What Resonates With You About Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy?

Why did you choose this specialization? Share what resonates with you about this specialization. Consider the relationship between your passion and aspirations related to public policy and advocacy and what you hope to accomplish with regard to promoting the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field.

I changed my concentration to Public Policy and Advocacy just last year. Something came over and I decided I wanted to be more than teacher, more than a director and even more than just an owner of a preschool. I actually had a strong desire to advocate for preschool teachers. How often do we hear that preschool teachers are just babysitters? I get very upset when I hear that because people who have never worked in early learning have no clue what preschool teachers must do in order to help children develop motor skills, social skills and other developmental areas. Preschool teachers take on a lot and do not receive their due compensation. It boggles my mind when I see that preschool teachers are one the lowest paying jobs yet scores high in job satisfactory. So these teachers love their jobs yet they don't get paid enough for all that they do? Not only that, what about teachers who go the extra mile and receive their bachelors, masters or any other post secondary education in the field and still aren't compensated properly for that? Those teachers should not be paid hourly! I am still doing a good amount of research on this and there will be a change. With schools becoming high quality they are now requiring teachers to have a bachelor's degree or some sort of post secondary education. 

Part 2: Why are advocates essential in the early childhood field? Explain why you believe becoming a skilled and confident advocate is crucial for early childhood professionals and for the field.

Advocates are essential because they play a role in the political aspects of early learning. While preschool teachers wear a number of hats and it can be quite difficult to add the role of an advocate to their list of job duties. Advocates in early learning are our champions for families who don't have voice and/or the resources that families may not be aware of to able to provide high quality early learning for their children. 

Part 3: What do you hope to learn about public policy and advocacy? Articulate at least three goals related to this specialization at this point in your coursework.

I hope to learn more about how to research and deliver what I have learned to be of better assistance to the school, families and communities I serve and work. 

The Finale

I just want to send a huge thanks to those of you who have been with me through majority of my courses. The names that I remember most are Kimmie and Jodi! You both are super positive and keep me motivated! My colleagues have supported me by offering feedback whether they agreed with me or not. Even though I may not respond sometimes do know that you all have made me think critically about a few topics. This course was an eye opener for me and how I communicate. I am more aware of my verbal and nonverbal skills when communicating with others. Thank you Dr. Williams for pushing me to strive for excellence. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!! 

Group Good-Byes

Think about which aspects of the groups made for the hardest good-bye. Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? Groups with the clearest established norms? 

Aspects that make it for the hardest good-byes are the relationships that have either grown or newly developed. 

For example I just finished a huge event with a group of ladies. I only knew one of them really well and the other two I got to bond with on a new level. This was a high performing group and while if we were to never see each other again or not see each other as often, it would have definitely been hard to say goodbye. However, I see these ladies every Sunday and at a number of events, so we didn't have to say good-bye. 

Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why?

The team I went to Europe with in high school was the hardest to leave. I still think about them and how great of time we had. I miss them the most and it was hard to say good-bye. It could have been due to the fact that we were so young and had never traveled out of the country that long of time of without our parents. We had to learn to be independent and solve issues on our own. We created memories that will last a lifetime and did some very adventurous team building exercising. 

What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? 

I have not experienced closing rituals. However, I am apart of another group, well an internship. There are a total of 40 of us and we have all grown extremely close. When we end a meeting, our huddle/touchdown we always close with our saying of "40 strong all year long". Its a great reminder that we have group of 40 strong people that we are doing this with. 

How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program?

I like that with each course we are allowed to say our good-byes via blog posts. I have been on this journey with a number of colleagues for a year now. We may not speak directly but knowing that I see a familiar name helps me to not feel so alone. And the fact that we get to just say thanks and share our experience is very cool

Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

Adjourning is essential because you get to discuss the accomplishments and failures and determine if the group will disassemble or take on another project. (O'Hair & Wienmann, 2015. pg. 249)

Reference

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Resolving Conflict

I had a recent conflict with my boss. A conversation was had about a new opening date for the school. I could not recall her sharing that information with me. We had this conversation through text message and her messages were very blunt. It seemed as though she may had been upset or irritated that I could not recall us having this conversation. While, I wanted to have an attitude  I had to remember that she is my boss and I am to respect her, which is one of the three R's. So, I ended the conversation with an a apology and "yes, ma'am". This type of conflict is called productive conflict, conflict that is managed effectively. (O'Hair  & Wiemann, 2015. pg. 215) After that text conversation, we talked the day after and there were no hard feelings.





References

O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, I. D. & Teven, J. (2015). Real communication.
            (3rd ed.). New York: Bedford/At. Martin’s.

Assessing my Communication Style

When communicating I make it a point to let the other person know that they have my undivided attention. I try not to pay attention to things around me such as things like television, phone, other people etc. I make eye contact and try to listen and give the best response with the full understanding of what has just been shared with me.

For your blog this week, think about the similarities and differences between how you evaluated yourself as a communicator and how others evaluated you.
What is the one thing that surprised you the most? Why?

Looking at the results of my friends’s Verbal Aggressiveness Scale, I was in complete shock. While I scored a 50 which is low. Her score was 69 which means I have  provocation and may cross the life from argumentative which attacks a person’s position or statements, and verbal aggression, which involves personal attacks and can be hurtful to the listener. I was so surprised because I never thought I would cross that line. My results state the complete opposite which is that I am respectful of the viewpoints and intelligence of others, and attempt to change their minds with gentle inoffensive suggestions that do not attack their self-concept. Also, I had my mom do the assessments and she scored relatively high as well in verbal aggression. The score was 68. This was definitely an eye opener for me because may be there are some things that I need to work or somethings I do when I am communicating with others that I am not aware of that could be considered aggressive.

What other insights about communication did you gain this week?

This week really made me reflect on ways that I may have come across to others, especially in heated arguments. There have been incidents in the past where I have been insensitive to others to get my point across. However, now that I have been working on effectively communicating with others I try my hardest to think before I speak. I don’t want people to leave a conversation with me feeling worse than what they did coming into the conversation. I also should learn that not everything requires a response on the spot. It is okay to think about something overnight, maybe and come back to it.

Do I Communicate Differently?

When talking to people who are non-black, of different religions and sexual orientation I do find I communicate differently. I am more so mindful of what I say and/or even do around those who are different from me. With all the racial tension going on the world my view of Caucasians has changed, not in a way where I feel all caucasians are racist but I do not want anyone to think I am comfortable enough to be around to make racial jokes, remarks, etc. My body language has changed, I am not as open to discuss things with my white friends as I once was months ago. With people of different religions I speak to them in a way where it is more so of an intuitive conversation. I want to know how they may have gotten into their religions, the differences and similarities, and so on.  The last course I took I realized I had some strong feelings towards the LGBT community as far as just not agreeing with the lifestyle. When I am with someone of that community I am closed off, conversation is limited and I just don't know how to communicate with them. This is something I have been struggling with for a while.


However, this week I have learned some essential tools with how to communicate those different from myself. The Platinum Rule has presented a way to treat others as they themselves would like to be treated and this will be helpful in my many interactions. It helps dispel any bias, judging and any personal feelings, just old fashion respect. Body language is another action that I should be aware for myself and others when communicating. Lastly, I would begin to learn about those who are different culture, background etc.,  and ask question, so that we won't have that awkward silence between us.

Project Mc2

I have been wanting to watch this show for quite some time now and this assignment provided a great opportunity to do so.

When I began watching the show without sound I was still pretty into it. What seemed to be happening in the beginning is that there are these four girls who are super smart just by judging off their bedrooms. As the show went on I noticed that two of those girls were best friends. They were happy, style was super colorful and fun, and they had a mixture of bubbly yet laid back type of personalities. These two girls bumped into a new girl while walking int the hall. When this happened the new girl began acting a little strange which spiked the two girls curiosity, then to add it seems they heard a noise coming from here notebook. The new girls behavior became a little nervous like and she walked away quickly. The best friends began to kind of watched her, to see what her deal was and why could she be acting so strange. They decided to get help from another friend of theirs who is also ridiculously smart and plot to get the new girls fingerprints and plant a camera in a pen that they would swap out in order to get fingerprints and watch her. They came up with a plan and got it done. They didn't find out much so they decided to follow the new girl home and use the camera. After being caught by the new girl they found out that she was just as much into science but with a twist. It seems as though she could be spy so they went into her lab. In the lab was a huge screen and a lady came on. The three girls told her what they did to find out who the new girl was and the lady seemed impressed so she recruited them to help the new girl spy. 

All in all the assumptions I made were pretty dead on once I watched the show with sound. It is quite amazing what you notice when you have to pay close attention. I really had to watch carefully since I couldn't depend on listening and really pick up on small things like hand movements, facial expressions and even the feel of the show. And I also had to depend on memory, where I may have saw this type of behavior on another show. My brain picked that up as well.