Farewell

Farewell

This program has taught me so much. I have learned so much  from the discussion and posts that I will be able to share with my fellow co-workers. I feel that I will be able to share the knowledge learned to be an efficient leader.  My capstone project taught me that I can make a different in my community.  I have always had a dream to be an advocate for children and families because of how I was raised. My Community of Practice allowed me to learn and share with others. This degree will allow me to share my wealth of knowledge with other educators and professionals in the field. I have learned what type of leader I am and what type of leadership skills that I have. Based on what I have learned I feel that I am a leader and I think that the skills, trends and insights learned will help me to be the best leader I can be.

 

One of my long term goals is to become the Education Specialist in the local head start center where I currently volunteer and have been volunteering my time for the past five years. I have the drive, passion and perseverance to be the best in what I do.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone for the feedback, insights  and the great learning experiences that has been bestowed upon me. I wish nothing but the best for everyone on their  future journey.

 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Association for Childhood Education International
 

ACEI delivers its mission based on a forum of four core beliefs.

Uniqueness

Universality

Quality

Equality

The website is http://www.acei.org/

International Early Childhood Education

ICF International partners with its clients to conceive and implement solutions and services that protect and improve the quality of life. We pride ourselves in providing lasting solutions to society's most challenging management, technology, and policy issues.

The website is www.icfi.com

UNICEF

UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.

www.unicef.org
 

Job Positions Available

 

Early Childhood Development Specialist, Nairobi, Kenya (UNICEF) Supporting the planning, development and implementation of Early Childhood Development Programs in ESARO. In order to meet the demands of this job, I believe that I will have enough experience, skills and trends working as an advocate for children.

The organizations that I chose will benefit my mission as an early childhood educator.

National organizations and Job Opportunity.

I feel that as an educator you must be connected to national organization as well as local organization. The following organizations are dear to my heart and the volunteer work I do with children and their families.

NAEYC

The National Association for the education of Young Children is a pprofessional organization which promotes excellence in early childhood education. The organization provides Information for educators and parents.

www.naeyc.org

UNICEF

UNICEF is a strong believer in partnership and collaborative action.  It is only through successful partnerships that young children can be reached with services and support. UNICWF is global organization that focuses on the work and services to help all children.

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

NHSA

www.nhsa.org

The National Head Start Association offer training for both parents and staff. I have attended several training and conferences for parents and volunteers.

Job Opportunities offered

Online Early Childhood Education Recruiter- I feel that the skills that I have learned from this program will allow me opportunity to be a great recruiter. I have good communication, leadership and I am passionate about the field. 

Exploring local and State Agencies

I have worked in head start and volunteered over 20 years of services to children and families in my community from a varied cultures and diversities. I have been an advocate for families in helping close the achievement gap for all children.  But over the past year or so I have been delighted to be a part of organizations such as the following.

Mississippi Head Start Association (MSHA)
Mississippi Advocate for Public Education (MAE).
Educational Leadership Team

All of these organizations play a role in providing a quality education for all children in my community by helping close the achievement gap that our community has. As a parent and educator parents is considered the most important catalyst in their child’s education. I feel that each organization has a goal of finding new trends, strategies and goals for all learners and their and their parents.

The recent job opportunity that is of interest me at this time County and City School Readiness Coordinator. This leader is a person who responsibilities include alignment of standards for all the areas school to include both county and city. I think that this degree program and the knowledge that I have acquired from prior courses has taught me the necessary strategies, insight and knowledge that is need to be the leader that I need to be.

 

"See You Later"

I would like to say Thank You to all of my colleagues for supporting me through their discussions and feedback on my discussion. I enjoyed reading all blogs. This course has taught me a great deal in communication with others, I will take back the information and use it on my job and in my personal life. I think all teachers need a refresher course in communication in the early childhood field. Thank you again and I look forward to working with everyone, but if I do not take the next course with you, I wish you the best of luck on this journey and I wish everyone the best in life.

Closing Rituals

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave?

 

I have worked in groups that are high performing groups in my  church ministry group. I have worked close in which we acted as close as family. When you work together in a good way, it hard to depart from a group where you have formed a bond. The hardest group for me to leave was the job of president of the activities committee of my church ministry group.

What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced?

Closing Ritual consists of sometimes parties or goodbye ceremonies, ,programs and dinner.

 

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?

 

I have learned that working in an online degree group, you form a closeness with the people in your group, because I can’t wait to get to see what my group has responded to me and others. Sometime you share several classes with the same colleagues. At the end of a course, I always tell the entire group goodbye and hope to work with them in other courses. I always say thanks you for providing me with professional and personal insight that I can share with others.

Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

My dad always told me never leave someone or something without say your goodbyes.. I would not want to start of project and did not finish it, therefore the same is for talks in group or meeting, they must be closed or adjourned. Adjourning help the team or group the opportunity to say goodbye, good job, and even see you later. I have learned that adjourning means the start of something new and better.

 

Conflict Resolution

I was glad that I have learned some important tools that have helped me to communicate with others. This Thanksgiving, I had to use some of the resources this week to help me with communication issues with family member. I had to tell my family that they have to listen to each other and not interrupt the other while they are talking. There are a few communication/listening skills that I consider essential in our communications with our families . The first on is to be quick to listen and slow to speck. Sometimes we are so set in our ways; we don’t want to listen to what anyone else’s says around us.

One of the greatest communication/listening skills that I consider essential in work that fosters the well-being of young children and working your  family is understanding. Understanding is a listening skill that allows us to interpret and make sense of the messages that we receive (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012). I think that all people want to be not just heard but they want to feel like someone is truly listening and understands how they feel or what they might be going through. When we are truly being active listeners we will try and understand another person’s point of view, perspectives, and ideas (Nadig, 2010).  The resources has taught me so much about communciation with others.

References

Nadig, L. A. (2010). Tips on effective listening. Retrieved from http://www.drnadig.com/listening.htm

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.