Time Well Spent...

I cannot believe that we are in the final week of this program...we made it! This capstone course has truly solidified my passion for the field of ECE, as well as my personal and career goals. Three main takeaways have resonated with me throughout this course:

1. Early childhood education is so multi-faceted. There are several aspects of this field, all of which sort of present their own issues. Thus, as we approach learning for children, each issue must be catered to from an individualized standpoint. 
2. Teachers. Deserve. More! Through my capstone project, I notarized my understanding that teacher compensation is a huge issue within the field. So much so that it causes other major issues such as teacher retention and lapsed student achievement. 
3. We have more work to do than I thought. Early childhood education is my only career choice, and I now realize that it is up to me and the rest of my colleagues to continue to advocate for the field that we love.

One long term goal that I have is to open my own center someday. This way, I can continue to advocate for the field, all while implementing new ideas that I come across that will hopefully improve the field as a whole. 

To my instructor: Thank you, professor, for deepening my passion for my current efforts and to reach my career goals. You've pushed me to think beyond the magnitude of a problem and find a segmented way of solving it one step at a time. I have enjoyed my time in this course and I will definitely continue my efforts to improve teacher compensation throughout the field.

To my peers: I wish you all the greatest luck in your future endeavors! Please continue to remember we all have been blessed with an opportunity to be a blessing to others...and this degree will solidify that. I appreciate all of your wonderful feedback and encouragement throughout this course. I appreciate you all! CONGRATULATIONS!

International Communities of Practice

UNICEF:
UNICEF currently works in 190 countries to fight for the rights of young children, and assist them to reach their full potential. This organization interests me due to the fact that they cater to children and adolescents, beginning in early childhood. This demonstrates to me that UNICEF honors the importance of early childhood and assisting with the needs of young children to provide them with better opportunities for the future.

Adolescent Development Officer:
Responsible for the development of program initiatives for social change
Masters Degree in a related field, minimum 2 years related job experience

This position interests me due to the development of program attribute. I currently work as a program administrator for my current center, so this position directly aligns with my experience and expertise.

Save the Children:
Save the Children provides resources and support for children in crisis. I chose this organization due to its critical nature and support for children experiencing hardship.

Site Coordinator:
The Site Coordinator oversees all afterschool programs, including homework help and enrichment activities.
2-3 Years related experience

This position interests me due to my experience as an afterschool activity leader. I also am very familiar with the importance of afterschool programs and the positive effects they have on children and families.


UNESCO:
The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) seeks to build a bridge of peace through education, science, and culture. I found this organization interesting because it not only strives for peace, but also quality education for young children.

National/Federal Communities of Practice

Government Services Administration
The GSA assists federal workers in obtaining workplace childcare facilities. I chose this community of practice due to my support of quality childcare options working-class families. Too often the working class is forgotten in terms of affordable and accessible childcare options for their children.
https://www.gsa.gov/resources-for/citizens-consumers/child-care/child-care-services

FEMA
FEMA provides child care assistance to families that have experienced disaster-related financial burden. I chose this community of practice due to the increasing amount of natural disasters affecting families all over the nation.
https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/133703

Department of Family and Children Services
DFCS is an essential community of practice that protects the health and safety of all children. The well-being of children is always at the forefront of my work within this field, hence why I chose this community of practice.
https://dfcs.georgia.gov/private-agencies

DFCS Field Program Specialist
This sole responsibility of the person in this position is to monitor the health and well-being of children and families within a specific region. In order to obtain this position, I would need a related  Masters degree and two years of supervisory experience.

Communities of Practice

The following are communities of practice that I currently am apart of and that share a common passion for children and early childhood education:

NAEYC: The overall goal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children is to promote quality learning experiences for children ages birth through eight. I chose NAEYC specifically because of their push for quality within the early childhood setting. For me, quality is the basis of every contribution I make to this field. Therefore, it was a no-brainer to choose NAEYC as a contender for a community of practice that I am drawn towards.

GAEYC: GAEYC is the Georgia Association for the Education of Young Children. It mimics NAEYC in the same regards to assuring quality within early childhood programs. This community of practice is a little more intimate, and focuses distinctly on the needs of children and families in the state of Georgia.

Bright from the Start: This entity is an extension of the Georgia Department of Education. Bright from the Start is the licensing agency for every childcare entity in Georgia. I chose this community of practice because it clearly communicates the expectations for keeping children safe and healthy while in our care.

Job Opportunities:

Field Director- A field director travels to centers in need of a director, whether they may be out on leave or the center may not have one in place yet. This position interests me because it would present me with the opportunity to travel the country, experience new things, and share my experiences/knowledge with childcare centers in various locations. I would need to further develop my knowledge of fiscal management and critical policies/procedures for each center and state.

Regional Manager- The regional manager oversees several centers at once, and works remotely to resolve issues, improve client relations, and ensure quality. In order to be successful in this role, I would need to improve my communication skills and interactions with clients.

Team Development

One of my favorite places I've ever worked was an elementary school where I taught pre-k. Of course we had our ups and downs, but for the most part our team felt like a family...so much so that we still have strong relationships to this day. It was hard to leave this team because of the "family" feel. We all had each other's backs, supported one another (both professionally and personally), and laughed like no other. When I left this position there were a lot of tears and reminiscing, and soon after I left many people from the school moved on as well due to a change in leadership. A closing ritual we implemented was getting together for dinner to reflect on the good times, which served as a confirmation that we would all keep in touch. We turned this into a tradition, and at the end of each school year we still get together for dinner to catch up.

From this program, I would like it if all of us could adjourn by congratulating each other for completing the program and posting a photo of our degrees to some sort of photo thread. This would allow me to see that all of the colleagues I've met along the way completed this journey with me and that we were all successful.

Adjournment is so important because it gives everyone a sense of completion and accomplishment. Even though adjournment is celebrating the ending of something that was once good, it still serves as  time to reflect and celebrate accomplishments.

NVC & The Three R's

I recently had a conflict with one of my teachers regarding non-submission of lesson plans. This is a repeat offender whom always has issues with submitting things on time and fulfilling classroom responsibilities. She also has a tendency to be combative when addressed with feedback. While having the conversation (or any conversation with her) based on our history, I tend to enter the conversation already agitated and visibly frustrated. Through what I have learned, what I give people is what I will reciprocate...which is one element of the three R's. In order to have mutual respect between the two of us, I must also learn to listen for understanding, rather than just listening as a requirement or just to respond.

I asked one of my fellow EC's for advice on communicating with staff, and she explained that I should commit to going into conversations/feedback with a mindset of understanding rather than walking in with a plan as to how the conversation should go. When you go into a conversation with pre-conceived ideas and actions, you tend to not listen as effectively as you should.

Who Am I as a Communicator?

This week, I chose to have one of the teachers on my staff and my oldest sister to evaluate me through the assessments. My teacher's results were almost the same as my own, the only difference was she did not sense any of my communication anxiety. My sister, however, scored me higher on my verbal aggressiveness in the sense that she feels I get aggressive in conversation when I don't agree with someone. I have heard throughout life that we tend to give people different versions of ourselves, and that is what I believe these assessments mostly revealed.