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.

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

 When considering a career in a national or federal early childhood program a few organizations stood out to me during my research. Zero to Three, Parents as Teachers, and the National Head Start Association all have components to their work that involve working with and educating parents in early childhood development and education. My new found passion within the field is educating parents about how children grow and learn and how they can support their children. Parent's are their child's first and most important teacher and I believe that it is necessary to provide and encourage parents to learn some of the foundational early childhood theories and practices.


Here are links to each organizations website.

Zero to Three
Parents as Teachers
National Head Start Association

My ideal position within any of these organizations would entail daily work with parents and families. I would like to be in a teaching role to parents, providing them with a high quality education in early childhood. This would include parenting roles such as building healthy relationships with their child, and fostering a safe environment that  nourishes development of the whole child. I would be interested in teaching in a more traditional setting with just the adults, a child centered setting with multiple parents and their children, and in a home based setting working one on one. I am especially interested in working with young and adolescent parents. I was only able to find one available job posting among the three organizations that most closely resembles a position that interests me. The posting below includes the experience and skills necessary to meet the job requirements. The posting comes from the Teachers as Parents organization.

Parent Educator, Right from the Start Project

Summary: The parent educator is responsible for delivering all components of the Parents as Teachers model with fidelity to families in St. Louis City, North County and Pemiscot County. This is a five-year federal grant to improve parenting skills, including teaching teen mothers and fathers about the developmental needs of infants and young children, how to relate to each other and create healthy relationships. The parent educator will report to the national Parents as Teachers office staff.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Use the Parents as Teachers Foundational Curriculum and resources to plan and deliver home visiting services to qualifying teen parents, conduct bi-weekly or monthly personal visits with each enrolled family, complete developmental/health/vision/hearing screenings and family-centered assessments, and document all activities and pertinent information.
• Plan and provide monthly parent group connections focusing on a minimum of one of the following areas of emphasis: parent-child interaction, development-centered parenting or family well-being (heavy emphasis on services to adolescent fathers). Document group connection activities and outcomes on appropriate forms.
• Develop and maintain a current community resource network system to link families to identified supports and services as needed.
• Meet regularly with the Parents as Teachers national office and district personnel to ensure appropriate delivery of service and that activities are meeting stated goals.
• The parent educator must complete the Parents as Teachers Foundational and Model Implementation Trainings before delivering PAT services if not currently trained.

Education and/or Experience:

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or related field.
• 5 years + experience in early childhood education, social work, home visiting and/or working with at-risk children and families.
• Experience as a Parents as Teachers parent educator is a preference.
• Experience working with adolescent parents is a plus

Other Abilities:

• Strong communication, interpersonal, group facilitation, organizational and problem solving skills.
• Knowledge of the challenges engaging and serving families in urban and rural communities.
• Commitment to building personal and organizational sensitivity towards a diverse cultural, socio-economic and lifestyle backgrounds.
• Ability to establish rapport with families and empower them by building on their strengths
• Strong organizational and record keeping skills
• Ability to work independently and be self-motivated (often in the field)
• Proficiency in various software programs related to job requirements, including Microsoft Office Suite, web browsing, internet, word-processing and e-mail communication.

Application Information: Interested candidates should submit a letter of interest and resume along with salary requirements to: jobs@ParentsAsTeachers.org

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Communities of practice that interest me :
              Locally: 
                  The FACE Center (Family and Community Engagement) of the Alexandria City Public Schools 
                  The Child and Family Network Centers
              Nationally: 
                  National Black Child Development Institute

These CoPs interest me because they all strive to improve the lives of young children by educating adults and children and seek to make quality child care programs accessible to our most at-risk children and families.

The job opportunities that interest me are ones that involve adult education. I am interested more the more traditional classroom setting with adults who currently have children in their care such as parents, grandparents and early child care professionals. I am most interested in educating adults about how children develop and provide them with practical and effective strategies that are applicable in their daily lives. This is different from a degree seeking program that is more focused on teacher preparation. 

The skills I would need to fill this role is an education in the ECE field as well as years of experience working with children and families. I would also need have a working understanding and appreciation for cultural diversity and interpersonal skills to develop trust with the adults who I would instruct. I also beleive it is important to have a teaching background to support instruction formatting, class management, curriculum planning, and organizational skills.  

Early Childhood Wordle

The words below encompass some of my goals, beliefs and passions in the early childhood field.