International Opportunities

The international organizations that appealed to me were Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Step By Step Association (ISSA), and the Academy for Educational Development. I chose the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) because their vision is to improve the well-being of people through policies (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, n.d.). I found their website to be informative and well-organized. It provided a lot of information on social and economic research and policies. I found one quote that particularly spoke to me, "Drawing on facts and real-life experience, we recommend policies designed to improve the quality of people's lives" (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, n.d., para 3). I appreciate the mention of basing their policies on real-life experience and research. I chose ISSA because of their pillars and beliefs. They directly correlate with my own values and beliefs. Their pillars are, "Pillar 1 - Access and equity of care and education for each young child, Pillar 2 - Promote high quality and professionalism in providing care and education for young children, and Pillar 3 - Empower parents and communities to participate in and support children's well-being, development and learning" (ISSA, n.d., para 3).  I chose the Academy for Educational Development because of their 360 perspective.  “Improving lives in sustainable, measurable ways is possible only when we connect ideas, resources and people who have a stake in the issues affecting their communities. Through customized responses that address multiple aspects of people's lives, we can exponentially increase the impact of our work” (Academy for Educational Development, n.d., para 1).  This perspective encompasses my philosophy.  I believe that we need to approach change as a whole child, family, community way.  There are so many needs that must be met in order for progress to be made.  All three of these organizations offer exciting possibilities for employment.

One position that I believe would be interesting would be a trainer at the ISSA campus.  To be in an environment with so many like-minded people that are passionate and affecting change would be an incredible opportunities.  Another position at OECD that would be interesting is the Young Professionals Program.  This position, “under the supervision of experienced professionals, carries out research and analysis of issues of current policy relevance” (OECD, n.d., para 6).  This would offer a lot of experience in the field of research and public policy.  In looking at the position requirements I will meet them at the completion of this degree.  It also asks that candidates be willing to learn French as part of their job requirements.  These two positions are vastly different, but are positions that I could take on with a bit of learning and experience. 

References

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (n.d.). Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.oecd.org/home/0,2987,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

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

National Organizations and Career Opportunities

The three national organizations that appeal to me are the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the National Head Start Association (NHSA), and the Council for Professional Recognition.  I chose NAEYC because it is the biggest national organization for the education of young children.  They are well researched, organized, and advocates for early childhood.  I have been a member since college, and would like to get more involved.  I chose NHSA because I have worked for head start for several years and believe in the philosophy.  I would like to get more involved in the national efforts to improve program quality and availability.  The Council for Professional Recognition is the council that is in charge of the CDA trainings and certification.  I am currently a professional development specialist for the council, but would like to become more involved. 

The job opportunities that I found to be of interest to me are difficult to find.  I haven’t ever looked nationally, so I was not sure where to look at first.  However, I searched on the NHSA website and it linked me to some Office of Head Start positions that are available.  There are several program specialist positions open across the United States.  This position’s responsibilities include local grantee program oversight, advice and assistance to local grantees, and collection of data and reporting.  This would be a very interesting job as it would cover several different programs.  I do currently hold all the necessary job requirements at this time.  NAEYC also had an internship available that is unpaid, but seemed like an interesting position.  The position is for digital content assistants.  The position is responsible for website content, social media, e-newsletters, as well as other digitally delivered information.  This would be a great opportunity to learn more about early childhood, NAEYC, and how an organization that size advocates for children and families.  I currently possess all of the skills and experience that I would need to competently fulfill this role.  It just requires knowledge of early childhood, digital media, and ability to write in proper English.  

Organizations and Opportunities

Local Organizations

The first organization I am interested in is the Great Start organization of Northwest Michigan.  This organization is the early childhood initiative for the state of Michigan, and it is the local chapter.  This organization provides a quality rating system for all childcare programs, provides training and professional development for early childhood professionals, and many other resources related to early childhood.  They also have a community of practice of which I am a member.  This is the Great Start Kids Strengthening Families Workgroup.  This is a group of community members and professionals that come together to support families in the community.  The third organization that appeals to me is the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children.  I have been a NAEYC member for several years, and find it provides abundant resources, support, and current information.  It supports early childhood professionals and gives them opportunities to come together to discuss early childhood topics. 

Job Opportunities

There is a position open for the Great Start Organization for Assistant Director.  The requirements for this position are a Masters Degree and 3-5 years experience in the early childhood profession.  After this class I will possess all of these requirements. 

Another position is the for the state reform officer.  This position oversees school reform and helps to plan for schools that do not meet the required yearly progress.  This position only requires a bachelors degree in any field.  This I find interesting and discouraging, because I would think a job this important would require some kind of education background. 

At this time of the year there are very few education job opportunities, and I struggled to find a third that was something I was interested in.  At my agency there is a site supervisor position that is available at this time.  It requires a bachelors degree in an early childhood discipline.  I am qualified for this position and submitted my resume last week in hopes that this fall I could begin a new journey as a site supervisor. 

Resources

 

www.greatstartforkids.org

 http://www.michigan.gov/mdcs/0,1607,7-147-6876---,00.html

www.nmcaa.net

My Greatest Hope, and Farewell to One More Class!

My greatest hope for myself as an early childhood educator is that I always approach my work with enthusiasm and hope.  With the many politics and policies that sometimes hamper the work we do I just hope I can always find a reason to continue, the silver lining.  I hope that as I continue to learn and grow that I can inspire others to begin the journey of becoming an early childhood educator and adopt the anti-bias education philosophy.  I hope that the children and families that I work with can always find comfort and hope when they enter my classroom, and that they can open their hearts and minds to learn and grow and help others.

Thank you all for reading and commenting.  I have enjoyed your input and wish you all well in your journey ahead.

Around the World

I chose eastern and southern Africa, because my in laws recently visited that area and I learned a bit about some of the people who live and work there. When I looked at the regional website it stood out to me that the press releases were about war, malnutrition, and getting safe drinking water.

This area is plagued by war and disease with very little access to proper care.  While there are affluent and middle class areas, many of these countries have a large population of poverty.  There is are four topics highlighted on the main page.  One is about a little boy who was saved from a fighting camp and was about helping villages get clean water.  These issues directly relate to the well-being of the children in these villages. 

When children and families are fearful and lack proper nutrition their emotional well-being and development will suffer.  Many of these children will grow up early and take on the adult world before they have had the opportunity to learn and practice social-emotional development.

As a professional this really puts things into perspective for me.  As a Head Start teacher I deal with children that are at risk daily, but I have never had to deal with something as serious as children training to fight in a war.  I know many teachers that travel to this part of the world to help, and my hat is off to them for their service to these children and families.

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The sexualization of early childhood is alarming.  I recently looked at a set of pictures depicting classic Disney princesses from when they first appeared to their make overs in recent years.  Their waists were smaller, curves more defined, and breasts bigger.  This caused me to stop in my tracks and recognize how sexualized or society has become in recent history.

I have personally experienced this phenomenon.  I have a five year old daughter, and trying to find pants that aren’t hip huggers that eventuate the nonexistent curves of my daughter is nearly impossible.  The pants are not the only article of clothing that that is not appropriate for my five year old daughter.  From spaghetti string bikinis to belly shirts the apparel of the preschool age is becoming strikingly like young adult clothing.

As a teacher I have experienced this sexualization through children’s dancing and the toys they bring from home.  I recently had an experience where I watched as a three year old boy began hip thrusting and grinding on a little girl when we were dancing during music and movement time.  His behavior was obviously something he had seen somewhere before, and he had no idea what he was doing.  On the same day I had several girls bring in their monster high dolls.  I was not familiar with this program, but was alarmed by the clothing and bodies of these dolls.  The little girls adored these dolls and enjoyed dressing them up, but the message these dolls were sending these girls about body image was disturbing. 

The implications of this sexulaization on children’s development range from future relationships to body image.  Levin and Kilbourne (2009) stated, “These lessons can seriously harm their ability to grow up to have healthy attitudes about themselves and their bodies and to have caring relationships in which sex is an important part” (p. 4).  Body image has been something I have seen many young girls struggle with, and as an educator I try to include in my curriculum and classroom environment healthy examples of men and women that are not over sexualized.  I try to stress the importance taking care of ourselves by eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and exercise, and drinking water.  It is my hope that this approach can help to combat some of the unhealthy body images children are bombarded with in their lives.

This week’s study of the sexualization of early childhood has opened my eyes to the negative outcomes that it can cause in children.  I always knew it wasn’t healthy, but there are many more repercussion that I had every considered.  It has helped me to realize the importance of knowledge and awareness to help our future, our children, to combat these unhealthy trends.

 

Reference

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

The effects of -isms and bias on Me

As an early childhood educator I realize the role I play in the lives of the children and families I work with.  The way I interact with them can impact the way they perceive education and educators into the future.  I have taken time throughout this journey to think about my own biases and how they affect these relationships, but until now I haven't thought about how it would affect me if I was experiencing the same biases.  Where I live and work I am part of the dominant culture, so I haven't often experienced many biases or -isms directly.  However, I have experienced ageism. 


I graduated from college and obtained my first teaching job at the age of 20.  I taught kindergarten and had no idea I would face criticism for my age.  I had parents double guess my strategies and recommendations, because they didn't believe I had enough life experience to give them advice.  This caused me to double guess myself.  I struggled in the classroom, and took out my frustrations on the children by not providing them enough time to explore and learn.  I was told by several parents and even colleagues that I was too young and naive to realize that play wasn't appropriate in kindergarten, and that the children needed more rules and assigned seats.  They needed worksheets and homework.  When I stood up and said that wasn't what research said, they all said, "Well, when you grow up you will realize the error of your thinking."  This ageism really caused me to struggle and do things that I knew weren't developmentally appropriate.  I look back that this year and cringe at some of the things I asked those children to do.  I had them using worksheets and took away much of their free play time.  I was so bombarded by the thought that I was too young to know how to teach that I allowed others to make decisions for me. 


As I look back on this experience I realize that I allowed an -ism to overcome me.  It caused me to be drained emotionally and I wasn't able to provide the best environment for the children in my classroom.  With almost ten more years of experience and years in my life I do realize that I have matured and learned a lot about myself and education, but I also recognize that had I not been bombarded with ageism my first year of teaching I would have provided a much more appropriate environment and relationships with the children and families in my classroom.