Reflecting on Communication in the Early Childhood Field

            These blog assignments allow us colleagues to share our personal stories and experiences to give others a different perspective on each topic we learn about. We have all come a long way, and I am sure many of us can finally see that light at the end of the tunnel. Only four more classes before we have out Masters in Early Childhood Studies! I am so thankful for everyone that has contributed to my learning abilities and successes here at Walden. Without the support and additional knowledge from all of you, I would not be where I am today!

            If anyone is taking the Administration route, I am sure I will see your name shortly! Also, I have recently joined the Walden University Early Childhood Education – WUECO on Facebook which honestly has been a lifesaver. It allows alumni and new students to all connect on one page, offer advice, discuss the hardships of online learning and working full time, and even provide job opportunities! I can also be contacted by email; n.magri89@gmail.com

I wish all of you nothing but the best on the rest of your journey and look forward to working with some of you in the future. Here’s to the last leg of our education! Good Luck everyone!

Adjourning

            When I first got my foot in the door for early childhood education, I got a lead teacher job for the toddler classroom. The facility had 8 different classes and had about 12 different ladies working in the building. At first, I felt on the outs, I was the new girl, and many of these teachers were already together for 4-5 years. As we had professional development classes and monthly meetings, I began to open up some more and indeed made some fantastic friendships. I was there for about 4 years before I moved on to become a nanny due to my director having a hard time with me going back to school. I respected my director and had no problems with going to her to discuss any ideas or issues I was having in my classroom. When I told her I was going to go back to school to get a degree in Early Childhood, she said to me that it was unnecessary and a waste of money. What I realized was that she would have to increase my pay due to my higher education and she was not prepared to do so. I had to do what was best for me even though leaving my colleagues killed me.

            We had an incredible bond, we were always there to help one another, and our students gained the education they deserved because of our collaboration. As my last day approached, we had a goodbye party, and I cried as if I was losing a family member, I didn’t realize how all these girls became my work family and how much we all cared about one another. Without the support of these ladies, I probably would not have gone back to school, and I would not have made lifelong friends. Even though many of us have gone our own separate ways, we are still all in the early childhood field, and we all help one another when needed.

            As my colleagues and I are extremely close to finishing our Master’s Degree I know that it will be a great day for all of us. We all had similar goals and as a collective group, we have all helped one another succeed in this program. I am hoping to stay in contact with most and I know Walden’s Facebook group is a great way to do so. As we go our separate ways we all can help one another in the classroom. We know how successful this group was and of course it will be a bittersweet day, but I know that we will continue to support one another in life and as an early childhood professional.

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

          My husband and I have recently become homeowners, and it has been a real blessing. My brother has recently re-enlisted with the United States Navy and got orders for recruitment in Staten Island. We currently live on Long Island and since his apartment was not ready to be moved into we decided he could live with us for a few weeks before moving to Brooklyn. With three adults and a large dog, it is pretty tight but we have managed, and my husband has been a saint about the situation. I currently work 12-13 hour days and am out of the house a majority of my day while my husband is a schoolteacher who works 2 miles from home. My husband tends to call me every day around the same time saying how my brother hasn’t left the house, there is a pile of laundry, there are dirty dishes in the sink, and I usually become annoyed with these conversations. Instead of coming to me with problems, how about coming to me with solutions. Since it is my little brother, I tend to enable his bad behavior and just clean up after him, and it is taking a toll on my relationship with my husband.

            As soon as I walk in the door, I already have an attitude because I am prepared to be doing laundry and cleaning for the next two hours and I snap at my husband. I have a sense of entitlement since I feel I work harder and longer hours and he should pick up some of the slack. These arguments are causing us to go to bed angry and have us continue being upset with one another. I know that this situation isn’t forever, but it seems that way.

            What can help us resolve the conflict is to come up with some type of agreement and to also have a conversation with my brother. For someone who is at home ninety percent of the day should be able to clean up after himself. The three of us must sit down and come up with some solution for us to work together. I also need to keep my outbursts to a minimum. I tend to jump down my husband’s throat and say things I truly do not mean and once I say it I can no longer take it back. I must think before I speak and ensure my reactions are positive and not hurting someone else’s feelings or their character.

Who Am I as a Communicator?

           The links that were provided for us gave me some insights of where my abilities and limitations lie. What I found shocking was that my husband gave me a score of 36 for my Communication Anxiety Inventory, which I gave myself a 49. I do not mind speaking in large settings amongst family or friends, but in a room of strangers, I typically struggle. He see’s me as this very outgoing woman who is not afraid to express her ideas or feelings, but internally, I have a battle, my hands become sweaty, my heart begins to pound, and I feel like I am on the verge of a panic attack. I prefer one-on-one or a small group of acquaintances to have a conversation with. During meet the teacher night I feel comfortable within my surroundings because I get to know the parents for two weeks that lead up to that night. When doing Professional Development courses that take place at our local community college, I typically sit back, listen to others viewpoints, take notes, and try to avoid being called on. I was also like this in my high school classrooms, I prefer to listen than to speak facts or answer questions.

            I also had my brother take the three tests, and for the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale, he gave me a score of 42. He believes that I am respectful to listen to others viewpoints and try to gain all the facts before making any remarks. However, when I took the exam, I obtained a score of 56. I do believe I have respect for others opinions, but I can become aggressive when trying to get my point across. I realized that these three tests showed me where I can better myself and how I can work on my communication skills in-group settings and how not to shut down individual’s ideas so quickly. I look forward on bettering myself as a professional in the early childhood field and as an individual.

Communicating Differently & Effectively

I tend to communicate differently when working with children, when talking with family members, and even talking with friends. I also recognize that I express myself differently through body language, at work I carry myself as a professional, I do not slouch, I make eye contact, and I am an effective listener. When speaking with my mother, I typically use formal language and use polite words that I would not usually use when talking with friends. When speaking with my brother or friends I frequently use slang words, OMG, LOL, Yah, but with my parents its May I, Thank You, and Please. During this course, I am trying to carry over a more professional side when talking with friends and also working on effective listening. I sometimes do not use direct eye contact, or I cross my arms and lean on one side of my body which could come off negatively to family members, colleagues, and students parents.

            I also became conscious of how my culture can facilitate negative communication skills, as an Italian-American, I use my hands, I have a potty mouth, and I can become extremely short with individuals when I feel I am being attacked. These traits can sometimes carry over into my professional life and cause more harm than good. Becoming conscious of these behaviors and expressions I can improve myself as a professional, friend, daughter, wife, and person. There are many strategies that ensure effective communication, such as, following the Platinum Rule, being aware of our limitations and abilities, focus on the other individuals feelings and thoughts, paying attention to non-verbal expressions, and listening to the true meaning of a conversation. Understanding where I struggle will allow me to grow as a professional and become an effective communicator and listener when working in the early childhood field and as an individual.

Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

           My family has been telling me to watch Blue Bloods for a while now, but with the limited time I have, I barely watch television as it is. So I decided this is the perfect opportunity for me to watch an episode and see what all the hype is about. Tom Selleck has always had a demeanor where he knows it all, as I begin watching it seems that he always has an answer for everything but also shows compassion. He is a family oriented man, and you can see this at any moment they are at the dinner table as a large clan. New Yorkers always talk with their hands, and I do not see many hand gestures when the family is together. As I continue to see other family members in a courtroom, or in a cop car, it seems that they truly love what they do and they do it because of their father (police commissioner). Honestly watching this show with the sound off was hard for me to understand certain scenarios that happened in the show, it seems they accused a lot of individuals before finding the attacker, killer, robber or thug that did break the law. The family is a tight bunch of individuals, and that was easy for me to read, even with no sound, you could see that they would talk as a family and help one another in any situation.

            I believed the police officers would interrogate many individuals to find the correct person behind the crime. It seemed they were hard on these possible heathens, but many were just looking for a lead to continue on with their investigation. Tom Sellek does have “a know it all” personality for this particular role, but he is compassionate and loves what he does. He is always willing to help a family member or even someone in his office and gives them the advice they need to hear, even if it's not what they want to hear. My assumptions of the family dinners were that they were a close-knit family, and I still do believe that, as I listened to the television show. Honestly, I got drawn in, and it is not a half bad show to become addicted to.

            If I was a individual who watched this show on a weekly basis I would probably be able to read more family members a little bit better besides Tom Sellek, Donnie Wahlberg looks like a difficult person to work with and even a tougher father to deal with. He loves his family, and wants the best for them; he even does the same for his partner Jackie. While there are many cast members and different stories going on within the show, I was able to get a basic understanding of just throwing on an episode. But I believe if I was like my grandmother, who never misses her Blue Bloods, I am sure I would have had some biases by just watching interactions without the sound. Seeing what I picked up on during the first run through, I was able to focus on their facial expressions, how they interacted through gestures and greetings but still have difficulty connecting individuals to who they truly were in the show. It was a different experience watching a television show without the sound but I enjoyed being able to pay attention to the smaller details first and then re-watching with the sound.

Effective Communication

       I have always admired how my best friend communicates with her colleagues, clients, and even myself. She is always to the point but also listens and gives excellent advice. Effective communication is not just exchanging information but also understanding the emotion and even intentions behind the words. She is an engaged listener and observer, as we have been viewing our weeks learning resources, many forms of communication is nonverbal. You must read the individuals movements and also focus on what they are truly saying. Amanda has always been intuitive, and can read me better than I can read myself. The way my voice sounds, she knows if something is wrong. By being such an engaged listener she truly understands what I am trying to convey, even if I cannot find the right words, she fully understands my meanings. I always have admired the way she speaks with any individual and now as she takes a huge leap of faith and traveling the world for a year. I know many people will be blessed to have crossed her path, she is the best person I know when it comes to solving problems and giving superb advice. I can only hope to learn to read others as she does and become a more active listener when communicating with students, colleagues, parents, and even family and friends. 

Professional Hopes & Goals

            A hope that I have when working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to give them my undivided attention and respect for their cultural beliefs, values, traditions, etc. For me to become a culturally sensitive professional, I must become self-aware so I may recognize that their beliefs and behaviors are representative of only one perspective (Gardiner, Fraser & French, 2011, p. 37). As I begin to understand the family’s needs, the better chance I have for them to be more open to growing an honest relationship with me as an educator. I do not want families to feel that they are unable to come and talk to me about their child, I want to improve everyone’s goals and focus on what is most important, the student. Many cultures that are not part of the dominant culture may feel they are not getting the adequate resources to support their child or even the support from the educator.

            My goal is to support everyone that enters my classroom, for me to make this happen I must continue with professional development courses, continue growing relationships with my colleagues and family members, and to even do my own research on cultures that I may be unsure about. As an early childhood professional, I am signing up to be a life long learner, and knowledge is the one thing that no one can take away from you. Some educators may have not received the training to be culturally aware or sensitive, and I hope I can share my life experiences and learning experiences to help them grow professionally. No educator should just “learn-on-the-job” as they begin working with diverse families but to have a basic understanding of how to promote an anti-bias classroom and support the differences around the world with their students.

            I want to personally thank my colleagues and professor, during these last eight weeks I have a greater understanding of not only myself but also the many differences and even similarities between the many different cultures in our classroom. Being able to work on an online community and talking with professionals who are all over the globe is extremely eye opening in itself, but being able to discuss culture and diversity and getting to the nitty-gritty was such a great experience. Thank you again, and I wish you all the best of luck in continuing your education in the early childhood field! I hope to see some of you in our next class!

Reference:

Gardiner, E., Fraser, S., & French, C. (2011, August 1). The Relevance of Cultural Sensitivity in Early Intervention. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=4dc6ea7c-89b5-4de4-b5e8-2fa6dfb17e81%40sessionmgr102

Welcoming Families From Around the World

            For this particular assignment, my family will be emigrating from Lima, Peru. As an early childhood professional, it is important to recognize our student's cultural backgrounds to support them in a learning and enriching classroom environment. Their cultural beliefs impact their thoughts, feelings, attitudes and even actions. Without having a basic understanding of their culture, an educator can struggle to bridge the gap between their cultural background and our own.

            To prepare myself to support this family I must become aware of my own cultural background. I must fully understand my beliefs, values, and customs and how they influence my behavior and attitudes.

            I must also make an “effort to learn the cultural norms and values of the ethnic, racial, and language group with whom I work with and to use that knowledge to inform my practices and improve the education outcomes and experiences for the child” (Hyland, 2010). What may show signs of respect and love here may be different to how they perceive my practices and care.

            I would also take the time to develop and use vocabulary for personal greetings from their hometown to make the family feel more comfortable. It can also show that I respect their culture and took the time to kind of enter their world.

            I must broaden my ability and become educated in their cultural beliefs. This can help me anticipate reactions and actions to my education style.

            Lastly, I must make accommodations for each individual in my classroom, if needed, to ensure they are learning and making positive strides in their education. I can discover some commonalities of interests to help them in the classroom by asking for an interpreter.

            By creating a class where everyone is welcomed and valued, I am able to gain a deeper understanding of all the families involved in my classroom. By taking the time to work on myself, my lesson plans, and maintaining an open and respected relationship between this particular family and me, will ensure that the student is gaining a high-quality early childhood education. There are many preparations to take, but in the end, it will all be worth it.

Reference:

Hyland, N. E. (2010, January). Social Justice in Early Childhood Classrooms What the

Research Tells Us. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/197637742/fulltextPDF/B092DCBE0CC34643PQ/1?accountid=14872

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

            My husband and I are movie fanatics; we always enjoy going to the theater or renting a new movie on demand. The Intern is a film I have grown to love, and I would say I watch it regularly. It opened my eyes to how others view older people in the work force. The premise, Robert DeNiro is a seventy-year-old widower who is pretty well off but realizes he wants to do more with his life than just be retired and go to funerals. He signs up for a senior intern outreach program where he finds a job at an up and coming online fashion company. Anne Hathaway plays CEO of the business and has trouble giving Ben (DeNiro) tasks because she questions his age and competence. As the movie continues, Jules (Hathaway) realizes how much she has learned from his wisdom and begins to value him as part of the company. There are a few LOL moments, especially when Ben is introduced to Facebook, but he gets to understand the technology world and realizes that the Internet has given Jules an incredible career to support her family.

            “Employers may indeed look negatively as old-age job applicants for various reasons, many of which are myths. It is a myth, for example, that the old can’t learn new things or won’t be as productive. On the other hand, experience can be a positive factor for men in applying for a job” (Harris, 2011, p. 30). By just assuming that someone’s age causes them to have difficulty with learning new techniques and strategies in a technology filled world will diminish equity. We may find out more from our elders in the workforce, and we can also teach them some things along the way.

            Watching the movie, you begin to realize how hard working this seventy-year-old man is and Jules could not be bothered. She continues to make jokes about his age, will not give him a real task to perform at the office, besides cleaning up after other interns. But the movie takes a turn, and they begin to realize that they both help one another. They begin to work together very closely, and the company starts to take off again. Not only are they colleagues but they become real friends who rely on one another. Seeing how Ben was treated in the beginning made me think of what people would think when hiring my father and his company to do construction. He is sixty-five years old and refuses to leave the jobs up to his employees. He works at every work site and is just an amazing craftsman. Do people hire him because he has the experience or do people not want to hire him because of his age? I now want to pay closer attention to his jobs and estimate consultations to see how others perceive my father.

            By Jules giving Ben more jobs to handle and realizes how helpful he truly is to his company was heartwarming. I will admit I sometimes judge the old drive behind the wheel of a car, and sometimes even become annoyed. But we will all get to where we have to be. I am in no rush and honestly; they are keeping me safe in my vehicle without going over the speed limit. Ageism is just another way for us to judge other individuals and I am honestly trying to make a change for the better, this class has allowed me to realize the person I was to the person I am and to the person I want to be.

Reference:

Harris, S. (2011, Winter). Do Not Let Them Know You Are Old. Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=162b433d-a365-4c31-837a-485c3fe8004a%40sessionmgr101

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

         This week I was really able to focus on other’s conversations and see how common these microaggressions occur on a day-to-day basis. I am on a beach volleyball team, and we have been playing for the last four summers, of course, there are some squabbles here and there, but last week it was taken to a whole new level. Being in a recreational league, we are all there to have fun, but this particular team was there for blood. They were vicious players and playing extremely dirty, my best friend finally spoke up and said: “I am a volleyball coach, but you guys keep touching the net for the blocks and the spikes, its illegal moves.” I am so happy he finally spoke up but the other team took this as an attack and began to swear and say many derogatory statements. My best friend has an incredibly high-pitched voice for a male, and many question his sexual orientation. While this is no one's business, one man decided to call him a faggot and took it way to far. Before my friend went off the handle, he decided to be an adult about this and walked off the court, as a team, we followed suit. None of us were going to play this team, and we were gong to discuss this issue with the president of the league. The team kept going on as we are on the sidelines and now started to mimic our teammate. My husband who is so laid back and hates confrontation screamed and said that was enough. I then went to grab the director and spoke about how awful this team was. They were banned from the league because other teams agreed with what they saw and heard and they stood behind us.

            I was truly appalled by this teams actions, and to make matters worse they had a young high school student stepping in, and she saw this whole thing unfold. She should have not heard half the words that were coming from her teammates mouths. Listening to Dr. Sue really made me more observant to these daily microaggressions, I could never be so disrespectful and blunt about my dislikes as this man was, but I do realize that even sarcastic comments that I may make can be potentially harmful to another’s ego.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

            I had the pleasure of interviewing my cousin Mia, who was adopted from China, my best friend Ania, who is a first descendant from Poland, and my neighbor Nan, who is ninety years young. I wanted to interview people with different ages, backgrounds, and who are culturally different from myself.

            Many of them had very similar definitions about culture and diversity, in regards to culture, I heard how culture encompasses religion, language, music, food, what certain individuals believe as right or wrong, and even how our behavior is towards loved one. I was interested in hearing from my cousin since we took classes to understand her traditions and customs while also intertwining our Italian customs. She said she see’s herself as an Italian, her mannerisms, her language, her traditions, and beliefs resemble my own. While we still celebrate Chinese New Year and she loves when grandma and her mother make traditional Chinese food (dumplings, wontons). If you ask Mia what she is, she will say Italian-Chinese, just as I am an Italian-American.

            When asking Nan about diversity, she believed that culture and diversity were the same things. I responded culture is characteristics that are inherited by family and society members whereas diversity is how you can be apart of the same culture but still have very different values and beliefs. I believe that many of us are multicultural in the sense of trying to belong to so many groups. In school, you try and fit in and be friendly with one another, but nowadays many families are not just marrying with in their culture. Within a community there are so many individuals with all different abilities and skill sets, not everyone can do someone’s work, and we should pay recognition to the people we admire.

            Much of what I have learned from this course has been answered by some of responses I received, but not everything was answered so clearly. Mia was confused as well as to what diversity was and Ania nailed everything on the head with her answers. Hearing how other people define culture and diversity allowed me to see a few things. I also asked a nine-year-old for fun and he explained it to me as this. So Chinese people eat with chopstick, Indian people sometimes don’t eat pork, my mommy loves tacos, and my daddy likes bratwursts. We all like and do different things but that’s what makes us, us. Hearing these words from such a wise nine-year-old made me realize that he even understands this world better than some adults. I can only hope that more children can be like him and be open to new and different people.

My Family Culture

            Every year our family hosts a family reunion, and we have always taken a group picture at the end of the day as my grandmother is surrounded by her loved ones. I would take the last picture that was taken in 2016 to travel along side with. I would also take a necklace that was handed down to me by my great grandmother, which has Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers and children.  Lastly, which sounds pretty trivial, would be my baby blanket. Before my great grandmother passed away and knew her grandson was expecting a daughter, she crocheted a beautiful pink and yellow blanket that still sits on my bed till this day.

            These three items I hold extremely dear to my heart, the picture to keep my family with me by my side, if separated, Patron Saint Christopher to protect me as I take on this adventure in another country, and my blanket which can either keep me warm at night or just have the ability to keep a piece of my childhood.

            Knowing I would have to give up two items upon arrival I would admit I would probably have a mental breakdown, but I would choose to keep my picture. To never forget the faces of my loved ones, a necklace can be replaced, a blanket can be replaced, while they might not have come from family members, those two items are replaceable. A picture is worth a thousand words, and having my family by my side through such a catastrophe would be exactly what I need.

            Thinking about such a think happening, made me scared, I would not be able to handle being separated from my family, I would not be able to put the smile on my face, that is always there, and be strong enough to help others during this difficult time. My family, my culture, my differences from the others in this world, is what makes me, me! I would hope to end up in a country where my differences were respected, but the world we live in now, we are always so quick to judge and just believe that our way is the only right way. Being taken in as a refugee, I must be thankful for the individuals who help my family and me; I must respect their culture and beliefs, and hope that my attitudes and beliefs are respected as well.

When I Think of Research

           As I have come to realize there are many methods to conduct a proper research topic to ensure validly, confidentiality, and ethics. When I first began this course coming up with a topic sounded like a simple task, but deciding on whom, how, and what to perform on possible “participants” can be incredibly overwhelming. What I found most tedious was data collection, having a research question in mind, the amount of information that can be found through observations, evaluations, assessments, and interviews can become overwhelming and hard to decipher to ensure valid points to support your study.

            I found myself infatuated with viewing the works of other research topics and seeing the amount of their hard work and dedication go into a topic that could change the field of early childhood education and development. Having the ability to come up with my stimulation, seeing how I can improve collaboration between educators and specialists, how to involve the family members, and ensure all children gain a high-quality education was utterly fascinating. The work that goes into such a topic is astonishing and having the support of others who see the potential in this topic can become extremely rewarding.

            The challenges I could see that I could encounter working with children with special needs would be ensuring the parent's confidentiality. Having access to student’s medical records, evaluations and assessments are having parents take a big leap in faith in my research topic and me. I am here for one reason, and that is to benefit the child and their family members. Ethics plays a huge part in any research topic, parents having to give me information that they may be uncomfortable sharing, cultural issues can also be a challenge. Parents may not believe in certain studies, and I must agree with their beliefs and concerns. The parents “may misunderstand what is involved in a research project because of language difficulties (in many cases, have a translator is absolutely essential), or because of cultural understandings” (Mac Naughton, Rolfe., & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010, p. 79). Without the parent's permission, I would not continue my study on certain students.

            Even as a preschool teacher we play a substantial role in these young children’s lives. But there could be a day where someone may have a research topic and my class can or will be the participants. It could be difficult to give so much information to these professionals, or difficult for you to get your job done with someone always watching you and your students. I believe we all play a research role, while we may not begin a case study, our ideas, opinions, and responsibilities must all be valued by one another.

            I would also like to thank my colleagues who took this course with me, without your input and ideas I do not believe I would have as been successful in this class. I wish you all success in your future courses! And just remember we are almost there!!

Reference:

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood

research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Research Around The World

Early Childhood Australia has a particular link to inclusion, under this tab they have their statement in supporting all students and providing access to all students. They have recently launched Early Years Connect in 2016 in partnership with C&K and Autism Queensland. It is a professional developmental package that helps early childhood educators care and work with children with the many learning delays and disabilities that are out there.

“Early Years Connect provides information, advice and connections to help early childhood education and care educators in Queensland to support children with complex additional needs. When we work together—educators, children, families and other professionals—we can provide children with the best start in life” (Early Childhood Austrailia, 2017).

They also have links to many texts to help support educators and even parents in supporting these amazing young students. A number of resources on this one site are incredible, every link I click has plenty of other reliable links to support their thoughts and practices for all early childhood students in Australia. I also viewed their webinar page and saw the many topics that they cover, they also have subscriptions to play a flat rate which allows you to join any webinar in the 12 month period.

This website is one that I will bookmark, the amount of content on these links and even their blog are so thought out. It allows educators from all over the world to come together and see what our differences and similarities are in the early childhood classroom.

Reference:

Early Childhood Australia. (2017). Inclusion Resources. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-work/inclusion-resources/

Research that Benefits Children and Families--Uplifting Stories

          As many of you know, I have recently selected the topic of Inclusion for Special Needs children to conduct my research paper on. With that in mind, I chose to carry out research studies on children who are on the spectrum to ensure a high-quality learning environment for the many needs these children will need to succeed. With the spectrum being so large, and knowing students who have autism, there are many different methods to guarantee a successful learning environment and curriculum.

            I believe the most important aspect would be to promote parent involvement and empowerment, give them the tools they need to be a voice for their child and to give their ideas and opinions to professionals in the field. I would like to get ten children who are all over the spectrum and provide many different modifications to lesson plans to have all children gain the knowledge of one particular topic. As we have learned, children learn better through their individual interests, finding one interest that all can enjoy would be the toughest task. I believe learning about the children and doing individual and group work can lead to the best positive outcome to support ALL students. Through simple scaffolding methods and giving the parents different methods can assist the students in and outside of the classroom. Finding ways where we can support all students with many different learning delays and disabilities can ensure families that their child is receiving the best care and education.

            It would also be important to gain the backing of different policy makers and other professionals to spread the importance of supporting all students. Having knowledge is power and these children will grow up and to be adults, they need to learn to take care of themselves and have an education to open doors for them to succeed. I believe these contributions can really enhance Special Education and give many children and families the resources they need to support them throughout their lives.

Your Personal Research Journey

            We have all been taking significant steps to narrow down our research topic for this course, and I have always been interested in Special Education for young students. I believe inclusion for young students with disabilities is a program that encompasses the whole child and allows them to grow with their peers. Students who are placed in an inclusion classroom are given the opportunity to have a sense of belonging and can gain very different learning experiences.

As a former nanny, I had the pleasure of working with a family for four years where their son had severe learning delays and developmental issues. He was unable to walk until he was almost two years old, did not start speaking till 28 months, and the family finally decided to look into getting him the help he deserved. I worked with them and the state along with other early childhood professionals, while it was a long road for us to get the help, he needed he has finally been getting the services to support his growth and development. Now being four years old, he is able to speak and share his emotions, he has stronger core strength and leg strength for kicking and jumping. The other activity we decided to get him into was Karate, and honestly, that was the best decision we have ever made.

Working with specialists and getting him involved in the classroom was just what this little man needed, seeing him blossom into the sweet little guy I know has filled my heart immensely. I saw how inclusion evolved him, I saw him make very large strides in his development and I can only hope to help other families that are in need. 

I am just curious if anyone has had more of an involvement with the specialists, while I did see his Occupational therapist, Speech Pathologist, and Physical therapist on a weekly basis, what activities can you share that will help these young children. I have learned a few tricks along the way but considering my specialty isn’t in these areas I am just curious as to how you supported children in a similar scenario. I look forward to continuing my research on inclusion to gain the education to support these families and young students in and outside of the classroom.

Final Blog Assignment

            It was very interesting to view how other countries support early childhood education and development. While we all may have different strategies and procedures our one main goal is to support all learners and their family members. Being able to view these types of practices we can learn to work together and share information for creating a high quality and highly effective early childhood classroom. Having the ability to research other countries can have United States early childhood professionals work on some issues that are right in our backyards.

            Secondly, I now realize how many resources and support systems are out in this world for our field. Seeing how children struggle in Syria and live in such dangerous conditions gives me a greater sense of value in our country. We are so blessed that we do not live in a war zone, and our students do not have to go through such traumatic experiences at an early age. While there are still issues in our states, I believe them not to be as severe as in other countries.

            Lastly, learning from all of my colleagues and through blog posts and podcasts gave me such confidence and fire I never had before. I have grown so much in these last few weeks in regards to what and how we can change and support all learners. It is crucial that we listen to our students family members, support diversity and culture, and more importantly obtain access for all families who may struggle financially. Viewing the many different organizations and other support systems showed me how much we have to offer, even though there is a gap in school readiness we have the ability to change that.

            My end goal is to be an early childhood facility owner, but I know that these classes give me the stepping-stones to get there. This class allowed me to connect with many different organizations and early childhood professionals via podcasts. I will continue researching these posts and continue to listen to the weekly podcasts through HiMama. It is important to stay up to date with the current issues throughout our world and will allow me to stay connected with many professionals in the field. I pledge my commitment to continue to grow and learn and to become the best person I can be to support these young students and other community members.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Ron Spreeuwenberg, co-founder and CEO of HiMama recently did an interview with Judy Jablon, executive director of Leading For Children in regards to relationships between early-learning outcomes and the empowerment of educators at every level. Judy Jablon created a non-profit organization to ensure and inspire leadership at every level in the early-learning system that is vital to a child’s success within the classroom. She speaks about all families with different economic backgrounds and the importance of access for great care for all children.

Educators who love what they do, do not discriminate within the classroom, they show respect to all families and children, and also ensure high-quality care for each individual student, as well as, the classroom as a whole. She said, “when I think of empowering children I think about giving them the tools to be able to think, solve problems, do work, be inventive, be creative, be flexible thinkers” (Spreeuwenberg, 2017). To empower children it requires empowered educators, who understand the decisions they make and know why this will help their students in the future.

While there are many branches that go off of the early childhood development and education tree I have always seen myself as being a leader in the field and hope to have my own successful facility in the future. Being a young early childhood educator with a strong foundation for early childhood development has given me the skills to support a high-quality facility with an effective curriculum to support all students. The podcasts that I have the pleasure of listening to inspire and empower me, each professional shares different stories and shares why they were brought into this field. My first day in an early childhood facility really allowed me to understand why I wanted to go into this field and to share my knowledge with other professionals around the globe. I can only hope to be half as successful as the many professionals that are interviewed on this website, and know that this is a long road ahead. Each small step I take in my professional life opens new doors and new challenges, I just have to remind myself of why I’m here and why I want to be a director. My first step is to attend community meetings to speak to the public and share the importance of an early childhood education, to gain a bigger audience, and to support all within my town.

Reference

Spreeuwenberg, R. (2017, April 18). Leading for children by empowering teachers.

Retrieved from https://www.himama.com/leading-for-children-by-empowering-teachers

**For anyone interested in PD Course, I just received an email from Albany in regards to a professional development videoconference course for ECE professionals. “More That Just ‘Use Your Words’: Promoting Positive Communication with Children” you can sign up  https://www.ecetp.pdp.albany.edu

Sharing Web Resources

            I have had the pleasure of using HiMama for one of my outside resources for this course. I am honestly so happy to have found such an excellent website that allows educators to delve deep into many issues and trends about early education. The website has an abundance of other resources that lead to weekly blog posts and podcasts, an app that is available for early education curriculum and lesson plans, and even early learning frameworks.

            I have always enjoyed the weekly podcasts and hearing how early childhood professionals are advocating for high-quality education and sharing information on accessibility. But for this particular assignment, I have decided to review their weekly blog posts, which consists of many topics that are relevant to early childhood care, curriculum, and even how to manage challenging behavior. Each post is written by an early childhood professional and share their personal stories and experiences within an early childhood classroom. The sites e-newsletter that is sent has links that head to their podcasts and blogs links as well testimonials, and the many features that come with this one website.

            One particular post that caught my attention comes from Katelyn Vickers, she wrote, “Though the role of early childhood educators in society is critical, there are simply not enough resources dedicated towards the child care sector and providing educators with what they need to improve the quality of child care they can provide” (Vickers, 2016). While so many directors and other professionals put so much pressure on the teacher in the classroom, there is simply not enough finances and resources for us to do our job to the best of our ability. Many early childhood educators are also underpaid, so the turnover rate in these classrooms are rather high. Some may not look at this to be a serious matter, but children become attached to these educators, they know they can trust their teacher, and by having a new educator take over the classroom every 6 months can have dramatic influences on their social and emotional development. We are expected to prepare these students for kindergarten and give them a strong foundation, but many early educators feel unmotivated and more importantly undervalued. The most talented educators can become lost in their field and often switch career paths to fulfill themselves in other ways.

Reference

Vickers, K. (2016, November 21). Early Childhood Education Problems in the U.S. Retrieved from https://www.himama.com/early-childhood-education-problems-in-the-us

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

            This week’s podcast was on Rethinking Research in Early Childhood Education with Mr. William Parnell who is the pedagogical liaison to the Helen Gordon Child Development Center at Portland State University. Many individuals say “quality over quantity” and this is how Mr. Parnell would look into these assessments for young children. Instead of seeing how much children know, it is more important to see what the children have mastered and how that will help them in the real world. Much research comes from professionals who do not necessarily work alongside with children, they look at the science ends of things and figure out what children should know and learn at certain ages. But for someone who doesn’t work with children and just look at raw data, how can they come up with the best ways to assess and research our young students.

           There was one quote that allowed me to think this way. Mr. Parnell stated, “So I think that for early-childhood educators, I think it's really important that they see themselves as an inquirer. What do they want to know about what's happening with children? Because I think sometimes we get swallowed up on our daily lives and then we work in programs that might say to us, “You have a canned curriculum that you have to use, or a canned assessment that you have to use.” And it's like, “Well, does the assessment ever allow for my own generative thinking? Does that allow me to actually think holistically about the child in any way, shape or form?” So those are the kinds of questions I think teachers are asking. And I think for them to bring those stories out, bring those narratives out, bring that data forward, is really important. And share it” (Spreeuwenberg, 2017).

            When educators are able to use the knowledge they have learned about early childhood development alongside with their experience and use the skills and practices they have seen succeed in the classroom is the best way for an educator to come up with their own assessment for their student.

            As we have learned, high-quality early learning experiences make a significant difference in a child’s success in academics for their future and should be available to all families. Alberta Family Wellness website stated “it has been known for some time that the quality of the infant-caregiver relationship has an impact on emotional regulation and sensitivity to stress in children. Positive, nurturing relationships help children learn how to control their emotions and cope with positive and tolerable stress” (Alberta Family Wellness Initiative, 2017). Many parents can only hope they have found the best daycare or early childhood facility for their family, but some do not have the finances to have their children in such a nurturing environment.

Reference

Alberta Family Wellness Initiative. (2017). Serve and Return. Retrieved from

                        http://www.albertafamilywellness.org/what-we-know/serve-and-return

Center on the Developing Child Harvard University. (n.d.). Working Globally - Center on

the Developing Child. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/what-we-do/global-work/

Spreeuwenberg, R. (2017, April 4). Rethinking research in early childhood education.

Retrieved from https://www.himama.com/rethinking-research-in-early-childhood-education

Sharing Web Resources

            There are so many wonderful websites out there that help support early childhood educators and professionals to meet new goals, learn new methods, and expand our knowledge in the classroom. HiMama is a wonderful Blog and Podcast that I have been reviewing for a few weeks now and I can honestly say I can sit for hours just clicking through post after post and podcast after podcast. They have so many different topics that can ensure that your question will be answered here. One topic I am extremely interested in is how to grow a brand, how to create a successful childcare center, and to also learn about the rules and regulations in my state. Katelyn Vickers recently published an article on How to Create a Child Care Center Business Plan, while you may have a great idea in your head it is important to write everything down, review your community, understand your demographic, and most importantly understanding the licensing and regulations for your state.

            I know starting a business can be very challenging, but after reading this article it allowed me to create stepping-stones to completing smaller tasks before looking at the big picture. This article also made me think of “why my early childhood facility?” There are so many on Long Island but what will make mine stand out, what services can I offer that others may not, what exactly is my target market? These simple questions created an issue, I never thought that way, I just assumed it would be a simple task and I would eventually grow a wonderful business. I must create a fool-proof marketing plan that will attract a large majority of my community and also come up with community events and activites to support funding for such an expensive investment.

            While this particular newsletter doesn’t contain much information on economists, neuroscientist, and politicians, I understand how they can support the early childhood field with growing a business. I must understand the law, I must understand the politics and I must understand that investors will play a strong part in growing a wonderful business. The text, Learning Together states, “recent insights in the fields of law, policy, economics, pedagogy, and neuroscience demonstrate that these particular programs produce robust educational, social, and economic benefits for children and for the country” (Kaufman, Kaufman, & Nelson, 2015). As we spoke a lot about this week, investing in early childhood education is imperative to improve our next generation learners.

            Being able to subscribe to such noteworthy newsletters and blogs really allows for early childhood educators all over the world to connect, understand, and learn about new methods from one another. While we may find new issues or trends in the United States maybe they don’t exist in other parts of our world. Being able to see how others provide a high-quality, loving, nurturing and educational environment to their students is what makes the internet so unbelievably valuable for such a growing field.

Reference:

Kaufman, M. J., Kaufman, S. R., & Nelson, E. C. (2015). Learning together: the law,

politics, economics, pedagogy, and neuroscience of early childhood education. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Vickers, K. (2017, February 13). How to Create a Child Care Center Business Plan.

Retrieved from https://www.himama.com/how-to-create-a-child-care-center-business-plan