Time Well Spent

Being in this capstone has been a great learning experience for me. I have learned a lot of different things. One important thing I have learned is the different types of issues that are present in early childhood programs. I never knew there were so many different issues. It has made me want to read more about the issues as well as the organizations that assist with them. I have learned in this course what my leadership skills are, as well as my strengths. I have learned that I have great emotional intelligence as well as communication skills and this is an important type of leadership to have when working with children. One week we did readings on leadership and I learned all about the different leaderships skills as well as what applies to me and what I need to work on. The last important thing I have learned is the problem with low-income families getting access to quality early childcare. I never knew it was so hard for those type families to get access to care. I have learned how important it is for those type people to have their children enrolled in the programs. This can help them socially, academically and emotionally.

One long term goal that I have is to own my own childcare center. I would like to be the director and I would work hard to ensure that low-income families are also able to easily be enrolled in my facility. I have a goal to build more than one childcare center. They will be centered around those families who normally cannot afford it. I would make sure it is definitely quality care.

As I leave this course I want to say it was a pleasure working with each and everyone of my classmates. It was also a pleasure working with my instructor. She was very helpful and always available to answer my questions. I wish all of my classmates much success in all they chose to do after completing the program. I am really going to miss interacting with each and everyone of them.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE community.

The first organization that appealed to me was the United Nations children’s fund. This organization appealed to me because they are not only interested in children in the United states but also children in other countries. They realize that early childhood education is important for all children around the world and not just those in the United States.

The next organization that appealed to me was the Save the Children Organization. This organization appealed to me because it actually gives individuals an opportunity to help children by sponsoring a child. I believe this is a really good idea. There are a lot of children in other countries that  need someone to be there for them. This gives kids chances to live a healthy life.

The last organization that appealed to me was FHI 360. This organization appealed to me because they are dedicated to improving lives in many ways. They come together and came up with many ways to address today’s developmental challenges.

I am interested in becoming a part of Save the children. There are actually some jobs available in which I would be able to work with Save the children. I have always wanted to work with disadvantaged children to see how their face lights up. I would like to be a Humanitarian. I would have to have the skills of being able to educate others about the issues that are going on around the world with the children. I would have to know all of the Humanitarian symbols as well as organizations. I have to be very creative in order to create projects.

National/Federal Organizations

Child Care Aware of America is our nation’s leading voice for child care. It works with more than 700 state andlocal Child Care Resource and Referral agencies nationwide. It leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care professionals, undertakes research, and advocates child care. In order to become  a member there is an application to download online as well as a membership fee. It does not list any skills.

The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership  association.  NAFCC represents professional providers throughout the United States and in some cases on US Military bases located internationally.  NAFCC is dedicated to promoting quality child care by strengthening the profession of family child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families.In order to become a member you have to be a member of an association, business or be a provider.

NAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.Members join NAEYC through their community Affiliate Group. That way you receive all the benefits of NAEYC membership and enjoy the benefits of membership in local, state, and regional early childhood organizations at the same time! Your total dues amount reflects dues for each organization to which you belong, depending on how your state is organized. Dues vary by state and community.

These 3 organizations appealed to me because they are all working to promote quality childcare. My challenge involves getting more low-income children into quality childcare. I do believe that everyone deserves an equal chance. The organization that interest me was the NAEYC. I am interested in all young children being able to have quality learning.

Communities of practice.

There were a lot of organizations that appealed to me but I am going to write about 3 of them. The first one that appealed to me was the National federation of the blind. The ultimate purpose of the National Federation of the Blind is the complete integration of the blind into society on a basis of equality. This really appealed to me because I didn’t know there was an organization just for the blind people. I didn’t know they were discriminated like others. I find this really sweet that they are working together to help the blind. The next organization that appealed to me was the ADHA. ADHA is the largest professional organization representing the interests of dental hygienists on a national, state and local level. Our members enjoy professional support, educational programs and numerous opportunities for participation in association decision making across the nation. This appealed to me because I never knew dental hygienists had an organization. It is interesting to actually to know what they talk about in the meetings. Do they talk about how to clean teeth?

The last organization that appealed to me was The Health and Welfare Council of Long Island is a private, not for profit, health and human services planning, research/public education and advocacy organization that serves as the umbrella for public and voluntary agencies serving Long Island’s poor and vulnerable individuals and families. Since 1947, the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island (HWCLI) has responded to the needs of Long Islanders through direct services and local, state and federal advocacy efforts.  HWCLI has also served as the umbrella for public and voluntary agencies servicing Long Island’s poor and vulnerable individuals and families.

The American federation of the blind interests me. I would have to attend a chapter meeting, as well as pay the annual membership dues. There are not any skills listed that are needed to be in the organization. You just have to have a willingness to help others.

thanks

I have really enjoyed this class on communication. It has taught me a lot about how to communicate with others as well as things such as good listening skills

I have posted this resposne to two of my colleagues. I have really enjoyed reading your blog post these past 2 weeks. You have wrote abotu some very interesting things and I have learned a lot about you. I hope to have some more classes together as the program goes on. I want to also thank you for reading my post and being an inspirational leader. I really do appreciate it. I have really learned a lot about effective communication and have made some goals of my own. I hope that the goals will help in the real world personally and professionally.

http://dianahardin.blogspot.com/2014/08/adjourning-team.html?showComment=1408299953966#c4359459255543153438

http://judycharoo.blogspot.com/2014/08/adjourning.html?showComment=1408299735948#c6892785693123391893

Team Development

In the “adjourning” stage the project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off into different directions. The aspects of the group that made for the hardest good-bye was the fact that we were spending all of our free time together for example in my old church choir when we were meeting for a reunion program. We would practive every saturday as well as go out to eat and stuff together. These type groups are the hardest to leave. The ones where all your freetime is commited to them. The closing rituals that I have experienced are hugs, and an I will see you later. We leave with goodbyes and good luck in life. I do believe it wouldnt be hard to adjorn from my colleagues at Walden University only because I do not see them in person. Adjorning is an essential part of teamwork because it lets others know how much you appreciated working with them, and it shows how much you really care about them. It also shows how successful you were with getting to know others.

Blog Post

One disagreement that I can think of is one that I had recently with one of my coworkers. We were having a converstation about me being on a diet. I am trying to lose at least 10-15 lbs, but she says that I dont need to loose any weight and I am crazy because I dont weight that much. I quickely get defensive and say that she doesnt know how I feel in my skin, and she isnt the one that has to go on a diet. I tell her that just because she is smaller than me doesnt mean she can say that. This week I learned about practicing non-violent communication. I could have went about by not becoming so defensive and trying to see it from her point of view. Well maybe she just said that because I do look skinny? Another disagreement I have had is with my Husband. We argue about who is going to cook dinner one night. I explain that I just cooked last, and he says well im not going to cook. We could have come up with a compromise for example I cook on certain nights and he cooks on others. We were both really mad and didnt handle the conflict the right way. Practicing empathy is very important. I didnt even consider that he had just got the whole front yard.

Being a communicator

The thing that surprised me the most when I wrote my paper about being a communicator was when my colleage believed that I wasnt really shy when it comes to speaking out in front of a group of people. I believe the oppostie of this because I am shy and do not like speaking out in front of a group of people. I believe she said this because I talk out a lot in front of her and my other colleagues that I have become close to. I also learned that I control my anger better when talking to my Husband, he seems to believe that I lash out at him a lot, and control my anger in the wrong ways. This is something I can work out. This can help in the aspect of our personal life. It is important to remain calm when also talking to children and families. They need to feel as if someone is there for them, and that there is a no judgement zone. I also learned that I can be a little bit more patient when talking to others. I do seem to gaze at the clock alot. This can help with working with families because it is important to give them my undivided attention. It is important to not seem uninterested. This can help with my personal life as well. Noone wants to feel as if what they say is not important. They come to you and trust you enough to talk, so it is important to listen.

Cultural differences

Understanding cultural differences has to do with recognizing yourself as a cultural being and coming to understand that the way you see the world, organize your behavior and look at children are, to a great extent, influence by your own culture. There are many ways that people are different from one another. I do find myself talking differently to a male than I would a female. I talk to my female friends about guys, about monthly cycles, about hair styles etc. Men do not like to talk about these things. When I talk to guys I talk about work, school or maybe even music or my children. I talk about things that are considered to be feminine with females. I also find myself talking to people differently from different races. I assume sometimes that Caucasians do not listen to hip hop or rap so I never talk about music around them. I talk to my African American colleagues about music, because I believe they understand. I can communicate more effectively with the groups I identified. I can develop skills to adapt to those that are different; I can ask questions before assuming anything. It is important to exchange information while communicating, as well as figuring out where the differences are.

television show

The show that I chose to watch was uncle grandpa. This is a cartoon show. There as a little boy that was made out of pizza and a green man that set beside him. I believe that this was the father and son. There was also a pet tiger on the show. I believe that the little boy made out of pizza is the grandson to the guy with the beard. When the green guy sits down he is fussing at the young pizza boy, it seems as if he is frustrated about something but the boy is excited. They also seem to be bothering the grandpa an giving him a hard time. The little boy is doing the grandpa so wrong it seems like, he is taking advantage of him and the dad is mad and fussing. The little boy seems as if he is a trouble maker ,he even ends up driving the car.

After I watched the show with the sound turned on. The green guy is fussing at the pizza guy asking him why he is eating ice cream for breakfast. The little pizza guy was actually not a child and the green guy was not the dad. His name was actually pizza Steve and he just enjoyed messing with uncle grandpa. My assumption was incorrect. If this was a show that I watch my assumptions would have been correct. I would have already known the relationships between the individuals. I interpreted the green guy fussing at him as being someone of authority over him, but he really wasnt. From this experience I learned that nonverbal communication can be interpreted in many ways. There are some things that we assume because of nonverbal gestures that may not be correct.