Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

             Unfortunately, I did not have much luck with getting in contact with other early childhood professionals from around the world. So, after last week and finding a podcast, I chose to go with our alternative option. Dr. Lynette M. Fraga “is a leading voice for policy change in her role as executive director for Child Care Aware of America” (Spreeuwenberg, 2017) and has recently done an interview with Ron Spreeuwenberg in regards to advancing in a leadership role and how we as professionals can harness their passions into being a voice for others.

             “The Preschool Podcast, brought to you by HiMama, is a platform for learning from leading professionals in early childhood education. If you work in a childcare, preschool or early years setting, The Preschool Podcast will provide you with inspiring and motivational stories, as well as practical advice for managing your organization, center or classroom. The goal of the The Preschool Podcast is to provide inspiration and knowledge to the future leaders of early childhood education by speaking with experienced and insightful leaders in the world of preschool and early learning today” (Hi Mama Inc.).

            Dr. Fraga talks about her first classroom experience and how unprepared she was as an educator. With a special education degree and nothing in Early Childhood Development, she came up with an idea of how to support those who are supporting young children. She began taking workshops and professional development courses and even getting another education is Early Childhood where she learned how important the early years are for these young children. After moving to Europe and working in childcare on a military base, she realized that she wanted to do more in the policy area.

            She stated, “I wanted to do more about how to affect program change… a lot of exposure to supporting teachers in the classroom, getting to know families and family needs, understanding systems and how systems and policies can really support or detract from quality care… I stepped out of the classroom into an administrative role, as I shared. And, again, the more I learned, the more I sort of stretched myself. The more I knew, I felt like I could make an impact on a systems level. So then I went back to school, and again felt like there were some gaps in the connections between what was happening in the early-childhood classroom and how we were engaged with families, as teachers and administrators and centers” (Spreeuwenberg 2017).

            Listening to her podcast I was inspired, she was in a new classroom and never doubted herself, she continued her education all the way to a Ph.D. in family studies. She has put so much of her life’s work into understanding childhood development and how she can help the children and educators who work with these young students. Dr. Fraga essentially created a framework so we as professionals can be effective with our children and families during this critical time. I am so thrilled I was able to find this website and look forward to hearing their Tuesday podcasts (will place the link below of Archived Podcasts), with so many different topics I am sure that this will give me the edge I need in supporting all students and families in and outside of the classroom.

https://www.himama.com/the-preschool-podcast

Reference:

Hi Mama Inc. (n.d.). The Preschool Podcast: For Leaders in Early Childhood Education. Retrieved March, from https://www.himama.com/the-preschool-podcast

Spreeuwenberg, R. (2017, February 21). Affecting change through leadership. Retrieved from https://www.himama.com/affecting-change-through-leadership