Time Well Spent

“The better you know yourself, the better you can understand your own responses to the children and families you work with” (Derman-Sparks, 2010 p.13)

The quote above is something that will stay with me as I continue in the field of education. I have learned so much about myself throughout my coursework at Walden.  

Three deeply felt learning from this program

•  Learning about the community that you serve is an effective way to provide instruction for your students. The more you know about the families you work with, the more you can understand your students. 

•  Respecting the cultural differences of  others even when you might not agree with their beliefs is something that may occur as we do the work as educators. 

•  Developing a community of people that you can go to for advice, to talk, to vent, to laugh, to cry, or to celebrate is important.

Long term goal...

I feel that I am now ready to enter the field of early childhood education. When I started the program I had expressed my desire to become an early childhood educator. While completing the program at Walden, I was able to pass the Early Childhood Praxis exam and became a certified early childhood educator. I know the coursework at Walden prepared me for this test. As a result of what I've learned, my long-term goal is to work in the field of early childhood for at least five years and then try to become an early childhood supervisor within my school system.

Farewell and Good Luck

I would like to thank Dr. Dartt for challenging me throughout my coursework at Walden. Your feedback made me think about things in a different way and challenged me to find more information about the topics we discussed. I had the pleasure of having you for three courses and I've learned a lot.

To my colleagues, I don't know about you but I wasn't initially sold on the on-line classroom concept because I had never done it before. In the first couple of weeks I didn't really think I would like the form of communication in the discussion board but I can honestly say that I have learned so much from all of you. I hope that we can keep in touch. I have made some friendships that I know I will keep. I know that there are people that I can email or reach out to if I get stuck, have questions, need to vent, or celebrate.

Thesha's Information:

Work email: tlewis3@bcps.org
Home email: thesha817@yahoo.com

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The three international website that I found interesting were:

UNICEF- http://www.unicef.org/

Unicef is an organization that does work around the globe. It was interesting to read about the projects that are taking place around the world.

Save The Childrenhttp://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

International Step By Step Association- http://www.issa.nl/index.html

These three organizations appealed to me because of the work that they do around the world. I like the various causes that they support. They meet educational, health, and humanitarian needs all across the world.

At this time I am not interested in pursuing career opportunities on the international level. I did check the websites that were interesting to me and was able to find job information on the UNICEF site.

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_qualifications.html

In order to work for UNICEF I would have to have the following qualifications:

International professionals are normally required to have an advanced university degree in a field relevant to the work of UNICEF. In some cases, extensive qualifying work experience may be considered instead. Please be sure to check the academic requirements of the vacancy announcement you are interested in.

Language
Proficiency in English and in another Official UN working language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is required. Knowledge of the local language of the country where the position is located in is an asset.

Competencies
All staff must share our organization’s values of diversity and inclusion, integrity and commitment and meet our core employment competencies of communication, working with people and drive for results. These competencies are behaviours that are used to achieve desired results for UNICEF.
In addition, functional Competencies apply to some, but not all UNICEF staff, depending on functional areas and different levels of seniority within these areas. For details on UNICEF Competency Definitions, please click here: [PDF]

Mobility
All UNICEF staff must be prepared to work in any region or country and to undertake extensive in-country travel. A large part of a typical career is spent in developing countries.

Reference

Website: 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

Maryland State Department of Education

http://marylandpublicschools.org/

 Job Opportunity
 Job Opportunity

After going on the Maryland State Dept. of Education website I looked for job opportunities in the area of early childhood education. There was a supervisor position that I was interested in but after reading the description, I would have to have administrative experience. I do have credits in administration but no experience as an administrator. In the past I thought about going into administration and supervision but I no longer has and interest in that area of education.

South Bay Mental Health

 https://southbaymentalhealthcareers.silkroad.com/

 Job Opportunity

After using google to search for jobs I was able to find a position in the Massachusetts area as an early childhood educator. At this time I have not ruled out leaving the school system to try to pursue my dream of becoming an early childhood educator. This position is a teaching position versus the administrative position that I listed previously. Some of the job qualifications are:

• Evaluations and assessments,
• Curriculum development and group work,
• Development of individualized service plans and multidevelopmental services
• Service coordination
• Parent support and education.
• Weekly team meeting and supervision
• Attending monthly in-service trainings
• Maintaining competency in the field via continued education

When I read the job qualifications it sounds very similar to the job I current have as a special educator. I do think this is a job I would be able to apply for. 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Baltimore County Infants and Toddlers Program

http://www.bcps.org/offices/infants_toddlers/

Mission
Baltimore County Infants and Toddlers Program’s mission is to support families within their communities as they facilitate their children’s learning and development.

Service providers, interagency and community partners collectively demonstrate their commitment to this mission by the following actions:

• Developing partnerships with families using flexible and collaborative interventions to facilitate children’s successes in their homes and communities;
• Developing partnerships with community organizations and professionals to provide access to comprehensive community based experiences for families; and
• Actively seeking to learn from families, community organizations, and other resources to enhance program excellence.

Who is eligible for services?

Any infant or toddler, birth to age three, residing in Baltimore County who experiences a developmental delay of 25%; experiences atypical development; or has a diagnosed physical or mental disability that puts the child at risk for developmental delay is eligible for services.

Who may refer a child?

Anyone may refer a child to the Single Point of Entry. Most children are referred by their families, but many referrals are received from pediatricians, child care providers and others. Services are voluntary for families.

·         What is the cost for services?
There are no costs for families for Baltimore County Infant and Toddlers Program services.

Head Start of Maryland

http://ymaryland.org/preschool-headstart/head-start

Objective

The main objective is to prepare young, economically disadvantaged children for success in school and life. We provide comprehensive early intervention to low-income children and their families and help support parents as the first and primary educator of their children.

Throughout Baltimore County, we provide a traditional Head Start program for preschool children ages 3 – 5 and an Early Head Start program for infants and toddlers, age 6 months – 3 years. Our goal is to ensure that every child is school-ready. In fact, Baltimore County Head Start children tested 41 – 69% higher in school readiness than other low income children across the state. We work hand-in-hand with low income families and local communities to strengthen the family unit through comprehensive services that include:

• early intervention
• education
• parent involvement & family focus
• community partnerships
• health & nutrition
• disabilities (Ten percent of our funded enrollment includes children with disabilities.)
• transportation

Divison of Early Childhood of Maryland

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/child_care/

I chose these 3 agencies because as I transition into the early childhood field there is a possibility that I may try to seem employment with the Head Start program. I see that you have to have an AA degree in order to be a teacher in that program. With my experience as a special educator and having a Masters degree, I think I meet the qualifications for the program. The Infants and Toddlers of Baltimore County is also another program that over the years I have contemplated working for. I have attended meeting as a special educator for youngsters who live in my area and have had to represent my school. The Infants and Toddlers program has assisted families with helping students who may have developmental delays or need assistance with learning in their childcare setting. These early interventions have positively impacted many students before beginning their elementary experience. After picking my niece up from her home daycare setting on Friday, I thought about the idea of opening up an in home child care setting. I looked at the way the home was decorated and thought about some of the things that we have discussed in our coursework. The Division of Early Childhood is a website that I could use to get more information about obtaining a license for an in-home childcare center.  

References

http://www.bcps.org/offices/infants_toddlers/

http://ymaryland.org/preschool-headstart/head-start

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/child_care/

 

 

Reflecting On Learning

Of all the courses that's we've taken, Strategies for Working With Diverse Children has been one of my favorite classes. I have learned so much from the readings, my classmates, and learned some things about myself as an anti-bias educator. I have truly enjoyed working with my classmates. I know that I will keep in touch with some of you in the future. I want to say thank you and wish everyone the best of luck as we get ready to complete the program.

 It is my hope that I can take what I've learned to help children in their families better understand culture differences and the importance of accepting one another. Being an anti-bias educator is a big responsibility and it's one that I have accepted and I'm ready for the challenge. For those of you who may want to keep in touch my email information is listed below. God bless you all in your future

endeavors.

Thesha :-) 

work email: tlewis3@bcps.org

home email: thesha817@yahoo.com 

 

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world that I chose to learn more about is East Asia and Pacific. Some of the challenges that children are facing in that region are: physical abuse, child mortality (drowning), and child trafficking, and natural disasters. I think all of the challenges listed could have an impact on a child’s emotional well being and development because all of these could cause a lack of development based on emotional trauma. 

The one challenge that I wanted to learn more about is what has been put in place for children that were victims of Typhoon Haiyan. I found that child friendly zones have been created for the young victims during the clean-up efforts. The child friendly zones help the children to take their minds of the tragedy that took place. The Unicef organization realizes that the well-being of children after a tragedy is important. For that reason areas have been established for children to begin the process of mourning and getting on with their lives. Another reason these tents have been set-up is to stop the risk of children in this region from being victims of human trafficking. 

I can't imagine what it must be like to for these children. When children experience episodes of trauma it can affect their educational development and their emotional development. Reading about the areas that have been set up for children did make me feel a little better but my heart aches for the children who have lost loved ones. 

References

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

http://www.unicef.org/eapro/media_21844.html