice that appeal to me is Purpose Built Communities Woodlawn United " Changing neighborhoods Changing lives" is a local organization that has practices that appeal to me. I chose this community because its purpose is to grow a safe and healthy community where young children learn and play, family live in quality housing, parents work in stable jobs, business thrives and everyone participates in the greater Birmingham community. As an early childhood educator, I would like to make sure that I stay updated on different state, communities and other organization that will help young children. I am confident that I can teach young children and their families about taking care of their community and being part of a positive environment. purposebuiltcommunities.org

In addition to, local community of practice that appeal to me is the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama supports home away from home for families and their children who are receiving medical treatment at local hospitals. They provide a support network that can focus on their children's healing. I like this organization because it is a way to advocate for children and families. I also think this organization is good because families find comfort, care and support without leaving their child's side. www.rmhca.org

The third local organization of practice that appealed to me was TEACH Early Childhood Program. The TEACH Program is a scholarship program that is developed to increase the level of education and effectiveness of early learning professionals. I chose this program because this is important for future educators who might want to pursue a teaching career. I feel this program is much needed. This program also helps with books, tuition, travel stipend etc. I feel this is a great program for future teachers. smart start Alabama.org

A job opportunity that is currently available that is of interest to me is an Education Specialist working for the Department of Early Childhood. The reason this job interests me is because I still will be working with the Pre-K program I just want be in the classroom, I will be supporting the teachers in anyway possible. I would love to be an education specialist I want to see what other teachers are doing in their classroom and things that we can support them in. As a successful education specialist, I could reach many young children and families by teaching teachers and supporting them on how to provide a high quality educational program.

After completing my master's on April 30, 2017, I will have the education and experience to carry out this job. I hope to get this job with the Lord will. I still want to work with children, but not in the classroom I just want to come in and support the teachers with any issues they may be having. I am confident that I will have everything met in order to pursue this job effectively and successfully.