Educational Journey

As I look back over the time I have been in this program I have learn so much about the field of early childhood education and about myself. The first thing that I learn was how important it is to have self-discipline. Earning a degree online is not as easy as people thing it is you have to be motivated and have a great deal of self-discipline. The second thing that I learn is how important it is to learn who it is you are working with. When teaching adults you have to understand how we learn. One of the things is that adult learners like to know what it is they are learning and why. The last thing is how caring each of my classmates has been during my stay at Walden. We have worked hard to keep each other on track so that we can reach the goal we set out for in our programs of study.

The one long-tern goal I have to share at this time is the goal of become the Dean of the School of Education. This goal will take some time to reach but if I stay on the road I am on right now I will reach it in no time. Earning this Master Degree get me one step closer to reaching it, so thank you Walden.

It is never farewell it is until we meet again. I believe that we have developed a family here at Walden and families do not say farewell. I look forward to working with all of you in the future on some project to help the lives of young children and families become better. To Dr. Teri Davis thank you for working with us on this final leg of this chapter of our lives. I will never forget you and I have save that email you sent me to cheer me up and letting me know that I could make it. To my classmates hope to see you all in Beautiful Miami, Florida as we receive our Master Degrees.  

 Christopher Felder

felder1914@gmail.com

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

For this week blog I had to review some at least three international organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me and tell why I chose them. As I was looking for organization this week I keep coming across charities that help children and families. Many of these organization sponsor educators to go to low-social economic countries to teach or advocate for children and families. I chose these three organizations because they embody the spirit of ECE. One of the reasons why Early Head Start was founded in the US was to combat the growing number of people living in poverty. They show the true meaning behind COP. They have a great passion for helping children and families. The people in these organizations are skilled in their areas and are willing to learn more. They bring a great dynamic to each of their individual organizations. These organizations saw this great need and are trying to spread it across the world. So this blog will spot light three of these great organizations.

The following are the three international organizations and communities of practice:

·         Child International

o    http://www.children.org/AChildJustForYouSW3-ChildrenInternational.asp?WT.mc_id=S_Google&RS_ID=2&WT.srch=1&gclid=CLmTm526zrECFcne4Aodr18Axw

·         Alliance and Families International

o    http://www.alliance1.org/news-releases/Susan%20Dreyfus%20to%20Rejoin%20Families%20International%20Organizations

·         Child Reach International USA

o    http://www.childreachusa.org/

One Job from each website:
Raise Awareness (Child Reach International)
Organize a Fundraising Event (Child International)
Team Leader Internships (Alliance and Families)

The main skills need for these jobs are to be out going and willing to learn more. One of the things that all of them ask for was do you speak more than one language if so which ones. Then they ask your leave of education and what you could you bring to the organization.

I would love to have the chance to go and work international one day. That is one of my biggest dreams.

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

The following are the three national that appealed to me and why you chose them

The National Association of Child Care Professionals http://www.naccp.org/
National Child Care Association http://www.nccanet.org/
National Education Association http://www.nea.org/home/18163.htm

These three organizations are great creditable places to get information for children and families. These organizations embody the true spirit of Early Childhood and hold great standards in the world of ECE.

I’m still looking at the job opportunities interest me last week. I will now narrow the list down to the three job opportunities.

·         Teaching on the Technical College Level
·         Family Placement US Military
·         USDA Consultant

The skill I will need to complete these roles are a Masters plus in Education, two years of experience in the field, and people skills. The last of the three is one of the most important of them all. I’m looking forward to finding a job in one of those areas.  

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The following are a list of three Local or State Organizations that appeals to me:

·         Campus Wide Directors

·         South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) http://scisa.org/

·         South Carolina Association of Education of Young Children (SCAEYC) http://scaeyc.org/

The reason why I select these three organizations is because they are credible sources for educator. The first of the three is Campus Wide Directors. This is a group of directors that have childcare centers that are based on college campus around the world. The second of the three is SCISA. This organization is an accrediting body of school in South Carolina. Their mission is SCISA as an exclusively educational organization, with responsibilities to establish accreditation standards, coordinate athletic and academic competition, and raise funds for member organizations.   The last of the three is the SCAEYC. This is the local chapter of NAEYC.

The job opportunities that is currently available to me:

·         Teaching on the Technical College Level

·         Training Early Childhood Educators

·         Working as an Advocate for young children and families

·         Family Coordinator

·         Family Placement US Military

·         USDA Consultant

·         Child Development Associates

The skill are that I would need to fulfill those roles are being acquired by receiving this master’s degree. Being able to collaborate and communicate effectively is one of the main skills I will need. Another skill will be having the ability to speak effectively in public.  In addition I will need to be able to plan effective lessons or activities for the group of adult learners that I will be working with.

Reflecting on Communication in the Early Childhood Field

As I look back over the past few weeks I see that I have grown from working with you Dr. D. and my classmates.  The communication goal for this week is to develop better team building skills. Team building is so important when you are working with families and young children. As I work with families I see how team building help families develop better bonds with themselves and the center.

In conclusion I have developed so many skills over the past few weeks that will help me as an early childhood educator.  I was able to see areas that I need to work so that I can become more effective in the field. The biggest eye opener was my listening skills and how my facial express affect the outcome of a conversation.

Team Building and Collaboration,

High performance group can be hard to level. When it is a group that is make changes in the lives of people. There is the part also when you can see the work that is being done in the group that makes it hard to leave.

The easiest group to leave was a group in college that was not doing anything to better the life on the main campus. I join the group because of its mission and then learn that it was not their intent to better the campus but to make a name for themselves.

I imagine that we have a great team as we keep developing our relationship as colleagues. The more we work together the more I feel that bond the Carol was talking about this week. That bond is important for our development as early childhood educators. 

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

The conflict that I’m dealing with right now is with my aunt who was cooking for my mother birthday party. The issue is that I wanted her to cook finger foods for 100 people that I have invite and she want $500.00 for the list of food I would for the party. I told her that $500.00 was to much money, so she got upset with me and said find someone else to do it for you.

This week has open my eyes to how to deal with these kinds of conflicts. The first of them comes from the 3 R’s. I have to response to the attacks that I didn’t post in a respectful manner because of who I am in the community. The need one is the win/win outcome. I’m still working on this but I know that it will work out some kind of way where both of us come out on top or happy.

If this was you how would you deal with it?

Who Am I as a Communicator?

From looking back over this week assignment I see that there were a few similarities in my evaluation of myself and then from the two other people. I see that I was harder on myself in some area then they were. Then I see that they were harder on me in some area than I was. I felt that I was sensitive to the needs of people but on of the person told me that I was not. Then on the other hand the other person agreed with me that I’m sometimes over sensitive to the needs of people.

The thing that supervised me was how honest the two people where with me during this assessment. I picked to people that I was close to at work and at church to complete this assignment. I was thinking that there answer would closely match my answer but they give me the truth.

The insight I gain was that I have to become a little more sensitive to people needs at work. On other insight is that I get very nerves when I speak in groups with people in power.

Changes in my Communication Skills

During this past week I did find myself communicating differently without colleagues and families. As I thing back on this past week I remember I was choosing my words more carefully than I did in the past few months. In addition my body language was not as much as I did before.  A prime example was today when I was in a training class for work and something was side that I did not agree with during the training.  The out me would have said what came across my mind right then, but I remembered this week discussion about the platinum rule. So I sat and gather my ideas before I said anything in the training about brain development in young children.  Then when I said what I was thinking my body language was calm and not confusing to the other people in the training.

This week gave me the time to look back over my communication skills. I was able to see where I needed help at to better develop my communication skills.  

Episode of "Soul Food"

The TV show that I looked was “Soul Food”. From looking at the show with the volume off it looked like the characters was have a problem based on their body language. They were using a lot of hand movement and rolling of their necks. 
From the nonverbal communication it look like someone was mad with the other person for some reason. The Nicole Parker seemed upset with Boris. Then he started using body language that came across that he did not like how she was talking to him.

It was hard to try to look at this show with no sound because they used so much body language to get their point across. I was able to get a little out of their conversation from their nonverbal communication.

The assumption I made was that their was a problem going on between the two characters in that scene. I was right based on my assumption. Something was going on with Boris drinking to much and someone got hurt.

If I was watch a show I normal watch it would have been about the same based on the body language that was giving. I think I would have a better understand the plot of the show because I have a idea of what is going on in the show.

What is Communcation?

The person I think of is my aunt Leola who is a great public speaker. She gives great eye contact with the people that she is talking too. She also has research on whatever she is talking about. When I hear her communicate with people she demonstrate the principle of strive to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their message”.  I would love to model the principle advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings when facing significant choices while also respecting privacy and confidentiality. As educator we are faced with helping children and families and still respecting their confidentiality.

Reference

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Professional Hopes and Goals

The mean hope I have now after this class is that I’m able to help them without any biases or stereotypes. I hope that from what I have learn I’m able to shear with children and families to make them better people so that we can all live in this world with peace.

The goal I would like to set for early childhood educators about issues related to diversity, equity, and social justice is that we all get a better understanding of each of the areas individual.

Thank you to all my colleague for all of your hard work these eight weeks. To Tameka thanks for pushing me to study more when I wanted to quite after week two. I look forward to hearing form all of you in our next few classes.


HAPPY HOLIDAY TO ALL OF YOU…

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The capital of Togo is Lomé. From the 11th to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a major trading centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast". In 1884, Germany declared Togoland a protectorate. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960. In 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbé was elected president (Listofcountriesoftheworld.com 2012).

The five was I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family. The first thing I would she what language they speak in Togo. Then I would learn who is the dominate family member or is it both. Following that I would learn some do’s and don’t with the family culture. Next if I have access to it I would read up on the family and what bring them to the US. Last I would se if I could find some people from there hometown so they can feel a little more comfortable.

I hope that what I have learn will give me a deeper understanding of other cultures then the ones we always deal with in our classrooms. This we even give me a chance to learn a few words in a different language then the one I study in high school and college. It will benefit the family in many ways. The first way it will benefit is that they will be greeted by someone that understand their culture. The will feel more comfortable and more likely to open up to me. It will allow the family to see that their culture is respected and they are welcome in the this country.

　

Reference
www.listofcountriesoftheworld.com 2012. Country of Togo.

My Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The memory that I have of an incident we I was the subject of bias, was when I got my first teaching assignment.   The parents did not meet me until the first day of school because I was unable to make the parent night the week before school. I was still working for DHEC and was out of town doing a work shop. I got a call from the director the next day telling me all the things the parents said about me during the meeting. One of the things that was said they don’t think I should take the class because I was a male. This was because the other teachers on the staff were all women and that’s all they know. They wanted to know how good of a teacher I would be for the age group I was getting that your. The bias was that I was a male teaching in a woman dominated field.

This bias made it seem as if male was unable to serve or teach young children. One if the things every job has posted is that they committed to equal opportunity, affirmative action, and non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, or disability in educational programs, activities, and conditions of employment. It was not the school but the parents that were decimating about my sex.

I did not feel bad at all, it just made me become the best teacher I could be in my first year. Within that year I was name the top teacher at the school and all the parents loved me.

The view of parents would have to change in order to change this incident into a opportunity for greater equity.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

My attitude toward racism is that of a person that has grown to just live with it. Gowning up in a town where this was the norm taught me how to deal with many levels of racism. Do I like it? The answer to that is no, I just deal with it. When I encounter racism I handle in the way Dr. King asked us to deal with it in a non-violent way. I do say how I feel and let the person(s) know that all black people are not drug dealers or uneducated. There are times when I get upset about this that go on it the world with racism.

This week made me look at my stereotypes about people and allowed me to see why people have them about me. It gave me a better understanding on how to deal with the many forms of discrimination. It effect people in different ways and people deal with it different ways. Wejust have to learn to live with it and move on at times.

My Family Culture

The three items I would care with me will be the Holy Bible, Photo Album, and my degree. I would take the Holy Bible because my family and I have deep roots with in the word of God. The Bible is a symbol of our family belief and what we draw strength from in the time of need. The next item would be photo album to remember our family members that did not survived or was put in another country. This is so we can show our children and they can show their children. The last thing would be my degree so it would not be hard for me to locate work to provide for my family in this new country.

I would feel very sad but thankful I’m able to carry one thing that holds value to my family. Then after being told which country we will be relocated to that will determine what item I carry with me.

I gained insight about myself. People always told me that I was caring and know I can see it for myself in this exercise. I always felt as if I was all about me but know I see what other see that I care more about my faith and family well being then my very own.   

When I Think of Research...

I have gained a deeper understanding of the different terms that we should use when conducting a research. The biggest insight has been learning how to make my research valid. In addition, how to detect when research is not valid.

My ideas about research change a lot during these eight weeks. I have developed a greater appreciation for the people that conduct research in the early childhood field. I see now that everyone don’t conduct research the same way nor collected their data the same way. My idea was that it was one way and you had to do it that way in order for it to be valid, but these eight weeks have showed me what it really take to do research.

I learn that when doing research there is a lot of planning involved. You most set time aside just for the research. The many designs we have to pick from to make our research valid is awesome to look at. I learn that as early childhood educator we conduct research all the time.

The main challenge I had in this class was finding time to do a effective job on my research development. With my center getting ready for visits from some many people and complete our annul NAEYC report it was hard. I learn that with my research topic I was doing it everyday so all I had to do was use what as in front of me.

The main way was being able to pull the good research from the not so good research. In addition to the leadership of Dr. D. I was able to gain so much understanding of research.

Research Around the World

The following are some of the current research topics in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA):


Building Community Leadership for Quality Sustainability in Madrasa Preschools: The Case of Madrasa Preschools Post Graduation Support

Pilot Study of the Adaptation of an Established Measure to Assess the Quality of Child Services in a Selected Orphanage in Zambia: The Inclusive Quality Assessment (IQA) Tool

One of the insights i gained from the Building Community Leadership was it take everyone to build a leader. The teacher of young children play a big part in building young children in to future leader. That is why it is so important for the government to better fund child care. Children that attend High Quality programs. We must fight to for funding for our programs so that we can build future leaders.
         Assessment of the Caring Practices in Two Motherless Babies’ Homes in Abia State, Nigeria and   the   Development and Delivery of a Nutrition Training Program to the Staff of These Homes to Improve Nutrition of Children in Their CareThe Development of an Integrated Early Childhood Development Urban Model Training Program for Informal Minders and Community Volunteers in Ghana

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Early childhood experiences from birth to age 8 have an enormous impact on children's lifelong learning.  This will also have a positive contribution to their health and development and is an advantage for a greater readiness and success in school. Highly quality staff interactions with children; an environment providing lots of books and written material and where children could select from a variety of learning activities; the child’s starting age and the total length of early childhood education; and the socio-economic mix of the children attending the centre. These programs enabled children to make a positive contribution to their own learning.

Early Head Start programs produced statistically, significant, positive impact on standardized measures of children’s cognitive and language development.  Program children at age 3, scored 91.4 on the Bayley Mental Development Index, compared with 89.9 for children who did not attend Head Start.  Early Head Start children were less likely versus none Head start children to score in the at risk range of developmental functioning in these areas.  By preventing children from scoring in the lowest functioning group, Head Start may be reducing their risk of poor cognitive, language, and school outcomes later on in life (Overall Impact, 1999).

Author Unknown. Child Care Bureau. Administration for Child and Families <http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/progams.htm>

Your Personal Research Journey

Will getting ready for my application 2 for this week I was able to follow the steps of finding relevant literature. It gave me a better understanding of how to look at online database. It gave me helpful hints on how to keep all of my literature in line so that I don’t lose track of my review at the end of my research.

From doing the research chart I was able to better understand the meaning of terms used will doing research. It also allowed me to pull out my weakness in doing effective and meaningful research. Will doing the chart I learned how important it is for use as educators to conduct research that is relevant to the field of early childhood. Finally, how to spot out good resources when conducting meaningful research.

What good advice can you give me on keeping track of my literature review?

National Black Child Development Institutehttp://nbcdi.org/
(Newsletter: http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/ )

National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/
(Newsletter: http://nieer.org/resources/newsletter/index.php )

The National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/ 
(Review also the position statements: http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements )

Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States
http://www.preknow.org/ (Newsletter: http://www.preknow.org/signupform.cfm )

Harlem Children’s Zone
http://www.hcz.org/  (Newsletter: http://support.hcz.org/site/PageServer?pagename=signup )

National Head Start Association
http://www.nhsa.org/  
(Newsletter: http://www.nhsa.org/news_and_advocacy/advocacy/legislative_eupdate )

National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators
http://www.naecte.org/ (Newsletter: http://www.naecte.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=29 )

The Division for Early Childhood
http://www.dec-sped.org/  (Review also the position statements: http://www.dec-sped.org/About_DEC/Position_Statements_and_Concept_Papers )

Children’s Defense Fundhttp://www.childrensdefense.org/ 
(Newsletter: http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/enewsletters/ )

Center for the Child Care Workforcehttp://www.ccw.org/
(Newsletter: http://www.ccw.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=78&Itemid=72 )