Time Well Spent

            When reflecting upon my time in the Early Childhood Studies program, I realize I have learned many new things and some of those had a long lasting impact on myself.  Within in the scope of my job, I train and work with teachers and directors.  The reason behind my obtaining my Master’s was to be more effective in this area of my job.  The courses I took on adult learning gave me new and useful knowledge.  I have gained tips and techniques for engaging adult learners and supporting their learning whether it is in a two hour training or ongoing coaching support.  I am forever grateful for these courses and the knowledge that I gained from them.

            During my time, I realized the importance of collaborations, how effective they are, and how to do my part to make them effective.  I have always been a person that does not depend on others and would rather do it myself to ensure that it is done correctly.  However this does not always work and sometimes more can be done if multiple people are working together for the greater good.  Over the course of the year I am seeing more collaborations being created in my community on the behalf of children and their families.  I am excited to be a part of these and now have the knowledge to effectively do my part within these collaborations. 

            As a supervisor and responsible for leading a team, I realized that my communication skills needed improvement.  The courses in this program have helped me be more conscious of my communication skills and how to improve them.  A combination of communication skills and knowing how adults learn has helped me to change my approach with my staff, other co-workers, and providers.  The results have already led to a more positive working atmosphere and productivity. 

            I have two long-term goals.  My first long-term goal is to obtain my Doctorate in Early Childhood.  It is a goal I want to achieve but I know that it will take some time before I will be able to obtain it.  I want to take some time to spend with my son and family.  Plus I have added several things to my plate and I need to concentrate on those first.  However, it is a goal and dream of mine and I will achieve it.

            Another long-term goal is to ensure that all the providers in my community have had training and technical support in cultural competence.  My capstone project dealt with cultural competence and I want to continue my work that started in this project.  I do not want my hard work to go to waste.  I want to be advocate for cultural competence and the importance of it for the lives of young children and their families.             

            We are asked to write a farewell message to our instructor and colleagues.  However, I believe that farewell is not the correct word to use.  Due to the passion that my colleagues and I share, I believe that our paths will cross again in the future.  Our futures are bright and I am excited to see what everyone else will do.  In the meantime, I do wish you the best of luck in all that you do in your efforts to improve the lives of young children and their families and the field of early childhood education.  I have gained much knowledge from each and every one of you that has and will continue to make me a better person.  Thank you.  If there is anything you should ever need, email is the best way to reach me.  My email address is myraburrell730@yahoo.com.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: International

                  The first international organization that fosters the well being of children and families in our field is Save the Children.  Save the Children is an organization in which people can sponsor children to give money to ensure their health and education, people can help fundraise for the children, and people can advocate on the behalf of children for bills and laws to help improve the lives of children and their families (www.savethechildren.org, 2011).  My interest was peaked when researching this website because of the work people do and the fact it is mainly run on volunteers.  This helps with overhead costs to maximize the amount of money that goes to help the children.  Also people can choose which child they want to sponsor.  This organization appealed to me because of the fact that the organization is raising money to help the children meet their basic needs, which allows them to learn.  The jobs advertised are for skill-based volunteers in areas such as fundraising, public policy, finance, and social media.  Although skills and experience are not listed because they check applications against the positions available, they do list expectations of the volunteers such as committing to work at least two days a week for a minimum of 14 hours (www.savethechildren.org, 2011). 

                  Another organization that I researched is one that I have experience with but wanted to know more about, Stop Hunger Now.  Stop Hunger Now is an organization that packages meals to ship all over the world to feed children and their families (www.stophungernow.org, 2015).  Their goal is to end world hunger within our lifetime.  They also provide life saving aid to other countries such as helping them with clean water.  Stop Hunger Now asks organizations to donate money and in turn they bring food to the organization.  Then volunteers work together for two hours carefully packaging the food to be shipped both national and internationally.  I have been a volunteer to package the food and it was a rewarding experience.  My husband and son also helped and it was a great experience to teach him the value of helping others and that other children in the world are not as lucky as he.  Like Save the Children, the majority of jobs are volunteers and specifics of being a volunteer are not listed.  I did think it was interesting during my research that the organization was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is about 20 minutes away from my house.  Knowing that it is so close and that I am finishing up my schooling, once I graduate I am going to check into more opportunities to volunteer with this organization (www.stophungernow.org, 2015). 

                  The third organization I looked into was UNICEF.  I have seen the commercials on television and seen some of their fundraising efforts but honestly I had not researched them.  UNICEF works to promote children’s survival, protection, and development (www.unicef.org, n.d.). UNICEF seeks to meet children’s basic needs in order to meet their educational needs, which they also work towards.  One of the job listings peaked my interest because it is similar to what I do in my current job.  The job is for an Early Learning Education Specialist.  This job consists of providing technical assistance to early education through assessments and monitoring.  Education requirements include an advanced university degree in education, child development, or related field.  Other requirements include at least 8 years of experience at the national or international level in education, excellent communication skills, and fluency in English with proficiency in another United Nations language preferred.  The big difference I noticed between this job listing and my current job is the emphasis on global development.  It makes sense because this is an international organization but it also reflects the realization that we are all connected together.  This is a concept that is emerging and UNICEF is a leader within this concept (www.unicef.org, n.d.).  

References

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org. 

 

Stop Hunger Now.  (2015).  Retrieved from http://www.stophungernow.org.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org