Time Well Spent

Wow! I can't believe that I am at the end of this journey. So much in life has changed since I started this program almost two years ago! Crazy to think of all the events that have happened in my life in the last two years, and somehow I managed to stick with this program and complete it. I have moved twice, gained a niece, got engaged and married, took on a new teaching position, and took up coaching basketball. Even when life got super chaotic and I so wanted to take a break or give up on this program, I kept trucking through. When people thought I was completely crazy for taking on so much, especially this past fall/winter with teaching, coaching, planning a wedding, and trying to complete my masters, I still found urge to get through this!

Throughout this program I have learned so much about the early childhood field that I have never known before. I have been teaching high school students for the past 6 years, so this was completely different from me. I learned the importance of early childhood education has in a child and how it influences their future in so many ways. I learned that we need to be advocating and supporting early childhood education because it is such a vital part of a child's development. Finally I learned that if we want change to happen in our society, we need to start teaching our children, and we need to start making changes because children learn by modeling (Berger, 2012). If we are modeling good behaviors then that's what the children will learn (Berger, 2012).

My long-term goal for myself is to become a supporter and an advocate for early childhood education.  I want people to realize that early childhood education plays such an important role in our children's future, and the way standards are ever changing in our country, the need for early childhood education is even more important. Early childhood education teaches our children so much and prepares them for the future in so many ways. Although I plan on teaching Family and Consumer Sciences, I know the knowledge I learned from this program will be a great tool in my child development class, and in my personal life as my husband and I look to start a family.

In farewell, I want to give you all a BIG HUGE THANK YOU! I never expected to learn so much from other people. At first when I thought I was going to have to rely on other people for this program, I was really unsure if I was going to like it. Man was I proven wrong! I feel like even though we never met in person, I feel like I got to know some of you on a personal level, and got to see glimpse of your lives and learn from that, so thank you for that! To my wonderful professors throughout this journey, thank you for all the support and feedback throughout, for pushing me along and to bring out the best of the work, It wasn't always easy with such a busy schedule, but I knowing you wanted us to succeed was my motivation to get through it. I wouldn't have made it through this program and this crazy thing called life without all of you, so THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! I wish you all the best, and hope you accomplish all your dreams!


Reference:
Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers

Jobs/Robles in the Internationally ECE Community

One organization I found that appeals to me is the Association for Childhood Education International. This organization is appealing to me because it has been around since the 1890s and it advocates for access to education, equity in educational settings, quality education content, and the child's right to education (ACEI, 2015).

Another organization I found appealing is International Step by Step Association. This community I found appealing because it is a group of people working internationally to empower each child to reach her or his unique potential and embrace values of social justice and equity (ISSA, n.d.). I think it is neat that there is a organization that supports all children and wants them all to reach their potential.

The final organization I found interesting was the United Nation's Child Fund (UNICEF). I have done some researching on UNICEF for previous classes, and I always found the organization interesting. It helps children throughout world going through crisis, and helping to make sure the children are getting their needs meet to insure their reach their full developmental potential (UNICEF, n.d.).

As far as jobs, I think working for UNICEF would be a great experience and an eye-opening experience. Looking at some of the job openings they have and where those openings are located, would be a neat experience. In order to take one of those positions, I think I would future need to develop my skills and knowledge related to the early childhood field, work on my communication skills, and end any personal biases I may have towards the group of people I could potentially be working with.

References: 
ACEI. (2015). About ACEI. Association for Childhood Education International. Retrieved from https://acei.org/about-acei

ISSA. (n.d.). Mission. International Step by Step Association. Retrieved from http://www.issa.nl/content/mission

UNCEF. (n.d.). Who we are. United Nation's Child Fund. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/about/

tagline is "Bright futures for every child, every nation," which highlights ACEI's commitment to support and advocate for access to education, equity in educational settings, quality educational content, and the child's right to education. These key areas of focus have evolved from the Association's vibrant and active past. As ACEI's mission to promote child well-being continues to strengthen and evolve with the changing world environment, the organization commits to bridging the gap between global initiatives and local needs. In this era of rapid change and increased connectivity, - See more at: https://acei.org/about-acei#sthash.i7NozimT.dpuf

As ACEI's mission to promote child well-being continues to strengthen and evolve with the changing world environment, the organization commits to bridging the gap between global initiatives and local needs. In this era of rapid change and increased connectivity, ACEI recognizes the significance of promoting international and intercultural understanding through dialogue and mutual respect. Over the years, ACEI members have acted as social change agents, involving themselves in various critical societal issues in their efforts to ensure that children around the world are protected, supported, and educated in ways that allow them to reach their full potential. - See more at: https://acei.org/about-acei#sthash.i7NozimT.dpuf

As ACEI's mission to promote child well-being continues to strengthen and evolve with the changing world environment, the organization commits to bridging the gap between global initiatives and local needs. In this era of rapid change and increased connectivity, ACEI recognizes the significance of promoting international and intercultural understanding through dialogue and mutual respect. Over the years, ACEI members have acted as social change agents, involving themselves in various critical societal issues in their efforts to ensure that children around the world are protected, supported, and educated in ways that allow them to reach their full potential. - See more at: https://acei.org/about-acei#sthash.i7NozimT.dpuf

As ACEI's mission to promote child well-being continues to strengthen and evolve with the changing world environment, the organization commits to bridging the gap between global initiatives and local needs. In this era of rapid change and increased connectivity, ACEI recognizes the significance of promoting international and intercultural understanding through dialogue and mutual respect. Over the years, ACEI members have acted as social change agents, involving themselves in various critical societal issues in their efforts to ensure that children around the world are protected, supported, and educated in ways that allow them to reach their full potential. - See more at: https://acei.org/about-acei#sthash.i7NozimT.dpuf

As ACEI's mission to promote child well-being continues to strengthen and evolve with the changing world environment, the organization commits to bridging the gap between global initiatives and local needs. In this era of rapid change and increased connectivity, ACEI recognizes the significance of promoting international and intercultural understanding through dialogue and mutual respect. Over the years, ACEI members have acted as social change agents, involving themselves in various critical societal issues in their efforts to ensure that children around the world are protected, supported, and educated in ways that allow them to reach their full potential. - See more at: https://acei.org/about-acei#sthash.i7NozimT.dpuf

National and Federal Level Community of Practice

The first national organization I found that appeals to me is the Human Rights Campaign. Since I am focusing on teaching children about how to accept people who are LGBT, this organization could provide some valuable information. This organization represents the LGBT organization and to ensure that their rights are being met (Human Rights Campaign, 2016). It gives a lot of information about some of the basic rights LGBT people are denied, the struggles they go through, and success story. I feel this organization could offer a great insight on some of the struggles LGBT people go through to help show why my project is needed.

Another federal organization that I found interesting is the National LGBTQ Task Force. Just like the Human Rights Campaign, it is another organization that helps fight for the rights if the LGBT population. It the oldest advocacy group for the LGBT (National LGBTQ Task Force, 2016). This organization can also help people in my community of practice see the struggles the LGBT have been going through for decades, and the importance of needing to teach our children about accepting others.

The final organization that I am interested in is the National Association of Education for Young Children. The NAEYC is an organization that ensures that our young children are receiving high-quality education (NAEYC, 2016). This organization interests me because it wants to make sure our children are receiving the best possible education and being prepared for the future (NAEYC, 2016).

I am still not looking for a new job, as I am currently still enjoying what I am doing, but if had to choose a job, I think working for the NAEYC would be a great group to work for. I think ti would be neat to adovcate for young children and feel successful when victories happen regarding early childhood education. In order to be prepared for a job at NAEYC, I will definitely need to start teaching early childhood education first, and interact with young children more. I would also need to work on my communication and research skills in order to prepare for a job with this organization.

References:
Human Rights Campaign. (2016). HRC Story. Retreived from http://www.hrc.org/hrc-story

NAEYC. (2016). About NAEYC. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc

National LGBTQ Task Force. (2016). Mission and History. Retrieved from http://www.thetaskforce.org/about/mission-history.html

Communities of Practice

One organization I could join to help me with my project is the Ohio Association for the Education for Young Children. This would be a great organization because it is an organization that is composed of center directors, administrators, teachers, social workers, and family care providers, which could offer many insights into my project of developing an anti-bias curriculum (Ohio AEYC, 2016). I could bounce ideas off of those who are specialized in the field, and take many different opinions into consideration when developing my curriculum.

Another group I could join is the Shelby Country Board of Developmental Disabilities. This organization is in my home county in Ohio, and it services the teachers to many area preschool centers (SCBDD, 2016). I feel this would be another great group to gt involved in because it will allow me to interact with teachers in the area, and see what they are in the need for. It will also allow me to geta baetter idea of what type of personal biases they are seeing in the classroom, and what i should focus my project on.

The final group that I could get involved in is Ohio Association of Child Care Providers. This is another state organization that is composed of directors and business owners of child care centers (OACCP, 2016). I feel that by getting involved in this association, I can interact with business leaders and directors, and propose my project idea to them. They could offer any available insights they may think I need when planning my anti-bias curriculum. 

One job opportunity I found that I am interested in would be a Lead Teacher position at a preschool center in the area. I feel this position would allow me to work on my anti-bias curriculum, as well as developing the teaching skills with preschoolers. In order to get this position I feel I would need to get some more experience in the early childhood field as far as teaching goes, and maybe start out as as an assistant to get to that lead teaching position. 


References:
OACCP. (2016). What is OACCP?. Retrieved from http://www.oaccp.org/?page=WhatisOACCP

Ohio AEYC. (2016). About Ohio AEYC. Retrieved from http://www.oaeyc.org/#!copy-of-about-us/c5ah

SCBDD. (2016). Shelby County Board of Developmental Disabilities: Vision, Mission, and Core Values. Retrieved from http://www.shelbydd.org/about-us/vision