Time Well Spent

I cannot believe that we are at the end of this journey and so close to completing our Master’s in Early Childhood Studies! I have learned so much from all of the wonderful people I have had the opportunity to interact with through these courses-my colleagues and professors-I cannot thank you all enough. Your support, knowledge, and resources have helped me take a step to pursue my dreams and better myself both personally and professionally.

I have taken a lot from this program and with the new resources, insights, and information that I have gained, I have three deeply felt things that stick out in my mind:

1. The importance of community. As early childhood professionals, we know the importance of family and community; we want to use the community as a resource and reflect it in our classrooms. However, I have learned that there is more to community than just what immediately surrounds us. We are also part of the community of early childhood professionals and advocates; it is important to also respect this community, add to it, utilize it, and help it grow. We can also be a part of a community of practice, or other individuals who share our commitment and practice to the well-being of children and families. We are also a part of the global community as well; we should have an awareness of what is happening to children worldwide and our role in the global community. All of these communities are important and can provide us with valuable information and knowledge.

2. Biases can be hidden...and overcome. Throughout this program, we were asked to do a lot of self-reflection and learn about any biases that we held so that we could work to overcome them. It was not easy to think of myself as a biased person because I have always considered myself to be very fair and open, but when I was able to honestly self-reflect I really began to grow, both personally and professionally. I learned that having a bias is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you are willing to look within yourself and overcome it! Biases are not only within ourselves, they are embedded into our society and so often we pass them onto young children, sometimes unknowingly. If we take the time to self-reflect, to analyze situations, curriculum, and materials that we are using, we can begin to make a difference and work towards becoming anti-biased and creating a positive, welcoming environment in our community. 

3. Learning is life-long. Now that I have completed this Master’s program, I have learned so much-and I have learned that there is so much more to learn! We can never know everything and we must be willing to seek out new knowledge: from research, from our colleagues and communities, and from the parents and children we work with. There is so much out there to learn and so much that we can do with the knowledge we gain. This program has provided me with valuable resources that I can use to make sure that I stay up to date on what is happening in the early childhood field and can work to expand my knowledge. 

My long-term goal is to work towards helping all the children in my community and beyond reach their full developmental potential. This is a long-term goal because it is ongoing and will require continuous reflection and adaptability since the community and contexts which children live in are constantly changing. It may seem like a large goal, but I have already started taking baby steps in the right direction!

Although this program is ending, I hope to keep in touch with many of you and wish you all the best of luck; I hope our paths will continue to cross! Thank you all and remember:

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” –Eleanor Roosevelt

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

This week, we were asked to look at international organizations that foster the well-being of children and families. As I have mentioned before, my two passions are child development and international studies so international organizations that are working to promote positive development of young children and their families are particularly interesting to me. For this assignment, the three international organizations I chose to look into were the International Step by Step Association, UNICEF, and Save the Children.

1. International Step by Step Association (ISSA): Honestly, I chose to look at this organization because I am a big fan of it! A few courses ago, we were tasked to connect with an early childhood professional from the international community and the one that I came into contact with worked for ISSA. I learned a lot about ISSA and the work they do, it is an amazing organization! ISSA works primarily in Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia to increase equity in early childhood education.

After searching the ISSA website, I could not find any job postings, but I did find that ISSA works with a variety of individuals and organizations who are members. Members of ISSA are given a forum for advocacy (policy papers, participating in groups or “task forces,” etc.), professional information sharing, and access to ISSA events, including conferences and workshops (ISSA, n.d., para.1). To become a member of ISSA, you need to “share their vision;” ISSA membership is open to individuals (teachers, early childhood experts, university faculty members, etc.) and organizations such as (schools, educational organizations, NGOs, parent associations, etc.); to join you fill out an application and pay the membership fee (ISSA, n.d., para. 4).

2.  United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): I chose to look into this organization more because not only do I admire the work that they do, but I have used this organization frequently as a resource throughout my undergraduate and graduate work. Not only does UNICEF provide data and statistics, they share what they are doing to make a difference around the world, the issues that children face globally, and how others can help make an impact. After searching the UNICEF website, I found that they have job opportunities for a wide range of fields, including administration, education, communication, health, planning, policies, and statistics. Since this is an international organization, there are a number of places that these positions are located-UNICEF currently works in 191 countries (UNICEF, n.d.)! To narrow my search, I looked for open positions here in the US and found that they have a few, ranging from human resources to health specialist, to administrative management. Unfortunately, I was not able to find what criteria was needed for these positions, but I did learn that they offer a wide range of levels; some positions may require years of experience but you can also start as an intern or volunteer.

3. Save the Children: I chose to look at this organization because I do not know much about it; I was really interested in learning more about them and the work that they do. The website was very informative; I plan on using them as a future resource. Save the Children works in 120 countries and offers both career positions and internships (Save the Children, 2012, para. 1). I searched through the open career positions and the one that I found most interesting was a Program Specialist, Early Childhood; this position actually has a few US openings in Kansas, Kentucky, and Arizona.

-Program Specialist, Early Childhood: Job duties include working to “ensure the effective coordination, implementation and monitoring of early childhood education programming” by helping provide training and monitoring quality by visiting sites, and helping coordinate planning and budgeting (Save the Children, 2012). To qualify for this position, you must have a bachelor degree in Early Childhood, 3 years working experience in the field, and experience working and collaborating with other professionals.   

Although  I was not able to find job postings for all of these international organizations, I did learn ways that I can become involved. International organizations are a great resource and network to have as an early childhood professional, becoming more involved in them is definitely something I am going to look into!

References:

International Step by Step Association. (n.d.). Join Us. Retrieved from ISSA website: http://www.issa.nl/join.html

Save the Children. (2012). Careers. Retrieved from Save the Children website: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6226565/k.BA72/Careers.htm

UNICEF. (n.d.). Employment at UNICEF. Retrieved from UNICEF website: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index.php

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

This week we were asked to look at 3 national organizations that foster the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field. The 3 national organizations that I chose to look into are:

1. National Head Start Association (NHSA): NHSA is a national organization that works to advocate for children, families, and communities; their goal is to “work diligently for policy and institutional changes that ensure all vulnerable children and families have what they need to succeed” by providing support and resources to families and communities (National Head Start Association, 2012, para. 2). NHSA has two programs, Head Start (which was created in 1965) and Early Head Start (which was created in 1994) that “serve children and families earning income at or below the federal poverty level” (National Head Start Association, 2012, para. 1). This organization really interests me, especially in light of my Capstone Project, which is focusing on the equity in education gap for young children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. There is a job board on the NHSA website with positions that range from director, teacher’s aide, cook, child development specialist, and education coordinators for open positions across the United States; however you have to be a member of NHSA to view the full position listing. However, after some more searching on the website, I found that there is a careers section with two currently open positions within the NHSA, a public policy and research director and a communications intern. The one that interested me more was the public policy and research director:

- Public Policy and Research Director: To qualify for this position, you must have a graduate degree in public policy or related field, knowledge of Head Start Programs, and good communication skills. The duties of this job would include conducting, tracking, and analyzing research, developing public policy proposals, and serving as a liaison between the Research and Evaluation Committees and the NHSA Board of Directors.

2. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): This organization is one that I have used a lot during this program and has always provided me with great information and resources. NAEYC was founded in1926 and is “the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 80,000 members, a national network of more than 300 state and local Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations” (NAEYC, n.d., para. 1). After looking around this website, I found that they currently have 5 career openings and are in the process of developing a Career Forum where job seekers can look through openings posted by employers (you must be a member to access this). In the NAEYC careers section, I learned that all job positions through NAEYC are located in Washington, D.C. at NAEYC’s headquarters; these positions range from chief technology officer to conference coordinator to editor. The one that interested me the most was Copy Editor/Production Editor.

- Copy Editor/Production Editor: To qualify for this job, you must have a BA, copyediting experience, know Chicago/APA formatting, and electronic editing tools. The duties for this job would be to copyedit, proofread, and provide production services for NAEYC publishing.

3. Children’s Defense Fund (CDF): I chose this organization because it is one that I have used in the past but would definitely like to learn more about. It especially appeals to me because of its history; CDF was founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman, a civil rights leader. This national organization works to provide research and develop policies to protect the well-being of children and families; ultimately it has “challenged the United States to raise its standards by improving policies and programs for children” (Children’s Defense Fund, 2012, para. 2). I learned that CDF currently has 7 open positions, all located in Washington, D.C.; they range from writer/editor, to accounting manager, to database manager, to communications manager.  After reading the descriptions, the one that interested me the most was Research /Direct Mail Manager.

- Research /Direct Mail Manager: To qualify for this position, you must have a BA and experience with professional research and direct mail, have excellent computer skills, and be able to manage campaigns. The duties for this position include collecting, analyzing, and managing data, and develop new programs.

Learning more about these great national organizations was really interesting, I would love to become involved in any one of these organizations. It was really eye-opening to see all of the different positions and areas that these organizations have and how wide the career opportunities are through them!

References:

Children’s Defense Fund. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.childrensdefense.org/

National Association for the Education of Young Children, NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/

National Head Start Association. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.nhsa.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

This week we were asked to look at some organizations or communities of practice in the ECE field and find out some more information.  After much thought, the ones I chose to research were First 5 California, California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC), and the Professional Association for Childhood Education (PACE) in California.

1. First 5 California: This is an organization that develops and implements programs and resources for children, teachers, and parents, focusing on the areas of nutrition, early literacy, language development, and smoking cessation (First 5 California, n.d. para. 3). When I first read this assignment, this organization was the first one that popped into my head because they have great informative advertising- I always see their billboards, signs on bus stops, and information at parks and public libraries. I had always seen their advertising and after my son was born I realized that at the public library you can get a free “New Parent Information Kit” from First 5 California that includes books (for caregivers and one for baby!), resource information (such as numbers for health insurance, emergencies, community groups), and a small booklet about illnesses in babies. I have been a big fan of this organization since and thus chose to include it here.

After searching on this website, I found that there are only three different job openings at this time, the one that interested me the most was:

-Child Development Consultant: This job entails “developing concept papers leading to modifications in state and federal law and regulations related to child,” leading workshops, and supervising research. The qualifications for this are: knowing about early childhood issues, trends, principles and practices, and the ability to demonstrate effective procedures, establish and maintain strong professional relationships, and conduct research and workshops (First 5 California, n.d.).

2. California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC): This is a not-for profit organization that provides information on “parenting, advocacy, research, credentialing, child care, salary and status, regulations, professional development and children’s education” (California Association for the Education of Young Children, 2012, para. 6). This organization is affiliated with NAEYC and seems like it provides similar information and resources that are more local (ie. within my state of California) for professional development in the early childhood field; I am definitely going to look into this more! I chose to include this organization here because it is affiliated with NAEYC, which I have found to be a great resource and example of a community of practice. After searching the site, I could not find any job openings through CAEYC, but they do have a CAEYC-sponsored link that helps you find early childhood education career openings. These range from assistant preschool teacher to center director to research director. They covered counties across the state of California and some in other states and other countries as well. Across the jobs posted, it seemed as though to qualify you need a strong background in ECE and knowledge of issues, trends, and diversity in the early childhood field.

3. ProfessionalAssociation for Childhood Education (PACE): This is an non-profit organization for early childhood professionals in California that helps advocate for “development, progress and welfare of all young children at the state and local legislative level so member voices are heard “ as well as for early childhood educators, provides information on state licensing rules and regulations, and offers ”a space to network, exchange ideas, policies and techniques among members” (Professional Association for Childhood Educators, 2010, para. 4). I chose this organization because it seems like a really good example of a community of practice; the members and board come from different backgrounds in early childhood development and hold different positions at different centers across the state. I could not find any job openings for PACE but I did find that if you are a member of PACE you can join one of their committees (they range from working with public policies to regional developments to budgeting) that hold meetings via conference calls. To be a member of PACE, you need to be dedicated to the early childhood field and want to grow professionally; I think that to serve on one of the committees you would have to be dedicated and committed because these are volunteer positions and opportunities. 

One insight that I gained from my research this week is that there are a lot of communities of practice in the early childhood field. As we have learned, child development covers multiple areas and the communities of practice I read about reflected this. They are drawing upon resources and professionals from different professions and fields to advocate and provide information for children to develop in all areas. 

Resources:

California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC). (2012). Retrieved from: http://caeyc.org/main/page/navhome

First 5 California Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.ccfc.ca.gov/

Professional Association for Childhood Education (PACE). (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.pacenet.org/

Reflecting on Learning

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” –Harriet Tubman

I can’t believe another 8 weeks have flown by! First, thank you to all of my colleagues who have helped support me and my learning throughout this course. You have offered me insights, feedback, and have shared your ideas, experiences, and knowledge; you have helped make this experience enriching and worthwhile! It has been wonderful getting to know so many amazing people who are also on this journey and have a passion to work with children and families, to make a difference. I am looking forward to taking the last course (wow!) with you; I can’t believe the end is so near!!

Throughout this program, we have done a lot of self-reflecting and goal setting. I have grown, both personally and professionally, and although my goals have changed a little from the beginning, I realize that there is one thing in common: helping children reach their full developmental potential. This week, I have been thinking about my most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families I work with. So, after much thought, I have realized that my most passionate hope is to create an accepting, welcoming environment that will help all children reach their full developmental potential regardless of their background and/or identities.

All of things that we have been learning about and discussing throughout this program are tools that can help me achieve this goal; becoming a more competent communicator and discussing differences and diversity, building partnerships with families, and embracing anti-bias education are all ways that I can reach my goal. Thank you again for helping me on this journey! I have enjoyed learning and growing with you; best of luck to you all!

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I was really excited about this week’s blog assignment because I love learning about child development in other parts of the world. As an undergraduate, I majored in International Studies/Sociology and my region of focus was Latin America; I am particularly interested in this part of the world and have some background knowledge of it. Because of this, I chose to look at this region of the world for this week’s blog entry.

According to UNICEF’s Latin American Regional Office, there are many challenges that children in Latin America may face. These include economic disparities, social exclusion, malnutrition, violence, HIV/AIDS, and emergencies (UNICEF, n.d.).  All of these factors play a role in a child’s emotional well-being and can impact his/her development.

One of the biggest challenges that this region faces is that “Latin America and the Caribbean is considered the most unequal region in the world” (UNICEF, n.d.); this means that there are many economic disparities, many children and families living in poverty, and many people unable to access services. Economic disparities are linked to poverty and malnutrition, factors that affect children in all areas of development, physical, cognitive, and social-emotional. Not having enough to eat, young children working to help support their families, and lack of basic necessities all take a toll on a child’s emotional well-being as they add extra stresses to both the family and child. Stress not only negatively impacts a child’s emotional development and can take a toll on their emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being.

Latin America and the Caribbean are very culturally diverse with indigenous people and people of African descent. However, children and families from these groups may face social exclusion, higher rates of poverty, and lack of services (UNICEF, n.d.). As we have been learning, culture is a large part of a young child’s identity. Social exclusion and racism create cultural discontinuity, unequal access to services, and ultimately, negatively impact a child’s emotional well-being and healthy identity development.

In addition to this, “the Caribbean has the 2nd highest prevalence of AIDS in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa” (UNICEF, n.d.); which means that many children are more likely have a close family member or parent with HIV/AIDS or may even have it themselves. This would greatly impact a child’s well-being; having a disease with no cure would definitely be a traumatic experience and I would imagine would be very scary to a young child. If a child or family member has HIV/AIDS, they not only may face social exclusion but may not be able to receive adequate medication or treatment. I imagine that this would be very straining to a family and could affect the relationships and stability within the family; again greatly impacting a child’s emotional development.

The high rates of violence in the region can add extra stress to a young child living here as well. Living in fear or witnessing violent acts are traumatic experiences that greatly affect a young child’s emotional development.  Fear and lack of stability make it hard to create the safe and loving environment that helps foster a young child’s healthy development.

Lastly, many natural disasters occur in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean. Natural disasters may include hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes and the results can include homelessness, injuries, illnesses, and deaths (UNICEF, n.d.). Again, this can greatly impact a young child’s emotional well-being and development as these are frightening, life-changing, traumatic experiences. Even if the natural disaster is smaller-scale and the child is not displaced or orphaned, schooling or services may be interrupted or may be harder to access.

As we have learned, emotional trauma negatively affects a child’s development. It is unfortunate that so many children face adversities early on in life that impact their development. As I was reading the information from the UNICEF Regional Office, I felt saddened that this is the way of life for millions of children. Sometimes I take for granted the opportunities, resources, and fortune that my son and I have. We are lucky that we are not struggling to simply survive as millions of children and families are worldwide; we have access to immunizations and social services, stability, and resources. Learning more about the multiple challenges children living in Latin America and the Caribbean may be facing helped me put things in perspective and gave me a new respect for what UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies are doing.

Some statistics about this region according to UNICEF’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean:

-“60% of children under 12 years of age and 50% of adolescents between the ages of 13-19 live in poverty” in this region

-“52 million people do not have access to sufficient food” in this region

-“As one of the most culturally diverse regions in the world, there are 40-50 million indigenous and 150 million Afro-descendants living here, close to half of which are under 18 years of age“

-In Latin America and the Caribbean, “nearly 85,000 children die annually as a result of violence in the home, violence affects over 6 million children and adolescents”

-“Region wide, 83% of children reach the fifth grade…Children from poor families are six times less likely to receive full primary education compared to wealthy families”

(UNICEF, n.d.)

As professionals here in the US, we hear about parents wanting their preschoolers to be doing elementary school curriculum, prepping their toddlers with extracurricular activities to get them into better schools, and concerns about children’s academic success. I think that we need to take a step back and look at what truly matters and remember that we are fortunate that our children have the chance to play and be children. As a professional, this awareness is important because it really helps me put things in perspective and learn about other factors that impact a child’s emotional development and well-being. In my sheltered world, I have not worked with a child who has been displaced due to a natural disaster or who has not been able to receive medical services because there are none available for them, but as a professional I need to know that these challenges exist and that many children are facing them daily. We are not able to fix all of the global problems and adversities children and families may face, but we can become advocates and raise awareness for these issues. Using anti-bias education and teaching children about global issues can help raise awareness and foster respect for humankind. As our world becomes more interdependent, this awareness and respect will play a big role.

References:

UNICEF. n.d. UNICEF Oficina Regional para América Latina y el Caribe. UNICEF. Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/lac/english_4842.htm

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

While reading the intro to Levin & Kilbourne (2009)’s So sexy so soon, I was disturbed; the thought that kept running through my mind was “I have a two-year old…how can I protect him from this?!” I don’t think any parent wants their child exposed to blatant messages of sexuality at a young age, yet in our society children are bombarded daily by messages about sexuality (mainly through the media) at very young ages. Sexuality includes many factors that children of young ages are simply not ready to comprehend and seeing, hearing, and being exposed to so much sexuality creates confusion and can be undermining to gender and sexuality development. Since our children today are exposed more blatantly and frequently to sexuality than children in the past, different issues are coming up for parents, children, and early childhood professionals.

Some examples of young children being exposed to a highly sexualized environment that I have seen:

1. A 2 ½ -year old boy at the park was singing and dancing to LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I Know It” song. After singing it a few times by himself, he wandered over to his caregiver and asked if she could play it for him. She turned on a “child’s” version of the song on her phone (it was sung by Alvin and the Chipmunks I was informed) and he began to sing and dance loudly. She turned to me and said “he just can’t get enough of this song!”

2. While shopping at Target, I went in the clothing section to pick up some socks for my son. I happened to see that they were starting to get in their spring clothes and bathing suits…and saw that apparently you can buy your infant a bikini! Although it may be easier to wrestle an infant or toddler into a two-piece (I am lucky I have a boy!), these were not just two-pieces: they were low-cut and had thin string ties. (I actually saw a blog post similar to this a while back, “17 Kids Fashions we Hope Disappear by2012,” while skimming through this I was shocked to see some of the “sexy” clothing sold for kids-mainly girls-that include lingerie and padded bras for 8-year olds and high heels for toddlers!) 

3. In the Pre-K classroom at my center a 4-year old girl walked into class wearing bright red lipstick and announced “My new lipstick makes me look awesome!” Some other girls in the class agreed with her and proceeded to have a discussion about make-up (comparing the nail polish colors they were wearing, talking about a coveted Hello Kitty make-up set, showing each other their “lip gloss” ie. chapstick, etc.)

What was most saddening and shocking to me about these scenarios was that to many people things like this are seen as “funny” or “cute”; some people are not thinking twice about their 2 ½ year old singing that he is sexy, nor are they thinking about the message they may be passing on to their young daughter by dressing her in a bikini with string ties when she is still wearing a diaper, nor are they thinking about why a 4-year old “needs” lipstick to make her look “awesome.” These may seem like small incidents, but they are just part of the larger picture. The implication of things like this is that a child who is exposed to a highly sexualized environment is going to get unhealthy messages about sexuality, their sense of self-worth, and their body image. This includes thinking that you need to be “sexy,” seeing unrealistic and inappropriate images of what “sexy” is, getting messages of what boys should be like (macho, attracted to “sexy” girls) and of what girls should be like (“sexy” as related to body images and clothing to attract boys).  

Unfortunately, the issue of the sexualization of early childhood is not new to me, if anything this reading was a reminder that this issue is becoming more prominent. As a preschool teacher, I have had incidents and discussions about “boyfriends and girlfriends” with children as young as 3 and have had classroom discussions about who we can kiss because the young children in my class are trying to figure out the messages they are seeing and hearing. Every year at my center we have to take a child abuse prevention course and there is a section on sexual abuse and how it is not just adults abusing children, it is all too likely that another child is acting out sexually with another child. While this is heartbreaking, it is an important issue that we have to deal with. As early childhood professionals, we can counter the messages that children are seeing and hearing with positive ones; teaching that beauty comes in many different forms, showing them positive (and realistic) male and female role models, not allowing inappropriate behavior, language, or clothing in the classroom, and having age-appropriate discussions about gender and sexuality. Reading this article was a reminder that this issue is not going away nor is it one that we can ignore. While I know that I cannot protect my son from everything, I know that as a parent I can set firm boundaries and have honest discussions with him to hopefully lessen the impact of what he will see and hear. As an educator, I can work with parents to help them do the same and make my classroom a healthy environment for gender and sexuality development.  

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