Profile of a Volunteer

I have decided to elect my friend, Deyuanna a.k.a Dee. Dee volunteers in a number ways especially at church which is where we met. She volunteers on media  (camera person), Feed Memphis, which is a volunteer effort at my church where we have volunteers pack and hand out food bags to children in low-income areas and on a team called Connections. Not only does she volunteer at church she helps her friend with her start up boutique of clothing by helping in any way she kind. She is super kind, sweet, dependable, and flexible. She is willing to do anything within her means to help others especially the ones she loves. She has no idea I feel this way so I may have to share this with her. To me she personifies what it means to be a servant, a cheerful giver and real friend. I admire her so much and very thankful to have her in my life!

Using Social Media to Get Connected

My experience with social media has been pleasant. I don't have any negative insights or experiences using social media. I am very careful about who I follow and what is presented on my timelines. As far as advocacy I would use all social media outlets. My favorite social media is Instagram. People are always caught by what they see first. If I can find images that are eye catching with sayings, quotes, stats that are powerful about my advocacy effort then I could draw in people. Social media could definitely be a driving force for a lot of advocacy efforts. 

Advocacy Messages

When I first saw this image and the quote it really caught my eye. To say a child is the spitting image of his mother and you see the picture of a child with a black eye it is very sad. Of course not only is the child a victim of abuse but so is his mother. This ad would make me more observant of my students and their families. 

In small print on this ad it is written that, "one of seven children in the world have access to clean water". That number was staggering. When first looking at this ad and the child the world poverty struck me the most because I feel that is what and who we are dealing with the most. The people who have the least of things and trying to grant them access the high quality early learning experiences, not just for children but the entire family. Even with our country being success poverty is something that is still very high in the U.S and like the ad said it is a tough pill swallow. This image should inspire us to fight harder for children in situations that are similar to this. It should do something to our hearts to want to help. 

My Own Capacity

Which issues impacting young children and their families and/or the field of early childhood fuel your passion?

The issue that fuels my passion is the retention of early learning professional due to compensation. I hate hearing the high turnover rates for preschools and the ways it effects children and families.  A big is with turnover of compensation or lack their of.


What knowledge, skills, dispositions, and/or talents do you possess that will contribute to your advocacy work?

Well, by me earning this degree I have learned so many ways to research issues and what to do to advocate for this issue. With insight into different cites and ways to get involved I can be of some assistance. While I still have a lot learn I know I am on the right track to being a strong advocate.

In what ways do you hope to grow in order to be a more effective advocate?

I hope to grow in knowledge and strength to press on in times when it may seem like what I am trying to do is impossible. Trying to push for a policy is no easy feat.

My Role as an Advocate

Honestly, my intent was not to advocate for children. I believe children have a number of people advocating for them and could definitely use more however, I have been drawn to advocate for early learning teachers. Preschool teachers seem to have a bad rep. People are constantly thinking all we do is babysit all day when that is clearly not the case. With there being a rise of high quality preschools, more school are requiring that teachers have a degree, certification or license. 

In this case it is essential that we acknowledge the issues on all levels when it comes to the education of our educators. You cannot properly teach children if you do understand what developmental stages they are at currently and you cannot properly guide them going forward if you do not understand what is expected of them in the next class. With this knowledge comes education. Which is why continued education is important. Even teachers who have been in the field 10 plus years needs a refresher , a reboot because as times change so does how children learn change. 

Even though I am discussing advocating for teachers this is still an issue concerning the well-being of children. If I were to become a community leader I would express the importance of an early learning teacher and roles that teacher plays throughout the day to care for a child, teach a child and so on. I would express the importance of early learning and how great of impact early learning has in the life a child. I would take the time as a community leader to  understand my audience. 

The communities that suffer most is lower-income communities. I could express them all day long, the importance of early learning teachers and what they deserve but some would ask at the end of my spill what would it mean in cost for them for children to attend high-quality preschools. As we know hiring teachers with degrees and so on could be added on cost in tuition fees. I would begin to seek sponsors, partners, people willing to donate annually etc. Paying teachers should not be the job of the parents. 

Being a leader in any forum takes thick skin and understanding that a no, isn't always a no and a set back doesn't mean you have to quick. As long as we have children in this world then we have a reason to advocate, to fight. As long as we have people that want to teach our little ones,love on them while mom and dads make a living then again we have a reason to advocate, fight. Leaders must press on.

Personal Advocacy Reflection

I don't have so much as a story of how I helped someone advocate for me or even someone being close to me being advocated for. However, now learning more about advocacy I wish I would have had someone advocating for me when I was younger. When I was younger I was sexually abused and I had to go through courts, custody, judges etc. I feel like people did the bare minimum even though I was removed from the situation but it was basically my choice because of lack of evidence. Now learning about the lengths advocates go to to ensure a child's safety and well being and even that justice is served, I wish I would have had an advocate. Someone who understood the severity and who wouldn't give up the fight so easily. Advocates are truly essential and working in this field I get to become the person I wanted when I was younger.

Advocacy

This quote is pretty self explanatory. If we don't care a whole lot about what we are doing then there won't be change.