Time Well Spent

Honestly I think this was my worse course since I have been going to Walden University. I am very disappointed in myself. My expectations of how this course would end did not occur as I imagined.

The 3 things that I learned during this course is what leadership means to me, how to identify credible sources, and how to write an abstract.

My goal is to learn from my mistakes during this course. I also plan on doing some more professional development training's to help me obtain my goal of becoming a program director.

I wish everyone well in their endeavors and I hope that everyone will accomplish their goals.

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." - Booker T. Washington

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

UNICEF

For 60 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS (United Nations Children's Fund, n.d.).

UNICEF is a driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. This is why I do not to UNICEF every year. I found out that UNICEF provides vaccines to children in developing countries and strive for health, nutrition, good water, and quality education for all children.

I found a position in Early Childhood that I thought was interesting and I would not mind applying for it:

Early Childhood Development (ECD) Specialist (TA), P-4, NYHQ

 

Vacancy No:  E-VN-2015-001424

Duty Station:  New York

Country:  USA

Region:  NY HQ

Job Level: 

Position#:  93965

Application Close:  26-Jun-15

Contract Type:  Temp/Short-term Staff

Purpose for the job:
The ECD Specialist will promote coordination and technical assistance for country Programme implementation as part of multi-country projects. He/she will coordinate within the section and across the sectors, including with DHR and OLDS to develop and implement the ECD staff capacity mapping and develop the internal and external capacity building strategy.

Coordinate and support ECD advocacy and partnerships to strengthen visibility and funding. Coordinate with other UNICEF divisions, DoC, PPD, DRP, PFP, Nat Coms on implementation of advocacy strategy and advocacy.

 

Key Expected Results

Summary of results-based key functions/accountabilities:
Technical leadership in ECD Programming
Strategic management, monitoring and delivery of results on global ECD programs
Advisory services, quality oversight and support
Advocacy, networking and partnership building
Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

Education: A Masters Degree in education, public administration/health, economics, psychology, sociology or other social science field is required.

Experience: A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in social planning and management in early childhood development and related areas at the international level some of which preferably were served in a developing country is required. Relevant experience in education and related areas, program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English (oral and written) and another UN language is required.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

Save the Children

Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. By transforming children's lives now, 

we change the course of their future and ours (Save the Children, 2011).

I found a position that I might be interested in with Save the Children. I found that some of the job duties are things that I currently do now. I am the person who communicates with other agencies, businesses, and parents in order to maintain a healthy environment for the child. I monitor the child and family records. 

Coordinator, Child Information Management

Description

Position Title :                Coordinator, Child Information Management Position Structure :        Coordinator Employee Type :            Full-time Regular Supervisor Title :            Director, Global Sponsorship Operations Division :                        Resource Development Summary The Coordinator of Sponsorship, Child Information Management will be responsible for working closely with country offices, marketing, donor services and other Sponsorship teams to manage the operational, analytical and strategic aspects of child information and to create an executable strategy that ensures there are enough children enrolled in sponsorship to meet acquisition targets. This person will also be responsible for understanding the data and driving smart business conversations around country office allocations. S/He will also be responsible for risk mitigation and dashboard KPI reporting. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Child Information Management – 40% (Coordinator)Accountable for day to day execution of job. Organizes self and manages time to get things done. May exercise independent judgment and discretion on operational matters related to specific tasks. Requires supervision to review work progress and results. Keeps manager informed of important issues. Builds effective relationships within their immediate or peer workgroup. Conduct quality review for 2-3 country offices and work with the sponsorship managers on ways to increase operational efficiencies, paying particular attention to data quality for new country offices. Coordinate with the Sr. Director of Global Sponsorship Operations on the strategy for Greatest Need & child allocations and execute that strategy through tracking and reporting. Collaborate with the Sponsorship Gift Processing team on all Greatest Need decisions directly affecting assignments. Monitor child availability daily. Monitor, track and report on all child death activities. Make calls to SCUS sponsors when their sponsored child has died. Alert Members when one of their sponsors has a child who has died. Work with the Sr. Director of Global Sponsorship Operations, Marketing Retention team and country offices on child death communications. Work with the technology teams to ensure that ASISt and BBEC are working well together. Make recommendations and drive conversations around why country offices should be “on” or “off” the web at particular times. Country Office Accountability – 25% Partner closely with all sponsorship country offices, to ensure that we are getting the maximum amount of quality data input into ASISt. Participate in conversations surrounding new country office start-ups. Provide training to new country offices on process that overlaps with Sponsor Services. Occasional travel to Country Offices in order to experience on-the-ground operations. Track and rate country offices based on performance and participate in strategy working-groups around country office performance. Drive conversations for process improvement on both the country office and home office fronts in terms of efficient process and quality of information flow. Create and distribute the Child Information Management Plan (CIMP) reports for country offices which track child enrollments to goal on a monthly basis. Analytics & Reporting – 20% Manage KPI reporting for Sponsor Services. Work closely with the Sponsor Services team to ensure all numbers in the report are accurate and that the “story” of the unit is told through the report. Regularly run and report out on all risk mitigation reports. In conjunction with system and process understanding, develop and distribute further supplemental or risk mitigation reports as needed. Work with ITBS teams when reports fill gaps that should be handled by revised systems/processes. Transfer & Investments – 10% Oversee the transfer and investment process and calendar by coordinating efforts with various units across the agency and country offices to ensure transfers are completed on time and with quality. Partner with marketing to ensure that the operations for transfers match the marketing strategy. Track and report on all voice of the donor activities for transfer and investments. This will require partnering with the Response Center. Ad-hoc projects and assignments as assigned by Global Sponsorship leadership – 5% Required Background and Experience, Skills and Behaviors Background and Experience (Coordinator)Minimum 2-3 years’ experience required. High School diploma or equivalent required; Associate’s or Technical/Vocational degree preferred. Requires learned knowledge, technical skills and attention to detail to support semi-complex tasks. Minimum of 2-3 years business experience required, non-profit experience a definite plus. Proven experience and success in operational support. Experience calling and discussing sensitive information with donors. Demonstrated knowledge and/or experience in creating and messaging out metrics and reports. Experienced user of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Knowledge and previous use of donor databases such as Raiser’s Edge 7 or any Blackbaud product preferred. Multiple languages a plus Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved fromhttp://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm UNESCO UNESCO works to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values (United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2011).  UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information (United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2011).  The job I found interesting and that I believe I can do is: General Service Staff The functions in the General Service category include administrative, secretarial and clerical support as well as specialized technical functions such as printing, security and buildings maintenance. General Service staff are recruited locally in Headquarters or in Field Offices/Institutes. Who are we looking for? We are looking for competent, dynamic and flexible persons , who are proactive and responsive. We are looking for people with strong personal integrity, who are fair, impartial and respectful of cultural diversity. General Service staff work to support activities in the fields of: education, sciences,   culture, communication and information, and administration and management (including  human resources, finance and accounting, IT, etc. ) Do you have the right profile? Education: graduates of a secondary, technical or vocational school and, as the case may be, secretarial, business or commercial qualifications. In certain cases, equivalent experience may be retained. Languages: Fluent English or French (the two working languages of UNESCO) and a good working knowledge of the other language. Knowledge of Arabic, Chinese, Spanish or Russian is an additional asset.  Previous experience: Junior level (G1/G3)  - one to three years of  experience Middle level (G4/G5) - three to seven years of experience; and  Senior level (G6/G7) - Eight years and above experience Values: Integrity, professionalism, respect for diversity and a strong commitment to the UNESCO mission. United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National and Federal Level

The first agency that I am interested in working for is the Association for Early Learning Leaders (AELL). The AELL is committed to excellence in the field of Early Care and Education by promoting leadership development and enhancing program quality. I believe the reason for many early learning programs that fail because of the poor leadership. If a program has a good leader that will motivate staff and encourage parents the program will be a success. AELL goal is to strengthen the knowledge, skills and abilities of directors, owners, emerging leaders and other early learning professionals to ensue quality programs for young children.

A presenter:
A presents will present for 1 hour 45 minutes to 3 hours
The presenter will present to 40 - 80 people
Each presenter will have access to a screen, flip chart, or white board
Each presenter must provide a handout
Request to be a presenter must be approved

The second agency that I am interested in is National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE). NCPIE mission is to advocate the involvment of parents and families in thier children's education, and to foster relationships between home, school, and community to enhance the education of all our nation's young people. I have a strong passion for parent involvement in education. I try to make sure that I am always involved with my daughter's school. No matter if it is giving a donation or chaperoning on a field trip. My daughter is always excited when I participate in her schools activities.
I would like to partner with them and open up a parent center. NCPIE have at least one parent center in each state that serves families of children and young adults from birth to age 22 with disabilities. They help families obtain appropriate education and services for their children with disabilities and train parents and professionals on a variety of topics.

The third agency I would like to work for is the National Education Association (NEA). NEA is the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. Their mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.

Job Opportunity:
Limited Term Staff

Job Description
This position supports the NEA’s strategic objective to focus the energy and resources of its 3 million members toward the promotion of public education by providing assistance with a variety of professional services with a strong emphasis on supporting political campaigns and organizing in the Center for Strong Affiliates, Campaigns and Elections department.

Position Summary: The incumbent will work on a specific political project, mobilizing and engaging NEA members and potential members. The incumbent will partner as assigned with state and local affiliates to implement the project. The work includes communicating and advocating NEA’s political positions to state affiliates and its members and assisting with development of strategies to assist affiliates in implementing NEA’s strategic political goals and agenda. The incumbent assists with implementing campaign plans in order to accomplish assigned tasks consistent with NEA’s strategic focus and strategic objectives. To carry out these responsibilities, the incumbent submits regular reports and uses a personal computer, associated software, and other office automation technology and travels extensively within the area(s) of assignment by various conveyances, including driving a car.

Required Skills
Minimum Education Requirement: Bachelor's degree or equivalent. Minimum Qualifications: Experience in one or more of the following areas: organizing, strategic planning, crisis management, electoral campaigns, public relations, and communications. Other Requirements: Writing samples (training, facilitation, strategic planning, reports, etc.) may be required at time of interview. Must be able to work weekends and late evenings.   Must possess a valid driver’s license and personal vehicle.

Exploring Roles in ECE Community: Local and State Levels

When I first obtained my bachelor degree in psychology I had hopes of becoming a school social worker. I had always wanted to work in the public school system because they offer great benefits and they salary is to my standards. 

Community High School District 218
School Social worker

Skills and experience required:

• Illinois Professional Educator License or Social Worker Endorsement National Certification Desirable
• Experience providing crisis interventions, individual and group counseling for young adults with a wide range of disabilities
• Experience writing behavior intervention plans
• Experience collaborating with support staff (i.e. Speech Pathologist, BCBAs) in developing academic or behavioral intervention plans for students
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent collaboration skills: be able to work as part of a school team
• Experience with case management responsibilities
• Experience as an LEA running domain meetings, annual reviews and IEP meetings
• A strong knowledge base regarding adult community services for individuals with disabilities
• Experience choosing, giving and scoring a multitude of assessment tools
• Experience working with teachers in a Professional Learning Community

Since I did not obtain my license for becoming a school social worker because I had started working in the early childhood field, I decided that I wanted to be a coordinator. I have been a family support for 10 years and I feel that I have the experience and knowledge to become a family support coordinator. 

SGA Youth & Family Services

Family Support Coordinator

Skills and experience required:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology or in a related field.
• Experience working with families in an Early & Head Start or family support programs.
• Knowledge of adult and adolescent learning styles, home visiting, & ability to engage at risk families.
• At least three years supervision/administration experience.
• Bilingual/Bicultural in English and Spanish preferred.
• Displays sensitivity and responsiveness to cultural differences in service population.

I wanted to work for the government because of the great pay and benefits the job offered. It is difficult to obtain a government job unless someone refer you for the position that you are interested in. I have taken many test for different government positions and I passed all of them. I did not get chosen for any of the positions I applied for. 

United States Department of Labor

Unemployment Insurance Program Specialist

Skills and experience required:

• Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-12, in the Federal Service.
• 
  
• Specialized experience is defined as experience:
• 
  
• -interpreting Unemployment Insurance (UI) legislation and/or Trade Adjustment Assistance policies, programs, and regulations
• -providing authoritative advice on UI and/or Trade program requirements to officials of Federal or State agencies
• -assessing UI and/or Trade program for accuracy, quality and conformity with Federal requirements
• -participating in special reviews and evaluations of UI benefit and tax systems functions and activities designed to enhance UI program integrity, performance, or quality to improve services to claimants and employers.
• -Working collaboratively and maintaining cooperative relationships with officials in federal, state, and local government agencies and public entities
• There is no education substitution for this position.
• Applicants must meet time-in-grade, time-after-competitive-appointment and qualifications requirements within 30 calendar days after the closing date of the vacancy to be eligible for consideration for selection. Reference the "Required Documents" section for additional requirements.

My Collaborative Learning Community

     Building relationships and in some cases friendships is very important in any career field. Healthy relationships provide positive reinforcement. For example, I have a friend who is also a coworker of mine and every time I want to have a meltdown she always have some encouraging words to say. After I talk to her I feel better and I excel in my work. Positive feedback is very important with everything that we do. I have experienced that in this class with my colleagues. 

     I appreciate all of the positive feedback that I have been given throughout this program from the instructors and my colleagues. I tried my best to make sure that I returned the favor to some of my colleagues as well. Having a support system is very important in achieving your goals. I wish all of my colleagues well as they continue their professional path. Good luck and well wishes!!!!

Erica 

http://www.waldenu.edu

Team Development

I have been involved in many group some professional and some personal. When the group ends it is always bittersweet. Adjourning a group means that it is time to reflect and celebrate. I am currently working together in a group now and we have until October 16 to make sure that all of our component areas are at 100%. I am so looking forward to the celebrating part and unfortunately I will not miss this group. We had some struggles, verbal exchanges, and bad body language. I do not like the fact that there is no trust in this group and everyone is out for themselves. There is nothing wrong with a little competition at work, but these people I work with have taken it to a whole new level.

The hardest group adjournment I was in was in undergrad. I really enjoyed working with my classmates and when it was time to end the group it was difficult for me. I had made some good relationships and we had very good communication with each other. We went out to dinner to celebrate and talk about the outcome of our project. Some of us promised to keep in touch and to communicate with each other outside the group. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. There is one person from that group that I still talk to and we have became best of friends. I was named her child's godmother and she is my child's godmother since she is the reason I met my child's father. We have been through some ups and downs, but we remain friends.

I imagine that I will adjourn this group of colleagues with clear communication. I have learned to communicate with my colleagues and I will miss the positive and support feedback I have received in the discussion questions and blogs. Some of my colleagues I have been grouped with since the beginning of the master's degree program. I truly wish all of them well and I am going to miss the interactions we have had during this course.

http://www.waldenu.edu

Conflict?

Conflict is something I deal with on a daily basis. I have conflict with my supervisor, colleagues, and parents. There is not a dull day at my job when I do not have conflict. It is either because I disagree with something or someone has lied on me. I tell people all the time that it is like being in high school at my job. A bunch of unhappy women trying to hurt each other. I do not understand why, but I know that I do not like it and I am trying to get out of that place.

 An example of conflict in my professional life:
I had planned a trip to Chuck E Cheese for the end of school year celebration. I had submitted a requisition to our finance department for the number of children enrolled, staff, and parent volunteers. On the day of the trip there were some children who did not come to school, so we had extra money left over. With the extra money I took it upon myself to purchase food for the staff. As I was taking care of business another teacher decided to help me by passing out the cup of tokens to each class. She went up to the teachers and asked how many children do you have? All the teachers told her their correct number of children except 1. Because this teacher was dishonest and wanted to keep tokens for herself I had to purchase tokens out of my own money for the children who did not receive tokens. I was so upset and I wanted to kick the teacher behind, but I waited until we got back and I informed my supervisor who did not do a thing. I did not talk to this teacher for a week. I was trying to let it go, but I could not believe that this teacher would lie and steal from a child. The teacher finally came to me and we talked about it. I told her that I was more disappointed than upset. She is suppose to be a teacher, a leader, a educator. I told her what kind of example does she think that set for the children and parents who volunteered on this trip. They saw a whole other side and they were not pleased. The parents got together and gave me my money back and some even took their children out of our program. I should have did like the text said I should have discussed the issue with the teacher and arrived to a solution. This is what O'Hair and Wiemann calls a win-win situation. The fact that my supervisor did nothing also showed me that I was in this thing alone.


In my personal life I try not have any conflicts. Even though I have disagreements with my family and friends I try to avoid having conflicts by changing the subject. I try to turn the situation into something positive. I always make jokes or make light of the situation. I feel that my family deserve respect instead of arguing with them over something small. I chose alternatives instead of having a conflict.

Do anyone have any suggestions on what I should do about my job?

http://www.waldenu.edu

We are different, We are the same

Communication

For this week blog we had to choose 2 people to evaluate us a communicator. When I first asked people to evaluate me I chose my sister and a colleague. After reading their scores I decided to pick to other people. I decided to pick my mother and another colleague to evaluate me as a communicator. The first colleague I picked was not fawn of me, so her scores were skewered. My sister and I really do not communicate well with each other, so her scores would not reflect me as a communicator. I decided to pick to new people who have seen me talk in one to one situations and talk in public with small and large groups. I found it interesting the my mother, colleague and I both scored in the same group for the listening style profile evaluation. All of us scored in group 1 which means I am people-oriented. I believe this to be true because in my position I have to build a relationship with the families I serve. In the verbal aggressiveness scale evaluation all 3 of us scored in the moderate level. I have a good level of respect for others when I communicate with them. The one that shocked me was the Communication Anxiety Inventory. My mother and I scored in the same level, but my colleague scored me differently. My colleague scored me in the low level. When I read to her what each level means and she said that she thinks I do well in group meetings and when I have to speak in public. She also stated that I do not look or act anxious at all. I was pleased to hear her say that and it gives me confidence to speak more in public. I usually shy away from speaking in public, but I try to do a good job if I have to.



http//:www.waldenu.edu

Communicating Differently

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?

I find myself communicating differently all time even with people of the same culture. I work with people of the same culture and I communicate more professionally than they do every day. I try to make my families feel comfortable when I am talking to them. They try to make me come down to their level, but I remain professional at all times. I have parents who come in fussing and cussing and I never loose my composure. I do not fuss and cuss back, I always escort the parent to my office and allow them to finish venting. Once they finish I always ask them, do you feel better now that you have gotten all of that out of your system. They laugh and say yes. They always tell me you don't let nobody change you and I said no I do not. I have a very good relationship with all of parents and we are able to communicate well.

Based on what you have learned this week, share at least three strategies you could use to help you communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified.

Three strategies that I feel that can help me communicate more effectively are:

• Give them the impression that I am enthusiastic about talking to them. People want to feel that you would rather be talking to them than anyone else. This will make people feel better about themselves.
• Listen attentively to everything they say. I try not to focus on what I am going to say, but what the person is saying who I am talking to. This shows them that I am interested in what they have to say. 
• Give them the right amount of eye contact. Eye contact communicates to the other person that you are not only interested in them and what they have to say, but that you are also trustworthy. People will communicate better with you if they know that they can trust you. 

http://www.waldenu.edu

Communication Skills and Styles

This assignment was a little difficult for me because I watch a lot of television and a lot of different television shows. The television show that I chose to watch was Master Chef. I do not watch this show often and so I thought it would be a good choice. When the show first came on I had the television muted. The contestants on the show walked out with smiles on their faces and the judges were standing at the front with smiles on their faces, so I took from those facial expressions that everyone was happy. As the show went own the judges were talking to the contestants and the contestants were smiling and looking at each other. From the body language and facial expression I believe that the judges told them something good. There were 4 contestants (2 ladies and 2 men). The ladies started laughing and they were putting on the same red colored apron. The men did not look so happy and they were putting on the same blue colored apron. I am going to assume that the judges separated them into groups and that the women were happy to be paired on the same team and that the men were not happy about being paired with each other. Each group was given a crate and when they opened the crate the facial expression of the woman were of concern and the facial expression of the men was happy. I am assuming that the women were not happy and that they were concerned about the items they had to use for the challenge in the crate. The show went to commercial break after a contestant on the show looked like he cut himself, his nonverbal behavior expressed that he was in pain and he might need medical attention. After the commercial break I turned the sound back on. My assumptions were correct the contestant did cut his hand and the medical team came to check him out and patch him up. I was also right about the contestants feelings about the contents in the crate. The women were confused about what to cook and the men were happy about what was in their box. The men were not happy about being paired together, but they were going to make it work to make to the final 3 competition. This show is very interesting I think I am hooked now, LOL! It was easy to read the nonverbal behavior on this show because they were very expressive on this show. They did not hold back their feelings at all. The contestants goal is to make it to the finals and become the master chef.
http://www.waldenu.edu

"My Brother The Communicator"

My brother demonstrates competent communication within his career. A company my brother previously worked for funded the program I currently work for and I got to see him action quite a few times. I saw how he communicated in meetings and when he presented at training's. I did not know my brother could capture people attention so well. He is funny and he knows his stuff. I have seen him be serious in meetings and make sure he get his point across respectfully and professionally. He amazes me and I did not know I would look up to my brother the way I do. He gave a workshop on home visits for my company. I did not know that he would be so interesting. He had the audience attention and he was really fun. He engaged the audience through activities and the information that he was sharing. He made jokes and he made some crucial points about the importance of home visits in Head Start. I really enjoyed my brother's workshop and I was amazed at the end he had a line of people waiting to talk to him. When I presented my first workshop, I contacted my brother on pointers how to communicate when I present. He told me to be clear in my speech and listen as well as talk. He told me the key to a successful workshop is to make sure that I listen to any comments or questions that my audience may have and be respectful when responding. He also told me to watch the audience and make sure they are engaged, if not he said tell a joke to wake everyone up or do an exercise that will get people up and moving around. He told me that the information that I am presenting is very important, but know one likes to sit and be lectured to for hours. I took my brother advice, I did an icebreaker, I told jokes, I had an activity to get everyone moving around, and I made sure I answered every question to the best of my ability. When my workshop was over I got good reviews and positive feedback. I love my brother and I believe his method of communication is effective and I would love to follow in his footsteps!

"My brother and my daughter"

http://www.waldenu.edu

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when thinking about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that they feel appreciated and accepted. I know a major issue some families and children have is feeling accepted. These families will not want to participate in programs if they do not feel accepted or appreciated. For example, the agency I previously worked for is a Afrocentric early childhood program and we had families who were not of African decent to enroll and quickly leave because they did not feel accepted. The curriculum was based around African heritage and teaching the children terms and language in Swahili. The other families wanted to know why their heritage couldn't be celebrated as well. I agree because if we are going to enroll families from diverse backgrounds, then the curriculum needs to change and the program needs to change. 

One goal that I have for early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to make all programs diverse including the staff. I believe that it is important to have a diverse staff who are bilingual. I believe that this would make families feel a little less uncomfortable. If someone was there who could communicate with the family in their home language. It is difficult to enroll a family who only speaks Spanish and the person doing the enrolling does not know how to speak a tap of Spanish.

I wanted to thank all of my colleagues for responding to my blog post and discussion post. I really appreciate all of the feedback and the feedback was always positive. I enjoyed being in this class with each and every one of you and I wish you well in your endeavors. Good luck!

 http://www.waldenu.edu

Welcoming Families from Around the World

For this assignment, imagine the following scenario:

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

I am a teacher for a early childhood program and the family is coming from the country Australia. 

Ways in which I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1. Recognize any bias or stereotypes. 
2. Do my best to sensitive to terminology 
3. Become more informed about the history and culture of Australia.
4. Treat the family and student as an individual
5. I would prepare my classroom with pictures of Australia to welcome the family and acknowledge their country.

I would hope that the family would appreciate the efforts I took to learn about their country and to highlight their country in my classroom. It is important for families of foreign countries to know that their culture would be accepted and appreciated when they come to the United States. The family should not feel that they have to loose their culture or beliefs just because they no longer live there. I believe that by celebrating cultures in a diverse classroom is very important and make the families feel appreciated. All families from foreign countries that come to the United States just want to feel respected and as an educator I feel it is my responsibility to do so within my classroom. 

http://www.waldenu.edu

The personal side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

An incident of bias and prejudice that I experienced was when I was in high school. The other children did not want to interact with me because they thought I was poor and they made fun of my clothing. They would walk pass me and laugh or knock my books out of my hands. When it was time to split up into partners in class I was always the last one picked. It hurt deep down inside because I did not know why they were treating me like this. One day a friend that I grew up with came and told me what they were saying. They said that my clothes look like they came from target or Walmart and my shoes came from payless. They did not want to hang out with me either because I wasn't a small either. They were not being fair because I was not being picked first because of my appearance. This made me always stay quiet and hide in the back of the classroom. My mother and father did not have much and did they best they could. I was just grateful that I did not have to wear hand me downs, I was not focused on who name was on my clothes. All I knew was that I had on new clothes. Because of the shame I felt I went home and yelled at my mother for not buying me name-brand clothes. She said it is not what you wear, but who is wearing the clothes. I said I don't get it, she said clothes do not make the person the person makes the clothes. I said okay. I accessorized the clothes that I had and I went to school the next day and everyone thought I had been shopping again. I walked with my head up and I had gained confidence in myself from what my mother had told me. I walked around like I was wearing a million dollars worth of clothing. The other girls started talking to me after that. Older students who were there knew me from church and the neighborhood and they started introducing me to their friends and so I began to be more popular. When the girls who were being bias against me saw that I was hanging out with Juniors and Seniors, they began to want to hang out with me. I use to come home to my mom every day and tell her how those girls were acting like they never treated me wrongly. She laughed and said I told you it is not the clothes, it is the person in the clothes! I had to change me!

http://www.waldenu.edu

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

For this week assignment we have to describe at least one microaggression that we detected this week or remember from one time.
According to Dr. Sue, microaggressions are brief everyday indignities that are verbal, behavioral or environmental, that they may be intentional or unintentionally communicated to women, to people of color, to gay/lesbians that have an insulting message behind them that often time causes severe psychological distress and harm.
I remember a time when I had to give a speech in front of a large audience for work. Some of the people I had never met before and the audience was a mixture of men and women of different ethnicity. I was nervous about giving the speech because I was not a speaker, I am a more pf a behind the scene person. After my speech two white ladies came up to me and said I did not know you could speak that well. I had a confuse look on my face and when I want people to repeat what they have said I always say excuse me. The ladies said again I did not know you could speak that well. You spoke really well and you are articulated your words. I said reluctantly thank you. I ask them what department were they from because I have never seen them before. They said they were from the youth department. I really felt sorry for the youth that they were over because they were clearly making a racist statement. I told my other coworkers what they said and they became upset and said do you know they were being racist. I said I know, but I did not want to start a riot so I left it alone. I was raised to pick and chose your battles and I did not want to battle with those two women because they may have not known what they were doing. I felt very uncomfortable and I already did not like to speak in front of a large crowd and this incident did not help encourage me to keep speaking.
The effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people can be permanent and damaging. Like the microaggression that I experienced, I speak in front of large audiences if I have to, but I do not choose to do it. I still feel uncomfortable and that incident happened in 2007. I do not understand how someone can think that they have a right to discriminate against someone else. I may not agree with something or like something, but I do not mistreat people because of my thoughts or beliefs. I treat everyone equally.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

http://www.waldenu.edu

Perspective on Diversity and Culture

For this assignment we had to talk to three people (friends, family, acquaintance, and/or colleague) about their definition of culture and their definition of diversity.
I talked to my brother (Dexter), best friend (Rashad), and colleague (Barbara).

Rashad (30 years old, male, and Catholic) definition of diversity:
I think diversity is a catch 22. To be diverse in a sense of being able to adapt to different situations is vital. It's almost animalistic for one to "change" in a new environment. However one can lose their own identity in an attempt to "change". In modern society the push for diversity is so strong that I believe it's pretend or forced. The theory that America is "melting pot" is preposterous it is a victim of "forced diversity". Ships of individuals sent here where their culture was considered second class had to diversify...and that diversity still exist. 

Rashad definition of culture:
Culture is the thread to every person, it's our life! Culture is what creates wars...to fight for your culture is to fight for yourself.

Barbara (54 years old, Female, and Christian) definition of diversity:
My definition of diversity would be different groups of individuals who are of different races. Who accept each other for who they are despite their differences; whether is is their sexual preferences, beliefs, race, or gender. There are many different races in America who respect others beliefs and are not judgmental. The reason that America is called the melting pot is because of the diversity. 

Barbara definition of culture:
My definition of culture would be whatever a particular group's belief and values are. Culture is passed down from one generation to the next. For instance, at a young age my parents taught my siblings and I to respect others no matter how different they are from us. They also taught us to always be honest, humble, and willing to help others. I have instilled the same attributes into my children and from what I have observed with my grandchildren their parents have done the same thing.

Dexter (45 years old, Male, Episcopal) definition of diversity:
Diversity is the blending and understanding of a variety of cultures.

Dexter definition of culture:
Culture is simply the customs, traditions, values, morals, and beliefs of given group of people in a simple culture is who a people are with or without reason or explanation. 

The three people I spoke with gave some passionate definitions for diversity and culture. I think that this topic can become very controversial for some people. It made me think about what I think diversity and culture is. Diversity to me a variety of different groups from different backgrounds, religions, race, gender, social status, and sexual preference. Culture to me is a persons values, beliefs, and traditions. I think that Barbara and Dexter definitions were very close to mine and the definitions I have read from the text and articles. It was interesting to find out how each person think from 3 different generations and backgrounds. 

My Family Culture

This week we were asked to imagine ourselves in a major catastrophe were we would have to evacuate our country and we had no input in anything. We were asked to choose three things that we hold dear to us and that represent my family culture.

The 3 items that I would choose to take with me would be a picture of my family, a bible given to me by my mother, and my birth certificate. 

The family picture is important to me because it will remind me where I came from and if by any chance that I get separated from my family that I would not forget what they looked like.

 

I brought the bible with me because my help comes from the Lord. All the answers I need for everything that is going on in my life would come from that book. My religion is very important to me and I would need to take it with me everywhere I go. 

My birth certificate would be important to me because I need proof of where I was born. I needed a reminder and certification of my birth place. 

I would be very upset if I could only bring one of my items with me. I would be very heartbroken and I may even protest. All 3 of my items are very important to me and I need all 3 of them with me. If I truly had to the only item I would bring with me would be my bible. The bible would help me get through this hard time. 

I learned that my faith is stronger than I thought it was. I have been doubting my faith because I have been worrying about to many things that I do not have control over, but after reading my post I realized that my faith is strong in the Lord than I thought it was. My family has always been very strict about our Christianity and we always went to church and not just on Sunday's. I guess I have not lost those values and I will continue to use them. Years ago during slavery and the civil rights movement, religion was a major source for African Americans. They trusted and believed that the Lord would free them and get them through that time. The Lord is the only one who could help them sustain beatings and mistreatment by the dominant culture. 

http://www.waldenu.edu