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