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.