EDUC 6990 Capstone: Explorin roles in the ECE community: Local and State levels

    This week I found two local agencies and one state agency that I would be interested in and I am going to contact about volunteering at once I am done with my course.

    The two local agencies are: Hearts to Nourish Hope, this is a non profit organization that caters to teens and families, it caught my attention because of the services that it provides to te community, by helping teens that are in trouble or need that extra hand. They provide a GED program, TABE testing for students that are trying to go into military school and they have a second chance program for teen  males who have been incarcerated, on probation or expelled from any of our county high schools.  Even though this program doesn't cater to the ECE community, it gives our teens a second chance and a place to go to in the time of need. They also provide a food pantry, they help with finances for families and they help teens find jobs during the summer, to help them have somewhere to go and spend time instead of being on the street. With researching this agency I am thinking about trying to had something to my background to have an opportunity to help teens within my community.The other
 local agency that I found was the Rainbow House they help children with special needs, families who children may have been removed from the home, they provide clothing, food and they offer educational assessments and a tutoring program. They are not hiring now, but do suggest that anyone interested fill out an application and submit it along with a resume. They also have a volunteer program and it seems that, that is the way alot of individuals get their foot in the door. I do meet the requirements for employment, I have had more than 8 years of experience with young children and families, a B.S. in Human Services, and I will have a M.S. ECS in a few weeks and I could definitely pass a background check.

     The state agency that I looked into is the Department of Family and Children Services. I meet the requirements for that as well and I even got an email back, stating that there is a freeze for employment, but if something comes available I would be contacted either by phone or email. They provide services for young children and their families. I would be interested in becoming a Social Work or a Child's Advocate. They are also the overseer for helping individuals apply for medicaid, food stamps, TANF and Peach care, a service for individuals that work at least 30 hours a week recive help with their child care. They also remove children from homes due to neglect, abuse,etc. I would like to say this would be a great place for me, but I do believe that my heart would get in the way, for some of the issues that young children and their families go through.

      All three of these agencies caught my eye and when I explained to my husband what we had to do and the opportunities that I found, he looked at me and said, "You leaving the classroom, no way" and walked out of the room.

Wk8 Reflecting on Learning

    My passionate hope is that all early childhood professionals create and maintain an anti-bias environment for all young children, their families and the communities that the families live in. All children and their families should feel welcomed and appreciated at all times within the learning environment.

     Throughout this course and is class, in my judgment we all have learned many ways to help young children in our care as well as their families, so we all need to take what we have learned, the ideas, and the resources and distribute them to those in our care. We should not just stop with this course, it MUST be given to those around us.

      I would like to say Thank You to all of my classmates for all of the positive feedback throughout this class as well as this course. We all have learned from each other and I can only imagine how life will be for the young children that we may come on contact with. Good Luck and Best Wishes to all, we only have 1 more class!  Do not ever give up, keep striving forward!

WK 7 Impacts on Early Emotional Development

For this week’s blog I chose Eastern & Southern Africa.

         I chose this area, because of the issues and concerns that the region is going through with HIV and AIDS. Globally there are 34% of people with HIV that live in Southern Africa.  There are also over 30% of deaths among children under the age of 5 that occur in the first month of life- two biggest killers are pneumonia and diarrheal diseases. Other main causes are Malaria, injuries, and HIV/AIS and Measles.

       I also learned from this that basic education and gender equality between 2000 and 2006/8 the number of children in primary school rose dramatically from 45 to 70 million. The office net enrollment is 88% for boys and 87% for girls. In 2008, around 8.8 million children in primary school age were excluded from enjoying their right to a basic education. For secondary education, rates are lower regional average are 25% and 33% for boys and girls and an even smaller proportion actually attends school was 24% boys and 22% girls.

       On Feb, 2, 2012in South Africa,  UNICEF call attention to international and national legislation protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse and maltreatment. January 16, 2012, Zambia: Netherlands provided the United States $10 million dollars for UNICEF education program.

      When young children are subjects of the above mentioned issues, he or she cannot grow properly and they lack the proper nutrition that will help to keep them at the same pace as other children their very same age. Every child rather boy or girl should be given the same opportunity as the next child, in all reality there may be some girls that feel like boys are given more opportunities and the girls may drop out of school or just not go.

       As an early childhood professionals, I would seek to administer to all children fairly and equally. I want to provide an ant-bias environment so that all children regardless of race, sex, religion or culture, be given the same opportunities to grow and develop into productive citizens. I have learned that even though we may think that the world we live in is so bad, there is many others that are worse off and need more help than we do.

 Reference:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

WK 6 The Sexualization of Early Childhood

      After reading the article, “So sexy, so soon”, I was truly bothered. I work in a public school system at a primary school that has pre-k through second grade students and I have seen some of the things that the article mentions.  Parents need to be made aware of what their child and their child’s friends are doing, not only at school but even in their own homes and neighborhoods.

      Some ways that I have observed children the sexualization are: I have observed some of my pre-k students singing certain songs, dance a certain way, and even talk like they are much older than they actually are. I have seen young children participate in videos, watching certain movies, I have even heard a first grader telling another student, “Hit me up on Facebook”.  I am not sure if he has a Facebook page or not, but that is way too young for a first grader to even have that conversation. There was another incident were a second grade female student told another student that her sister took some pictures of her and she would send them to her on her phone, the principal was there as well.

     These situations help to make our children grow p faster than they already do, there is a time and place for everything and young children should be kept away from certain issues at such an early age. Children have too many electronic devices and not enough of outside and kid games.  I would suggest that early childhood professional redirect young children when these issues arise and I have told my own students that, “School is not the place for that type of behavior, we are here to learn.” However, in all reality a young child should not be involved in that behavior until they are able to understand the differences in what are good choices and not so good choices. I would show and have examples of good behavior versus bad behavior.

     I have learned that as an early childhood educator I must be prepared for any and all issues that arise, with young children and if I cannot help a young child with an issue, I must use outside resources. Young children need to be sheltered and loved and not given the opportunities to grow up so fast. The society is full of mischief, so we as adults must help the young child to grow and learn responsibly.

Reference:
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.

Wk 5:Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

     The consequences I might expect for the children and their families with whom I work: For them to learn more about me, others and their ways of life. I do not want any child or family that I may come in contact, to know if I do have biases or issues they will never see or feel in through conversations or communications.
   
     Throughout my life I have had to deal with te "isms" of classism, racism and maybe a few others, however I have never blamed anyone for the choices or actions that have come to me in my life and I have done the best with what I have.

      I would be more responsive to children, who's parents maybe going through a hard time financially or emotionally, due to my childhood and what my family had to go through. I feel that I would be able and willing to speak to my students about racism or any other "ism" on an age appropriate level.

      Some examples that I have experienced are dating and marrying an African-American male, I have many African-American coworkers or parents that say to me, "I didn't know you were married to an African-American", until I show them pictures. The part that puzzles me is, Is there a certain way to act if you are married to someone outside your race?

      To help others, I must put my feelings aside and deal with what is going on with the person that is seeking help. I know as a child, my family went through hard times, so that is why I am willing to go to any extent to help those that may be going through some of the same life experiences that I did as a child and a young adult.

WK 3 Observing Communication

    I observed a teacher and a kindergarten student in the Media center. They were discussing a Reading test and what the student had to fo and how imprtant it was for her to take her time and read each question, then select the correct answer.

   The teacher gave the child eye contact and made sure that the child understood the directions and the outcome if she didn't take her time and read all of the questions and answer them carefully.During the conversation, I overheard the teacher calling the students name several times, so that the child knew that the teacher was talking to her. I also seen the teacher lightly touching the students arm, I think this behavior was to help the child feel more comfortable.

    In my judgment, after reading the resources for this week, I do not feel nothing else could have been done, I feel that the communication was affirming and effective between the student and teacher. I feel that the teacher meant well, however she could have made the child more nervous by constantly reminding her of what was expected. If the student read the book and understood the questions, I feel that the student would have done well on the test. If I would have been the teacher, I would have made up my own questions similar to the test, to see if the child was prepared for the test, before taking her into the Media center to take the test.

    I always try to make eye contact with my students when speaking to them. I only say what I want to say, then I ask my students do they understand what I am asking or saying to them. I use alot of pictures and words throughout my classroom and my students know to use the pictures or words to convey the conversation at hand. If necessary, I will given my students more time to complete their sentences and give them a chance to tell their stories and then I will help them to solve their problems with my words, pictures or actions.

WK 2: 6358-1 Family Child Care Center

   I would like for my setting to be welcoming, warm and with just the right amount of light, so that the children feel safe and secure. As you enter into my family child care center, there would be a "Family tree", with all children and their families pictures on the tree, inlcuding mine, as well. I would have a parent communication board, included on that board would be a menu, daily schedules for all classrooms, and any important information that parents/families should know about the center and it should be available in all languages of the children and parents that are there.
   I love the 'Crying room" that Adriana's had in her center, that is very helpful for the new children or the childrent that have a difficult time leaving their parents or family members. I would have a "Safe place" in my center. This is an area that has soft space with pillows, crayons, paper, quiet activities and things that can help a child that may need some quiet time, can go and sit until he or she is ready to come back to the group.
   I would include labeling of all materials and/or objects in English and in any other languages of any of the other child that attend my center.  I would include pictures of adults and children with disabilities, as well as people from around the world.
   The center must include a variety of books, puzzles, music and dolls. Every child needs to be able to reflect and learn about others and just not themselves or their families. Children must have on hand, multi-cultural papers, crayons and markers. I would make sure there are multi-cultural families and community helpers that are available for boys and girls.
    Children must feel safe, loved and nurtured to develop the basic trust they need for healthy development. My goals are for children to develop a strong and positive self-concept and empathy for others through healthy intellectual, physical,social, emotional and moral development. I hope that my experiences may serve as examples for other caregivers as well (Richards).
    I also feel that all parents and families must be included in all aspects of the child care center, parents should feel comfortable enough to volunteer and enjoy the day at the center, without feeling like they are labeled or different from others.

References
“Welcome to an Anti-Bias Learning Community”
Anti-Bias education for young children and ourselves