Last Blog - Time Well Spent

Well it has been a long 19 months, but I must say I am fulfilled!!!  I didn't think I would make it.  But I did, and I thank you all for taking this journey with me.  I thank each and every Instructor and colleague that I've had the privilege to get to know. If it wasn't for the Jan's, Deborah's, Britanie's, Kali's, Sauda's, Susan's, Carole's, Kathleen's,  Kristina's, Johan's, Tanisha's, Toni's, Joy's Tashana's Agneatha's, Erica's Jamies, Chantrells', Anna's, Christina's and Candace's, in this course I'm not sure I would have stayed in the right state of mind to continue on in this course.

         

The three deepest learning experiences that I got from this course were #1 perseverance - no matter what grade I received I just could not give up, #2 correct APA style - I was unaware of different "heading types", and #3 intentional vs unintentional consequences - every actions has a reaction...some we do for a particular result and others we just don't see coming.  #3 was the biggest learning experience for me and I hold that one dearly.

One long-term goal, I have for myself is to keep my blog active and watch my progress.  To see if I have grown as much as I wanted or if i'd be stuck in the same place I am now.  Also, it will help me remain in contact with those that I've have gotten to know in this process.

Again, I want to thank ALL of you for being my rock.  Alot of you may not know it, but it was simple words of encouragement that helped me through many of nights :-)  and I appreciate it deeply.

Thank you again, and may you all continue to be blessed in your future endeavors. 

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

The 3 international organizations  that appealed to me most and why I chose them are:


1)  UNICEF - United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
I chose this organization because it has been around for well over sixty years and has helped children prolong their lives, all over the world by letting them have access to basic life needs.

UNICEF has two job openings available that are of interest to me that are both located in New York.  The first is a Field Support Specialist who's purpose is to provide functional and technical guidance and on-going support to the Business end of UNICEF and Functional leads in the respective Divisions in the areas of learning and development.  To fulfill this role I would need a few things such as being fluid in English, being able to speak publicly, and have an advance degree in Human Resources, all of which I have.  What I don't have is the 5 years of experience at a national or international level.

The second job that interests me is being an Administrative Management Specialist which is also located in New York.  In a nut shell, this job's function deals with the financial part of UNICEF and is required to implement and oversee UNICEF's Asset Management policy and make sure they're in compliance with International Public Sector Accounting (IPSAS) Standards for PP&E. To obtain this degree a person needs an advanced degree in Business, knowledge of Asset Management, and five years of experience....I have two of the three....lol

2)  OECD - Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
 I chose this organization because although it's been around for over forty years it wasn't until this week that I became acquainted with it.  this organization is similar to UNICEF because it works with governments and people around  the world to share a common goal of helping.  But it's different because this organization doesn't just focus on children but on all people around the world. However,  I didn't see any job positions that were of interest to me.


3) ISSA - International Step by Step Association
I chose this organization because it connects professionals and organizations working in the early childhood education field. And this is the field of my interest.  "ISSA promotes equal access to quality education and care for all children, especially in the early years of their lives. Established in the Netherlands in 1999, ISSA’s network today stretches across the globe from Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia, Asia, and the Americas. While ISSA offers general membership and information-sharing to all interested individuals and organizations, ISSA’s core members are the 29 nongovernmental organizations, located primarily in Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia, that implement the Step by Step Program initiated by the Open Society Institute (OSI) in 1994. Within its network, ISSA supports a wide array of programs that collectively provide a comprehensive set of educational services and advocacy tools intended to influence policy reform for families and children, with a special focus on the years from birth through primary school". - www.issa.nl
As far as job opportunities go with this organization.  You have to first become a member with the organization in order to get connected.


Reference:


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

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

The organizations that I looked into for this blog assignment are: The National Association for the Education of Young Children, The Division for Early Childhood, and  National Center for 
Infants, Toddlers, and Families.


The National Association for the Education of Young Children or naeyc, appealed to me because it is not just the nation's largest organization working on the behalf of young children from birth to age 8, but it is the WORLD's largest organization with nearly 80,000 members.  I seen a job opportunity that interested me very much that I plan on applying to.  It is for A Program Administration at a Christian day care in Marietta Georgia.  Experience needed is Spiritual maturity, and Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or enrollment in an equivalent degree-seeking program which I have.  So PRAY I GET THE JOB! 
http://www.naeyc.org/ 

The Division for Early Childhood or DEC, appealed to me because it is one of seventeen divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). It is also THE largest international professional organization working with children from birth to the age of 8, who is dedicated to improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities, and/or the gifted. Unfortunately I didn't see any career opportunities that peeked my eye.

http://www.dec-sped.org/ 

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families interests me because it is the website I refer to most when looking for information about infants and toddlers.  It is a national organization that supports, informs and trains parents, professionals, policy makers about how to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.  It's a wonderful site, full of helpful information.  I don't believe you can get a job there but you are able to gain a membership. 

http://www.zerotothree.org/ 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

This week we had to explore local and state early childhood organizations, agencies, and communities of practice to help us imagine a variety of jobs that foster the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field as a whole.


The three state organizations that appeal to me most are: 


1) Healthy Child Care (PA) - http://www.ecels-healthychildcarepa.org/
2) The Pennsylvania Council For Exceptional Children - http://www.pacec-sped.org/
3) The Pennsylvania Early Learning Keys to Quality - http://www.pakeys.org




I Chose these three organizations because they each address EC education and provide different resources for parents and educators. I also admire how child care providers are able to access training opportunities through the sites and one of them even offers a disabilities bibliography list of children's books.


Some of the Job opportunities that are possible with help of these sites are: 
School Age Care,  Early Head Start, Head Start Early Intervention, Work in the Public School Districts, Work in Private Academic schools, Mentors, Trainers, Consultants...etc. 

What I ABSOLUTELY LOVE about the PAKEYS site, is that it provides a Career Latice that tells you exactly what skills you need to achieve the goals you want.  For example, where I stand currently with an unrelated Bachelors Degree and at least 30 ECE credits allows me to be an assistant group teacher or assistant group supervisor here in Pennsylvania.  But when I achieve my Master's in ECE I'd be able to be achieve my goal of being a Teacher or Director or even a Group Supervisor in EC education. 

Reflecting on Learning >>>>>>

My most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families with whom I  will work, is to be as open minded and sensible as I can.  I hope that when parents meet me they'll know that this is a woman they can trust and will have their children's best interest in mind.  My most passionate hope is to revered by the families and be an influence to other teachers around me.  I hope to bring about change not only in the lives of the children I will teach and mentor, but in the lives of every person I meet!!!!

Also I just want to thank all of my colleagues in which I've had the pleasure to work with this semester: Kristina, Maria, Erica, Darlene, Shayla, Ellen, Molly, Tanya, Brenda, and Jennifer.  The 10 of you have made this learning experience so much easier.  I've enjoyed reading your posts and getting to know y'all.  Looking forward to seeing you next term!