Time Well Spent!!!

When I think back twenty months ago to when I began this program, the words used to describe how I was feeling were nervous, anxious, overwhelmed, and what did I get myself into..................

............however, I every time I started a new course, met a new professor and new colleagues it made me feel less anxious and less overwhelmed. Now after completing this program the words used to describe how I am feeling are; proud, excited, empowered, and SMARTER!! J

When I think about this journey I can’t stop myself from getting emotional. I have grown so much in both my personal and professional life. This program has enabled me to meet so many wonderful, supportive, and knowledgeable individuals who are dedicated and passionate about the field of early childhood. 

What have I learned?

When I stop for a moment and think about what I have learned from this program, I don’t even know where to begin. The learning began the moment I started! One thing that has been reinforced within me is that until we begin to understand ourselves we cannot truly understand others. I will definitely that away with me. I have also learned the importance of always following your passion as this is the fuel needed to keep moving forward. Setting goals for myself is another piece that I learned throughout this journey. Having goals are the driving force that will help to keep me on task and stay focused with regards to my vision.

One goal for myself is to never stop learning. I have found that this program has provided with me with a wealth of knowledge that has helped me to become a more effective educator. I hope to keep on this path of continued knowledge and learning!

 As this journey comes to an end and we continue to move forward with our families and our professional lives, I wish you all continued success with whatever comes your way. We all came together for different reasons, yet we are moving forward knowing that we are on the road to continue to do great and wonderful things. I would like to take a moment to thank all of you for sharing your thoughts, knowledge, and experiences. It is wonderful to know that there are incredible people like you who have this passion for this field. The children and families that you work with are very lucky to have you in their lives. Thank you for your encouragement, feedback, and support….I could not have done this without all of you!

Dr. Darragh, thank you for your constant support, encouragement, and feedback. Your ability to keep me focused, organized, and on task was the key to my success. Your weekly words of encouragement helped to keep me motivated and encouraged me to challenge my thoughts and ideas. It is professors like you that have helped to make my journey at Walden so successful. You truly care about our success and I feel honored to have been one of your students!!J

Take care,

Stephanie

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

This week I had the opportunity to explore the international community of early childhood to inspire my thinking about places I might like to work and about roles I would like to take on anywhere in the world.  I explored Free the Children, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI).

I chose Free the Children as this organization is an international charity and educational partner working both domestically and internationally to empower and enable youth to be agents of change. This organization educates, engages, and empowers youth in North America, the UK and around the world with the tools, knowledge, confidence, and support network to be ambassadors for change and lead meaningful action (Free the Children, 2015). This organization also works to remove barriers to education and to empower communities to break the cycle of poverty.

I have actually had the opportunity to hear Craig Kielburger who is the co-founder of Free the Children speak and he is so inspiring! I love everything that this organization does on an international level. Both of my children were actually involved in “We Day” which is part of Free the Children.

They have many career opportunities within this organization and they have listed 10 reasons to join their team! Here is a quote from their career homepage:

“At Free the Children, we’re a family of shameless idealists and social entrepreneurs committed to shifting global thinking from “me” to “we” – and shaping a world where everything is possible. We work hard. We play hard. And we make a difference. Every. Single. Day.”(Free the Children, 2015).

Who would NOT want to work for an organization like that?? Right now they have 25 career opportunities ranging from Coordinator of volunteers to Manager of Public relations. The skills needed to work in an organization such as this would be to be passionate, committed to making a difference.

The second international organization that I chose is the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

 as this organization believes that all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world (UNICEF, n.d.). They focus on child protection and social inclusion, education, child survival, and emergencies and humanitarian action.

On the UNICEF employment site it states:

“We’re passionate about our cause and committed to our mission: to promote the equal rights of children, and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities. That’s our vision. And it’s the world we’d like to build with you.” (UNICEF, n.d.).

There are career opportunities within UNICEF and it states on their website that if you are committed, creative, passionate about making a lasting difference for children, and are comfortable working in a challenging environment, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you (UNICEF, n.d.). Right now UNICEF is hiring educational professionals. If you are an experienced international educational development professional and have a passion for making a lasting difference for women, children, and adolescents than you have the skills needed (UNICEF, n.d.). Working as an educational professional would be very rewarding as you know that you are making a difference in the lives of others.

The third international organization that I chose is the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) as their mission is to promote and support the optimal education, development, and well-being of children worldwide (ACEI, 2011). Their vision is that every child in every nation will have access to quality education. This education will prepare children to become responsible and engaged citizens, ready for life in a changing world (ACEI, 2011).

This organization has a board of directors, headquarters staff, and an international advisory group. The headquarters staff includes positions such as; Administration, Editorial, Membership and Marketing, advocacy, public Affairs and Outreach, Communications, and Development.

ACEI also has internships that are available in the summer months where interns are given the opportunity to gain work experience consisting primarily of online research that will contribute to the development of briefing papers and other resources (ACEI, 2011). They are looking for interns who are enrolled in a graduate degree program that focuses on global education, such as basic education or early childhood development (ACEI, 2011). They also prefer if interns have some international experience working or living outside the U.S.

Here are the links to each organization I chose in case you would like to visit them yourself to gain more information.

Free the Children

http://www.freethechildren.com/

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

http://www.unicef.org/

Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI)

https://www.acei.org/

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

This week I had the opportunity to explore varying early childhood national organizations and federal agencies to inspire my thinking about places I might like to work and about roles I would like to take on. I explored the Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF), The Canadian Association for Young Children (CAYC), and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). 

I chose the Canadian Child Care Federation as this is an organization that is committed to best practice in early childhood education. They value children and they are committed to providing Canadians with the very best in early learning and care knowledge and best practices (CCCF, 2012). They are also committed to the importance of quality early learning and child care, quality delivery of early learning, and the importance of competent, well-trained teachers who deliver early learning and child care with passion and pride (CCCF, 2102). 

They have a board of directors and staff which includes the President and CEO, Publication and Marketing Manager, and a Senior Consultant. It would be so interesting to sit on the board of this organization as it involves such valuable work. It would be so interesting and rewarding to be part of a working community at a provincial and national level that works towards a better system of Early Learning and Child Care. The skills needed to be part of the board or be employed as President, a consultant, or manager would be to have strong leadership skills, organizational and communication skills, and have a strong commitment to your work. 

The second organization that I chose is the, "Canadian Association for Young Children" as this organization provides a voice on critical issues related to the quality of life of all young children and families. Members of this organization includes parents, teachers, caregivers, administrators, students, and all those wishing to share ideas and participate in activities related to the education and welfare of young children (CAYC, 2014). 

What is interesting is that one aspect of this organization is that they put on various events that link with varying challenges and issues within the field of early childhood. It would be a great experience to have the opportunity to be involved in the process of organizing events/conferences related to this field. I am assuming that you would need to have skills such as; strong organizational skills, ability to work under pressure, possess good communication skills, and have strong work ethics. I would be very interested in working in such an organization where I would be able to organize events/conferences that discuss challenges and issues within our field. 

The last organization that I chose that appealed to me is the, "National Association for the Education of Young Children" as this organization is the largest organization working on behalf of young children. NAEYC is a professional membership organization that works to promote high quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research (NAEYC, n.d.)

NAEYC has an accreditation training center and that would be a great experience to be involved in the accreditation process. Knowing that I could be part of building stronger teams of teachers, improving standards of programs, and providing families with a sense that their child is in a quality program would be extremely rewarding. The skills needed for this position would be to have a strong understanding of the regulations of the field, have effective communication skills, ability to work as a team, and dedication. 

Here are the links to these organizations if wanted to explore them further:

The Canadian Child Care Federation

http://www.cccf-fcsge.ca/

The Canadian Association for Young Children

http://www.cayc.ca/content/about-cayc

The National Association for the Education of Young Children

http://www.naeyc.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Level

This week I had the opportunity to explore varying early childhood organizations and agencies to inspire my thinking about places I might like to work and about roles I would like to take on. I explored the College of Early Childhood Educators, the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario, and Andrew Fleck Child Care Services.

I chose the College of Early Childhood Educators as this organization helps to govern Ontario’s early childhood educators in the public interest. It helps to serve and protect children and families by setting requirements and ethical and professional standards for registered early childhood educators, and governing member conduct through a complaints and discipline process. This organization also explains what early childhood educators do and why it is important to regulate our profession (CECE, 2015). 

There are currently no employment opportunities with the College of Early Childhood Educators, although they do have a complaints and discipline department, professional practice department, communications department, and registration and member services department. The skills needed to work in any one of these departments would be to be knowledgeable regarding the Code of Ethics and Standard of Practice. It would also be helpful to be knowledgeable regarding the field of early childhood and be familiar with the current issues and trends that impact this field (CECE, 2015).  

The second organization that I chose is the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario as this organization advocates for this profession and supports quality early learning and care as an integral part of a child’s healthy development. The AECEO promotes and supports research and advancement in the field of early childhood education and care and makes it known to parents and the general public the value and importance of early childhood education and early childhood educators (AECEO, 2015).  

I did not see a web page with career opportunities on the AECEO website; however it would be interesting to become a board member of the AECEO.  This organization is member driven with elected voluntary Branch Executives. It is the role of the Provincial Office Staff to implement, support and maintain the services, policies, and directives as dictated by the Board and fundamentally by its members, within the scope of the Association’s mission and mandate (AECEO, 2015).

The last agency that I chose that appealed to me is Andrew Fleck Child Care Services (AFCCS) as this agency is one of the oldest and most diversified non-profit, charitable, multi-service early learning, child care and family support organizations in Ontario (AFCCS, 2015). This agency has always taken a leadership role in the child care community and in early childhood education. They advocate for high quality, affordable, accessible, accountable and inclusive child care that promotes the optimum physical, emotional, social, cognitive and intellectual development of the child (AFCCS, 2015).

This agency has career opportunities in Early Learning Programs, Children’s Integration Support Services, Home Child Care, and Early Years Centers.  It states on their website that when they hire people, they carefully look at what they offer, and where they can contribute best within the child care services they offer (AFCCS, 2015).

Here are the links to each organization I chose in case you would like to visit them yourself: 

The College of Early Childhood Educators

https://www.college-ece.ca/en/Pages/Home.aspx

Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario

http://www.aeceo.ca/

Andrew Fleck Child Care Services

http://afchildcare.on.ca/en/

Reflecting on Learning

As an early childhood professional I have many hopes for the children and families that I work with. My hope is for children to grow up in world where they don’t have to hide their identity. My want is for children to be proud of who they are, where they come from, and what they will become. How can this be accomplished when we live in a world where people are treated badly because of their differences (Laureate Education Inc., 2011)?

My continued hope is that there will be a time when our differences are celebrated and no one is treated badly because of their diversity.  We need to start teaching children at a young age to embrace diversity and challenge the misconceptions that surround them. My hope is for educators to get comfortable talking about how we are similar and different and create a caring environment where children feel safe asking questions so misunderstandings can be kept to a minimum. My hope is to use my new found knowledge as a tool to make a difference in the lives of our children and their families so they have the chance and opportunity to live their lives to the fullest without being treated unfairly.

It is that time once again to take a moment and thank everyone for all of your support, knowledge, and experiences that you have shared for the past eight weeks. I have learned so much from all of you. I feel lucky to be surrounded by so many caring, loving, and dedicated educators who only want the best for children and their families. Having the opportunity to read your Blogs and Discussion Board assignments have made me realize how lucky the children and families you work with are!!  Dr. Kien, I want to thank you for all of your support and encouragement that you have provided for us over the past eight weeks. The feedback that you provided me each week as helped me grow both professionally and personally and helped to challenge my thoughts. I am truly grateful for that!

Well……as we move on towards our final class, I just want to wish all of you the best and my hope is for all of you to have continued success! WE ARE ALMOST THERE!!!!

Take care,

Stephanie J

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc., (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Your commitment to anti-bias work. Baltimore, MD:Author

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

This week we were asked to visit the UNICEF website and choose one of the eight regions of the world to investigate. I chose Latin America and the Caribbean because many people view this area of the world as a vacation destination and may not realize the challenges that children face who live in this region. 

One of the biggest challenges that children face in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean is  poverty.

Here are some facts provided from the website regarding poverty:
In Latin America, the poorest 20% receive less than 10% of total income, while the richest 20% receive roughly between 50 and 60%.
* 37% of the rural population of Latin America is indigent, compared to 13% of the urban population.
* The incidence of extreme poverty affects more children than any other population group. Approximately 30% of children under 12 living in extreme poverty, compared with 14% of those over 20 years.
* Indigenous and African descent are the poorest, have the worst socioeconomic indicators and their access to knowledge and political participation is lower.
* Although the region produces enough food to meet the nutritional needs of three times the current population, 8.8 million suffer from chronic malnutrition (UNICEF, 2015).

Education is another challenge that children in this region face.

     Children in this region who have disabilities and those from poor households in rural areas have lower rates of access, enrollment, and completion of school. When we look at the differences among the gender of children, boys tend to get lower results in the Caribbean, while in some countries in the region, indigenous girls face greater obstacles to achieving good results in education. The level of education that children are receiving is not meeting expectations. The increase of poverty, unemployment, natural disasters, and violence continue to bring challenges and threaten the progrss that is being made; therefore, limiting the growth opportunities in education (UNICEF ,2015). 

     Child mortality is another challenge that children face. According to the website, the inequities in income and ethnicity have a marked impact on infant mortality. Child mortality is consistently higher in the lower income groups and affects large-scale rural people.

     According to the website, In Latin America and the Caribbean, chronic malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are the nutritional problems affecting mostly children under 3 years and pregnant women. It is now recognized that the period between pregnancy and 2 years of age is crucial for optimal growth and development. Among the many causes influencing the low nutrition of stage are;

* low breastfeeding exclusively until the first 6 months of life;

* inadequate or delayed introduction of complementary foods with poor nutritional quality of food;

* high prevalence of diarrhea, respiratory infections, and other diseases (UNICEF, 2015).

     When I take the time to take a closer look at websites such as UNICEF it reinforces within me the impact that poverty has on children’s growth, development, learning, and opportunities. We strive for ALL children to develop to their fullest and it saddens me how children all over the world do not have the same opportunities, access to food, clean water, and education. It is hopeful to know that there are organizations such as UNICEF who wants all children to have a good start in life.

     According to the website, UNICEF's vision is to contribute to a good start in life, help children to obtain the necessary learning abilities and ensure that no discrimination of gender, ability, ethnicity and class. It also promotes the participation of adolescents, families, communities and schools for better culturally appropriate, inclusive and healthy upbringing (UNICEF, 2015).

Reference

Website

UNICEF

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

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

“Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular culture."

                                                                                        (Levin & Kilbourn, 2009, p. 2)                                                                           

When working with children we want them to believe in and respect themselves as well as valuing and liking who they are. With that said how do we try and reinforce this when we are faced with the sexualization of childhood?

When I think about the topic of the sexualization of early childhood, I think about loss of innocence and the loss of the inner beauty that make us special. The media uses violent content and sexual imagery to sells products to both boys and girls (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010). Children should be exposed to developmentally appropriate experiences, not inappropriate messages that are represented by the media. According to Diane Levin (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010), she explained that we are surrounded by a highly sexualized environment that is marked by gender stereotyping of both girls and boys in the media.

The music children listen, sing and dance to, the clothes that some children wear, and the obsession with make-up and nail polish are some of the examples from my personal and professional experience that further illustrate the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment. I just took my daughter shopping for shorts……could they be any shorter?? Thank goodness for Old Navy…the only store we found that had more than short shorts!!Whatever happened to the toys that I used to play with when I was a child? Have any of you seen how "Strawberry Shortcake” has been transformed? Why the need to sexualize Strawberry Shortcake?  She was fine the way she was!!!

My daughter is 11 and I am at times stunned by the “hidden” messages that she sees on television about how she needs to dress or to look in order to be a girl. I think it was about a year ago, I was brushing her hair while she was standing in front of the mirror and she asked me, “Mommy, am I pretty?” I looked at her and I said, “Yes. You are beautiful because you are kind, generous, loving, funny, and caring.”  She looked at me through the mirror and smiled back at me. My daughter is also beautiful, but I wanted to take that moment and make it a teachable moment, so she understood that beauty is also what is inside us not primarily about our appearance.

There are so many implications that sexualization has on children’s healthy development. Diane Levin (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010) explained that children’s ideas about what it means to be a boy or girl and sexuality is greatly influenced by what surrounds them. “Children begin to learn narrow definitions of gender and sexuality that focus primarily on appearance (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p. 96).The article, "So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids" explained that, "the socialization of childhood is having a profoundly disturbing impact on children's understanding of gender, sexuality, and relationships" (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009, p. 3). The sexualization of childhood can teach children that sex is the defining activity in relationships, to the exclusion of love and friendship (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).

Diane Levin (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010) identified how we can respond to these concerns and reduce the negative impact on children. She explained that we need to protect children from popular culture’s sexual attack, help children to look beyond the stereotypes they see around them, be a role model, stop blaming children for the sexualized behavior they have learned from the sexualized environment, talk to children and answer their questions (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010).

This topic of sexualization of childhood has reinforced within me the power that the media has over children and the messages they give to children about gender. As educators we need to help children develop to their fullest as a boys and girls so they can understand what makes healthy relationships when they are older (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010).

References 

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children ad ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Levin, D.E., & Kilbouren, J. (2009). [Introducation]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf