Farewell Fellow Classmates

Why we are here and what do we want to accomplish with a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Studies? This is what I was thinking about when I first started the master’s program. Why did I feel the need to continue my education and what would I do with that Master’s Degree once I acquired it? I would not be in the job position I am in now without my Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. I have a better understanding and appreciation for the field of early childhood. I learned through the courses how to explain and validate the need to educate early childhood teachers and to demonstrate best practices. A Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education made me a well-rounded teacher. I learned the importance of listening to others and I learned how to appreciate other’s for what they had to offer. I feel more prepared to teach adults and I understand more about why the field of early childhood is so important. I learned how to be a patient leader through this program. Patience is a virtue that every early childhood teacher should have. A leader in this field needs to have patience with the parents, teachers, administration, and society. The field of early childhood is gaining respect within the field of education; we just have to be patient for others to understand its importance. A long-term goal for me is to acquire a doctorate degree in early childhood. I have the opportunity to continue on with my studies with the university I work for but they do not have a doctorate program for the field of early childhood. They call their program Child and Family Studies and it is not the way I see my education going. Farewell to everyone that has been on this journey with me for two years now. I will say that I have not come across Jay in my last course and this worries me a great deal. He was having some health issues during the last class and I am uncertain if he has taken a leave of absence from school. He has been on this journey with most of us for these two years and he has been a strong leader and mentor for everyone. We are all strong individuals with passion, drive, and determination. I pray you all will have happiness and full-filled lives that demonstrate your love for children. Melissa Weaver Instructor/Teacher The University of Southern Mississippi melissa.weaver@usm.edu

International Organizations

The International Step by Step Association seems to be an organization that with families, communities, and professionals to “empower each child to reach her or his full potential and embrace values of social justice and equity” (International Step by Step Association, 1999, p. 1). This organization was initiated by the Open Society Foundations in 1994. This organization wants to help establish equal care with education for children 0 to 10, no matter their economic status or disadvantages. The International Step by Step Association focuses on inclusion and showing great respect for diversity. This is a nonprofit organization that relies on memberships and donations to help families and communities. If you want to become a member you will have access to online discussions, join professional groups, online library, and collaborate on a variety of topics that focus on the early childhood field. Most of the members and work is done overseas in Europe and especially with children and families in Romani. ISSA offers a 3 book Reading Corner Kits to help teachers when initiating reading. It composes different publications from members on recent studies, books, and reports. It does provide “Building Opportunities in Early Childhood from the Start - A Teacher's Guide to Good Practices in Inclusive Early Childhood Services” (International Step by Step Association, 1999, p. 2) which is important to offer and have when you are working with teachers overseas who may not be as educated in good practices and inclusive learning environments. One job that I feel would offer an amazing experience would be to work hand in hand with organizations overseas such as ISSA. As a western teacher one could go in and work on teaching and modeling best practices for an inclusive learning environment. Demonstrating best practices to help each child reach their fullest potential. I feel I have the skills, knowledge and experience to provide a mentoring to and for the teachers and children that benefit from ISSA’s work. UNICEF is another national organization that works to help children all over the world. “UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. We believe that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity” (UNICEF, 2012, p. 1). UNICEF helps educate young children especially girls during those primary years. UNICEF works to immunize children in third world countries and they provide HIV/AIDS children and families opportunities so they can live with dignity. UNICEF tries to provide security and protective environments for children who experience tragedy by way of violence, war, abuse, or exploitation. One part of UNICEF and its efforts to work with children all over the world is that is upholds the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and they work for the Millennium Development Goals. UNICEF believes in “improving the life of every child” (UNICEF, 2012) in over 190 countries and territories through country programs and National Committees. A job with UNICEF would be quite a challenge and opportunity. I would be honored and proud to work with UNICEF in one of their overseas communities. The job qualifications would exceed dedication, motivations, and drive. I have never traveled overseas but my husband has. The living conditions and learning environments in some of the countries and territories that UNICEF helps are far below standards we have in the United States. My heart would get broken a great deal just from the sights and sounds of what these children live through. I would be honored to take a job with UNICEF as an Early Childhood Educator who mentors and works to train other teachers on developing young children. Save the Child is an organization that gives “children in the United States and around the world what every child deserves – a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When disaster strikes, we put children’s needs first. We advocate for and achieve large-scale change for children. We save children’s lives” (Save the Child, 2014, p. 1). This organization is non-profit and works off of donations and sponsor ships to help children all over the world. You can become a member and sponsor a child for less than $1.00 a day. Save the Child offers a variety of opportunities to support their cause. You can donate or buy supplies for fresh drinking water, 3 Sheep, Treadle Water Pump, Learning and Health Kit for 20 Children, 1 Soccer Ball, Stock a Medical Clinic, etc. This organization works to help families and communities in a large variety of ways. One way to donate to Save the Child is by buying a $30.00 Teacher Tools keep Children Learning opportunity box. A small donation can help keep early childhood programs stocked with crayons, markers, puzzles, construction paper, and books provide US children with tools they need to start a strong (Save the Child). A job with Save the Child that I would be qualified for would be a trainer/teacher or instructor for others on helping children develop and grow during those early years. Working with disadvantaged families in the US and overseas would be an experience that takes a great deal of dedication. I would also like to be part of the donation process and finding new and great opportunities for others to donate and support Save the Child. References United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/ Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

National Organizations

My first national organization that I am a member of is the National Accreditation for Family Child Care, NAFCC. This organization unites all 50 states that have nationally accredited in-home care into one group. Each state offers in-home care opportunities for child care educators and this organization is a National accreditation that in-home providers can become members of and earn their accreditation through. I had an in-home child development home for 12 years and earned my national accreditation through this program. It offers workshop trainings, valuable resources to buy and or download, and a new highlight is NAFCC radio. The president of NAFCC hosts a radio show that answers questions and offers best practice suggestions to problems and issues that in-home child care teachers come across. I would like to be an in-home accreditation evaluator for this association. An evaluator goes into the home with the completed workbook that the in-home teacher has compiled and answered. The evaluator spends up to 8 hours in the home watching and observing the teacher with the children in her care. The evaluator then spends the last few hours asking questions and reviewing the standards with the in-home teacher that she may not have seen throughout the day. This is a very rewarding job that does not pay. I would like to have the opportunity to use my knowledge and skills to help in-home providers reach their dreams and accreditation. In-home providers work very hard to meet the standards and requirements set forth by NAFCC. This would be a wonderful addition to my resume and I would gladly partake in the adventure of helping in-home providers with their NAFCC accreditation. The second organization that I am a member of is the Council for Professional Recognition which is the organization that helps you attain your Child Development Associate Credential, CDA. This organization helps anyone interested in attaining their CDA by offering the courses and training needed to meet this credential. The Council for Professional Recognition works with other early childhood organizations to help educate their members, families, and teachers on how the field of early childhood is changing. This organization wants to help educate and train others in the field of early childhood through their CDA credential. This council also works with other programs in the field of early childhood: NAEYC, Number and Characteristics of Early Care and Education (ECE), Teachers and Caregivers: Initial findings form the National Survey of Early Care and education (NSECE) and had in-put on Strong Start for America’s Children Act. The Council for Professional Recognition offers the CDA course which is based off of “specific set of time-tested, research-based tools to determine early childhood teacher competency, based on multiple sources of evidence” (Council for Professional Recognition, 2009). This organization works with NAEYC especially at their annual conference by offering trainings in the expo. I would truly enjoy being a CDA Professional Development Specialist. I actually have the paperwork and I am currently filing it out and getting the required materials for the application. This is a great opportunity to mentor candidates and work with individuals who have the same drive and passion that I do. I will soon have a Masters in Early Childhood Studies with a specialization in adult learning. Putting my knowledge and experience to work as a CDA Professional Development Specialist is definitely in my future. I would not quit my current job I would just add this to my duties. The third organization that I feel is important is Kids in Training, KIT. Which is offered by National Training Center for Inclusion, NTCI. I use to work at the Child Development Center on the Seabee Base. KIT serves all four military branches to educate and train their early childhood staff. We were able to partake in self-paced trainings through KIT that were offered online. I have taken a few trainings through KIT and received CEU’s for those trainings. Some of the trainings are offered online and from bi-monthly webinars. These are eLearning opportunities: virtual conferences, core module courses, specialized module courses, instructional videos and webinars (National Training Center for Inclusion). I took training courses over Autism and how to help children in my room who struggle with socialization, language, and being overwhelmed. KIT’s National Training Center on Inclusion offers individuals free community trainings at various locations across the nation and eLearning self–paced modules for individual professional development (National Training Center on Inclusion, 2013). NTCI offers free community trainings in specific locations and you can also join KIT’s online learning for $99.00 which gives you “12 months of access to all online content and free inclusion resources including instructional videos, booklets, tips sheets and more” (National Training Center for Inclusion, 2013). This is a wonderful organization that helps educate and train individuals on inclusion. I think the most important component that I valued was that they were self-paced learning. I learned after reviewing this website that this organization offers a program that trains individuals on being a KIT affiliate. I would love to become an affiliate for KIT. If you work for an organization with more than 10 employees then you can register to become a KIT affiliate. After researching this more I learned that you go through a specific process that trains and educates you on KIT’s policies and procedures. KIT combines live training which includes access to KIT’s phone support center, their library which is full of resources, bi-monthly webinars and of course their eLearning courses. Once I complete this training I will have a comprehensive staff training program that will help me to educate my staff and train them on best practices in an inclusive learning environment. References Council for Professional Recognition. (2013, November). CounciLink. Retrieved from http://www.cdacouncil.org Kids Included Together. (2010-2013). Retrieved from http://www.kitonline.org/html/training.html

Local and State Organizations

First Steps is a state organization that is ran by Mississippi State University. It is funded by a grant from the federal government. First Steps is for parents and children from the ages of birth to 2. I have worked with the speech pathologists and the early interventionists with this organization as they have serviced children in my classrooms and center. The organization provides evaluations and assessments on children who might be developmentally delayed and or have physical or mental disabilities. Early Intervention is a local organization that is ran by the school district. Each school district has their own set of early intervention specialists and speech pathologists. These specialists evaluate, assess and provide cognitive and or speech/language services to children who show signs of delay for their age. Since the program is run by the school district they only start evaluating children from the ages of 3-5. These specialists are great references on how to help and expand children’s language skills and cognitive development. I use books from DLTK.com, a website that has a great amount of resources free of charge. These books use repetition and pictures to help the young children remember letter sounds, the letters and the meaning of words. The specialists actually use those same books when working with the children that receive services. Collaborating and working with specialists only enhances your classroom and its practices. 5 Star is a state organization that is funded and ran by Mississippi State University. The program is divided into districts and they have specific representatives for each district. 5 Star is a program that helps centers and homes to use best practices. They use the ITERS and ECERS rating scales to evaluate and monitor centers and homes. 5 Star rating is the best of the best in the state of Mississippi. You can be a one star, two star, three star or four star in this program. 5 Star is the best you can rate. This organization works with teachers and center administration on understanding the importance of routine, schedules, learning through play, centers, and choices. 5 Star is a great resource that helps build centers into the best learning environments possible. I am very interested in the Assistant Director’s position that is currently available at a local child development center in my area. I have applied and I am qualified for the position. This job requires at minimum a CDA and experience within the early childhood field. I am working and have almost completed my Maters in Early Childhood and I will have a specialization in adult learning. This is also part of the job requirements to teach and educate new teachers. I have great communication skills and I practice constructive listening. I promote parent/teacher relationships and feel parents should discuss any and all concerns with the teacher first. Assistant directors are not in the classroom and do not understand any and all problems or issues that may arise. I work well with other staff and I am an experienced classroom teacher that has built my knowledge and understanding for the field of early childhood by continuing my education. I also am interested in the Program Manager position at my current job, at the University of Southern Mississippi’s lab school. The program manager is responsible for maintaining and adhering to health department regulations, promoting NAEYC standards and 5 Star qualifications. The program manager overseas ten staff and the student teachers. The program manager must be a great communicator and mentor for her staff. The program manager provides a work schedule and creates time sheets for all staff that are not salary. This job does require a master’s degree in education or early childhood education. I will have this requirement in 6 weeks. I feel my most positive attribute is my communication and listening skills. I am a constructive listener and I feel that parents are our best references. Building a center starts with building relationships with staff, parents and children. I have all of those skills. I am very knowledgeable in 5 Star and NAEYC qualifications for a center, this is a big necessity. The program manager is on her own since the main office is over an hour away. I currently teach a course a semester at the University of Southern Mississippi and I like this part of my job a great deal. I would like to be an instructor full-time, especially at a junior college. We have two local community colleges that provide an associate’s degree in early childhood. Currently this degree does not transfer to the university I work at because the instructors are not accredited. I will be an accredited instructor and feel that I would be a strong asset to any community college that offers a degreed program on early childhood.

Hello Everyone

Hello everyone, I am excited about this class but I am also very nervous. I tried to put in my wordle but was not able to post the picture. Good luck to everyone on your last course for your masters!!!

Good Luck Everyone

Hello Everyone, I realize that some of us will not talk to each other in our next few courses. We are entering the last stages of our courses and headed into our specialization courses. I am heading into Adult Learning and I am very excited about these next few classes. I want to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication to all the courses we have taken together. We are all working parents that have taken the extra step in bettering ourselves and gaining knowledge to help children and families. Good luck to you and all you want to achieve. Melissa Weaver

Adjourning

I have worked with a lot of teams in the past. Some of the groups haven’t necessarily been established as teams since the organization and development wasn’t there. I believe you have to actually have five stages of development for a team to be established in order for it to be considered a team instead of an unorganized group. “Every team goes through the five stages of team development” (Abudi, Gina, 2010, p. 1). I have been on quite a few teams and the one that I wrote about in my first discussion board was about my elected duty as an ombudsmen. That team adjourned by first losing the other committee members because of their irreconcilable differences. The new elected officials and I worked well together but I am not sure we were a team that had a connection. We met and engaged in conversations that helped us build a vision and strategies to focus on for the deployment period. I delegated duties and we established jobs for each team member. Their contributions and efforts were positive since I based their duties on their strengths. We were a successful group but when we adjourned or I should say when I decided not to take on the ombudsmen position again we easily departed. I had no hard feelings towards anyone but I was not sad or disappointed to give back my position. The adjourning stage is when the “project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off into different directions” (Abudi, Gina, 2010. P. 3). I was definitely moving in a different direction and I wished the other team members well in their vision and strategies to making the meetings a success. We all can be leaders, but if we find ourselves more frustrated and irritated with the process and organization then we need to understand that the group would be better run under another person. I do not have a passive personality and I do not tell people what they want to hear so it makes them feel better. I tell the truth and help them understand why and how we approach issues and concerns so that we can work through them as individuals. The group of spouses that I was leading did not want to be lead they wanted to be pacified. I could not do that. So adjourning the team for me was a blessing. I had made some friends and I did keep in contact with them. I did feel we accomplished a lot during my time as the team leader and ombudsmen but I was not sad to leave the position. One thing that really surprised a lot of people was that I no longer attended the meetings either. I was and still am a military spouse. However, I have not and will not ever attend a meeting that focuses on my husband’s ship or command. As the ombudsmen I wanted to help women/spouses find their strengths and to build upon them. Instead I found a group that wanted me to comfort them instead of empowering them. References Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html