Time Well Spent

I can't believe the time is finally here! My last assignment for grad school. I have to admit I am excited to be finished so I don't have to worry about coming home after a long day of work, fighting the urge to sleep to work on a paper. Do you feel me? But I can honestly say I have truly enjoyed my classes. My mom could probably tell you because when I was home, I would get so excited about a new insight that I gained and I would tell her all about it, or make her listen to me read my papers aloud to make sure they sounded good. She was a daycare director, so I looked to her for guidance a lot. So three things I learned from Walden...

1.  Everyone holds bias and misconceptions. It is our duty as anti-bias educators to recognize our personal biases and rid ourselves of them so we can be truly effective professionals in the early childhood field.
2. That I have already been doing a lot of anti-bias work and did not even realize it. (Like avoiding a tourist curriculum by incorporating diversity throughout the year...) 
• Examples of units I teach already throughout the year: 
• Different modes of transportation depending on where you live
• Compare family traditions and customs among different cultures
• Use diagrams to show similarities and differences in food, clothes, homes, games, and families in different cultures
• Explain why people work and recognize different types of jobs, including work done in the home, school, and community
• Participate in shared research projects to identify and describe the events or people celebrated during state and national holidays and why we celebrate them: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Presidents’ Day (George Washington and Abraham Lincoln); Memorial Day; Independence Day; Columbus Day; Veterans’ Day; Thanksgiving
3. There are ways to address misinformation, stereotypes, biases, prejudice, and fear in young children, so adults must NOT ignore it when those occur! 

My long term goal is to become involved more in my community to reach outside of the walls of my classroom and educate others on the importance of anti-bias work. I've emailed my school district's communication director today to see if there are any ways I can get involved with cultural awareness in the district. I plan to keep an eye out for programs I can get involved with and eventually start programs myself through the parks and rec department.

Click the button below to here my message to you! =) WE DID IT!!!

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Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

1. UNICEF's website explains that they are deeply committed to creating a world in which all children, regardless of their gender, socio-economic background or circumstances, have access to free, compulsory and quality education. UNICEF’s mandate to serve the most marginalized populations also focuses special attention on girls, who are the largest group excluded from education. Across the globe, UNICEF is committed to nothing less than full and complete access to free, quality education for every girl and boy. Universal access to quality education is not a privilege – it is a basic human right.
2. ISSA’s website states that their vision is a society where families, communities and professionals work together to empower each child to reach her or his full potential and embrace values of social justice and equity. ISSA's mission is to support professional communities and develop a strong civil society that influences and assists decision makers to: provide high quality care and educational services for all children from birth through primary school (birth through 10 years old), with a focus on the poorest and most disadvantaged. To ensure greater inclusion of family and community participation in children's development and learning. To ensure social inclusion and respect for diversity
3. According to the UNESCO website, UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.  Some of their goals are:

• Attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning
• Mobilizing science knowledge and policy for sustainable development
• Addressing emerging social and ethical challenges
• Fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace
• Building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication 

On the UNICEF website, the only job that interests me is developing and implementing Education programme(s) to ensure overall efficiency and effectiveness, and accomplishment of programme goals and objectives. Key areas include: Girls’ Education, Education in Emergencies and Post. They also ask one to be fluent in french and local working language. I don't really qualify for this job based on these facts alone, but it would definitely be a cool experience!

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.