Time Well Spent, a Farewell

I have learned a lot from my time, classmates, professors, and readings at Walden. However, a few stand out to me the most. The first enduring understanding is that bias exist all around us and that we all have bias known and unknown in carious areas of our lives. The important thing is to be aware that it exists, that its existence does not denote a "bad" person but that it identifies a place for growth in an individual. In addition to this I know understand that many of the skills I have developed over the years in teaching children applies to adults as well with one caveat, adults bring a greater catalog of experiences with them and they must be considered and incorporated in a different way than those of children. Finally, I recognize that regardless of where I find myself within the field I will always be surrounded by talented, dedicated and passionate professionals who I can look to for guidance, support, and advice. My long term goal is to educate parents and inspire and empower them to make developmentally appropriate choices for their children.
 
Over my two years I have met wonderful professionals as classmates, professors who have given spot on support and critiques to challenge me to become the strongest professional I can. Thank you to everyone for their time and attention. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. I know you will make a difference in the lives of young children.

 
 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The International Step by Step Association (ISSA) is an international organization that appeals to me because it's mission aligns with my own, most notably its mission to "ensure greater inclusion of family and community participation in children's development and learning" -ISSA. 
I was unable to find posting of current or possible job opportunities, however upon researching the organization I was able to narrow down which part of the organization I would be most interested in working for. ISSA has three pillars that the organization is built upon. I am intrigued by the third pillar which is to "empower parents and communities to participate in and support children's well being, development and learning". More specifically I am interested in working with the group that specializes in strengthening the members capacity to deliver family and community empowerment programs  serving young children and their families.

http://www.issa.nl/ 





Association for Childhood Education International is the second international organization that I am interested in work for. What peeked my interest most about this organization is that it is an international network of educators and education advocates working together to improve the education of children worldwide. I love this idea because so often the complaint in the filed is that those who make the most important decisions regarding education are the most removed from the current trends and challenges. Once again I was unable to locate current job positions however I am interested in working on the " Love Me, Teach Me" campaign. This campaign is design on two of the four cornerstones that guide the work of the organization, Love Me and Teach Me. Love centers on a "child's right to security,stability and protection". Teach me is based on a "child's right to education".

http://acei.org/






OMEP is a part of the World Organization for Early Childhood Education. I chose this organization because is has groups that are focused on the research of early childhood education and other groups  that focus on outreach and the actual education fo children and families. By having both of these groups within one organization I believe it will help each be connected with the trends and challenges of the other to ensure that there are very few gaps in understanding between the two fields. Just as was the case for the two previous organizations I could not locate any specific jobs the organization has. I do know that I am more interested in the education and outreach sector of the organization.

http://www.omep-usa.org/

 For any position within these organizations I will need skills that would make me a global advocate. This would mean that I need to be open to learning, exploring, and accepting various ideas,practices, and beliefs about children and education. I need to be culturally sensitive understanding and embodying the belief that my culture is one perspective and that there are infinite perspectives as it relates to work in the field. I would also need to be willing to travel internationally and be able to handle doing this work away from the comforts of home physically and culturally. Finally, I believe strengths in communication are an asset in this type of job. It is challenging to communicate and work with people form various cultures in a way the honors and respects different beliefs while not dismissing the importance of your own perspective.