When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

For the first part of this blog I will share about three consequences that are related to me being a part of a caring collaborative learning community for my professional growth and development. 

• The first consequence is that as I continue to further my knowledge and understanding about the field, I am held to a higher standard, due to the respect, ethics, and care that I have for myself, the children and families, and the field. So this means that I cannot be a participant of any harmful practices that violates the ethics and standards that are embodied by the early childhood education profession or myself. 
• The second is that because I am a part of such a caring collaborative learning community I will find myself constantly thirsting and striving for excellence in this my professional, personal, and educational career. 
• The third consequence is that because I am a part of a caring collaborative learning community I will be even more  eager to share my learning and skills those individuals who are new and just learning about the field as well as those who have been in the field for a while, but are having trouble implementing and upholding the standards, best practices, ethics, and commitment of the field. 

• One goal that I have as a result of this class is to connect with a local advocacy group here in my state and to become more actively involved with that group/organization. However, before that is even done I will do more to  correct the wrongs that I see occurring on a daily basis. I will do this by remembering that although I maybe one person, I still can make a difference, one child/family at a time. 

To each of my colleagues, although this is the end of the class I would like to wish each and everyone of you much success on your personal, professional, and education goals. May each of you continue to work to make a positive lasting impression on the children, families, and communities that you work, live, and serve in. 

Early Childhood Systems Today: Moving Toward Coherency

For this week, I am putting together my ideal early childhood system and I will be introducing a hypothetical family that is in need of comprehensive services. To begin my hypothetical family is African American that consist of a mother and her three children. The mother is about 26 years of age and her children range in age from 5-10. The mother is in need of a child care program that can deal with her five year old son's aggressive behavior. Mom states that she first began noticing the aggressive behavior when the boy was about 3 years old. After speaking with the mother, I also find out that her son has been having trouble in his preschool class, she has spoken with her regular pediatrician on numerous occasions and he has dismissed the behavior as typical age related tantrums and that he will out grow them. However, mom consistently expressed that she believes something more is going on with her child. At this point her biggest concern is finding child care for her son that will be able to help her obtain the necessary resources to get her son help for his behavior. She fears that if left un-addressed he will miss out on valuable learning experiences that will aid in his grow and development.

As an added noted, I chose this type of situation, because in my own experiences as an early childhood professional, children with severe behavioral issues are often overlooked, disliked by teachers because of their behavior, considered to be bad or even stereotyped. However, this is not often the case, there really could be some underlying mental or health issues that are causing the child to behave in this manner. So as an early childhood system, families such as the one above can rest easy knowing that there's a system of programs and services put in place to offer her help and assistance to the best of their abilities. This will be good news to a parent whose may be feeling overwhelmed with frustrations, because she cannot find help for her child.

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

In my work as an early childhood professional, I have had the grand opportunity to work with many children and families. I have heard numerous stories of struggle, hurt, and victory. It is these stories that I am reminded of as I continue to work with children and families. These story compel and encourage me to be even more compassionate and caring to those that are being served and as I worked on their behalf, I did it with eagerness, because although, I am one person, I was still making a positive impact.

 As I reviewed the methods being used by some of the early childhood advocacy organizations, I was particular moved by the current campaign of Voices for America's Children called  The Power of $1 Campaign. This particular campaign touched my heart, because just as I am one person striving to make a difference in the lives of children and families, many others are striving to do the same. This campaign allows random concerned individuals to be able to make a difference in the lives of children and families by donating  one single dollar, four quarters, ten dimes, twenty nickels, or one hundred pennies.

 By taking the time to give their $1, the funds generated will be used to help the Voices for America's Children organization continue the work they do on the behalf of America's children and families. Having available funds is important to the work that is done by advocacy organizations. It takes money to travel back and forth, to and from legislative meetings, to host community forums,  to print and mail out informational flyers, and to publish reports, etc. It might seem like it's only one dollar, but that one single dollar will make a huge contribution in the effort to make positive changes in policies/legislation that affect children and families.

Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

For this blog I will be dealing with the foundational  strength of Head Start by reviewing a video of testimonials from individuals whose lives have been greatly impacted by Head Start whether in the role of parent, teacher, or community member. I will begin by describing the professional and personal significance that I drew from these videos. The first video that I watch was the testimonial of Melinda G., she shared about how Head Start has played an critical role in helping her to become the early childhood professional that she is today. I listened to her share about entering the Head Start program as a young newlywed who was looking for a early childhood program for her four year old relative. She talked about how through the encouragement of a teacher at the Head Start she was convinced to return to school to further her education. She felt empowered by the teacher realizing that she has a real natural when it came to early childhood and because someone noticed her talent she was empowered to return to school and to become more active in the Head Start program through volunteering and then through employment. Her story is a great example of how taking the time to care can help someone catapult them into their destiny. I felt connected to this story, because my own story is very similar. My eldest son attended this private preschool that was created to offer quality early childhood programs to at-risk and low income children. It was during our time in the program that I was encouraged by the teachers to return to school to seek a degree. I took the advice and hence began my journey. I returned to school and was offered a position with that particular preschool as a team teacher. Although, I no longer work there I still stay closely connected to the preschool through volunteering and participating in school events.

As early childhood professionals, the public, policymakers and government officials listen to the stories of these individuals they should value the the hope that has come from each story. They should value the stories, because it shows that Head Start is not just a place for children to find help, but instead it gives hope and help to the entire family. It is done as teachers take the time to listen to families as they express their needs and their desires to improve the quality of life for their families. The public should value the stories that have been heard in that it shows that children and families that utilize services provided through Head Start are engaging positive programs and are learning skills that will help to be productive citizens. Policy makers and government officials should value the hearing the stories, because it shows that all the government funding that is being used by Head Start is not going to waste and that it is making positive impacts in lives of children and families. 

Quality Programs for all Children

For this blog, I will be blogging about how I hope public opinion will change over the next five years. I really hope that the way people view early childhood will change for the better over the next five years. I hope that they will begin to change their opinion about early childhood, by reading and understanding that their is a significant amount of research out there about the benefits of early childhood. I hope that people's opinion will change as they begin to be open minded about the fact that ALL children deserve the right to have a successful start by having the opportunity to attend a quality early childhood program. I hope that as the opinions change for the better about early childhood education, ALL children will have the chance to attend, because more classrooms and programs will have been created. I believe that as children attend quality programs, they then to fair better better in future endeavors. Those endeavors include excelling in academics, relationships, employment, and decreased criminal activity. I also hope that the public opinion will change about the importance of incorporating programs and services for families into early childhood program. What the public needs to understand is that making sure children have access to much needed services that will help them to promote their growth and development.  So over the next five years I hope that the public will have a more positive opinion of the benefits of early childhood.

Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy & Me

For this blog, I will share about why I chose this subject this specialization, why I feel advocates are essential in the early childhood field, and what I wish to learn about public policy and advocacy.

• Why I chose this specialization? I chose this specialization, because during my tenure as an early childhood professional I have worked with numerous children and families from diverse backgrounds. However, majority of my work has been with children from low income families and neighborhoods. So as I worked with these children and families, I learned about some of the issues that were affecting them. Some of the issues I would hear them talk about were the inability to find higher paying jobs, the lack of quality education for themselves and their children, the need for affordable quality child care, and adequate affordable housing. With all of these issues affecting children and families, I thought if would be beneficial to learn about whys I can help better situations for them.

• Why I feel advocates are essential in the early childhood field? I feel that advocates are essential in the early childhood field, because we are the ones that have to work with the children and we are also aware of issues that affect children and families, because we often times hear first hand from parents and guardians about the hardships they are experiencing. Early childhood professionals also have connections with community resources that can be of assistance by partnering to offer services for children and families in need. I believe that advocates are essential, because they can help work for better conditions in the early childhood field. When I say conditions, I am mainly referring to better pay for example. 

• What I wish to learn about public policy and advocacy is how to influence policy that promotes better conditions for children, families, and early childhood professionals. By understanding how to be an effective advocate, I will be able to create and promote change that will be beneficial to many of the children and families that I serve. There are so many things that I see that I would like to change, but understanding where and how to begin is critical to whether or not positive change can occur. 

Profile of a Volunteer

One of the person's that admire for her continuous volunteerism is my co-worker named Gina. This young lady devotes a great deal of the time volunteering for numerous organizations. In her most reason volunteer efforts she participated in the Linking Hands for Life hosted by the National Foundation for Transplants. This  event celebrated organ donors and the organ recipients. As a volunteer for this event she coordinated with other organizations to place volunteers at various stations at the event. She also volunteers for the United Way of Greater Memphis as well by offering her service at local events by passing out flyers, manning tables, and serving.

I feel that her work has positively impact others in that by taking time from her busy schedule she has shown others that she really does care about what is going on with them. It is not all about how much money we can  spend or give, but through offering her time she continuously shows others that she cares.

As I observe her volunteer efforts, one thing that I have learned or can take away is the concept of simply being available. If I make myself available, I will be able to step up my volunteer efforts.