Time Well Spent

 

This course has taught me a lot of things that can help me in the future as well as my career. The first thing I learned is that there are many issues that need to be tackled in the early childhood field and as an early childhood educator I feel I need to help better these issues. I also learned in order to get these issues handled we have to collaborate with other people and organizations that can help with the plan we have to put together to accomplish the issues. Doing it alone can take longer and may not be as successful. The third thing that I learned was child abuse and neglect is an ongoing issue that takes the effort of everyone in order to prevent child abuse and neglect from occurring. The more we try to educate others I feel the more they will know and be aware of child abuse and neglect.

My long-term goal is to open as many child care centers and mentoring program as I can in several counties. This has been a goal of mine for 15 years now and I feel that I will be able to start my goal next year. I want my centers to be separated by ages. For example, one center will be for ages infant – two years old, another center will be for ages three years – five years old, another center will be an after school care program, and the mentoring programs will be for ages six years – twenty years old. I want children to grow and develop in a quality developmentally appropriate program.

I always knew that I would be where I am today I just thought it would be sooner, but I have a few hiccups along the way the slowed my progress but thank God I made it. I am debating if I would like to pursue my Doctor’s degree but I am about to get my Master’s degree. I would like to say thank you so much Dr. Embree you have been a great big help in this course as well as the other course I took with you. I would not have been able to finish this course without you because this was a tough class for me but you made it easier and I thank you so much for all your help and encouraging words. To all my colleagues thank you all for all your comments and help that everyone has given me. I have enjoyed reading all your posts and comments and I wish everyone the best and farewell. I pray everyone have a Great Future.

 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: International

The first international organization that appealed to me is the Association for Childhood Education International.

Mission Statement: “To promote innovative solutions to education challenges and inspire action that creates positive, sustainable futures for children and youth worldwide” (https://www.acei.org/).

I chose this organization because work for the education of all children and they have a special interest in meeting the needs of children that are most fragile and vulnerable. They are an international organization that is committed to improving early childhood education and development and making sure they have access to quality education (https://www.acei.org/).

I couldn’t find anywhere on their site where they have any jobs available. I only see where you can become a member and/or donate. In order to join the organization you go to the website and download an application, fill it out, and then mail it in with your membership fee. Depending on what membership level you want will depend on the amount you have to pay. The memberships can be one or two years. When you donate the money goes toward making sure children of all nations have access to quality education. The donation amount can be whatever you want and it is tax deductible.

The second international organization that appealed to me is NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

Their mission is “NAFSA believes that international education advances learning and scholarship, fosters understanding and respect among people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, is essential for developing globally competent individuals” (https://www.nafsa.org/).

Chose this organization because they are international and they work to advance policies and practices that ensure a more interconnected and peaceful world today and for the future (https://www.nafsa.org/). They are the voice for international education and exchange.

They had several jobs on their site and I was able to search for other positions as well. The job that appealed to me was International Student Coordinator. This position is in Oxford, Ohio at Miami University. The International Student Program Coordinator will provide program and activity coordination for the Global Partner Summer School program, bringing international students to the Miami University campus and Oxford community for a cultural immersion experience. The coordinator will also promote the personal development of the enrolled international students need to adjust to a new culture, build an inclusive, welcoming, and vibrant environment at Miami University (https://www.nafsa.org/).

The coordinator is responsible for following university policies and procedures related to purchasing, accounts payable, parents, faculty, and staff with diplomacy, discretion and judgement (https://www.nafsa.org/). You have to be available evenings and weekends. Three references are required.

A Bachelor’s degree is required and experience with program planning for international students; experience with travel logistics and budgets; evidence of excellent attendance record.  This position is not eligible for H1B sponsorship. They desire a Master’s degree; Chinese language proficiency; experience living, working, or studying in Asia; experience developing, refining, and implementing effective international student retention strategies and programs (https://www.nafsa.org/).

The third international organization I chose is UNICEF.

UNICEF believes that all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world (www.unicef.org). They have worker over 70 years to improve the lives of children and families. They fight for the rights of every child seeking safe shelter, nutrition, protection from disaster and conflicts, and equality (www.unicef.org).

I chose this organization because they defend the right for every child to have a chance.

They had so many job opportunities all around the world. The job that appealed to me was Administrative assistant in the Ukraine. The job closed March 1, 2018. The Administrative Assistant is responsible for executing a broad variety of standardized administrative tasks for the respective section(s) requiring thorough knowledge of UNICEF administrative procedures, processes and policies (www.unicef.org).

The key functions of an administrative assistant is:

• Travel
• Invoice processing
• Contracting of consultants and service providers
• Events and conferences
• Property management, office equipment, vehicles
• General Administrative duties (www.unicef.org).

They want the education to be done completed secondary education preferably supplemented by technical or university courses related to the work of the organization. A minimum of 5 years working as an administrative or clerical work experience. You have to be fluent in English and Ukraine (www.unicef.org).

This would be a great opportunity if I could speak Ukraine. I love the way they want to make sure all children and families are treated fairly.

References

Association for Childhood Education International. Retrieved from: https://www.acei.org/

NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Retrieved from: https://www.nafsa.org/

UNICEF. Retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org/

 

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

The first organization that appealed to me is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Mission Statement: NAEYC “promotes high quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research”. We advance diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children (www.naeyc.org).

I chose this organization because it is a professional organization that is nationally known for promoting high quality early childhood. They have different resources that can help teachers and other educators in the early childhood field do different activities and read about young children as well. If you are in the early childhood field you can become a member of the NAEYC.

The position that they have that interests me is Quality Assurance Coordinator. The Quality Assurance Coordinator works with staff members of the program and the NAEYC Academy to monitor programs once they achieve their accreditations to make sure the status id maintained (www.naeyc.org).

In order to qualify for this position you have to have an Associate’s degree, 2-3 years of clerical experience, and preferably prior experience working in the early childhood field or related field (www.naeyc.org).

The job responsibilities that you are required to have are:

• Answer any phone calls related to Quality Assurance and respond or route the call to the appropriate party.
• Process and analyze possible violations of required criteria
• Work with Child Care Program staff in the Accreditation Process
• Provides technical assistance, guidance, and interpretation of policies and procedures to Child Care Program staff.
• Responds to all child care program submitting a 72 hour notification from the Quality Assurance Department
• Reviews and analyzes all submitted 72 hour notification incident(s) and supporting documentation
• Determines if an incident(s) at a child care program is in violation of NAEYC’s required criteria policy through obtaining and assessing the documentation provided by the program
• Compiles and organizes all relevant documentation related to the incident(s) for review by the Scope and Severity Committee
• Responds to incoming calls through the Academy’s hunt group pertaining to the department and Academy
• Acts as backup liaison between program staff and the Scope and Severity Committee
• Collaborates with program staff members to obtain additional information regarding the incident(s) under review when necessary
• Other duties may be given
• Have to have effective and positive interpersonal and communication skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• Work independently and make decisions based on the Academy’s policy and procedures
• Can operate a computer and have used MS Office, GroupWise, and database management
• Able to multi-task and still remain professional
• Able to lift up to 15 pounds and walk vigorously (www.naeyc.org).

All you have to do to apply is make sure you are able to fulfil the job requirements and go to www.naeyc.org and click on careers at NAEYC, select the position and then fill out the application.

 

The second organization that appealed to me is Girls Incorporated.

I chose this organization because it is a program for girls ages 6 – 18 and it offers them life changing experiences that help them overcome barriers and one day change the world. The girls that attend the program are amongst mentor and peers who have the same aspirations as they do.

The organization had two positions available at this time Senior Staff Accountant and Executive Director, Girls, Inc. of Delaware. Neither position interest me. I would like to have a more hands on position with the girls so that I can help spire them. They have many programs across the United States and Canada that serve over 140,000 girls. If a position ever came up to work with the girls hands on I will definitly apply.

 

The third organization that appealed to me is Zero to Three.

 

1.    In order to be a candidate for this position you must possess the following competencies: Strategic Agility Decision Quality Action Oriented Conflict Management Customer Focus Developing Direct Reports Innovation Management Managing vision and purpose  Girls Incorporated. Retrieved from: https://girlsinc.org/.Zero to Three. Retrieved from: https://www.zerotothree.org/.
2. NAEYC. Retrieved from: https://www.naeyc.org/.
3. References
4. Position Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree in Child Care related field or Public Administration; or Human Services area Master’s Degree Preferred Minimum 5 years demonstrated experience and ability to strategize and manage a Director Level Team, large scale workforce and multi-million dollar budget successfully (www.zerotothree.org).  The position pays 100,000 – 117,000 and depending on your knowledge and skills will be the determination of your salary.
5. The job that interest me was Assistant Commissioner Child Care & Community Services. The Assistant Commisioner directs the Division of Communtiy and Socail Services throughout the State of Tennessee (www.zerotothree.org). There are several program directors that report to the commissioner.
6. I chose this organization because they support people who care for infants and toddlers. You are abe to become a abvocate and help contribute to the work that they do and you can also become a member of their organization. There are many different topics that they have on their website that can help parents, teachers and members of the community about children and their well being.
7. Mission Statement: To ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life (www.zerotothree.org). At ZERO TO THREE, we envision a society that has the knowledge and will to support all infants and toddlers in reaching their full potential (www.zerotothree.org).

 

References

Girls Incorporated. Retrieved from: https://girlsinc.org/.

NAEYC. Retrieved from: https://www.naeyc.org/.

Zero to Three. Retrieved from: https://www.zerotothree.org/.

 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The first organization that appealed to me is my local Boys and Girls Club.

Mission statement: To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens (https://www.bgca.org/).

I chose this organization because they are an organization that cares for children especially children from low-income families. They open their doors to those who need them the most. Children go to the club after-school and in the summer for the summer program.

They currently had no job openings but if they had an opening for a position I would choose to be a Teen Program Coordinator. The skills and expertise I would need in order to fulfil this role would be:

• Associate degree from any college or university
• MS Office and web competency
• Experience working with youth ages 13-18
• Strong verbal and communication skills
• Knowledge of trends in fitness, developmental games, and other athletic activities
• Be able to work independently
• Be able to motivate youth and mange behavior
• Have a good driving record and valid driver’s license

 

The second organization that appeals to me is the Early Learning Coalition of Polk County.

Mission: The coalitoon will provide leadership. Direction, and integrated resource management for quality services that support our vision of success for children (https://elcpolk.org/about/mission-and-vision/).

I chose this organization because they are an organizaton that works to make sure all children attend quality child care programs, enter school healthy and ready for lifelong learning and collaborate with parents, families, educators, and the community.

The current position they have available that interest me is Parent Counselor. This position provides referral information to parents who are seeking child care assistance matters and determines if the parents are eligible for financial assiatance for child care/School readiness and Vountary Pre-Kindergarten services according to the funding guidelines. The skills and expertise that is needed for this position is:

• High School Diploma or equivalent, but preferably an AA degree
• 2 years experience in case management; provision of services under a county or state contract is preferred.
• Be available to work flexible schedules inclusing weekend/evenings occasionally
• Valid Florida driver’s license
• Proof of auto insurance
• Ability to travel locally or regionally for site and home visits, training, and other job-related activities and functions

The third organization that appeals to me is Florida Department of Children and Families.

I chose this organization because they help children and families in our city and state with different situations such as food and cash assistance, medical assistance, homelessness, child abuse and neglect, divorce, and etc. They care about the safe and well-being of children. They have several programs to help assist families.

The current job opportunity they have that interest me is Child Protective Investigator. They help children and work with families in crisis. This is professional work protecting children and working with families to conduct investigations of alleged abused, abandoned, neglected or exploited children (http://www.myflfamilies.com/).

The skills and expertise that is needed for this position is:

• Detail-oriented
• Conducts investigations regarding allegations of abuse, neglect, abandonment and/or special conditions for children;
• Works closely with law enforcement;
• Collects information through observation and interviews with the children, parents, relatives, neighbors, and other parties associated with the case, as well as analysis of criminal, past service history and other records;
• Engages families to understand the family’s perspectives about family dynamics, challenges and solutions, identifies needs and determines the level of intervention needed to include voluntary services or court ordered dependency services;
• Assesses danger threats, child vulnerabilities and caregiver protective capacities in order to determine whether a child is safe or not safe;
• Develops with family and other persons as necessary any required present and/or impending danger plans based on  analysis of danger threats in operation;
• Manages and modifies safety plans as necessary during the course of the investigation;
• Arranges emergency placement for any child that cannot safely remain in the home;
• Notifies state attorney, law enforcement, child protection team and other required individuals as appropriate;
• Provides written present and impending danger assessments;
• Completes Risk Assessment on families investigated and explains risk score to family;
• Conducts any staffing required for families with risk scores that are High and Very High Risk;
• Presents safety plan and impending danger assessment at case management case transfer staffing and participates in discussion as to recommended follow-up actions;
• Provides families with services linkages to agency and community resources based on needs assessment and provides recommendations for development of case plan to Case Manager;
• Conducts initial/ongoing child present and impending danger assessments;
• Develops with the family a signed Present Danger Plan and a signed safety plan for any identified threats and interventions;
• Notifies state attorney, law enforcement, child protection team and other required individuals as appropriate;
• Schedules and gathers information for and participates in case staffing
• Prepares appropriate reports/documentation in coordination with Children’s Legal Services and provides testimony in court;
• Maintains thorough documentation in the client records/appropriate information system(s) and maintains organized client files;
• Reports indication of abuse, neglect and/or abandonment to the Florida Abuse Hotline;
• Establishes and maintains cooperative and professional working relationships with organizations and other agencies involved with child protective investigations such as community based providers, Children’s Legal Services, law enforcement, medical personnel, schools, and other community/agency resources;
• Ensures effective communication with deaf or hard-of hearing customers or companions in accordance with the ADA and/or Section 504 and shall manage service records and report this data and any resources and/or training needs to their designated program point of contact.
• A Bachelor’s degree; preferred Bachelor’s or  Master’s degree in social work from a college or university social work program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education
• Must obtain Florida Child Protective Investigator certification within 12 months of hire (http://www.myflfamilies.com/).

 

References

Boys & Girls Club of America. Retrieved from: https://www.bgca.org/.

Early Learning Coalition of Polk County. Retrieved from: https://elcpolk.org/.

Florida Department of Children and Families. http://www.myflfamilies.com/.

My Wordle

Wishing all a farewell

I have enjoyed this class and all that I have learned in it.  To all my classmates I have enjoyed reading all your discussions and blogs and I have learned a lot from each and everyone of you all.  I pray that everyone have a blessed year and continue to succeed in the rest of their classes.  If anyone wants to stay in contact just comment your information below and again thanks to everyone in the class.

Team Building and Collaboration

In Tuckman’s Model the adjourning stage is the wrap up stage. The members of the group decides if they will end or begin another project, but before they do that they look back on their failures and accomplishments that occurred throughout the project (O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, and Teven, 2015). A group that I was in was a training group. We had a great time working together with minimal conflicts. It was a high-performing group because we had a lot to learn and go over. This type of group was the hardest to leave because everything was laid out and on point as far as the plans went. The best closing rituals I have saw was when everyone had to talk about each other and what they may have learned from them. As far as my colleagues in my Master’s Degree program I will adjourn like most of my class in college has been and that’s we just part ways. I don’t really establish relationships in college because I take mostly online and I don’t have time to. The ending stage is an important stage because it determines if the goals were accomplished and if you all may continue or part ways.

 

Reference

O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Conflict Resolution

A disagreement that I have had recently was with an old best friend of mine. I’m actually friends with her and her sister. So my old best friend was upset with me because when her sister passed I only texted her to give my condolences and check on her but I never called her. I called and texted her sister though. I tried to explain to her that I wasn’t sure if she would even accept my text let alone my call since we hadn’t talked in well over a year. She felt that I hurt her feelings because we had been friends for well over 30 years and she felt that I could have at least called. The thing is she hasn’t been the type of friend she should and I have given my all and then some and I got tired of it so I stop calling her because we stopped being best friend over 15 years ago due to her not liking my new friend who is my best friend currently. We had an unproductive conflict because nothing was solved. This type of conflict is when conflict is managed poorly and there is a negative impact on the individuals or the relationship (O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, and Teven, 2015). Once I read the readings for this week I realized I could have handled the situation better. I did apologize to my friend for not calling her. I can be obliging on this conflict because she is a person that will not let this end regardless of the fact that I apologized and explained why I did what I did. Another strategy I can use is the NVC method by connecting with the needs of others that are being met or not met in relation to what is happening and how we are feeling (http://www.cnvc.org/).

 

Reference

O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

Who Am I as a Communicator?

It surprised me that my husband got me down pack when it comes to communication. He knows me better then I know myself. He knows that I am uncomfortable when I have to communicate at times like when we have a disagreement I shut down. I learned from the reading this week that we can improve our perceptions if we are thoughtful when we seek explanations (O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, and Teven, 2015). When evaluating others we should take the time and think through what you see and it can help reduce your perceptions. I also learned that we should look beyond first impressions (O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, and Teven, 2015). When relying on the first impressions it can cause you to make wrong conclusions and pass judgement. It’s best to go further past the first impressions talk to the person and get to know more about them.

Reference

O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Communication and Culture

Everyone I communicate with I communicate differently. When I am communicating with my friends I use slang, symbols, text messages, and I may use profanity from time to time. When I’m communicating with my colleagues at work and at different community functions I will use a high language which is more formal and professional. When I’m with different cultures I am formal until I began communicating with them more and I get to know them more. When it comes to a person’s culture you have to really be careful not to say things that may be hurtful. When communicating with others you can learn their culture.

By learning and understand a person’s culture I can communicate with them better. When we communicate with others we need to make sure we don’t perceive them in a negative way before getting to know them and their point of your behavior and others when communicating (O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, and Teven, 2015). When communicating listening is very important so that you can hear what others are saying that you can respond appropriately.

Reference

O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.