Time Well Spent

“WOW” How time fly.

 I want to take this time to share with you three deeply felt learning from this program. The first deeply felt learning that I gained from this program is that I have to be very passionate and you have to be and effective leader. The knowledge that I have learned from this program will serve as a guide for me through my career as an early childhood professional. Second deeply felt thing that I have learned from the early childhood program is that being a professional in the early childhood field, is to be determined and committed to helping young children and their families with knowledge to help them learned. The third thing that I learned is the importance of being a life -long learner. Even though this program is over does not mean that I am through with my learning. It is now my responsibility to advocate for the well- being of young children and their families.

My long term goal is to one day open my own childcare center in my community to help with the literacy problem with young children and their parents. I plan to have a parent center within the childcare facility where our parent can enhance their learning.

I would like to take this time to wish all of my colleagues much success in their continue learning. I wish you all the best with your Master’s degree and I hope that it bring you to what you are seeking and to help enrich your careers. And it is with great pride to wish Dr. Teri a heartfelt thank you for all the things she do, you have been a great instructor for me throughout these last eight weeks. This has been a great experience for me here at Walden and this course has been a challenge for me. Thanks to you Dr. Teri, I am here saying farewell to you and my colleagues, Farewell and good luck to all my colleagues, and a great thank you to Dr. Teri

 

This is a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.

  “The time is always right, to do what is right.”

 

 

 Gloria A. Wilson     P O Box 36
6628202457 w.         Moorhead, MS. 38761
6622070232 c.

 

 

 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The three international organizations or communities of practice that appealed to  me; and the job opportunities that interest me and what skills and experience I wouuld need to fulfill each of them.

The first international organization that appealed to me is (UNICEF) United Nation’s Children Fund. It would be a priviladge to work with UNICEF in Africa to teach the children to learn to read, write and to do math. There are too many children working rather than going to school. The economic situation in these area ofAfrica dosen’t allow for too much schooling if any, they have to go to work or the nearest school is to far away to walk everyday and for them to get there on time.

 (UNICEF) is passionate about their cause and they are committed to their mission. Their mission is to promote the equal rights of children, and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities. For example in the Sierra Leone, Africa and globally in 2011 an estimated 215 million children was involved in labor. That’s a violation of children’s basic rights, labor that is detrimental to their health or otherwise impedes development must cease. For children who work rather than go to school are also more prone to a lifetime of poverty. There is one job opportunity I found on the web-site and it’s for a  Chief Education, P-5, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Vacancy No:  E-VN-2013-001043 Duty Station:  Addis Ababa Country:  Ethiopia Region:  ESARO Job Level:  P-5 Position#:  00013192 Application Close:  05-Jul-13 Contract Type:  Long-term Staff (FT). UNICEF) United Nation Children's Fund (n.d.). Some of the experiences I would need are to be fluency in two languages. I am fluency in English but not in other languages and I would love to speak and understand what they are saying. Knowledge of the local working language of the duty station is an asset. Being a committed, creative professional and is passionate about making a lasting difference for children.

The second International organization is The Academy for Educational Development. This organization appealed to me because they envision a world in which all individuals and communities have the opportunity to reach their highest potential especially our children. When you are working to help children in ways that will foster their health and development to have a better life for them, I would like to be a part of that work. I didn’t find any job opportunities that I would like to seek but they do look for individuals for short- and long- term work assignments that arise through their proposal development process. Proposal positions generally fall into four categories: Chief of Party or Project Director, Monitoring and Evaluation Director, Finance and Administration Director, and Technical Assistance Expert in global health and nutrition, education, civil society, economic development and livelihoods, research or the environment.

The third organization is Save the Children. (2011). 

Negassa can count until the cows come home, thanks to preschool in his region. Because he is getting and education, Negassa and other alike will continue this road to reach their full potential in life. Yet there are many children around the world who do not get a quality education where they can learn and develop. To advance learning, Save the Children supports education programs for children in the classroom and at home.

·         They train teachers to engage their students through more effective teaching practices.

·         They coach parents and caregivers to help their children learn early on, so they are prepared to enter school.

·         They offer ways for parents and community volunteers to get kids reading and doing math outside of school hours.

·         They introduce children to the power of artistic expression – drawing, painting, music, drama, dance and more – to help them heal, learn and do better in school.

·         They make sure that children don't stop learning during a crisis, and we help to keep kids healthy so they don't fall behind or drop out.

In 2012, Save the Children's education programs reached 9 million children, thanks to the many families, teachers, government officials and community volunteers who help inspire these little learners.

 Save the Children created a new education approach call HEART, that brings the proven power of artistic expression of drawing, painting, music, drama, dance and more to children in need around the world. HEART helps children heal emotionally and learn critical skills, so they can achieve their highest potential. Save the Children’s mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. Thanks to the tremendous support of their donors and partners, Save the Children has a broad domestic and global footprint, helping improve the lives of millions of children in the United States and around the world. This is another organization that I would like to work with, even if I’m just a volunteer. Save the Children USA helped more than 78 million children in 2012, surpassing their goal of reaching 74 million children annually. Save the Children’s 30-member global movement helped more than 125 million children in 2012. When disaster strikes around the world, Save the Children is there to save lives with food, medical care and education and remains to help communities rebuild through long-term recovery programs. Save the Children is working to resolve the ongoing struggles children face every day like poverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease and replaces them with hope for the future.

United Nations Children's Fund  (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

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

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

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee’s organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States. http://www.nea.org/home/index.html. Their vision is a great public school for every student. And there 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 affiliate for the state of Mississippi is the Mississippi Association of Educator Contact Information 775 North State Street Jackson, MS 39202 Phone: (601) 354-4463 Fax: (601) 352-7054.  President Kevin Gilbert, Vice President Joyce Helmick, Secretary/Treasurer Christopher Stevens, Executive Director Frank A. Yates. There is a great need for teachers in all areas, especially special education, math, and science.  

 

Child Care Aware (CCA) (800-424-2246), a program of the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), has information for parents and providers and links to local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&R). CCA is funded in part by the Office of Child Care, Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Child and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://childcareaware.org/

The Office of Child Nutrition is the administrator of eight programs under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Services (FNS). The Office of Child Nutrition also administers a State-wide Purchasing Cooperative for school districts to purchase foods and supplies used in the School Lunch and Breakfast programs. This organization is a great opportunity to work with and to see the food that the children are going to eat on daily basis. I would like to work with this organization in making sure that the children are getting the proper nutrient at least in school.

 

http://www.healthyschoolsms.org/index.html

Parents as Teachers Organization of Mississippi

Is heralded as champions of children and families, the Parent as Teachers serves as a model for home visiting programs aimed at enhancing the school readiness of children by reaching out to them during their critical formative years. They develop curricula for early childhood development and train other professionals how to work with parents to promote the healthy development of the child and prepare them for school. http://www.parentsasteachers.org/  I work for the Parents as Teachers Organization of Mississippi, and it is a great program for young mothers to learn about taking care of themselves as well as their children. The skills that is needed for the job BA in Early Childhood Studies and 2 year experience working with children and their families

 

 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

For this blog assignment I am to search for local or state organization that I would like to work with and the role I would like to take on, now or in the future.

The first one would be the Indianola Public School District which is our local school district that I attended from K- 12 grade. The mission of the Indianola School District is to focus the energies of our schools, community, and parents on successfully educating all students so that they will become productive citizens in a global society. I am very proud of this school district and the many things that they have accomplish over the years. For example we have all types of sports, starting at the 5^th grade level. Years ago if you wanted to participate any type of sports, you had to wait until the 8^th grade level before you was allowed to participate in sports.

The job opportunities in this district is very few, but for the Elementary Teachers K- 3^rd grade I would love to be the teachers of those young mind just bursting to learn knew knowledge. The skills I would need to fulfill a teaching position will be to have taken the National Teacher Examination and receive a passing score as set by the State of Mississippi.

The second is the Mississippi State Department of Education. This is the state where I live, my state organization where I would help provide leadership through the development of policy and accountability systems so that all students are prepared to compete in the global community.  As a state board appointee I would help mobilize resources and supports to help ensure that all students exit the third grade reading on grade level or higher, to reduce the dropout rate to 13% or lower by 2015, and to have 60% of students scoring proficient and advanced on the assessments of the Common Core State Standards by 2016 with incremental increases of 3% each year thereafter, because our children are failing on our state test. We sets public education policy and  would be responsible for implementing state and federal education laws, disbursing state and federal funds, holding schools and districts accountable for performance and licensing all educators.  I will like to work with the State Department of Education here in my state, because we are one of the few states that do not have federally funded Head start. They preach about education but do they realize that learning starts in the early years. And we are about to lose some of our Head start Programs in my area.

The next one is the Greenwood School District the Greenwood Public School District is committed to the district’s Mission of Creating Student Success by Placing Academics First. This school district is much like the Indianola School District, and I am in these classrooms all the time with the kindergarten class and they are a model of the Indianola School District. I will need the same criteria for both school districts to gain employment with them.

REFLECTING ON LEARNING

My most passionate hope for the future as an early childhood professional is to take my learning into the homes and the school. As an early childhood professional I am very passionate about helping young children and their families grow and learn. As an early childhood professional I am responsible for preparing children from birth to the 5 years with learning that they can use the rest of their lives. If you don’t have a passion for working with children and helping children get a good start in life, than you are in the wrong profession. I have worked this position with children and their families for the last 4 years. I have learned so much just by listening to them talk about their idea and hope for their children. I would not change that, because I get to go into the schools and the childcare facilities with advice on these children and their families. And that’s very passionate for me to help bridge that gap between home and school. Unfortunately, early childhood educators do not earn much money, so it is important to be naturally motivated to work with children and their families.  It is amazing to work with children and to help them develop a love of learning.

 

I want to thank all of my colleagues for helping me through this journey with Walden University. I wish you all the best in your future as an early childhood professional. I would like to keep in touch with my colleagues, I have learned so much from each one of you. Good Luck!! And Best Wishes. This is my personal email address wilsongloria40@yahoo.com,

“Children in West and Central Africa”

For this week assignment I chose to explore the Children in West and Central Africa. I chose this area because I have done some research on this area in an earlier class, and I was very shock at some of the things, but not all of the things the children of West and Central Africa have to do to go to school.

One of the challenges these children are face with is poverty. The region is hard hit by poverty which gives them limited access to enough schools, teachers, and appropriate learning materials. Children cannot go to school and learn when they are hungry or have nothing to wear. Another challenge the website states, is “the lack of a good school infrastructure and unequal distribution of schools that can also contribute to long distances between the homes of children and their school”. Parents do not want to take the risk of sending younger children and girls to school if they have to walk long distances. Sometimes they have to walk at least 40 miles to get to school.  The war and other conflicts have led to the deaths of teachers and pupils and the physical destruction of schools, communities and communication links has made many education systems dysfunctional for long periods of times. I know that if children misses many days of class, it will be hard for them catch up with their peers.

I think that the damage done to the education systems by war will have a profound effect on children emotional well-being as well as their development. The psycho-social traumas children and the population at a large have experienced have unknown, lasting effects on the learning and development process, a fact that has to be taken into account in the reconstruction process (UNICEF). Even where physical destruction is not an issue, political instability has jeopardized national education systems and the opportunities for children to benefit from quality education (UNICEF). Especially the situation with the girls in the region should also be noted. For girls of the West and Central regions to realizing the manifold benefits of education are far less than the girls of any other region in the world. UNICEF says that only 1 girl out of 2 goes to school.

I  have learned through research that the region also faces a poor quality of education due to a shortage of teachers, low teacher salaries and limited training and development opportunities for teachers, as do some of the area here in the United States. After reading some of essays the children have written, and reading through the material on the web site it’s really amazing. To see how they want to learn, and some of them don’t have the chance to. I wish that all school aged child (for those who does not want to go to school) could read, see, and understand the circumstances these children in West and Central Africa has to go through to even try to get some education.

 Reference

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

 

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

           This book I will buy. It is a guide for parents who are fed up, confused, and even scared by what their kids–or their kids’ friends–do and say, states ( Levin &  Kilbourne, 2009). It is crazy the messages that our children are hearing and therefore is watching on T.V.  If we as parents don’t pay attention to what our children is watching on television and what they are seeing on the internet, we are in real trouble as parents and educators.

            I have a ten year old who is fifth grade know, two years ago I used to overhear her and her friend conversation about their supposedly boyfriends. I told them that we do not think about boys as boyfriends at this age, all you all need to think about is getting very good grades in school. Know it is the letter I see in her back pack, and the phone calls from boys, and she is giggling on the phone with her friends about what did he say about me today. But it’s always grandma I don’t like that boy, I have told him I can’t have a boyfriend, she didn’t say I do not want a boyfriend.

             These children watches these sitcom likes Jessie, kickin’ It, Phineas an Ferb, and I would not even think about letting them watch Family Guy or American Dad, because there is some sexual activity on one of the shows, or maybe both of them. When I saw that I blocked those channel so that the children cannot turn to those channels.

            I think that as a professional and as a parents or grandparent we have to be there for our children to support them. And, also help them to understand and to clear up some of the confusion about these issues of physical differences between the boys and girls. What will happen when they become sexually active?  But that they are going to have to grow older to understand the consequences of their action, and old enough to take responsibility of their action.

References

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. 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://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf