Time Well Spent

Here we are at the end of our journey!  We have spent a large amount of time over the past two years with each other in classes.  We created a community of support, encouragement, compassion, and understanding that inspired each of us to blossom and flourish.  We began our journey identifying our passion.  We ended the journey by developing a Capstone Project that transformed our passion into action.   

I learned so much on this journey!  The most important lesson is to recognize our communities of practice in everyday life and to utilize them as we did in class and for our projects.  We depended on each other for support and guidance; we learned from each other, we asked questions, we sought expert advice from Dr. Teri when necessary.  I learned that teamwork and collaboration are important ingredients for a functional community of practice.

Second, I learned the importance of self-reflection as well as viewing life from different lenses.  Knowing ourselves, what we’re made of, who we are, and where we’re going are paramount to our success.  Realizing our path looks different from the perspective of the children, families, and communities with whom we work is the beginning of developing wisdom.

The third lesson that will continue to help me along my path of ensuring all children are nurtured and have access to developmentally appropriate opportunities is the importance of research.  The wealth of information available about the multitude of programs for children is overwhelming.  The amount of programs that offer assistance to help teach, train, and community organize is astounding.  Additionally, problems children face and barriers that must be overcome to help all children develop to their fullest is just as staggering.  I discovered this information and so much more through research. 

I have two goals in completing this master’s program.  One is to teach in a community college to inspire students to reach a higher level of commitment and advocacy.  The second is to teach a parenting class which corresponds with my capstone project.  Always, my goal is to be a lifelong learner.

Thank you to all my colleagues in this class and previous classes.  Thank you to Dr. Teri and to all the professors that have been committed to ensuring our success!  Our journey together has changed my life.  It is clear to me that we have all been called upon to transform our passion into action by becoming leaders in the early childhood field.  Ending this journey reminds me of the challenge presented by Mahatma Gandhi, “You are the hope of the future. You will be called upon, when you are discharged from your colleges and schools, to enter upon public life to lead……” (Gandhi, n.d.).   

Reference

Gandhi, M. (n.d.). The selected works of Gandhi, Vol. 6, The Voice of Truth. Retrieved from http://www.mkgandhi.org/edugandhi/students.htm

Jobs Roles in the ECE Community:  Internationally

         This week I explored the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) website.  I chose this website because the association is concerned with quality care for children and advocates for equal access to education for all children (International Step By Step Association, n.d.).  The approach ISSA implements for early childhood development are based on allowing children to make choices with an emphasis on peer interaction.  ISSA reaches out to those for which quality childcare is not available.  A very attractive service offered by ISSA is to train adults in parenting skills, which coincides with my Capstone Project (International Step By Step Association, n.d.).  ISSO has many resources available to members; however I was not able to locate employment availability.

         Next I explored the Save the Children website.  I was encouraged to learn the tremendous work this organization performs globally.  Save the Children helps communities to reorganize and rebuild after tragedy strikes.  This organization also concentrates on providing assistance to women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the early years of their babies’ lives (Save the Children, 2013).  The organization seeks health care workers on a global basis to assist in decreasing the number of deaths in children less than five years of age (Save the Children, 2013).  There are many opportunities for careers with Save the Children. I research a job opening in Washington D.C.: Information and Documentation Specialist, Education and Child Development, which is part of the International Program.  This job entails global marketing for early childhood programs as well as coordination and distribution of information.  Qualifications include the ability to write and edit as well as layout and publication (Save the Children, 2013). My educational and work experience meets the job requirements, but I have no experience publishing.  The website also highlighted 43 other job openings, six of which were related to child development and literacy.  The job I found most appealing because of the job responsibilities is Early Childhood Coordinator for the Early Steps to School Success Program located in West Virginia. This program utilizes home visiting to address developmental activities, health issues, and parenting skills from birth to age five to ensure a smooth transition when children enter school (Save the Children, 2013).  I am qualifies for this position, especially based on my educational background and social work experience that involved home visiting as well as working with a variety of government agencies.  The successful applicant must live in the community which would entail relocating.

         I also explored the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) website because my communication partner from a previous class shared with me the many contributions UNICEF made to his county of Benin, Africa, such as installing indoor plumbing (Claudio, 2011). UNICEF, a global organization, works for the betterment of children and carries out the philosophy of helping all children develop to their fullest capability.  A main goal of UNICEF is to improve the living condition and lives of those living in poverty (United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), n.d.).  The website featured a temporary appointment for an Education Specialist (Emergencies) in Bamako, Mali.  Qualifications include knowledge of and experience in complex emergencies.  I do not have that knowledge or experience.  Although I retrieved this information from the website on February 15, 2013 I do not know how current it is since the dead line to apply expired. 

         Reflecting on the various websites and job openings I explored, the most appealing job is the Early Childhood Coordinator position offered by Save the Children.  I am regretful that a move to West Virginia would take me further away from my children and family.  I am encouraged by the wonderful work accomplished by every organization and am hopeful a position with Save the Children will become available in closer proximity to my present location.    

References

Claudio. (2011). Retrieved from personal e-mail

International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2013, from http://www.issa.nl/program_early_child.html

Save the Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.unicef.org/

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

         I reviewed many Federal websites as well as state and local sites to determine the scope of early childhood programs that include home visiting, parenting classes, and working with teen parents.  As I reflect, progress, and discover along the final trek of our Master’s program I am becoming more focused on combining my many years of experience in the social work field with my years of experience and education in the early childhood field.  A website I found most interesting was: www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2011/03/teen_mothers_get_help_staying that featured an article about an innovative program for teen parents. The article described a program at the Cohen Senior High School in Louisiana that is supported by an Early Head Start grant with the goal of assisting teen parents to complete high school.  The program makes use of a social worker that makes home visits, provides monetary assistance for child care, and conducts parenting classes. The website did not feature any job openings.

         The second website I reviewed based on my interest to incorporate my social work skills with ECE was Nurse Family Partnership – NFP found at:  http://www.nursefamilypartnership.org/about/careers.  This is a National website that had two job openings posted; one with a home base at the NFP National Service Office in Denver, Colorado with travel to Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas.  This position is a Program Developer that cultivates political and fiscal support for the program.  It involves work on the state, county, and city level.  Requirements include a Master’s Degree in Public Health and two to four years of experience in franchising organizations as well as an understanding of how state and local governments and funding agencies work.  Although this job sounds challenging, I do not possess the necessary qualifications.  The second position is for a Chief Operating Officer, Denver, CO.  Requirements for this position include experience as a senior manager with experience in sales, marketing, and IT.  Other positions posted were for nurses.  I believe the NFP program is a vitally needed program to support teen parents and ensure their babies receive the best parenting necessary to ensure their development.  I believe beginning work on a local level and aspiring to advance to employment on a National level is more realistic for me to consider.

         While I was researching NAEYC’s website at:  www.naeyc.org I discovered that a program within my home state of Pennsylvania holds the designation of an exemplary program.  The Montgomery County Community College Children’s Center in Blue Bell, PA provides child care and family support to a diverse clientele and maintains an anti-bias approach.  I find this program exciting because of the affiliation to a community college.  My original goal for pursuing a Master’s Degree was to teach at a community college and this type of child care center lends itself to blending teaching adults with providing child care.  The website did not post vacant positions.

        The Health and Human Services website at:  www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/programs/home-visiting, explored the Affordable Care Act Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) and Tribal MIECHV.  This program allows for partnership at the federal, state, tribal, and community levels.  The goals for this program include improving parenting skills and encourage home visiting.  Home visitors are nurses or social workers with the goal of helping families with all aspects of health, child development, and nutrition.  I am encouraged that social workers are included in this program and foresee the need to include more professionals from the early childhood field.

References

National Association for the Education of Young Children, (2013). Retrieved from www.naeyc.org

Nola.com, (2013).  Retrieved from www.nola.com/education

Nurse Family Partnership, (2013). Retrieved from http://www.nursefamilypartnership.org/about/careers

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (2013). Retrieved from www.acf.hhs.gov

Exploring Roles in the Early Childhood Education Community:  Local and State Levels

            While researching resources for early childhood organizations and agencies I came across a nationally based program that contributes to community based programs called “Parent-Child Home Program”.  “This is an evidence-based and research-related early childhood literacy and school readiness program.  Its goal is to strengthen families and prepare children for academic success through intensive home visiting, especially families who do not have access to educational opportunities to prepare their children to enter school ready to succeed (Parent-Child Home Program, 2013).  Families served by this program are low income from any background, location, and educational background.  Services are initiated and provided by partnering with local organizations, including school districts, social service agencies, and various community based programs (Parent-Child Home Program, 2013).  This program particularly interests me because it would enable me to combine and utilize my early childhood experience and education with my social work experience.  Additionally, this programs website provides valuable information that will assist me with my Capstone Project.  Job opportunities include being a state coordinator that oversees all aspects of the program, including starting the community based program, selecting appropriate curriculum materials, and all aspects of running the program.  I am qualified for this position based on my BS in Early Childhood Education and many years in the social work field.  There are no programs in the county or surrounding counties of my home state of Pennsylvania.

I explored two other websites of state operated programs.  The first was the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW).  The website outlined many programs DPW provides oversight to including The Mentor Parent Program, Inc., Early Intervention, and Parent to Parent of PA.  The Mentor Parent Program’s mission is “to provide assistance and training to parents and professionals to provide one-on-one mentoring and support, to provide information and appropriate referrals, to develop home-school partnerships, to foster parent involvement with the early intervention & education systems, and to develop community awareness of the needs of children with disabilities” (The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, 2013).  This program is interesting to me because its mission and one-on-one support to parents of children with disabilities is much needed and a very rewarding endeavor.  The Parent to Parent of PA program has an opening for a Regional Coordinator for the Northeastern region.   I am qualified for this position, however the starting salary is much less than my current position and the location is not within a reasonable travelling distance.  Other job opportunities  are provided through Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission. 

            The third website I explored was The Pennsylvania Department of Education.  This state agency includes Keystone Stars, PreK Counts, and works jointly with DPW to provide Early Intervention.  PA Pre-K Counts is designed for “children who are between age 3 and until the entry age for kindergarten; are at risk of school failure and living in families earning up to 300 percent of the federal income poverty level (such as a family of four earning $67,050) who may also be English language learners or have special needs” (The Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2013).  I am interested in this program as well as Early Intervention because both programs provide children with necessary developmental skills needed to help them become successful when entering school.  Presently there are no job openings; however the civil service jobsite is frequently updated.  My current position is within the Pennsylvania Civil Service system which allows me to bid on jobs as they become available.   

References

Parent-Child Home Program, (2013). Parent-Child Home Program’s National Center website. Retrieved from http://www.parent-child.org/

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, (2013).  The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare website. Retrieved from http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/forchildren/earlyinterventionservices/index.htm

The Pennsylvania Department of Education, (2013).  The Pennsylvania Department of Education website.  Retrieved from http://www.education.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pennsylvania_department_of_education/7237

Welcome back for the last class of the MS in Early Childhood Studies program!  As part of our class assignment we created "wordles", a very clever endeavor.  My use of modern technology sometimes leaves much to be desired, however after many attempts I finally decided I had to publish my Wordle to the public website viewed by everyone on the Internet! 

To access my Wordle:

Social Change.pdf (162.083 KB)

One more adventure along this journey amongst many new paths and many well-travelled roads!
 

Special Thanks!

          When I enrolled in Walden’s master’s program I was unprepared for everything the journey would encompass.  I remember writing a paper during my first class outlining what I would need to ensure completion of the program.  I identified one of my needs as taking care of myself in order to maintain the stamina needed to continue the pace of working full time while taking classes.  What I was unprepared for was the experience and expertise my colleagues would share with me as we traveled together.  I did not foresee my need for support or that I would try to support my colleagues as much as I could.  The support everyone provided along this journey helped me gain insight and knowledge I could not possibly have gained on my own.  The class material along with personal experiences that were shared enriched and broadened my understanding of the importance and extreme value of our profession.  Over the past year and a half the names of some of my colleagues have changed, however the support and camaraderie has not!  Good luck to everyone!  I hope we all are able to fulfill the dream that was our driving force to embark upon this journey.  jomazzei@yahoo.com

 

Adjourning

One of the hardest groups for me to leave was also the group I devoted the most time helping to build.  Early in my career I worked for a year as a VISTA Volunteer with a Mental Health/Mental Retardation program.  The program director had written a grant to obtain VISTA Volunteers and shortly after getting us on board she resigned her position and relocated.  Prior to leaving she told us her vision was to develop a puppet show to provide education about mental disabilities to the community.  The volunteers bought into the vision.  To realize the vision we spent much energy on the forming stage of getting to know each other, the agency staff and getting agency staff on board to “buying into” our goals and developing clear directions regarding the project (Abudi, 2010).   In conjunction with agency staff, community members, a recording studio, and other agencies we all spent countless volunteer hours writing a script, making puppets and a stage, writing and recording songs and practicing, practicing, practicing!  We progressed into a cohesive, well developed team and developed strong friendships.  We celebrated the success of the project after each performance; however we did not formally “adjourn” prior to the team members moving off into different directions (Abudi, 2010).  Perhaps we each considered our “adjournment” the sad good-byes we bade each other as the VISTA project ended.

I have been contemplating the question, “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?” and have not formulated an answer.  It seems like yesterday that I was brushing my forehead while exclaiming, “Half way there”!  We share so many personal stories and have grown so much while pursuing our master’s!  My first thought is that most school “adjournments” are celebrated with a graduation ceremony.  My second thought is that we should incorporate what we’ve learned about team development and begin with the forming stage of discussion with each other and developing objectives/goals to plan for an adjournment celebration and start to think about the roles we will each take to meet our goal (Abudi, 2010). 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues for the support you continuously provide me and for sharing your personal stories.  I am a better person for learning to listen through reading your postings and blogs.  The lessons I learned from each of you are inexpressible!  Thank you!

Special thanks go out to a colleague that shared her story of an acting group she participated in while in college (Beene, 2012).  Your story sparked my memory of the VISTA project I described above.   Until participating in such a group, it is hard to fathom the effort and commitment involved.

References

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

Beene, H. T. (2012). Discussion Board, Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field (EDUC - 6165 - 1), week 6