My Hypothetical Family Situation

I am married. My husband and I have opted for adoption of a toddler. The toddler is a boy and is deaf. My husband works as a fireman and I own a preschool. I guess you could say middle class would be our socioeconomic status. Neither I or my husband come from super well-off families. We had to make to decision about the kind of life we wanted and we went from their pursuing what was in our hearts. English is our primary language. Childcare will be available as I am an owner of a preschool and there will be professionals there that can work with my toddler on his sign language in the classroom as well as teach other children sign language.  Considering the comprehensive systems I would have to say that Health and Family Leadership and Support would benefit my child now and in the future.  With my toddler being deaf there will have to be serious observations done to make sure he is hitting milestones. I don’t want his impairment to limit, which I don’t believe it will but rather use it as an advantage.

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

What I have learned this week that early learning advocate research is so beyond the surface level. Advocates go to greats lengths such as starting initiatives and/or being apart of them, getting involved in local politics, attending important meetings that concern early learning. It is definitely a lot. What has appealed to me is the different ways that we can get involved even if we aren't advocates. On a lot of the cites there are ways to see how to help or get involved and simply just connecting and sending emails. I see advocates as those reporters that report from the scene. We have such an advantage because we see first hand what the issues are and also have the access to get the issue to important people that can make a change.

Parent, Family and Community Engagement

Going to the website I was immediately drown to the "Moms Speak Out" posts. One mom's quote "Head Start is an awesome program to be in". (Parent and Family Stores, 2015) In her interview she stated, " My advocate, Laney Carvolial, she's helped me through a lot with sufficient housing, getting me the correct resources I needed to get to get to where I need to be, to build -- build stability in my household, shelter, food, necessities. It's just been really touching to be in the program and get the resources when you need it." How awesome is that for a parent to have access to resources needed through an advocate. As advocates our job is to look after the well-being of the child and families. When families are stressed about food, homes, work etc., it can be hard to be there fully for a child. As an advocate we get impact families in such positive way. Major props to this advocate. She has changed this woman's life.

Parent involvement is essential in Head Start programs or any early learning program. It keeps a consistency between school and home that helps children develop in a positive way.






References

Head Star. Parent and Family Stories. 2015. Retrieved from https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/about/stories/pfs/videos/Vidfgr5.htm/000408-Parent%20Interview%20Balauro.pdf

Quality Programs for All Children

Currently the conversation about providing quality preschool education is becoming more popular and public. Concerns are rising as we see that low incomes children may not be performing as well academically and that could stem from not having early learning education or even not have quality early learning education. With parents working much more, “daycares”  are changing gears towards early learning education and not just babysitting. Preschools are prepping children for grade school by incorporating more academics in the schools. “ According to some studies, children enrolled in these programs are more behaved and have higher IQ scores upon enrolling kindergarten than their peers without formal education. Likewise, it was shown that children enrolled in Head Start programs learned quicker than children not enrolled in these programs.” (Education Corner) While some parents definitely feel they could handle homeschooling, not all parents can or even have the time to do it. Especially considering a single-parent homes are becoming way more common. 

From my personal experience, I believe preschool is a great tool and is effective if executed properly. I love teaching the little ones. However, I have an on-going debate in my head about whether I would actually put my children in preschool or not when I do have them. I would definitely for social reasons. Children need to be around children their age and learn from them as well as how to learn social behaviors. 

Early learning is such rapidly growing field. It changes with each generation because each generation learning differently. I believe two things will happen over the next 5-10 years. I believe the technology in preschools will advance beyond my imagination. Children will have more access to smart boards, tablets but won’t be completely desensitized because they will still be learning and interacting with teacher and students. I also believe there will be a surge of families of who choose homeschooling as an option. I know I have talked to some women my age and they are homeschooling, being stay-at-home moms, etc. With these two possible changes it will be imperative to have a more qualified staff with an educational background in early learning and on-going training for staff. Thus, could possibly increase compensation for teachers across the board. 

Reference

Education Corner. What Is So Important About Early Childhood Education?. Retrieved from http://www.educationcorner.com/importance-of-early-childhood-education.html

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.