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

1. The first organization I chose is the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The NAEYC is the largest organization in the world advocating for young children. I appreciate NAEYC's mission to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children. I share their vision that all children have the access to safe and accessible, high quality early childhood education that includes a developmentally appropriate curriculum; knowledgeable and well-trained program staff and educators; and comprehensive services that support their health, nutrition, and social well-being, in an environment that respects and supports diversity.

2. The next organization I found is the National Institute for Early Education Research. NIEER manages and shares research to support high-quality, effective early childhood education for ALL young children. I appreciate how they work to enhance a child’s development in all areas, and subsequent success in school and later life. They Institute also works with state and national policy makers and other organizations to gather, document and publish information on the status of early education access and quality, exemplary practices and policies, and public opinion. They also aim to develop research and communication strategies to fill gaps in knowledge and to effectively apply scientific knowledge to early education policy. They stimulate national and state discussions of early education policy and partner with other organizations to develop a clear national research agenda and to deliver and publicize vital information about early education.

3. HighScope is committed to promoting high-quality early education for children and youth worldwide. To achieve this goal, HighScope supports educators and parents as they help children learn. They help to develop early childhood curriculum components for Infant-toddler care and education, Preschool education, Early literacy, Movement and music and Elementary education. HighScope also offers research-validated assessment tools, including instruments for both child assessment and program assessment. They provide training for early childhood professionals and even publish curriculum materials, books, and videos. A position I found appealing was the Center Director for Kaleido*Kids. Kaleido*Kids is a new child care center in downtown Chicago, IL scheduled to open September 2014. Kaleido*Kids will provide childcare and educational services for children six weeks to six years. The center is seeking a full-time Center Director to build a ‘family’ culture having experienced, dependable, passionate teachers. Duties include ensuring children’s safety, following health and hygiene standards; managing the process for enrollment and orientation, maintaining the CRM system; hiring new staff; implementing labor management (reviews, schedules, salary, etc.); supporting the owner with financial reporting and marketing efforts, and performing other duties. Prior to opening, the Director will develop policies and procedures, finalize a staffing plan, build a list of potential families and work towards enrolling children and families, and assist owner with getting the center ready for opening. The preferred candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in Early Childhood Education with coursework in administration a plus; minimum four years of experience in childcare and two years of experience in childcare administration/management, certification in infant-child first aid and CPR, and current sanitation certification. Experience with HighScope Curriculum a plus!

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

1. The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is a national resource center for disseminating research and evidence-based practices to early childhood programs across the country. CSEFEL is focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5. To support this goal, we have developed a conceptual model of evidence-based practices for promoting young children's social emotional competence and preventing and addressing challenging behavior. Team Tennessee strives to promote the social and emotional development of children, birth-early elementary age, through a cross agency collaborative professional development system, including community based training, continuing education and higher education, that fosters and sustains the state-wide, high-fidelity use of the Pyramid Model integrated with other relevant Tennessee efforts. The Center is located at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. In addition, the Center is a collaborative project involving faculty and staff from the following institutions: Vanderbilt University, University of Illinois (Go Illini!), University of Florida, Georgetown University, University of Colorado and Zero to Three. http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/

2. The United Way of TN in my town has community partner with over 100 local businesses and organizations in our town. They work to provide solutions to basic needs such as hunger, housing stability, increase earning and prevent domestic violence. In addition, they also assist schools, parents and other key community partners to help kids be successful in education by supporting early learning, ensure early grade literacy and provide enrichment programs. Finally, they strengthen our community's health and help individuals to live independently by providing health care access, increase healthy behaviors and maximize independence. http://liveunitedclarksville.org/

3. TN Commission on Children and Youth vision is that every child in Tennessee is safe, healthy, educated, nurtured and supported, and engaged in activities that provide them opportunities to achieve their fullest potential. They advocates to improve the quality of life for children and families and provides leadership and support for child advocates. http://www.tn.gov/tccy/kc.shtml

I couldn't find any job postings that I was qualified for, but I could see myself enjoying to work for any of these communities of pactice if I were not teaching currently.

My Wordle

Reflecting on Learning

I apologize for my late post this evening. My family threw me a surprise birthday party today (I have never felt so loved!) and I am just now settling down for bed and was thankful to remember to post before I hit the hay!

My most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional is that I am able to teach my students to be accepting of all people, no matter how different they may be. I hope to exude acceptance and tolerance so that I can model it for the children. I also hope that I am able to work with all the families involved with my students lives in order to help their child reach their highest potential academically and in their identity development. 

As we near the end of grad school, I am excited for all that I have learned in the past year and a half. I am so glad I have been able to put in practice what I have been learning and look forward to continuing my anti-bias work in the early childhood for many years to come.

I want to thank all my colleagues for sharing your views, experiences and comments in regards to your own anti-bias journey. I wish you the best in all your future endeavors!

Sincerely,
Jessica

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I chose to research Haiti because I took a missions trip there and saw first hand the poverty and difference of living in a 3rd world country versus the United States. Children in Haiti are fighting the cycle of poverty that has been transmitted from one generation to another there for years. During my time there in 2006, no children had shoes, they wandered the streets alone which can be dangerous. They rarely had shoes on, smelled and were very dirty. They would follow and ask us for money anytime we walked outside the building we were staying at.

Through the UNICEF website, I did find that children are currently fighting a cholera epidemic that is the largest epidemic in recent history. House visits are done by TEPAC water and sanitation workers, to teach families hot to sanitize their water with kits they are given. They also encourage Haitians to practice good hygiene to avoid getting cholera. Cholera is an awful infection that affects the small intestine of the infected person, causing diarrhea, vomiting and if left untreated, death.

Haitian children are also facing challenges in the Dominican Republic as they Constitutional Court is depriving Haitian children right to citizenship which affects thousands of children there. These children will be affected because they will not have access to basic social protection programs, have the ability to attain an education or degree, and even obtain identity cards and passports. This will cause the children be subject to exploitation and abuse without the basic protections so many of us may take for granted. UNICEF is working to show support for the protection of children’s physical safety and their rights.

The early emotional effects of poverty on children can be severe. They have lasting effects on children’s social competence in early childhood. Children may lack the desire to satisfy their growth needs such as the "need to know and understand things, to appreciate beauty, or to grow and develop in appreciation of others" according to Slavin (2006).

The fight against poverty and for children’s physical safety and rights is one that should continue. Children need adults to speak up for them and in a country like the United States of America, we often take many things for granted that many other countries do not have. Clean water, simple hygiene practices and protection of rights are just a few things to point out after my research. As an early childhood professional, I understand my duty to speak up for the voiceless children and to become more involved in organizations like UNICEF that helps so many children all around the world.

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

"Sexualization is how we treat other people (and sometimes oneself) as “objects of sexual desire . . . as things rather than as people with legitimate sexual feelings of their own.” When people are sexualized, their value comes primarily from their sex appeal, which is equated with physical attractiveness. This is especially damaging and “problematic to children and adolescents who are developing their sense of themselves as sexual beings (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009)."

My reaction to the reading this week was a mixture of anger and being surprised at some of the scenarios that have happened. I have witnessed sexualization of early childhood in my own school. The way students dress and girls wear makeup before they are in middle school. The language they use, the way boys and girl treat each other and even the way they dance. Some of my own kindergarteners dance like adults and have said/done inappropriate things I have had to contact parents about. Boys in my class stand and walk like I have seen grown men do.

Children are exposed to images of childhood idols such as Miley Cyrus being overly sexual and dolls that are way too grown up for a childlike image.  I have heard a 5 year old call her own mother ugly. My heart sunk when I heard this. Growing up, I always believed my mother to be the most beautiful woman in the world. I heard another 5 year old call another students' mother fat to make the other child upset.

Children are becoming so focused on how it is important to look good. A child's identity can be harmed if they feel they are not meeting a certain standard. A girl make not feel that she is pretty enough or skinny enough. I know I felt that way as a child myself. Boys and girls will feel they need to act and look a certain a way to be accepted.

As an early childhood educator,  I believe it is my duty to make a child feel and help them reach their highest potential. I focus on their strengths, not weaknesses. I try not to focus on what they are wearing. If I see inappropriate behavior, I pull that child aside and talk to them and the parent about my concerns. I do my best to make each child in my care feel successful, loved and happy. My awareness of this problem has instilled in my some curiosity so that I can stay current and find ways to help children to develop healthy identities.

References

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

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Classism is something I see often working in a Title 1 school. Sometimes I hear teachers complaining about parents that are "lazy" or "don't care about their child's education." I have been guilty of this myself prior to beginning my anti-bias courses.  These prejudices and stereotypes can be very damaging to a child's view on his or her family and identity development. It can make the child experience feelings such as shame or discomfort. As early childhood educators, we must do our best to dispel any bias so we can develop a positive relationship with the every child's family so that we can meet the child's needs.

 As a single woman and a teacher, you can imagine (OR KNOW) that I don't make as much money as most of my peers in other professions. When talking about how much teachers make, something that really bothers me is when people say "Well you have the summer's off" or connecting my work to a babysitter's duty. Some people do not realize all the hard work, both physically, emotionally and mentally that goes into a teacher's job each day. It's not like we work from 9-5 and then we relax.I spent a lot of time outside of school filling out report cards and progress reports, making assessments, lesson planning, calling parents, and so much more. I'm not sure if you would call this a "job-ism" or "classism", but it one that affects me often. My friends around the country get upset with me when I can't come to visit them, or go out with them for a night out on the down. They think that I handle my money poorly or I need to cut-back on things. I even get this from my own father. I explain to them that my money goes to bills, groceries and my classroom. The stress that I face with living on a tight income and many bills to pay, the frustrations I get from other's stereotypes/judgements of me when they know nothing about me can really affect my mood and interactions with students and families. I can see how stereotypes and misconceptions can be upsetting for a child and his/her family and how I must do my best to dispel misconceptions in myself AND my students so they can grow up to be knowledgeable, accepting and spread their knowledge and help others to acknowledge and rid their unknown biases.

Here is an awesome and inspiring video that I watch that reminds me why I went into teaching...