Time Well Spent- A Farewell to Walden University

What have I learned from my journey to a Master's Degree through Walden University?

1.  I discovered that my extreme ability to be organized and a  multitasking professional has aided me in this amazing voyage.  Throughout this program, I have been a mother of two, devoted wife, and a daughter to disabled parents.  I have also been blessed to have had a promotion within my career from a classroom teacher to a center director and early childhood instructor at my local community college where I am able to use my passion for teaching adults in an amazing venue of academic learning.  I get to do what I love everyday, and my education has afforded me endless opportunities for professional growth.  Personally, I was able to prove to myself that amazingly large goals I set forth on myself can be attainable one piece at a time.  I am the first in my family with a Bachelor's degree, and now a Master's degree.  I have been able to demonstrate to my own children the importance of education and the power it can hold in your life.

2. Another deeply felt learning form this program is the necessity to utilize resources to accomplish a goal.  I am a very private, stubborn person.  I do not like to ask for help or place a burden on anyone for my benefit.  Throughout Walden, I have learned to utilize my colleagues as a source of knowledge, strength and guidance.  I have been involved in professional learning communities through both Walden and in my community, and have realized that reaching out to others is not a burden, but a way of uniting knowledge and passion to make a difference.

3.  Perhaps the most amazing thing I have gained from this program is finding my passion and commitment to the field.  Going into the early childhood field began as a necessity of a job almost 10 years ago.  I was a floater in a private child care center supporting over ten classrooms with breaks and as a substitute teacher when needed.  My interested was peaked and I began exploring working towards an Associate degree in Early Childhood Education.  This progression of education led to my obtaining a Bachelor's degree in the field and and becoming a noted early childhood educator in my community, landing a job at our local community college NAEYC accredited child development lab preschool and conducting workshops and trainings for the community where I found my passion as an adult educator.  I was now vested in the field, but wanted to go further to make a bigger difference.  When Walden entered my life, my commitment grew and now sky's the limit on what I can accomplish, on how I can make a difference in lives of young children, and how I can make a differnce to other young professionals.  

A link to my center's website:
http://www.johnstoncc.edu/childdevelopmentcenter.aspx 

 

When I consider my long term goals, they include becoming a very public and effective advocate for our field working with NAEYC to make a difference with other educators, politicians, lawmakers, stakeholders, and families. 

As this journey closes, I must thank all my instructors for their guidance, pushing, and support.  They have all modeled the type of adult educator I am striving to be.  To my colleagues, our friendships (both professional and personal) will last a lifetime, we are all forever changed, and I am better for it!  I have learned how to ask for help and that I can also be an amazing vehicle for encouragement to others.  My heart smiles as this academic journey comes to a close, and I know that my next journey of making positive social changes is just beginning!

Blog Assignment: Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

• At least three international organizations or communities of practice that appealed to you and why you chose them
  
• Job opportunities (currently available or not) that interest you
  
• What skills and experience you would need to competently fulfill each of these roles

http://www.fhi360.org/en/WorkingWithUs/InternshipOpportunities.htm

I chose the FHI 360 organization to explore an Internship Opportunity.  This organization is committed to the professional development of students and recent graduates working in sectors related to reproductive health and family planning.  As a student myself, I would jump at the opportunity to intern at an international organization such as this.  I am a firm believe that we are all life-long learners.  This type of internship would provide the opportunity to gain invaluable experience in the sector of reproductive health and family planning, a topic that precursors child development.  An internship would provide the opportunity to develop skills necessary for future career goals as well as networking with professionals around the world.  FHI 360’s Internship Program mission and vision are as follow: Mission: FHI 360 is committed to developing young professionals that are interested in working with a non-profit organization. Vision:  Be the employer of choice for recent graduates by building relationships and maintaining a strong presence on college campuses.

http://www.issa.nl/program_teacher_ed.html

International Step by Step Association

ISSA promotes open society values in education and society, equal access to quality education for all children, strong family involvement, and community participation to help every child reach his or her full potential. A belief that I share with this association includes, building on the principle that parents are the primary educators of children and we strive for active parent participation and community involvement in the education process. It is crucial to develop a lifelong love of learning.  The core principles include equal access to educational and care opportunities for all children regardless of gender, race, religion, nationality, or ability, child centered, individualized teaching methods, culturally appropriate learning environments, and parent and community engagement in public education. I also agree with this association’s values such as; caring, commitment, connections, community and communication.  It is critical to promote openness and transparency while being fair, having respectfulness and kindness in all activities and communications, and to promote the highest levels of professionalism.

Job opportunities include becoming a demonstration classroom in this international organization, which is right up my alley.  I currently work in a demonstration preschool for my community and one of my personal goals is to make sure our program is culturally relevant and include parent’s as the child’s first teacher.  

http://www.icfi.com/markets/education/campaigns/international-early-childhood-education


ICF (inner City Fund) International is a for profit organization that partners with government and commercial clients to deliver professional services and technology solutions in the energy, environment, and infrastructure; health, social programs, and consumer/financial; and public safety and defense markets.  ICF International’s Early Education Services (EES) was launched in India in 2007 to tackle some of the major challenges facing early childhood education in India, including a lack of:

• Updated national early childhood education standards
• A national licensing and accreditation system
• Child care resource and referral system
• Professional development system

In addition, there is an urgent need for culturally relevant research, data collection tools, and child assessments in India.  This would be a career path that would excite and impassion me while having financial reward.  Most organizations and employment opportunities I have research would be non-profit internships abroad.  This position would provide early childhood education training and technical assistance, conducts research and evaluation, and support corporate child care in India by guiding clients through projects and planning processes that are grounded in research. This collaboration with government, non-government, academic, corporate, international, and multilateral organizations will  help early education programs achieve the highest-possible quality, performance, and maximum impact.

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

• At least three national/federal organizations or communities of practice that appealed to you and why you chose them
• Job opportunities (currently available or not) that interest you
• Skills and experience you would need to competently fulfill each of these roles

 
http://www.acei.org/ 

Association for Childhood education International

Their mission is to promote and support in the global community the optimal education, development, and well-being of children from birth through early adolescence with a focus on influencing the professional growth of educators.  Their vision includes the belief that every child in every nation will have access to a quality education. In this vision, education will prepare children to become responsible and engaged citizens worldwide.

I found qualifications for candidates for executive board which include: an individual who demonstrate a clear commitment to furthering the education and well-being of children worldwide and are dedicated to promoting excellence in nonprofit governance and applicants must demonstrate a commitment to ACEI’s mission and vision, demonstrate a sincere commitment to the education of children, possess broad knowledge of the field of childhood education with an understanding of global movements that impact the lives of children, represent diverse global geographic locations, represent populations that reflect ACEI’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, possess strong leadership skills, demonstrate a strong desire to promote excellence in nonprofit governance, represent a spectrum of professionals invested in children’s education and well-being, and who represent the business, financial, or legal professions, or associated professions. 

In self-evaluation of where I am personally and professionally, I would love to be involved in this organization, but I do not possess qualities of being a world traveler or much experience in public policy or economics/business side.

http://www.cec.sped.org/am/template.cfm?section=Home 

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

The CEC is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the educational success of individuals with disabilities. CEC advocates for appropriate governmental policies, sets professional standards, provides professional development, advocates for individuals with exceptionalities, and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.

I would love to be involved in this organization, but I do not have an exceptional needs education background or much experience working with exceptional needs children/families/educators.  It would be amazing to be involved with working on journals and newsletters with information on new research findings, classroom practices that work, federal legislation, and policies.  I especially love that the targeted audience is for teachers, students, parents, paraprofessionals, related support service providers.

The job position that is currently open is for an Executive Assistant, Governance Classification: Category 6E (Exempt).  This professional will be involved in evaluation of written application materials, relevant education, experience, and references.  This would be a challenging position to hold, one that I would need much guidance, mentoring and support.  I am not experienced enough in the field for this job (yet).

http://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/index_40753.html

UNICEF- Early Childhood-Advocacy and Partnership for Early Childhood Development

UNICEF is a strong believer in partnership and collaborative action and works with a wide range of stakeholders from governments, national and international non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies, community and local organizations and individual families.  Their partnerships in early childhood development promote wider investment in young children, the scaling up of critical programs and the broader fulfillment of children’s rights. I am especially interested in their disaster early childhood development kit that was created to strengthen the responses for young children caught in conflict or emergencies.  They employment opportunities include senior staff vacancies, short term opportunities, junior professional officers, internships and volunteering.  I think I would be best suited for volunteering at this point in my profession; however, international travel would be difficult on a long-term basis because of my family.  I have a passion for volunteering locally, but I do need to branch out to help the world community and contribute globally. 

Blog Assignment: Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

• At least three local or state organizations or communities of practice that appealed to you, and explain why you chose them
• Job opportunities (currently available or not) that interest you
• Skills and experience that you would need to competently fulfill each of these roles

NAEYC (National Association for the education of Young Children) or NC-aeyc (our North Carolina Chapter) I am currently serving as a annual state conference volunteer for our local affiliate here in North Carolina-our annual conference in this weekend.  I am striving to be more involved in NC-aeyc through opportunities of serving on the board, contributing to the set-up of our districts/county’s chapter and through other volunteering services throughout the year.  I need to become more public in serving on committees and having my name known in the community as a collaborative professional colleague.  

http://www.ncaeyc.org/ 

Another agency I work closely with is our local Partnership for Children (R & R) agency for the county in which I work.  I serve on several committees/ professional learning communities and I have provided workshops/ trainings for the community through this agency.  I would love to be more involved in the amazing work they do.  I recently applied for a position with this organization for an inclusion specialist; I obviously need more experience in early intervention. In October I will attend an state-wide early intervention conference.  This will enable me to begin delving into this world in more depth and to network with other colleagues already in this side of Early Childhood education.  

http://www.pfcjc.org/ 

The third organization in which I am interested in becoming more involved is CSEFEL (The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning).  This is an amazing learning collaborative effort that is jointly funded by the Child Care Bureau and the Head Start Bureau to provide knowledge and research surrounding children (ages birth-5) and their social/emotional growth and development.  I do not see employment opportunities in this community of practice, but I do see potential for collaboration and professional growth.  

 http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/about.html

EDUC 9660

WALDEN UNIVERSITY CAPSTONE

As the journey nears the end...

WALDEN UNIVERSITY EDUC 6990 Capstone

The journey comes to an end...

I look forward to blogging with my classmates this course.  Happy blogging!

Week 6 Blog Assignment

This week you read about the five stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Consider the adjourning phase for several of the groups in which you have been involved. 

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? Groups with the clearest established norms? Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why? What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master’s degree in this program? Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

This a very thought provoking assignment.  Personally I feel that a high-performing group is the hardest to leave.  I feel that they inspire me to be more productive and I want to maintain that feeling and contribution level as long as possible.  Closing rituals are so important for the members of a team/group.  Closure in general is vital to healthy experiences.  Most often, I experience roundtable questions/comment sessions that allow everyone to verbally close the interaction and leave with a sense of contribution of their thoughts/opinions/beliefs.  I like when the group decides to continue their work independently via internet/phone/study groups/etc.  However, those "extended" interactions from the original group work tend to fizzle out quickly without face-to-face time and strong leadership.  Ending a collaborative team experience is always difficult whether or not the goal was accomplished.  Adjourning from a group with whom you have connections to sad in ways but essential to move on.  Strong connections that were made sometimes stick after the separation, its up to all party members to maintain it.