Time Well Spent

Ahh! The sound of sweet success is ringing in my ears. It is hard to believe that I am in the final week of master's degree program at Walden University. The journey has taken me three years to complete.  I have learned that I can be a leader and advocate for young children. Prior to the start of this program, I never viewed myself as a leader nor did I really feel compelled to step into that role. But now more than ever, I have a burning desire to do more than just sit on sidelines and watch others lead the way. In the future, I want to be more involved at work and the community by taking the initiative to lead groups.  

Furthermore, I have learned the importance of collaboration.  My three year journey means that I have taken these courses with many different groups of individuals with various backgrounds and experiences. My learning has been positively influenced by the feedback and experiences that my colleagues have shared with me. I would love to continue our collaboration beyond Walden. In one course, a fellow student created a Facebook page. If you are interested in this, I will create a group for us but I need your email address to invite you.

Finally, the most important lesson that I have learned from this program is that if you have passion that it can drive your vision, mission, and goals for the future.  Our passions merged with a mission can make a positive social change for our society. It echoes back to the idea of stepping into leadership instead of following in someone elses shadow.

Thank you!

Here is motivational video to remind us that we can make difference one child at a time. Enjoy!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

World Organization for Early Childhood

http://www.omep-usnc.org/

 

OMEP stands for Organizacion Mundial para La Educacion Preesolar. It translates to the World Organization for Early Childhood, but the acronym does not match. This organization is located in over 60 countries including the United States (OMEP, 2010). They are involved in many research, development, and advocacy programs for early childhood (OMEP, 2010). For example, they have provided books and school materials, sponsored volunteer service days for children, and organized childcare in disaster areas.

Although I couldn’t find any direct job opportunities, I feel this is an organization that I would like to join. As a member, I could work with relief efforts and initiatives in our country and even around the world to improve early childhood education. At the very least, I could donate or organize a fundraiser to collect extra books and school supplies to be used in developing countries for early childhood education.

Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/about-us/about-us.html

The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) is dedicated to providing children around the world with a quality education to prepare them as great citizens. I choose this organization because of their global outreach to extend education to all children. Also, I was attracted to their focus on “providing environments of equality and fairness” since it is closely related to my passion and challenge in this course (ACEI, 2011a).

The only job opportunity that I found was a paid internship with the organization that would require researching and compiling data for briefings, articles, and other types of resources (ACEI, 2011b). A requirement is that you must be a graduate student in a program that focuses on a global education issues with a particular interest in childhood education (ACEI, 2011b). I believe we could all apply for this internship since we’ve become excellent researchers for our challenge and response.

Furthermore, if I were to join ACEI as a professional or professional plus member, I would receive volunteer and leadership opportunities that include networking opportunities (ACEI, 2011c). This is definitely something that interests me.

International Step by Step Association (ISSA)

ISSA believes the way to social justice and equity is by working together to provide children with quality care and education so they can become strong, contributing citizens (n.d.). I chose this organization to share because of their commitment to quality care and education for young children and their support of families, communities, and professionals in providing it.

“ISSA advocates policies that ensure that every child regardless of gender, race, religion, nationality, or ability has the opportunity to develop his or her full potential” (n.d.) As a response to my challenge of cultural acceptance, I want to work with families to create a learning environment that is suitable for children. To do this, I also need to offer professional development and collaboration time for teachers. ISSA is an additional way to expand my community of practice and learn more about international approaches to quality care and education in the early childhood field.

References

ACEI. (2011a). About us. Retrieved on June 11, 2013 from http://acei.org/about-us/about-us.html

ACEI. (2011b). Internships at ACEI. Retrieved June 11, 2013 from http://acei.org/about-us/internships-at-acei.html

ACEI. (2011c). Professional plus. Retrieved on June 11, 2013 from http://acei.org/about-us/about-us.html

Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

OMEP. (2010). About OMEP. Retrieved on June 11, 2013 from http://www.omep-usnc.org/

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


“Learning and Teaching is a Division of the Education Development Center, Inc (2013), is an international nonprofit organization that manages over 250 projects around the world that address urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development.” I chose this organization because of their dedication to improving early learning for young children. Some of their initiatives include improving quality standings, challenging early math and science learning, examining early learning programs and policies, and promoting health and well-being (EDC, 2013). As I reviewed the biographies of the individuals contributing to this organization, I thought it was a great example of a community of practice. The individuals come with various backgrounds, experiences, knowledge, and skill sets. As a soon-to-be graduate student, I could see myself contributing to the early childhood field in this way. However, I was unable to find any job opportunities with this organization.
National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) is an advocate for bilingual and English Language Learners and their families. I chose this association to share because my challenge is to bring cultural acceptance to my community so that my students can proudly share their culture. Currently, the only position available is a part-time intern that would work as an office assistant (NABE, 2009). However, NABE did link with a career finder service that offered several jobs available around the country that are related to the bilingual or English as a second language fields.

National Association for Multicultural Education (2013) is that advances and advocates for equity and social justice through multicultural education. Like NABE, I chose this organization because their mission closely relates to my passion and challenge I have developed. As I explored job opportunities, there were many available positions available at college. Many of the available positions listed on their website were for college professors or dean that requires a doctorate degree in addition to experience in early childhood, elementary education, cultural competence, and other related fields.

References

Education Development Center, Inc. (2013). Early learning. Retrieved on June 1, 2013 from http://ltd.edc.org/

National Association for Bilingual Education. (2009). NABE mission. Retrieved on June 1, 2013 from http://www.nabe.org/NABEMission
National Association for Multicultural Education. (2013). Mission, goals & objectives. Retrieved on June 1, 2013 from http://nameorg.org/names-mission/goals-objectives/