Concluding Post

I want to thank everyone for their discussions and blogs these past eight weeks.  There were some good ideas shared and information to think about.  Communicating together about various topics has made the learning experience more interesting.  Good luck in the remaining courses.  We're almost done!

When a team comes to an end

       Other than work situations, I haven't been a part of too many groups so many of my team building has been with colleagues.  The hardest group for me to leave was at the last public school I taught in.  It was in the small town where I lived.  We had 3 classrooms of each grade level.  The 2 other teachers I worked with became my good friends as well as colleagues.  We discussed personal, as well as school related, topics.  Through the 4 years I taught with these ladies I learned so much about them as professionals as well as individuals.
      Because we were a small school, we always had going away parties for those who resigned or retired.  At my going away, I was presented with a beautiful bracelet one of my grade level colleagues had made for me that had the names of my three children on it.  It was a very special gift and one I will always treasure. 
      Sadly, I feel that adjourning this group of classmates will be a "goodbye" in a discussion or blog post.  Because this is a virtual community, I feel more disconnected than if we were in a physical classroom together.
       Adjourning is important to a team because during this time they can reflect on their experiences together.  This stage "provides the team the opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck as they pursue their next endeavor" (Abudi, 2010, p. 4).  It allows for a time of celebration for the work accomplished and relationships built. 

Reference 
Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

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Conflict Resolution

I haven't encountered too many conflicts in my life, primarily because I choose not to engage in them.  I don't like confrontation and feel arguing solves nothing.  One incidence that couldn't be avoided, though, happened after my divorce.  I moved to another state to live with a friend who I had taught with previously.  She was a widow and opened her home to me.  I was very appreciative of her offer, but reluctant, because during the course of our 10+ years of friendship, I knew she had a lot of personal problems and had, at times, felt drained from trying to support her during her various difficulties.  A confrontation that led to my leaving would have been a good time to: 1) "Differentiate feeling from thinking, being able to identify and express internal feeling states in a way that does not imply judgment, criticism, or blame/punishment" (The Center for Nonviolent Communication, n.d.), and 2) "differentiate observation from evaluation, being able to carefully observe what is happening free of evaluation, and to specify behaviors and conditions that are affecting us" (The Center for Nonviolent Communication, n.d.).  My friend was obviously going through another crises but because of what she was saying to me, I felt hurt and attacked.  I left, knowing that our friendship couldn't be repaired and was over.  
My question to my colleagues is, have you ever had to remove a relationship from your life that you felt was toxic to your thinking and the way you wanted to live your life?  Was it stressful to you?  Would you have done things differently knowing what you know now about communication?
Reference
The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

My Communication Assessments

I had my daughter and a male friend evaluate me for this assignment.  We all placed me in group 1 for listening style and in the moderate category for verbal aggressiveness.  I was surprised, though, that they both scored me with slightly higher communication anxiety than I did.  I suppose that is because they have never seen me speak in public and are possibly using their schemas to evaluate how I would do.  I feel quite comfortable talking in front of people but they are both 20+ years younger than me and have done little to no public speaking. 
An insight I gained this week is how accurate these assessments can be if a person is willing to answer the questions honestly.  Self-improvement is not possible if a person is not willing to evaluate themselves in an authentic way and take off their rose-colored glasses.  I think this goes hand-in-hand with our self-concept and self-esteem. It's good to see and value our strengths but they must come from an honest place.  Pretending to be something you're not can get exhausting.  In my professional life, if I don't know the answer to a question a parent or child has, or how to deal with a situation with a colleague or child, it won't do to just make something up.  I need to be open to finding out the right answer and relate it to the parent or child or for my own knowledge.  I don't pretend to know all the answers but I am more than willing to try and find one.
Another insight I learned this week is that my daughter and friend view me very similarly as I do.  Our scores were very close.  I think it is good feedback for anyone to have.  Knowing how others feel about our communication skills will help us be clearer when interacting with others.  It gives good information about areas we may need improvement in.  Personally and professionally, I can see that I am in a pretty good place when I am using any/all of the communication styles.  

Communication

I am fortunate to work on a college campus where diversity is everywhere.  The families that send their children to our lab school represent many countries.  I don't find, though, that I communicate any differently with them than I do with people from my culture.  Most of them have been in the United States for a while and many of the children have been born here.  With the exception of their accents, talking with them is very comfortable and the same as speaking with my own family.  I have been able to form a friendship with a graduate assistant in our department who is from Malaysia.  We have had many open conversations about her Muslim religion, my Christian religion, and our individual viewpoints on other topics.  I have not yet had any difficulty communicating with people from other cultures.

If I were to share three strategies to use in communicating with diverse individuals, I would continue to take or make opportunities where I could have conversations with the people I interact with.  I don't believe you can promote understanding and acceptance if an effort isn't made to know the people who are different than ourselves.  The second thing I would do do as much reading and research on other cultures as possible so a foundation of knowledge can be built in my mind.  During conversations with people from these cultures, questions can be asked to clarify cultural beliefs and/or practices and if the person you are speaking with adheres to them.  The last thing I would do is continually evaluate my attitudes towards other cultures.  If prejudice and discrimination come from fear, ignorance, or misunderstanding, then the only way to overcome those things is to gain more knowledge about different cultures.  Being open to the potential to learn about other people will widen my views of the world and make the world a little smaller place. 

Observing Communication

For this assignment, I watched an episode of Modern Family.  I haven't ever seen an episode of this show but have a friend who watches it so I decided to give it a try.  Some of the assumptions I made while I watched it were close to the actual way things were happening after watching it with the sound on but a few were not.  I figured out who was with who in a relationship, while the sound was off, but couldn't figure out how they all were related.  I figured out that part of the storyline was about an ex-boyfriend of one of the partners in a gay relationship but couldn't place which partner he was the ex of.  There were two children who I couldn't place with their parents.  I didn't have any idea why one of the women was upset during part of the show. 
It was easy to name the emotions the characters were feeling based on the nonverbal facial clues they were exhibiting, as well as the hand gestures they used.  The assumptions would have been a lot easier with a show I typically watch because knowledge of the relationship dynamics and past events of the show would be helpful in assuming how the characters were interacting with each other.  
An insight I would share with my classmates would be to remember that nonverbal cues are not always accurate.  Watching the show with the sound off, and not knowing how the characters were related or fit together, made it hard to know why one of the women characters was upset during the show.  I wrongly assumed she was angry because of a situation with an older man (I thought it was maybe her father) and a younger women that appeared to be his wife.  It turned out she was not angry but unsure how to tell her father she didn't want to work at his company, as he had asked her to do, and didn't want to disappoint him like she felt she had done several times while growing up.  Knowing details of a situation well helps an observer to be able to read communication cues more accurately.

Communication Behaviors

A person that I feel is an effective communicator is the administrator of our lab school.  Her communication style is direct without being offensive.  She speaks professionally no matter what she is dealing with in her duties and can also interact appropriately with the children.  She keeps eye contact with the person she is talking to, speaks loudly enough to be heard but does not shout, and when she speaks with staff, professors, practicum students, or undergraduate employees she presents a confident, knowledgeable image.  She also has a funny side and can present this personality effectively, also.

 I would like to incorporate some of my administrator's traits into how I speak to those I supervise.  Even though I am confident with the responsibilities of my job, and relaying that information to the practicum students who are in my room, it's not always easy for me to provide constructive criticism to a student on areas they need to work on or with colleagues I disagree with.  I am getting better as I get older, but I'm not there yet.    

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope I have for working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I can always learn something new to broaden my knowledge about the world.  I want families to feel comfortable when interacting with me and I hope by showing a desire to learn about them and their culture, a wonderful relationship will develop.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field that is related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is for every educator, child care provider, administrator, director, and parent to develop an awareness of their perspective and attitude when they think about people from diverse backgrounds and become enlightened enough by that process to desire to become more open-minded about others different than they are and share those thoughts with children.  Children need positive statements about persons coming from a different background from as many role models in their life as possible.

I would like to thank my colleagues for great interaction during the past eight weeks.  I feel we have grown to know each other even better than before.  I wish you all well during the remaining classes of your program. 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country I chose to have my new family come from is Croatia.  In preparing for their arrival to my room I will:
1.  Read up on the history and current events of the country to learn about issues the citizens have faced in the past and current issues they are experiencing.
2.  Find out the religions practiced in the country and how I might need to accommodate the family's religious preferences .
3.  Search the community to see if other Croatian families live here and talk with them about cultural practices and beliefs.
4.  Invite any community members from Croatia, or surrounding countries, to come into the class and talk to the children.
5.  Ask community members from Croatia, or surrounding countries, if they would be willing to be a liaison to the new family as they settle into their new life.

I feel these preparations will give me the base knowledge of the family's country of origin and will give me ideas of how to include their country into the room environment.  A community member as a liaison may help with any language translation that may be necessary and will give the family someone they can rely on for any questions or directions they may have.  Taking these steps will prepare me by increasing my global knowledge and possibly learn some basic vocabulary to use when welcoming the family.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

An Incident of Bias, Prejudice, or Oppression
I'm sad to say that a conversation I had with my mother recently revealed some biased comments from her.  She was talking about a news segment she had seen where the local Salvation Army was giving out backpacks filled with school supplies to the children who needed them.  She unfortunately stated that most of them were black.  I'm sure the story was about the help available with the high cost of going back to school but my mother had to point out the color of the skin the majority of children receiving the supplies had.  It was an unnecessary comment to the new story.

This comment diminished equity because I'm sure the Salvation Army did not discriminate against anyone who showed up for the backpacks but were happy to offer assistance to any family needing it.  My mother, with her comment, was not seeing the bigger picture-that children needing supplies were getting them-but went to specific lengths to point out their race.

The comment left me feeling disappointed but I then realized I had heard comments like this all the time I was growing up, but mostly from my father.  It is through this class that I have learned crucial information so that I can monitor my thoughts and words to avoid making a similar comment.

I will need to have a discussion with my mom about her comment and share with her my thoughts on equity for children.  Then, maybe she will be able to look at other similar new stories with a new viewpoint.    

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

On a television show I watched this week, a young boy was becoming involved with a young girl who was very protected.  She wasn't allowed to watch TV except for one-half hour once a week, was homeschooled, and had a strict curfew when at the boy's house.  The boy was letting the girl believe he had done several bad things in his life because she was impressed by them.  Her parents, which happened to be lesbians, appeared at his door one night to tell the boy he couldn't see the girl anymore because he was a bad influence.  As he was trying to find the right words to explain that he wasn't a bad person and that the stories he had been telling weren't true, he said he was willing to follow the rules of their lesbian, then corrected himself and said family, home.  He used a microinsult by labeling their home a lesbian home first before correcting himself. 
I thought it was obvious he was nervous meeting the parents for the first time under the set of circumstances and corrected himself appropriately.  His character doesn't have a lot of dating experience so he verbally stumbles when he is around authority figures. 
I tried to focus on what people were saying to each other as I was observing this week, but didn't hear any microaggressions.  It has heightened my listening skills to learn about this topic and I'm sure I will be aware of interactions between people as a result of the information learned as I watched the resource video.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this assignment I interviewed my daughter (26 years old), her boyfriend's mother (55 years old), and the mother's daughter (12 years old).  My daughter defined culture as a group of people who share the same beliefs and diversity as multiple cultures that come together.  The mother said culture was everything that goes with an ethnic group such as their social norms and living environment.  The 12 year old said culture is different religions and different countries and the word diversity reminded her of Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech.

Surface culture was evident in the answers I received such as religion, beliefs, and social norms.  Some aspects that were omitted were deep culture aspects such as values, recreation, work, intergenerational relationships, and extended family relationships (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010).

In thinking about how other people's definition of culture and diversity, I realize that I have learned a lot about these topics.  I had limited definitions for these terms before this class as well. Now, I know there is so much to learn about individuals past what can be seen.  I know that there is so much that influences one's culture and the practices, beliefs, and customs a group may practice.  I also know that it is not appropriate to infer that a person follows every practice, belief, or custom just because they may be a member of a particular group of people.  Everyone is an individual first. 

My Family Culture

In the event I had to quickly move to another country, I would take only two things-my cell phone and pictures of my children.  I'm not attached to too many materials objects so everything, but these, could stay behind.  I would explain that my phone can give me access to my children and mom who are the most important people in my life.  Pictures of my children would give me memories of them throughout their lives.  If told I had to give up one of the items I had been able to bring, I would feel as if I had totally lost control of my ability to make my own choices for my life.  It would be very frustrating and hard to understand why I couldn't keep the few personal things I had.  I would have a hard time understanding how my possessions would affect anyone else.

I realize that immigrants who relocate to other countries have to make choices about their possessions.  My family doesn't put importance on things but on relationships so leaving things behind wouldn't be too hard for me but leaving those I love would be.  I lived 2000 miles away from my family for 8 years and it was the lowest point in my life.  Being close to family is what is important in my life, having things is not.

When I think of Research...

My ideas of research has changed as a result of taking this course.  Before I became familiar with the terms and process associated with doing a research study, I felt rather uninspired about what researchers do.  Now, even though I don't think researching is an area I will find myself, I don't feel as negative towards the word research.  I feel I can now read a study with confidence and understanding.  I have resources, now, about how to evaluate honest, authentic research when I see it and also know when I don't.  I understand the process better and respect those who undertake such an involved process.  Realizing all that went into our simulation and thinking about the work needed to actually initiate my study gives me a new appreciation for researchers and the time and effort they commit to their work.

The challenges I encountered were mostly at the beginning of the course when I didn't have much interest in the research process because it wasn't a priority for me.  I decided to commit to each week's assignments and do the best I could, even though my sister was hospitalized waiting for a liver transplant in Omaha, NE.  My mind wasn't always focused on the work I needed to do but I knew I did what I had time to do, even with little sleep at times, when I wasn't driving back and forth to see her. 

As an early childhood professional, I have learned that studies can benefit a single classroom or an entire school of thought.  I know that I could do a research study on my students if a question needed answered and an insightful study would answer it.  I feel that I could do the job if the situation arose.

Research Around the World

I looked at the EECERA website.  I found two links listed for Korea Institute of Child Care and

Education and Pacific Early Childhood Research Association.  Some of the major research projects under the Korea link were:  1)  the Curriculum Articulation between Nuri Curriculum for 5 year olds and Elementary school & Nuri curriculum for 3, 4 year olds, 2)  Recommendations for policy proposals for improving fertility rate and reconciling work and family life; a focus on in-home care for infants and suggested support measures, and 3)   A Research on an Integrated Support System for Child-rearing of the Socially Vulnerable(IV): Developing Character Education Programs in the Early Years.  

I learned that the organization is well-governed and has an extensive editorial board.  I learned that other countries around the world are concerned about some of the same early childhood issues as we are and are trying to provide the best for their children's education.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

If I could conduct a research study without restrictions, I would choose to research parenting styles and the  affect each style observed has on the child's behavior.  I am a believer that parents are the child's first and most influential teacher.  Seeing the correlation between parenting style and behavior would be very interesting to me.  As I gain more experience as a teacher (17 years so far), I see how many parents are very lax in their parenting responsibilities.  Children, then, come to school with expectations of getting their way or not having to follow directions.  It is a tough battle, at times.  I would hope through a study on this topic, parents would be able to see that children need parameters to feel safe and free to explore their environments and that for society to operate efficiently and fairly, all citizens need to adhere to the same rules.  Parents can begin to instill these concepts in their children before they ever begin school. 

My Personal Research Journey

My chosen topic for our research simulation during this course will be the benefits and challenges of a universal approach to early childhood education in our country as a way of improving programs and offering quality to all children.  The articles we read in the courses "Effective Programs and Practices" and "Current Trends and Issues in Early Childhood" got me thinking about the current way we approach early childhood programming, recent efforts to raise the bar of quality, and how going to a universal system may or may not be the answer.  I previously gave my opinion that a universal system would be a good idea, but I want to research it further to see what has been written to determine if I could fully support such an effort. 

So far in our research simulation project, I found the first step of narrowing my question down to three sub-topics to be thought provoking and somewhat difficult.  There is so much to consider with the topic of universality.  It took me quite a while to zero in on what I really wanted to know more about.  My other sub-topics were to research the effects state quality rating systems and NAEYC accreditation has had on program quality and how a universal system could be merged into what is currently being done for quality enhancement.  I felt the effects of becoming accredited through a state effort or NAEYC has already been documented and well-known and because a universal system isn't in place yet, there might not be enough information about how to merge it with current efforts.  Although, I would like to know about these things, I will leave them for future research. 

The resources so far in this class has been very beneficial to me.  Reading research has always been like reading another language for me, with the exception of the beginning and ending information.  I felt relieved to know that the middle part wasn't crucial to read for novices.  Putting the information into the chart helped me gain better understanding of how to look at an article and get the most important, and relevant, information from it. 

I hope as this course progresses, we will all be better at reading and understanding the articles of research that will help us become better educators.  I would be interested to know what others' processes were in choosing their sub-topics and if has led to any clarity about your chosen topic.

Final Assignment

The first way learning about the early childhood field around the world has impacted my personal and professional life is by getting a clearer picture of how other governments approach educating their young people. Learning about the Pastoral del Nino project in Paraguay or the efforts of UNESCO in other countries makes it feel as though I am working toward a common goal with people I have never met.  Another way I have grown is by becoming aware of useful websites like Harvard's Center for the Developing Child, UNESCO, and UNICEF and reading about their work globally.  I will make it a point to go to these websites and read about projects these organizations are involved in.  The last way is that I have grown personally by reading articles and watching videos of children around the world and their eagerness to learn despite their often poor circumstances.  I don't often stop and think about the conditions in other countries but by reading our assignments or visiting websites, I have had the opportunity to do so and get a sense of the challenges many children and families have in the world.

I have appreciated reading and learning from my classmates during this class.  The summaries of what they have read has given me more information about early childhood education globally.  A goal I have for myself is to continue to read about international efforts for children and monetarily support an organization in their work.  I may not be able to personally visit and teach in another country but by donating to those who do I can help them continue their work.  

UNESCO's Website

On the UNESCO website, the education tab holds my insights for this week.  The Global Action Week slogan for 2013 is "Every Child Needs a Teacher."  The article I read discusses the importance of teachers in the lives of children.  It talked of UNESCO's support to teachers around the world in their efforts to reach every child.  One of my goals is to educate future teachers to take on this same challenge.  Current and future teachers will help mold the future of all countries.  I hope to be part of many teacher candidate's preparation. 

 The second thing I learned about was UNESCO's Teacher Strategy.  The priorities for this program are "bridging the teacher gap through activities that strengthen national capacities, reinforcing teacher training institutions and teacher educators, and supporting policy formulation, monitoring and implementation, improving teacher quality by developing standards for teachers and recommendations for use in policy development, and informing the global debate, generating research and knowledge about effective teaching through exchanges between UNESCO practitioner networks, including the UNESCO Chairs , UNITWIN networks and the UNESCO Associated Schools Networks (ASPnet)" (UNESCO, 2012). 

The last thing new to me was the "Education for All" and "Millennium Development Goal" projects.  UNESCO held a meeting of global education experts in Paris on October 3-4, 2012 which was to "serve as the basis for building a global indicator development agenda and facilitate broader coordination related to cross-national indicators on teachers and teaching. Also, it would provide the opportunity to propose how practical results from new measurement initiatives could be used by UNESCO to take forward its phased regional and global measurement efforts" (UNESCO, 2012).  I was unaware these efforts existed and would like to find out what was discussed and decided on and what impact the decisions would have on education in the United States. 

Sharing Web Resources

I have been learning about the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE).  On the website, I learned through the link entitled "Annual Conferences" that the organization meets during the fall and spring NAEYC conferences and that there is no registration fee for the NAECTE meeting because it is included in the NAEYC registration fee.  On the "Affiliates" link, 13 states are listed as having affiliation with the organization and 11 of them list contact emails for the state's representative.  The site provides a "ResearchNet" link where teacher educators can form relationships with other professionals and work together to perform research at their respective universities.  The "Awards and Funding" tab details the names of recent recipients of the various awards NAECTE gives.  Other tabs have book titles members have published, information for members, and a link where members can submit journal entries for publication.  

The tab for the position statement, by-laws, and policies states the organizations' emphasis on qualified early childhood educators being knowledgeable about development and learning in the early years.  The position statement re-states the impact of high-quality early education on a child's life.  It also highlights the importance of public schools making it a priority to hire staff that has an early childhood endorsement for positions in the lower grades to help close the achievement gap and meet the needs of lower income and ESLchildren. 

There is no new information from the e-newsletter.  It is published quarterly and the last installment was February 2013.

After reading the position statement, I have learned that the organization supports high-quality programs and highly educated early childhood staff.  The statement included the importance of all children receiving a positive education from a teacher who knows how young children learn best and what is age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate material.  It also addressed the importance of social/emotional development in young children and stated that caring relationships with teachers will help children develop the way they need to. 

Because the information on the website is informational and the newsletter is published quarterly, there wasn't any new insights I received this week.

I am going to the NAEYC spring conference in June.  I hope to stop by the NAECTE meeting while I am there and talk to some of the representatives.

The Developing Child website

Harvard University's Global Children's Initiative website states how new scientific research continually emphasizes the importance of early childhood.  In high-income countries around the world, the information has led to better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of childhood diseases and has initiated a concentration on learning and development in the early years.  In middle-to-low income countries, the information has resulted in a reduction of childhood malnutrition and child mortality.  Poverty still exists but the knowledge can promote new approaches to reduce or prevent problems for children.  Poorer countries can use the new information to help integrate services for children to give them the best possible chance for success.  In Zambia, a new assessment called ZamCAT was developed and completed in 2010.  It is used to analyze and evaluate anti-malaria efforts on preschool children's physical/socio-emotional/cognitive development.  In Brazil, a new project, Nucleo Ciencia Pela Infancia, aims to create a supportive early childhood base of scholars and scientists, work to change social policy with new scientific knowledge, develop early childhood leadership that can effectively make policies benefiting children, and traslate The Center's wealth of early childhood information for Brazilians. 

Sharing Web Resources

I have chosen to look into the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE).  In their Winter 2013 newsletter, much of the discussion was about gathering proposals for the spring conference in San Francisco in June.  The theme of the conference is "Fostering Resiliency, Agency, and Advocacy in Early Childhood Teacher Candidates".  As a hopeful future teacher educator, this theme excites me. I have spent some time imagining what role I am going to play in the education of teacher prospects and how I can do my best to foster important skills and attributes in my students.  Advocacy is one area I don't remember being a part of my undergraduate studies so I am definitely interested in ways to build this into other areas teacher candidates needs to know.  NAECTE has an advocacy committee and has recently developed an advocacy award.  As I finish my studies at Walden, I will join NAECTE and learn more about what they do to enhance advocacy.

I didn't see anything on the website or in the newsletter that made me consider another viewpoint.  The site is more informational as is the newsletter.

I could find no information on the website or in the latest newsletter concerning economists', neuroscientists', or politicians' support of the early childhood field.

 I copied the following from the Winter 2013 newsletter.  It states the focus of the organization in the coming months.

"In our meeting in November in Atlanta, NAECTE members interested in participating in ad-

vocacy activities identified four areas for our work:

Revision and distribution of the Position Statement on Early Childhood Certification

for Teachers of Children 8 Years Old and Younger in Public School Settings

This emerged as our highest priority. Updating the message, identifying target audi-

ences and exploring the most effective ways to disseminate the revised statement

were among the tasks we identified for this working group.

Conduct and/or support others in research on the impact of teachers with specialized

training and licensure in ECE on children and families

This initiative focuses on the need for high quality research to support our claims that

every young child deserves a teacher with specialized training and licensure in ECE.

Proposed tasks for this working group included seeking research funding and es-

tablishing research teams.

Establish NAECTE as source of expert knowledge on Early Childhood Teacher Education

Building on members’ connections with the National Governor’s Association and the

National Association of State Representatives, proposed tasks for this working

group included initial tasks included individual meetings with members of these

organizations, presenting sessions and/or distributing materials at their meetings

and/or producing co-authored for publication in their journals. Linking with pro-

fessional organizations for educational leaders such as those served by CAYL Insti-

tute is also being considered.

Highlighting Highly Effective Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Programs

Discussion of this initiative focused on how NAECTE might call attention exemplary ECE

teacher education programs .One possible direction considered was developing

descriptions high quality early childhood teacher education practices to accompa-

ny NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation. An annual

award for an exemplary EC teacher preparation program was also considered."(NAECTE, 2013). 

International Contacts

For the alternative assignment, I listened to the World Forum Foundation Radio podcast. It featured Susan Lyons who founded the Innovative Teacher Project.  Teachers get together and present the approach their school is using to work with children.   After each teacher has presented, they have a round table to discuss ideas, comment on what was shared, and learn from each other. 

The Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre's website was very informative.  I looked at the findings of poverty in India.  The researchers attribute the poverty in this country to drought and a deteriorating environment.  Over 80% of households in India are in debt as a result.  Programs are not able to meet these families' needs because of low funding, low accountability to supervisors, and variable quality of programs (2013). 

Through this week's research, I have been made aware of the magnitude of poverty in the world.  Many organizations are working to alleviate this issue but are facing reduced funding.  I believe a severe re-organization of how money is spent in this country could help.  Policy makers need to visit areas where poverty is evident, talk to the families, and then make decisions.  It frustrates me to know that even though I make very little as an early childhood educator, I still have more than many people in this world.  There is no equality in this country.  Few people who have wealth care to spend it on those who don't. 

Sharing Web Resources

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I am learning more about is National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.  Their web address is http://www.naecte.org.  "The goals of the NAECTE Foundation are:

• Advocacy of NAECTE goals;
• Promotion and support of research projects related to Early Childhood Teacher Education; and
• Provision of scholarships for early childhood teacher education students"  (NAECTE, 2013).

I found a book published by a member of the organization on the website.   
Adams, L., & Kirova, A. (Eds.). (2007). Global migration and education: Schools, children and families. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

"This book addresses the issues faced by immigrant children and other newly arrived children, their parents, and educators through chapters for 14 countries.  The common challenges and successes are identified in school settings that cope with these issues.  Intended for researchers, students, school professionals, and educational policy makers in the fields of multicultural education, child psychology, international education, educational foundations and policy, and cross-cultural studies, this book is highly relevant as a text for courses in these areas"  (NAECTE, 2013).

I also found an article on the site's journal tab entitled "Early Childhood Teacher Preparation:  Essential Aspects for the Achievement of Social Justice" written by Linda R. Kroll.   I think this might be a good resource for situations similar to our week's resource, "Beyond the Illusion of Diversity:   How Early Childhood Teachers Can Promote Social Justice" (Boutte, 2008)

Establishing Professional Contacts
To locate professionals outside of the United States to correspond with, I visited The Global Alliance of NAEYC website.  I chose five different countries that I have an interest in, and sent an introductory email to those educators to introduce myself, explain the nature of why I was contacting them, and ask if they would be interested in sharing information with me for the next eight weeks.  To date, I have received returned emails for 2 of the people I contacted stating the message was undeliverable and I haven't received any word from the other 3.  I will wait another 3-4 days, which will complete a week from when I sent the original emails, and if I don't hear from any of the remaining 3 professionals, I will choose option 2. 

For the second part of the blog assignment of this week, I have decided to investigate the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.  They provide a newsletter that I am hoping will give me useful information during this class as well as after when I begin my next career as a teacher of adults.  I chose this website because I am not familiar with it and am curious what their support and information is to those who train future educators.

I don't have any useful tips to share about my process but am wondering if anyone else was successful in getting a response from professionals outside of the U.S.

My Supports
To me the word support means assisting someone who needs help in whatever way that may be.  In my daily life, my supports include my mom, children, and colleagues.  My mom and children are always available by phone anytime to talk to and get an objective opinion about something.  We share information about what is happening in our lives because we all live in different cities and don't see each other very often.  Working with my colleagues, daily interaction gives us opportunities to problem-solve together, share issues, both personal and professional, and during our weekly teacher meeting, we have a chance to get together as a group and talk about issues we have accomplished and issues we will work on as a team.  Having these supports provides a feeling of being part of a group, knowing I don't have to face problems alone and that I have others to share good news with.  (My cat doesn't seem to care!)  If I didn't have these supports, life would be very lonely.  Even though I appreciate living alone, having no one to share with would be depressing.  I believe everyone needs at least one true relationship in their lives to keep them sane.  As I've written before, I don't have a lot of friends but the ones I do have are there when I need them.

The challenge I imagine is moving into a house.  I currently live in a second floor apartment but would like to own a home sometime soon. The supports I have now that would help me in this endeavor would be my children.  I have two grown sons so they could lift furniture.  My daughter and I would be able to pack and lift the lighter things (and give directions).  She and I would take care of cleaning the apartment after everything was moved out and paint and prepare the house for moving into.  Having my children help me would save me money by not having to hire a moving company and would make the job go a lot faster.  It would definitely provide memories for future discussions!  If I didn't have grown children to help me, I would have to pack and unpack on my own, hire someone to load and unload the truck, and experience moving into a home of my own by myself.  It would definitely take some of the joy away.  It's not bad to be single, except in cases like this. 

My Connections to Play

Quotes about the importance of  play
“Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn’t taste good” Lucia Capocchione

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw

Both quotes retrieved from http://planningwithkids.com/2009/04/14/10-quotes-on-the-importance-of-play/

Things from my childhood

My sisters and me (I'm on the right)

                         
                                       

           
My Support
I grew up on a farm so the great outdoors was my playground.  My mother and father encouraged us to find things to do and didn't allow hours of mindless TV viewing.  In the evenings, our "play" was usually working in the garden with my mom or helping dad feed animals or pick up hay.  I enjoyed our school's playground and remember spending lots of time on the teeter-totter.  I also remember doing a lot of coloring in coloring books.
Play Today
I feel that free play is seldom experienced by young children today.  Most are involved in more than one activity during after school hours and when they aren't at a practice, they are at a game.  The use of technology has overtaken any down time children have.  My generation, and generations before me, made up their games and they were usually meant to be played outside.  The safety of the world, now, is different than it used to be.  Parents have more reason to accompany their children to a park or be outside when they are playing in the yard.  It would be nice to have a place where children could be free to explore and feel safe doing so.  I am a big proponent of getting out in nature, but some families' lives are too busy for this type of experience on a regular basis. 
The Role of Play
I have been guilty of not playing enough.  As a working mother of three with a husband that traveled often for work, I let play fall off the priority list.  I did begin bicycling a few years ago, did it every day for about three years, but then I lost interest.  As the quote above by George Bernard Shaw says, we need to keep playing to stay young.  I have tried to remember this and build times for "play" into my weeks recently.  It's not the same as the play of children, but the activities I choose to do are enjoyable to me and help me relax.  I had a friend teach me how to kayak and I believe it is something I could do on a regular basis.  It combines my love of the outside and nature with the quietness of water.  I believe everyone should find something that they enjoy and make it a priority.  Whether the activity is done with someone else or alone, the time is valuable.

Relationship Reflection

The relationships I value most are those with my children.  They have grown into caring, responsible adults and our relationships have grown into mature, reciprocal friendships.  My daughter, who lives closest to me, has become a friend.  My two sons are don't call all that often, but my oldest son explained to me that guys just don't call that often.  Still, when we do talk it is genuine and enjoyable.  As their mom, I still worry about them but have taken the viewpoint that their father and I tried to set good examples for them as they were growing up and established boundaries for them and I have to trust that they are taking those lessons with them through life. 

As far as friendships, I have few.  I have had many toxic friendships in my life, where I gave more to the relationship then got  in return in the way of support, and I have found that the few I do have are all I need.  It wasn't until I was about 45 that I realized bad friendships, and an unfulfilling marriage, were having a draining effect on me and I needed to do something about it.  I cut ties with those people and have had many times when I say a prayer of thanks for the strength to do so.  The personality characteristics that make me a caring, giving educator were the same characteristics I applied to my friendships, and marriage, but at the end of the day, I felt empty.  Living alone, having my mom, children, colleagues, and cat to interact with gives me a feeling of happiness and self-reliance I didn't feel with any of my previous friendships.  For me, less is more.

My cat Marianna

My children and mom

My grand-dog Pebbles