In Appreciation

Dear Early Childhood Colleagues,

I hesitate to post this message as it means I have come to the juncture where I will no longer be urged weekly to reflect with each of you on topics that challenge me to consider new ways of understanding the world.  Instead, I am charged with continuing my lifelong learning with the option of choosing my focus and the path of inquiry to follow.  I will miss the contrasting opinions and thought provoking questions.  Thank you for exposing me to a world I would not have seen had it not been for your stories and insights.

Dr. Teri Davis, I want to express how much I appreciate the encouragement and feedback you provided in the course.  Your willingness to respond to our reflections and insights seven days a week demonstrates an exceptional level of commitment that I want you to know I recognized and have valued.  Your attention to detail has helped me make progress and reach personal goals, building my confidence as an early childhood professional.  Thank you.

There have been many key concepts that will continue to fuel my passion for change and to inspire my self-discovery to act in ways that make my community a better place for children as I train and mentor early childhood teachers.

I want to remember……

Equity

“Internalized privilege functions as a set of lenses, making it more difficult for an advantaged person who has internalized this sense of privilege to see that not everyone is so lucky as he is.  These lenses lead the person to wrongly assume that everyone else has his same opportunities for smooth access to institutions and acceptance and that people who are unsuccessful in society had his opportunities but were not smart enough or didn’t work hard enough to make use of them.” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p.26).

Creating Meaning

For a young child a close, emotionally rich relationship with a responsive caregiver develops an understanding of the mind of others and shared meaning; and interacting with others provides experiences that shape learning, reflect culture and develop skills. “Shared meaning making requires paying attention” (Smidt, 2006, p. 62).

“Children look at the world through the lens of their culture.  Family is the first culture” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

“Culture does not determine a child’s ability or intelligence.  But it can produce many different ways of knowing and learning.” (Leona M. Johnson, author of “What We know about Culture and Learning”)

Health

“Health is more than merely the absence of disease--it is an evolving human resource that helps children and adults adapt to the challenges of everyday life, resist infections, cope with adversity, feel a sense of personal well-being, and interact with their surroundings in ways that promote successful development.”  (Center on the Developing Child Harvard University, 2010, p. 2).

Building Adult Capabilities

We should change our strategy for improving children’s healthy development from “giving information and advice to people who we need to do active skill building with, skill building by coaching, by training, by practice” (Center on the Developing Child, 2013, min: 3:09).

Encouragement

“Experiencing ego-deflating episodes of disappointment and demoralization is quite normal….Teaching is in many ways the educational equivalent of white-water rafting.  Periods of apparent calm are interspersed with sudden frenetic turbulence” (Brookfield, 2006, p. 6).

Passion

“What unites them [passionate creatives] is the desire to make a difference, to leave the world a better place than they found it, and to engage with those who share their passion so they can get better faster” (Hagel, Brown, & Davison, 2010, p. 4).

References

Brookfield, S. D. (2006). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom. San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass

Center on the Developing Child Harvard University. (2013).  Building adult capabilities to improve child outcomes: A theory of change.  Frontiers of Innovation.  Retrieved from http://developingchildharvard.edu/resources/multimedia/videos/theory_of_change

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2010). The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood. http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. O. (2010).  Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.  Washington, DC:  National Association for the Education of Young Children

Hagel, J., Brown, J. S., & Davison, D. (2010, May 5). The power of passionate creatives. Retrieved from http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/70.06.PassionateCreatives#disqus_thread

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010).  Sectors in the early childhood field. [Multimedia program].  Baltimore, MD: Author

Smidt, S. (2006).  The developing child in the 21^st century, a global perspective on child development.  New York, NY:  Routledge

Place Matters

Children and families need relief from toxic stress to have a healthy future.

Youtube, (2008), Living in disadvantaged neighborhoods

International Early Childhood Community

The first international organization that caught my attention is The Mother Tongue Based-Multi Lingual Education Network (MTB-MLE). The purpose of the association is:

“The Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education Network (MTB-MLE Network) is an association of individuals and agencies that share a common vision: all children have the right to receive a quality education in a linguistically and culturally appropriate environment. We believe that providing children with education in the languages they and their parents know and use at home promotes educational equity, improves their educational outcomes and helps them form a positive self-concept and sense of identity within their culture.”  (MTB-MLE, 2013b, p. 1)

The work of the MTB-MLE supports educational program development by encouraging first language instruction and parent education.  “It is important to recognize that many parents, even in so-called disadvantaged environments, are competent and effective caregivers….strengths inherent in the traditional culture” (MTB-MLE, 2013a, p. 2).  The network is governed by a volunteer steering committee and work is conducted by associated individuals or agencies.  An example of a network agency is the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC). 

The ARNEC is also a network of members interested in promoting support for quality early childhood development.  The on-line bulletin board posts positions in affiliated organizations.  One position of interest is for a project manager for Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO).  The position requires management skills, a masters’ degree in education and experience in a cross cultural setting.  The position does not indicate a second language is needed, but does require fluency in written and spoken English. (http://www.arnec.net/cos/o.x?c=/ntuc/pagetree&func=view&rid=1035864)  The position interests me because the group is working on supporting education in children’s home language.  As I have increased my awareness of supporting home language instruction I am encouraged to see that groups around the world share my concern for this challenge.

The Consultative Group based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is an international consortium of agencies that provide services to early childhood development organizations, donors and foundations, and non-government organizations that have a mission to improve the world by ensuring a better future for children (http://www.ecdgroup.com).  The vision of the organization to create “a sustainable future with dignity for all” and the value of recognizing parents are a child’s first teacher encouraged me to search through the website for career opportunities.  The paid position of the organization is an executive director who is supervised by a board of directors.  The job description is not posted, but I imagine that the international nature of the collaboration between board members and the distribution of information would require someone who has strong organizational skills, good communication and presentation skills both written and oral, and the ability to conduct business remotely and in person. 

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) posted an article which mentioned education reform in Mexico which was being recognized by PISA, an international student assessment of learning.  I have been looking at instructional strategies in Mexico’s education system to get a clearer understanding of the culture of education experienced by the parents of the Spanish speaking children in my preschool program.  There are just over 70 countries that are participating in the testing of 15 year olds to “measure student success around the world” (OECD, 2013).  In the country profiles I discovered that 95% of the four-year-olds in Mexico are enrolled in preprimary education.  There were a series of videos explaining the education reform the Ministry of Education in Mexico is undertaking to help all children achieve high levels of education.  I learned that one of the strategies is to attract, train and retain the best teachers by investing in the teaching profession (Cornucopia Productions, 2011).  The over arching goals of education are to develop critical thinking, analytical intelligence, resilience when confronted with change, and collaboration skills.  The goals are similar to what I desire for children, and although I would not have the Spanish skills or the depth of cultural understanding to be an effective educator in Mexico, I believe that my challenge response could help create Spanish speaking teachers that could return to Mexico and really make a difference in the lives of children. 

            The OECD did have one job posting that interested me.  It is for a research assistant to provide analytical and project related tasks and to stay abreast of education policy development internationally.  With many of the international organizations I scanned the positions require international experience which I do not have and a second language.  The tasks involve research, analysis and computing statistically information while living in Paris.  It sounds like a wonderful experience, but I will need to find a opportunity to gain international experience and a second language. 

References

Cornucopia Productions. (Producer). (2011). Improving education in Mexico. [video series].  Retrieved from http://www.pisa.oecd.org/Imporving.Education_In_Mexico_InternationalComparisons.wmv

Mother Tongue Based-MultiLingual Education Network (MTB-MLE). (2013a). Educating parents and caregivers. Retrieved from www.ecdgroup.com/download/cc105api.pdf

Mother Tongue Based-MultiLingual Education Network (MTB-MLE). (2013b). Who we are. Retrieved from http://www.mlenetwork.org/who-we-are

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2013). Retrieved from http://www.pisa.oecd.org

Test Post: Looking for the Comment Box

Dear Colleagues,

I am checking to see if my settings have been changed or if I have some type of glitch in my blog posts.

Sincerely,
Wendy

Early Childhood Communities at the National level

National Association of Early Childhood Specialists

The first search brought me to the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS-SDE); it is a membership organization consisting of Early Childhood professionals that work in state departments of education.  I was unfamiliar with the specific group so I looked for an explanation of the members' roles:  "State Specialists support successful child development and continuous learning from birth through age eight" (NAECS-SDE, n.d., p. 1).  One of the goals of the association is to bring members together to share ideas and solve common problems.  I believe the collaborative efforts of professionals in similar positions are vital to professional development and I could benefit from membership if I worked in the state department of education.  Next, I searched on Indeed.com to see if there were jobs posted for Early Childhood Specialists.  I sifted through ten pages and found several interesting postings.  There is a job in the State of Oregon for which I will qualify in five weeks (http://www.indeed.com/1-Early-Childhood-Specialist-jobs.html).


McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership

The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership support emerging leaders from underrepresented groups as one of its mission.  As an early childhood professional that is active in my community I see a great need to encourage diversity in the profession.  I would enjoy being a part of the effort to diversify the workforce in early learning and encourage leadership.  One of the projects McCormick is implementing is year-long communities of practice for directors of early learning programs. "Taking Charge of Change" provides sustained professional develop that is frequent, builds relationships and relevant to the community where services are provided.  Working as a trainer and facilitator would be an exciting and rewarding position where I could share my experience and education with other adults seeking quality learning environments for children.  The current position that is available is Director of Research and Evaluation, which requires a doctorate degree in early childhood education (http://www.mccormickcenter.nl.edu/job-listing/director-of-research-and-evaluation/).

National Center for Family Literacy

My challenge/problem of engaging English Language Learners in responsive conversation in their home language would be well supported by efforts to increase family literacy. A rich home language supports the development of a second language. In Kentucky there is a position available for an Early Childhood and Family Learning Specialist which requires a Master's degree, knowledge of adult education and five years of experience.  The work is done both face to face and on-line, which would be a great opportunity to continue to build skills in presentation and technology. (http://www.famlit.org/careers/)

World Vision United States
World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization: "Our vision for every child, life in all its fullness.  Our prayer for every heart, the will to make it so." World Vision has an office in the region in which I work and they often provide support for the families stressed by lack of resources.  The National World Vision organization has an opening for an Early Childhood Development Specialist that provides leadership, develops programming and engages in interagency representation. The education minimum is a masters degree in early childhood education, with three years of international field experience and a second language is preferred.  I would really enjoy global connections of working for an organization such as World Vision and the ability to align my efforts with my personal values. (http://www.wvi.org)

Have a great day!

Gratitude: Louie Schwartzberg at TEDxSF June 11, 2011

Building Adult Capabilities to Improve Child Outcomes: A Theory of Change

Center on the Developing Child Harvard University



Reference
Center on the Developing Child Harvard University. (2013). Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/frontiers_of_innovation/