A Day in the Life!

What does spending days as an Early Childhood teacher look like?

Is it sitting and watching? Is it telling the children to "do this, do that"? Is it just expecting them to listen?

Not at all my friend!

It is listening to a "little" tell me a story for what seems like the umpteenth time that day, it is sitting in the floor while a lot of different littles sit all around me and want me to play. It is craft time as I teach them how to hold a paint brush, and watch them use their imagination and show me just how creative they are. 

You see, I'm not just listening to their story, I'm giving them my undivided attention, showing them that they are important and that what they say matters. I'm sitting in the floor with them because when we, as adults, get down on their level not just literally, but through play, we can begin to see the world how they see it.  I'm teaching them how to hold a paint brush and nurturing their fine motor skills, but also building a relationship with them. 

As a teacher, I sometimes set goals for what I would like to see my littles accomplish, what I want them to learn.  But many times, I find that I am learning right along with them. Littles are such good teachers, often times without realizing it.  During our time together, they teach me to find joy in the small things.  For instance, one day in my class the activity for the day was to mix different paint colors to see what color they make. As my students did this using only their hands, they giggled very loudly and without reserve. I asked each one, what was so funny, they replied with "It's squishy!", "It's making a new color!", "This is fun!".  These children found joy in getting to get messy and mix colors. That was it! When is the last time as an adult that you have mixed up paint and laughed????

  I know for myself, often times, I spend my days stressing over adult life in general. We get lost in the mundane task of everyday life and forget to slow down and take it all in. Children are God's way of showing us to enjoy our lives. 

Thank you God for littles. 



“While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about.”
  — Angela Schwindt, home schooling mom States

Why Early Childhood?

"I'll never forget the sense of wholeness I felt when I finally realized what in fact I 

really was: not just a writer or a language buff or a student of human development or a telecommunicator, but I was someone who could use every talent that had ever been given to me in the service of children and their families."

                                        

                                                                     --Fred Rogers

     I began working in the early childhood field back in 2012. I had just finished college, graduating with a B.A. in Christian Ministries from Williams Baptist College. I honestly had no idea what I was going to do with my degree, I didn't know where to go from here. I started praying and asking for God's guidance. My question to God was, "what do You want me to do with what You have given me?" I wanted to make a difference in the world around me, I wanted to make a lasting change, I wanted to DO SOMETHING. 

     One day soon after, a friend posted about a job opening at a daycare in Jonesboro. I remember thinking, I can do that. I can babysit kids all day for a paycheck, it'll be something I can do for now, until God shows me His direction. I began that job and with each day that I went to work, I was learning that I wasn't just babysitting. It was so much more than that. I fell in love with the field of early childhood during my first year of working there, perhaps even the first six months.  I made the decision that very same year to go back to school and get a degree in early childhood. I began school at Walden University and in 2014, I earned a M.S. in Early Childhood Studies. 

Throughout my quest to earn my master's degree, I worked full time. I did change jobs but it was still in the field of working with littles.  The more that I worked with the little people of our world, the more I saw the importance of what I was doing. I was these children's first teacher, (outside their parents, of course).  In early childhood, we are teaching the future. What I hope to see in the future, the changes that I hope to see in the world around us, it starts with me.  

It starts with what I teach in my classroom. If I hope to see more love in the world, I need to teach my littles how to show love to one another. If I hope to see more positivity in the world, the atmosphere in my classroom needs to be positive. If I hope to see less fighting in the world, I need to teach my students how to solve problems together.  I need to teach them kindness. 

Learning is more than just ABC's and 123's. It's more than reading and writing. Those things are very important and need to be taught, however, shouldn't learning be about things like love and kindness too? Every time we turn on the news, every time we read a newspaper, there are stories about someone killing, stealing, lying, cheating, etc.  As a parent myself, I have said many times, I am afraid of the world my son is growing up in. I have heard so many others say the same thing. As early childhood teachers, our littles have a clean slate.  We can instill these key aspects. We can show kindness and love in our classrooms. We can show them that sometimes we, as humans, get upset, we make mistakes, and we can also show them that's it's okay to do so. 

Early childhood is my passion and always will be.  One of my favorite parts of teaching in this field (which is birth-5), is watching a child succeed at something that they have been working at.  When they finally get it, their eyes light up and search for mine, to see if I'm watching. Children yearn for attention, they want approval. I want to show each child that I have in my care, that no matter what they do, no matter how many times they have to try at something, that it's okay. They are still of value to me, they still matter. They are still loved.

Time Well Spent

          Wow... I cannot believe that this is our last assignment in our Master's program.  After I finish this assignment, I will have completed my journey at Walden as a grad student! I have learned and grown so much since my beginning at Walden.  One important thing that I learned during this program was what making a positive social change was about.  Before I began my degree, I had never heard about positive social change, nor did I know what it meant.  However, I know what it means now.  Positive social change is what we as early childhood professionals should aim for.  How can we change the world for the better, how can we make a change that will impact the world so that it is different than before?  Another important thing that I learned about was advocacy.  Young children cannot speak for themselves, and many times parents do not know how to effectively speak for their children either.  It is our job to step in and serve as an advocate on their behalf.  I am to fight families and their children so that the children receive the best care and  beginning to life as possible.  Another noteworthy thing that I learned about was the importance of a positive, continuous partnership between school and family.  These partnerships are crucial to the child's learning and success in school.  When the teacher and parents work together, the child has better chances to succeed and go on to make a positive social change on the world around him.
          A long term goal that I have is to be able to see the parent resource center that I aim to open inside my future childcare center, be a success.  I want it to help families and is a helpmate that eases some of the burden so that they can focus on their children.  I want to say a huge and special THANK YOU to my instructor, Dr. Darragh, and all of my colleagues!  You have been key to my success in this program and have helped me become the early childhood professional that I am now!!!  You all have been patient with me and has guided me through the program.  You have evaluated me and pushed me to be the best that I can be and for that I am so thankful!  I cannot say enough that I deeply appreciate everything that you, (Dr. Darragh and my colleagues) have done to help me reach my goal of receiving a Master's degree.  I wish you all well in your future endeavors, and perhaps one day our paths will cross again.  I am here for all of you and my contact information is: 

   Rachel Walters--rachellwalters19@gmail.com

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

          The first organization that I chose to feature in this blog post was UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund).  UNICEF is has been given the authority by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs, and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.  Their purpose is “to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child’s path.”  They particularly focus on the following areas: child survival and development, basic education and gender equality, HIV/AIDS and children, child protection, and policy advocacy and partnerships.  They work in eight different regions of the world; they work hard to ensure the protection of children all over the world.  I researched on their website, some jobs that are open.  One specific job is for chief field officer, in which the person receiving the job is in charge of the UNICEF office.  The education required for the field is an advanced university degree in one of the following: Social Sciences, Public Administration, International Relations, Business Administration, Public Health, Education, or other related field.  The work experience required is five years progressively responsible professional work experience in social development, project administration, monitoring and evaluation, some at the international level. Emergency experience required.  For the language skills, fluency in English is a requirement as well as another UN language (UNICEF, n.d.). 

            The second organization that I chose was the Save the Children foundation.  The mission for their organization is (Save the Children gives children in the United States and around the world what every child deserves – a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm, especially when disaster strikes. We advocate and achieve lasting change for millions of children” When a natural disaster comes, Save the Children are the first to work for the children of the disaster.  They work in seven different regions of the world.  A job available on the site is titled, shelter coordinator, and the skills required for the job are as follows: Degree in Civil Engineering/ Architecture/ Construction Management or other relevant qualification in design or engineering, professional minimum experience of 5 years, experience of working with NGOs, experience in running multiple construction projects over different geographical locations, experience of managing multiple contractors, and different construction teams, ability to make frequent field visits between Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimanya; work under difficult circumstances and under pressure, critical thinking, organization, coordination and planning skills, ability to provide technical inputs, make technical and structural assessments, prepare Bills of Quantities and drawings, organization, coordination and planning skills, good computer skills -Excel, Word, Internet,  excellent interpersonal skills, excellent knowledge of spoken and written English, knowledge of Arabic/ Kurdish is an asset.  (Save the Children, 2014).

            The third organization that I chose was the Academy for Education Development.  Their mission is to improve lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions for human development.   They offer services in behavior change communication, creative services, research services and many more.  They work to find solutions for the future.  They serve more than 70 countries around the world as well as all of the United States of America.  The experts in their organization influence policies and guidelines, and they even publish in journals.  A career that I found on the website is Associate Director, Country Programs, Alive and Thrive Project.  The description of the job is: “The Associate Director, Country Programs will provide management and program oversight of activities in Burkina Faso to ensure that the project is effectively and efficiently implemented.”  The skills and education requirements are: Bachelor's degree or its international equivalent, Master's degree strongly preferred plus a minimum of 5 years of experience with international development programs, demonstrated experience in sector specific or multi-sector project management and implementation, must be able to read, write, and speak fluent English; fluent in host country language, experience operating in insecure environments, and experience working in a non-governmental organization (NGO) (Academy for Educational Development, 2011).

          Learning about these three international organizations has been interesting.  It is encouraging to me as an early childhood professional to know that what others in the field are doing for the children of our world. 

References

Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm

Save the Children. (2011). 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 November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Field on the National/Federal Level

          I had a great time exploring the various organizations and agencies that are out there for the Early Childhood Field.  Learning about the different opportunities for people like myself and all of my colleagues is exciting.  I examined many organizations and agencies however, there were three that interested me the most.  They are:

1. National Education Association (NEA):  Their mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.  The NEA works on every educational level from early childhood to graduate level such as the one we are in currently.  They discuss different issues such as common core standards, education funding, and early childhood.  They provide resources for teachers and administrators, as well as information about grants and funding.  I chose this organization because it is such a broad resource for teachers.  It offers a wide variety of information.  A job that I could apply for there is a state affiliate.  They lobby legislators for the needs in the education field.  The job requirements are: a bachelor's degree, successful public school teaching and leadership experience with an advocacy organization, previous chief negotiator, collective bargaining and grievance arbitration experience is desired, proven ability to develop and coordinate an effective membership organizing program,proven ability to work independently and in a diverse, collaborative, and team environment, effective consulting, training, presentation and representation skills,strong problem-solving and conflict resolution skills,knowledge of office automation technology including word processing and data applications, and strong written and verbal communication skills (NEA, 2014).

2. National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP): Their vision is family economic security, strong nurturing families, and healthy child development.  The NCCP is a public policy center that works to help the low-income families of America.  They work at the state and national level and are family-oriented.  They perform research to find solutions and develop strategies to help child in poverty.  They take on projects such as housing subsidies and child development, promoting paid family leave, and the some topics that they research and discuss are child poverty, children's mental health, early care and learning, and immigrant families.  A job that is available with this organization is an Associate Research Scientist, this position's role is Director of Childcare and Early Education Research Connections.  The job requirements is to have a Ph.D or Ed.D or equivalent in Early Childhood Education, must have knowledge of early childhood research, policies, and programs, and five years of relevant experience (NCCP, 2014).

3. Council for Professional Recognition: Their mission is the Council for Professional Recognition promotes improved performance and recognition of professionals in early childhood education of children ages birth through 5 years old.  They provide the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential.  The CDA is required in many states for early childhood professionals.  In Arkansas, a director must have a CDA or a Bachelor's in a related field.  There were no job openings listed for this organization (Council for Professional Recognition, 2013).

References

Council for Professional Recognition. (2013). About the Council.  Retrieved from http://www.cdacouncil.org/about-the-council

National  Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP). (2014). About NCCP. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/about.html

National Education Association (NEA). (2014). About NEA. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/2580.htm

Communities of Practice

          During this week in our course, we learned about communities of practice.  Communities of practice share three common aspects: interest, community, and focus (Helm, 2007).  For this assignment, we were to choose three local or state communities of practice that we would like to belong to.  The three organizations are listed below:

1. NAEYC - I chose this organization because at the very beginning in our Foundations course, we were introduced to the NAEYC.  Before, I had never heard of it, and never knew anything like it existed.  The NAEYC is one of the largest Early Childhood Resources and organizations around.  They offer thousands of resources to parents, families, childcare centers, early childhood professionals, etc.  The resources and the things that the organization does for the field of Early Childhood is so great and it makes me want to be a part of it.  I want to be a part of something that influential to young children and their families (NAEYC, n.d.).  A job opportunity that was posted on their site was Director of Early Childhood, in Dallas, TX.  I would love this job!  In order to fulfill this job, I would need to be knowledgeable of the licensing requirements for the state of TX, have patience to work with families, children, and the staff, an understanding of advocacy, great organizational skills, and a passion for the early childhood field.  

2. ZERO TO THREE - The mission for this organization is "to ensure all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life" (zerotothree.org, 2012).   The reason that I chose this organization is because, just as with the NAEYC, we learned about this organization in the Foundations course.  They offer thousands of opportunities for babies and toddlers. They offer articles and research studies about issues that deal with babies and toddlers.  The site also offers information to parents such as how important play is.  There is a job available titled, Senior Writer/Training Specialist.  The knowledge and skills required for this job is to have a strong knowledge to the Early Head Start program, strong knowledge of infants and toddlers, strong knowledge of different cultures and an education requirement would be a Master's in Early Childhood Development.  

3. Arkansas Department of Human Services - The mission for this program is "Together we improve the quality of life of all Arkansans by protecting the vulnerable, fostering independence, and promoting better health.  As a teacher at a childcare center, we have to work with the licensing person when they come to our center to ensure that the requirements are met.  The licensing and regulations are just one part of DHS.  They protect children and families, they offer ARkids insurance for children, the SNAP program (nutrition program), and many others that serve the families in the state.  This organization is respected in the state and I admire the work that they do.  A job posted on this site was Family Service Worker Supervisor. The skills for this job is knowledge of supervisory practices and procedures, knowledge of the principles and practice of counseling, social work, and case management, knowledge of state and federal laws, rules and guidelines, etc.  The education requirement is to have an equivalent to a bachelor's in social work, sociology, or psychology, or a related field (http://humanservices.arkansas.gov/, 2011). 

References

 Helm, J. (2007). Building communities of practice. YC: Young Children, 62(4), 12-16.

Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database

Beginning of the End

     WOW!!! We are beginning our last class here at Walden University! That is so crazy! However, I am so excited to take this last class and learn all that I can from Dr. Darragh and from all of my classmates.  The first week's assignment have been challenging so far and I look forward to the next 7 more weeks that we have together to grow and develop into the early childhood professionals we were meant to be.