Time Well Spent

When I started this journey my intention was never to complete my degree.  I was a working full time with a 2 year old at home.  I was just wanting to get my graduate certificate and be done.  I still remember taking my first class and stumbling along with how to post to the discussions and making sure that I had proper citations.  After I obtained my certificate I thought that was easy I guess I could do one more year :) Now it is 2 years later and I have a 15 month old (along with a four year old), a stay at home mom (never thought this would happen in my wildest imagination) and I'll have my Master's degree in a few days!

One of the most important things that I have learned over the past two years is that no matter where we are living in the world we are all facing the same problems in regards to early childhood.  I feel that it is important for us to share our own knowledge with each other.  I also felt that through the course of Perspectives on Diversity and Equity I learned a lot about myself.  This course allowed me to open my eyes to how people may view me and how I view others. It is also gave me guidance in how to look at our programs and work with staff on the issues of diversity and equity and the importance of recognizing these issues in our programs.  Advocacy also stands out to me as a general overall theme in all of the courses.   I need to continue to use my voice and advocate for services. 

It may not happen in the near future but one of my goals is to go and work overseas helping with the start up of an early chilhood program for preschoolers.  I want to learn from other countries to see what they are doing in regards to early childhood.

The end of this chapter is coming to a close and I want to thank all of you for sharing in this journey with me.  It has been a pleasure working with all of you over the past two years.  You have all made the discussions richer and have helped me to expand my knowledge in the early childhood field.  I went back through this blog, reading the different posts that I have done over this program and I found this on the very first post I made on this journey and it seems perfect to add it to my last post. 

 

"Human relationships, and the effects of relationships on relationships, are the building blocks of healthy development" (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000, p. 4)

If you would like to stay in touch or bounce ideas off of each other you can reach me by email at mjbesett@gmail.com. 

I hope to meet some of you at graduation in January!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Working internationally has always been an interest to me.  My Uncle and Aunt taught overseas for as long as I can remember.  They taught at an American Embassy in Nigera, Africa for  20 years total.   I never got the chance to visit them but always loved hearing about their adventures when they would come home ever summer.  This assignment was an eye opener for me as I realized there are a lot of jobs internationally that I could possibly apply for. 

1. fhi360 formerly AED
• I actually have had the pleasure of working with this company when they were AED and then we they became fhi360.   I used them in my work with Head Start and their technical assistance program.  They currently have jobs open in the United States and overseas.  FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. Our staff includes experts in Health, Education, Nutrition, Environment, Economic Development, Civil Society, Gender, Youth, Research and Technology; creating a unique mix of capabilities to address today's interrelated development challenges. FHI 360 serves more than 60 countries, all 50 U.S. states and all U.S. territories
• The position of Regional Education Representative, Latin American and the Caribbean caught my attention.  The position is located in Honduras.  This position will provide techinical assistance, serve as a liason and will be responsible for setting fhi360's long term vision for education development in the region and also identifying and pursuing opportunities for immediate funding.  https://jobs-fhi360.icims.com/jobs/14429/regional-education-representative%2c-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/job
• I would need to have the following skills:
• Communication Skills
• Time Management
• Supporting Staff
• Knowledge of Technology like Skype
• Colloaboration skills
• Master's Degree
2. Save the Children
• Save the Children is the world's leading independent organisation for children. We work in 120 countries. We save children's lives; we fight for their rights; we help them fulfil their potential.  We work together, with our partners, to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.  They have positions located in many different countries and in the United States.  From what I have gathered their main office overseas is in London.  http://www.savethechildren.net/jobs/job-details/1277
• They have an Emergency Response: Education Manager position open.  This person woudl be in charge of leading the program design and implementation of the education team in the Tacloban field base. 
• I would need to have the following skills:
• Master's Degree
• Communication Skills
• Supporting Staff
• Budgetary Skills
• Interpretation and Evaluation data and program
• Assessment of project and writing reports
3. UNICEF
• For 60 years, 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. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
• They currently have an Education Specialist position open in Bangui/Central African Republic.  This position would be responsbible for the oversight of the design, strategy development of appropriate education responses and coordination with other agencies in tthe education sector for the program. https://careers.unicef.org/sap/bc/webdynpro/sap/hrrcf_a_posting_apply?PARAM=cG9zdF9pbnN0X2d1aWQ9NTM4QUEwRTI5Q0U4NjU4MEUxMDAwMDAwOUU3MTBGMEYmY2FuZF90eXBlPUVYVA%3d%3d&sap-client=100&sap-language=EN&sap-accessibility=X
• I would need to have the following skills:
• Communication Skills
• Advaced Degree in Education
• Fluent in English and French
• Networking
• Analyzing Data
• Report Writing
• Monitoring and Evaluation

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

1. Administration for Children and Families - Department of Health and Human Services
• They currently have a Program Specialist position open in 11 different cities throughout the United States.  You would be working in the Office of Head Start and/or Office of Child Care and provide advice and technical assistance to Head Start grantees that includes programmatic and fiscal oversight responsibilities https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/367413200.  I chose this position becuase it is something that I would like to eventually do.  Being able to work with and help other programs throughout the country appeals to me. 
• I would need to have the following skills:
• Communication Skills
• Understanding grants
• Knowledge of research in early childhood
• Knowledge of reading and interpreting data.
• Budget Planning
• Supporting staff
• Knowledge of understanding policies and procedures
• Mentoring
2. The National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning (NCQTL) is a research center operated by the University of Washington. 
• They currently work  toward these overarching goals:
• To identify the research-based practices that support school readiness.To work with Head Start programs and staff to inform development of relevant training materials and products.
•  To improve professional development through individualized and innovative coaching and mentoring strategies for Head Start teachers and staff.
• To encourage effective transition to kindergarten.
• To professionalize early childhood education and to develop and implement degree-bearing higher education curricula that is affordable, accessible, relevant and effective for Head Start teachers.
• They currently have a higher education manager position open.  I previously worked with this National Center to do trainings for our Head Start program.  I really enjoyed how they train on school readiness and how to plan and implement the outcomes of your programs data in the classroom. 
• I would need to have the following skills:
• Communication Skills
• Knowledge of research in early childhood especially in regards to school readiness
• Knowledge of reading and interpreting data.
• Budget Planning
• Supporting staff
• Knowledge of understanding policies and procedures
• Mentoring

https://education.uw.edu/faculty-and-research/centers/NCQTL

https://uwhires.admin.washington.edu/eng/candidates/default.cfm?szCategory=jobprofile&szOrderID=107428&szCandidateID=0&szReturnToSearch=1

 

3. National Institute for Early Education Research

• They currently have a Data Collector position open.  It doesn't say how many they are looking for but this is something any of us could apply for.  They are looking for graduate students to collect data 2-3x a week during data collection period.  This opportunity caught my eye because they do research and analysis in early childhood. 
• I would need to have the following skills:
• Communication Skills
• Knowledge of collection data
• Knowledge of research
• Graduate student
• GPA of 3.0 or higher

 



Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

1. Washington State Department of Early Learning  
• They strive to help create safe, healthy, nurturing learning experiences for all Washington children. Our work focuses on the earliest years in children’s homes, child care, school programs and communities. We offer information and resources for children's first and most important teachers—parents—as well as others who care for and teach young children.  http://www.del.wa.gov/Default.aspx
• They currently have a Pre K Specialist position open.   The Pre-K Specialists use their expert knowledge of comprehensive preschool programming, early learning, health, family involvement and partnerships to support ECEAP contractors' continuous quality improvement under the Early Achievers quality framework. Pre-K Specialists provide coaching, training and technical assistance and support integration of Early Achievers in ECEAP. Pre-K Specialists monitor contractor compliance, develop and interpret ECEAP Performance Standards, lead and participate in special ECEAP projects, and support DEL and division work in early learning.
• I would need to know the following or have specific skills: 
1. Communication Skills
2. Understanding developmentally appropriate practice.  
3. Knowledge of family support.  
4. Knowledge of research in early childhood.  
2. Child Care Aware of Washington 
• There mission statement is To support families and caregivers, shape policy, and build communities that promote the learning and development of children and youth throughout Washington State through a strong statewide network of local child care resource and referral programs. http://wa.childcareaware.org/
• They currently have a Finance Director position open.  Finance Director plays a key role in monitoring and reporting on CCA of WA’s programs, developing fiscal policy and administering employment and human resources policies. 
• I would need to know the following or have specific skills: 
1. Communication Skills
2. Budget Planning 
3. Knowledge of writing policies and procedures
4. Supporting staff. 
3. Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
•  There mission statement of the Muckleshoot Department of Education is to provide a seamless system of excellence in education from birth through higher education in which the culture, history and language of the Muckleshoot people is integrated into every aspect of the education system. http://www.muckleshoot.nsn.us/services/department-of-education.aspx
• They currently have a Early Childhood Education Coordinator position open.  This positions provides leadership, coordination and administrative support in the ongoing development, implementation and administration of all phases of the Early Childhood Education Division curricula. The ECE Coordinator will develop and/or enhance curricula, select storybooks and other materials, train teachers, and assess educational programs for quality and adherence to the School Readiness Plan and tribal and federal early learning standards. The ECE Coordinator will specialize in all domains of the Child Development Early Learning Framework. In addition to developing and/or enhancing curriculum, this position will plan and provide onsite education for teachers and administrators.
• I would need to knwo the following or have the specific skills:
1. Communication Skills
2. Supporting Staff
3. Knowledge of Developmentally Appropriate Practice
4. Mentoring
5. Knowledge of policies and procedures
    
 

Thank You!

I would like to thank all of you for your insight into communication and collaboration over the past eight weeks.  This class flew by for me and I know that it because of the rich discussions that we had weekly. I would not have been as successful in my coursework without you all.  I wish you all continued success. This is my second to last class to complete towards my Masters and I will be done at the end of June.  I don't know where you are each at individually on your coursework but know that there is an end insight and that you can do it when you think you can't. 

Adjourning

When I think about groups that I have been in there are a lot of groups that I have been a part of.  When I was in high school I was a part of the girls basketball team.  My senior year there was 7 seniors on the time.  All 7 of us met in 7th grade and played together on our school team, fall league team, spring league team and summer league for 6 years.  2 of the girls I met on my first day of kindergarten.  We all had the goal our senior year that we wanted to go to State and that we all wanted to continue playing basketball after our high school careers were over with.   Our season ended with us going to State and placing and all 7 of us were offered some type of basketball scholarship.  Some of decided not to continue playing after high school even with offers to continue to play.  Leaving high school was hard because it was going to be a change and something new.  Leaving this group of girls was even harder.   I had been with these girls more than I had been with my own family members due to our travel and game schedule over the 4 years of high school.  We a banquet after the season.  We were able to gather as a team and each of us seniors were able to speak to our teammates and family members that were there.  We were able to personnally thank everyone and share are favorite memories.  I think that this is important to be able to have closure in a group whether it is face to face, by email or a phonecall. 

To be honest when I leave Walden I think that it will be easy to leave.  I have not formed relationships with my colleagues that are meaningful to me.  I think that if our classes would have been face to face or even telephonically a different type of relationship would have been formed and I would have had more of a connection with my classmates. 

Adjourning with any group is important because it brings closure to myself indvidually.

Conflicts

I worked as a director for a Head Start program for 7 school years.  During that time I came into many conflicts/disagreements with staff, parents, supervisor, accounting, HR and even children. 

One conflict I remember was during budget cuts.  I was working on the budget of the program for the upcoming school year and found that due to increase costs in insurance, building maintenance and salaries etc we were not going to be able to operate all of our classrooms.  This meant that we would need to shut down a full center and/or a couple of classrooms.  When I brought the information to my supervisor he just kept telling me that "they" were not going to like this.  "They" referred to the Board and the President.   I kept telling him I knew this and I worked on three different proposals to present to the President and the Board.  Suprisingly the President and Board were accepting of the proposals and I did not even have to attend one of their meetings to answer any questions.  I was told that there was a lot of discussion because no one was happy about the situation but knew that a decision needed to be made.  They chose one of the proposals that they felt would have the less impact to the program.  This mean shutting down one of our smaller sites.  When we announced the shut down the local school district was not happy about this.  This caused another conflict which we had to work through, explain and justify why we were shutting down a site.  Within this one issue there was many different conflicts that arose. 

I feel that we looked at different alternatives, we listened from different viewpoints of the people and community that was going to be impacted and what it would look like long term.

The three different proposals were very thought out becuase I wanted to make the least impact on our program.  These are just summaries of what I can remember of what we proposed to our Board. 

Proposal 1: Shut down Site W.  Currently we do not have a staff person there and the position is advertised.  We would not have to lay anyone off.  School district is currently operating a Pre K program that would allow Pre K services to continue to operate in the community. 

Proposal 2: Shut down Site G.  Average daily attendance for the past school year was less than 50% .  Costs to operate the building was given.  High mainteance costs due to owning the building.  Has a waitlist of 20 children.  We would have to lay off 3 staff members. 

Proposal 3: Shut down Site W & S.  Currently we do not have staff at either site as both positions are being advertised.  School district is currently operating a Pre K program that would allow Pre K services to continue to operate for 4 year olds only in the community. 

Have any of you experienced the impacts of budget cuts and what were some of your solutions?

Communication Styles

This week we had to evaluate ourselves and ask others to evaluate us in regards to communication.  I found the communication anxiety inventory to show the greatest differences between myself and the other two people that evaluated me.  I scored on the elevated level and others scored me in the low and mild level.  This was a surprise to me but to me this is a good thing that I do not show I am uncomfortable when speaking but I feel it.   It will be important for me to work at becoming more comfortable with myself.  When I become more comfortable than I will be able to share more.  I feel that I may miss out on what is being said or I am not sharing enough due to myself being uncomfortable.  As for my listening style I am a people oriented listener.  Although this is a good style to have I do worry that I trust people too much.

As I look at the results of all the different tests it surprised me all the different styles.  Each style is unique in their own way and each of them holds their own benefit.  I think what is important is that we are made aware of the possible issue that may arise if you are only one of the styles and not a combination of all the styles.  I feel that in order to be effective in the early childhood field you are going to need to encompass all aspects of the styles for different situations you may encounter. 

WK 3 Self Reflection

Communication is prevalant throughout my day.  I feel that I do communicate differently with different groups depending on who I am talking with.  When I am talking to my four year old daughter and her friends I communicate differently than in a professional setting.  I have to be flexible, patient and understanding with everyone I communicate with. 

The following are three different strategies that I feel will help me communicate more effectively with any group. 

1.  Treat others as you would like to be treated. 
2.  Showing respect through effective listening.
3.  Getting to know children and families to help me understanding their culture and home life. 

All three of these strategies will allow me to be a better communicator.  I want to make sure that my biases are not present when communicating. I also want to make sure that I am showing respect to everyone that I communicate with. 

Muting the TV

I decided to watch an epsiode of Blue Bloods which is a police officer drama on CBS. 

As I observed the showed with no sound I observed a lot of facial expressions.  Many of the expressions to me looked like sadness (people crying) and concern (wrinkles in the forehead appeared when talking to another person).  Talking with arms crossed and a lot of finger pointing.  I also felt that a lot of people appeared to be serious.  There was not a lot of smiling during this episode and the characters did not seem to be having a good time. 

When I rewatched the show again with the volume on it was a very serious show due to the story line.  The storyline was about a lady who lost her baby due to being punched in the face on the street.  The cops were struggling with finding a suspect. 

This assignment allowed me to really look at how people express themselves with their non verbal communication.  It was actually nice to watch a TV show where the actors could use facial expressions to communicate what they were saying without actually hearing any words.  I think that many of the assumptions I made were acurate due to being able to read those non verbal skills.  When I lived and worked in Alaska many times the population that I worked with communicated with non verbal skills.  I still remember talking on the phone to staff members at a specific location and a question was asked and they did not respond.  I actually said you gals are going to have to respond with words and not scrunch your face.  Everyone laughed but now that I think back on it I had to learn a lot about what certain facial expressions meant in the region that I worked in.  I think that a lot of us would be surprised with how much we acutally communicate with our non verbals skills. 

Competent Communication

When I think of a competent communicator i think of my friend Patrice.  She works in the Early Childhood field and I have been able to see her in action when she is advocating on behalf of young children.  When she talks people listen.  She has a voice that people listen to.  She also is able to say what she wants but is able to bring it down to the level that people understand.  She doesn't try to sugar coat her stories.  She also is able to make people laugh even when there is a serious conversation happening.  Patrice also gets her facts straight and wants to have the knowledge of what she is going to speak about before she goes and does a talk.  

I admire Patrice and the way she goes about advocating for early childhood services.  I would want to model my own communication behaviors after her.  I would want to be able to gather the facts and knowledge of the topic and then be able to present it to people.  I also want to be able to make people laugh when talking to them (and making them laugh at the right times).  I feel that this is an important trait because there are too many times that there are conversations that become SO serious and heated that people need to be able to step back and loosen up.  

When I think of research...

When I think of research I feel that I struggled with the research concept over the last eight weeks. Although I struggled with this class I feel like I learned alot especially in regards to qualitative and quantative methods.   I learned alot about how to develop a research study and the steps I will need to take to develop my own research study.  To be honest I do not think that I want to do a research study after taking this class.   I enjoy reading research but actually conducting a study does not have any interest to me.  I feel that it was important for me to understand the foundations of research and through this class I was able to gain the knowledge of these foundations that pertains to early childhood research. 

Research Around the World

I decided to look at the Early Childhood Australia website at http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/. 

It was difficult to find research topics on this website.  I found their position statement on what Australia needs to do to ensure that they have a high quality early childhood sector.  Within the ninety one page document there was a lot of research to back up their recommendations. 

I really enjoyed reading the Code of Ethics, the National Quality Standards and their newsletter.  The newsletter  was an easy read and I feel that parents could get a lot of benefit from reading the information.  They had an easy receipe that you could do at home and there was an informative article within the newsletter on the cultural aspect in Australia. 

I think that it is important to know that when articles are put on this website there is a certain criteria that must be met for every article that is accepted from this organization.  The following criteria is as follows:

• Every resource must:
• be in the best interests of children
• be evidence-based
• be appropriate for the market
• have broad application
• be culturally inclusive
• use accessible language – avoiding jargon and not patronising
• have demonstrated a balanced approach
• be related to current issues
• address the appropriate age range
• be attractively designed and presented
• clearly acknowledge any commercial interests and/or biases.

It is important to note that  some of the links did not work on the website.  This is very discouraging when navigating through a website. 

Uplifting Stories

When I think about uplifting stories in my work over the years I think to the impact Head Start program has made to the State of Alaska and especially the Bering Strait region in Alaska.

The foundation of Head Start is based on the research to help disadvantaged groups, compensating for inequality in social or economic conditions.  When I think about the work I had done in working with Head Start I think of one mother our program worked with starting 5 years ago.  When I first met G.T. she was a single mother with no high school diploma.  Her son with special needs was enrolled in our program.  She told me she wanted to work in our program.  I told her that she needed to get her GED.  We worked with her in setting her goals.  By the end of the school year she had gotten her GED and was hired as a teacher aide the following school year.  She then got her CDA and told me she wanted to get her AA degree in ECE.  She has continued to take college classes and only needs 4 more classes to complete her AA degree in ECE.  This is quite an accomplishment when 5 years ago she didn't even have a high school diploma.  She continues to work for the Head Start program but as a family advocate now.  She is now helping other parents with their goals.  Our program was able to help her accomplish her goals and she is now setting an example for her own children in showing that when you put your mind to it your goals can be accomplished. 

To find out of the history of Head Start check out this website http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/about/history-of-head-start 

Personal Research Journey

I have chosen to research the impacts of 2nd and 3rd hand smoke on children ages 3 and 4 years old.
I chose this topic because of my experience in Head Start.  Many of our staff are smokers.  They smoke before class and during their breaks.  The staff are also a majority of former or current parents of children enrolled in Head Start.    We have heard that that 2nd hand smoke is bad for children and more studies are coming out now about 3rd hand smoke.  How do we inform parents and staff of the research?  We are going to have to change years of thinking in regards to smoking...yes many parents now smoke outside instead of inside the house but there is still an impact of how 2nd and 3rd hand smoke impacts children. 

I think that this is going to be interesting and a struggle for me as I do not like doing research.  Do any of you struggle with this? 

Have any of you run into this problem in your programs?  We are a smoke free facility but staff go and smoke off campus.    Do you have any policies and or research that you would like to share on being a smoke free facility and why you are a smoke free facility?

I have a ton of links to resources to the right - early childhood organizations, parent resources and Head Start.