Time Well Spent

It has taken me all week to pull myself together to sit down and write this final blog post for my Master’s program at Walden University! Why you may ask?  That is a terrific question!  When I first had the opportunity to return to school and begin my goal of obtaining my Masters Degree, I was scared, excited, and had lots of worries.  As a wife, a mother of five, owner/director of a state licensed family childcare and just day to day tasks, I had no idea how I could even think of finding the time to take classes.  Though it has been challenging at times, I must say, I am super excited that I have reached this goal and am still in shock and cannot believe how fast the time has flown.  I will miss my late nights of staying up and doing homework and learning so much from my instructors and classmates as I have learned so much from all of you.  Therefore, I know writing this final blog brings about closure to working on my Master’s Program, which I will thoroughly miss, however, I will continue to keep learning as we all know just as Julie Olsen Edwards, stated “ in this arena there is always more to learn” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).    

                I have learned so much during the course of working on my master’ program.  I was able to put names with faces of early childhood professionals that I have heard about in the past, while viewing videos throughout my program.  It has been nice to actually know who the early childhood professional is when I come across their name in various places that I read about the field.  I have learned how my own biases can play a role and what I need to do in order to offer an anti-bias program for all children and their families.  The program has broadened and strengthened my knowledge and interest on advocacy and taught me the different ways that I can advocate for children.  Finally, the third thing I will note is the importance of building a community of practice. Not only does it bring about teamwork, but, collaboration which will allow you to get others ideas and input on a topic.            

                Currently, I have many long term goals that I hope to works towards and I am sure more will be added as time moves on.  At this time, however, there are four that I would like to mention.  First, I plan to keep running my family childcare home, and continue to offer hours to families that our outside of the traditional work schedule.  You can find my family childcare website at www.kiddiekastlechildcare.com.  The second goal I have is to help parents to understand the importance of interactions with their children.  The third goal I have is to one day open a public childcare center. My fourth goal will be to work on becoming more involved in advocacy.    

               Although I am super excited to complete this journey and receive my Masters in Early Childhood Studies I am sad that I must say goodbye.  However, I deeply thank each and every one of you for all your, support, constructive criticism, and encouragement as you took the time to read my discussion post and blogs and played a vital role in helping me to be successful here at Walden University.  Please feel free to keep in touch and contact me at Kiddiekastlechildcare@gmail.com  I wish all of you the best of luck as you begin to work or work with children.  I also would like to take the time to thank Dr. E and all of my instructors throughout my course of study here at Walden University for helping and allowing my knowledge to grow by providing your feedback as well as your support!    

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Merging Vision, Passion and Practice. [Media Resource]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6990/01/mm/ec_pres/index.html

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

My blog assignment this week has brought me to explore International early childhood organizations.  Needless to say this was very informational and educational.  I have enjoyed learning about the different International organizations.  The first organization that I looked at was Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI).  ACEI’s tagline is "Bright futures for every child, every nation," which highlights ACEI's commitment to support and advocate for access to education, equity in educational settings, quality educational content, and the child's right to education (2015).  Their mission is to promote and support the optimal education, development, and well-being of children and youth worldwide (ACEI, 2015). Their global community includes educators and advocates who bring their knowledge, experience, and perspectives together in order to exchange information, explore innovation, and advocate for children (ACEI, 2015). They have different levels of membership available as an individual, center or organization.  As an individual students can join at a reduced rate as long as they are enrolled in Associate, Bachelor or Graduate degree program at an accredited institution (ACEI, 2016). More information on the different individual memberships available can be found at the following link http://portal.acei.org/4DCGI/join/person/mbrtype.html?MenuKey=123

As I researched for job opportunities with this organization, I was not successful in finding any paid job opportunities, however, I learned that they occasionally have internships available that are 8-12 weeks during the summer months and they are based in their Washington DC headquarters, interns are responsible for their own housing.  More information on this opportunity can be found at http://www.acei.org/internships-at-acei I was also able to locate information on volunteering for this organization. 

The second international organization that I chose to learn more about was Unicef, they are concerned with every child having a fair chance in life (Unicef, n.da). They have many priorities that they work on and they include:

·         Child survival and development

·         Basic education and Gender equality

·         HIV/AIDS and children

·         Child protection

·         Policy advocacy and partnership (Unicef, n.d.a)

For more detailed information on these topics and what the organization does you can visit the following link http://www.unicef.org/whatwedo/

As I searched for jobs I learned that UNICEF has an internship program where interns may find opportunities at both their Headquarters and country offices which provides interns the opportunity to acquire direct practical experience in UNICEF's work under the direct supervision of experienced UNICEF staff (UNICEF, 2015). The eligibility requirement can be found at the link that follows http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_internship.html

Unicef has many job opportunities available in a variety of locations both in the United States and in other countries.  The link to explore their job opportunities is

A job that I found on their website that I could one day be interested in is their Early Childhood Development (ECD) Specialist.  The location of the position was in Kampala, Uganda.  In this position you are responsible for  will be accountable for the formulation, design, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of ECD programs to ensure overall efficiency and effectiveness of the program management, delivery and accomplishment of program goals and objectives (UNICEF, n.d.b). You can learn more about this job and search their other jobs at the following link http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=494038 . The job information did not state the actual pay scale.  I personally found this job to be interesting but I do not think it would allow me to work with the children on a regular daily basis, which is my preference.  Further, I do not meet all of the job requirements which include

·         Advanced university degree (Master's) in one or more of the disciplines relevant to Early Childhood Development; or Social Sciences fields relevant to international development assistance.

·         A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively professional work experience at the national and international levels, in fields relevant to Early Childhood Development programs is required.

·         Strong knowledge in demonstrative capacity to identify and monitor gender inequalities, as well as develop and implement gender mainstreaming in programs.

·         Work experience in a field relevant to development assistance

·         Background/familiarity with Emergency.

·         Experience working in the UN or other international development organization is considered an asset.

·         Fluency in English (verbal and written) is required.  Knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) and local working language of the duty station are considered an asset  (Unicef, n.d.b)

            The third international organization I looked into was Save the Children, they also invest in early childhood.  It is rewarding to see so many organizations investing in children. This organization give children in the United States and around the world a healthy start, the opportunity to learn, and protection from harm to help change their future as well as ours (Save the Children, 2016). They have been fighting for children rights and saving their lives since 1919 (Save the Children, 2016). The organization has many job opportunities available in the United States and Internationally.  The job that caught my interest was a position that was for a coordinator for Early Steps to Success.  This position though it is not necessarily working with children in a classroom setting would still allow me to work with children, however, probably not as much as I would prefer.  I was unable to locate the rate of pay for this position. 

The program coordinator works with children from birth to five and pregnant women.  The coordinator does home visits, playgroup sessions, transition to school activities and other pertinent activities such as screenings and referrals 

                                                              (Save the children, 2014).  

The qualifications for this position are highly motivated, flexible and nonjudgmental individual who is eager to learn (Save the children, 2014)

·         Associate degree in related field, Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience

·         Experience working with pregnant women, children ages birth to five, and families in rural areas

·         Home visiting experience

·         Experience leading parent groups

·         Demonstrated early childhood knowledge, including infant/toddler knowledge

·         Energetic, motivated and creative

·         Able to work independently

·         Available and reliable vehicle for visiting families (mileage reimbursed)

·         Competency with computers including previous experience with Windows programming and Internet use

·         Willingness to travel regionally and nationally for training

·         Willingness to collect data and participate in the program evaluation

                                                                                       (Save the children, 2014)

It has been very interesting to explore the different organizations and learn about the variety of job opportunities that are available in the early childhood field.  I also found it interesting to learn how these international organizations have job opportunities and internships available in the United States and that their main offices are also here.

References

ACEI. (2015). About us. Retrieved from http://www.acei.org/about-us

ACEI. (2016). Join ACEI today. Retrieved from http://portal.acei.org/4DCGI/join/person/

            mbrtype.html?MenuKey=123

Save the Children. (2014). Careers. Retrieved from https://chc.tbe.taleo.net/chc01/ats/careers/

requisition.jsp?org=SAVETHECHILDREN&cws=1&rid=3807

Save the Children (2016). Who we are. Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/

c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6146355/k.24E9/Who_We_Are.htm

Unicef. (2015). Internship programme. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/

index_internship.html

Unicef. (n.d.a).  Unicef. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/whatwedo/

Unicef. (n.d.b). Early childhood development (ECD) specialist, P-4, Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=494038