Thanks for all you support

 During the past eight weeks, I have received awesome support from my colleagues.  They have supported me by responding to my discussions and giving me new insight on communication skills.  The blogs that they write are exciting to read, having the opportunity to learn from them, and hearing the scenarios they presented about their experiences have supported me a great deal.  I hope that I have given them the same type of support that they wanted from the course in blogs and discussions.  I added information regarding my experience in meetings and team activities with colleagues at work.  This was my way of sharing my knowledge and growth in the field of Early Childhood Education.

I wish all my colleagues that their goals in their career of Early Childhood Education be what they are looking for, continue to support, and advocate for our children in the world.  As we come to the end of Masters Degree Program, I congratulate everyone.  I hope to pursue a job as a college professor for Early Childhood Education.

If anyone needs a little support or just some insight, you may reach me at ggmp0908@aol.com.  I will be glad to continue to encourage and support my fellow colleagues.  Thank you so much for the opportunity of knowing each one of you.

Merry Christmas to All!

In addition, A Happy New Year!

Team Building and Collaboration, Part 1- The adjourning process

I have been involved in many different groups in my life that I found it difficult to choose the highest performing group that was hard to leave.  After deep thought I came up with a group I was involved in at Wilberforce University.  We met every week for class off campus in a business office.  We became very close as we learned about Information Technology.  We were also very close with the instructor, too.  When it came time for the program to end, we had huge pizza party and gave our farewells.  We exchanged telephone numbers, email addresses and we stayed in touch for a little while.  However as the years pass we fell out of touch and do not communicate as much.

I found that group the hardest to leave because we worked well as a team to succeed in the BS degree program.  As I am engage with the colleagues in this course, I feel that we have grown to know each other by reading our blog’s, discussion boards, and emails.  It will be hard to face the end of the course because of being familiar of meeting with the group daily to discuss aspects of our lives related to our career.  I hope that we will adjourn by sharing email addresses and staying in contact as much as possible, as we pursue our goals.

The adjourning process of teamwork is the part where teams celebrate the accomplishments or review the errors to prevent it from occurring again (Abudi, 2010).  We say goodbye and look forward somewhere in the future to come together again as a team.

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

Conflict Resolution

Normally I tend to avoid conflicts or I look for ways to understand why that person is aggressive in tone and actions before I respond.  However, when it comes to my ex-husband I am the opposite.  I will be on the defense with him at all times.  We argue like cats and dogs, I have tried many avenues of ignoring to using positive communication with him, but it just does not work.  He is very demanding, insensitive, controlling, and uses foul language in a conversation.  I hope that with the tactics I have learned in this course about non-violent communication will help as we continue to see and talk to each other.  I tried using the win/win approach with him today.  We were talking on the phone about our children and he kept asking me question after question about them to the point I just said, “Have you talked to them today?”  He responded, “No.”  Then I said, “I am sure they can answer all your questions, if you give them a call because I do not seem to have the answers you are looking for.”  That is the first conversation in years that we agreed and hung up without being frustrated with each other.  Therefore, I was able to use the cooperative strategy to get him to stop questioning me instead of using verbal aggression.

After being married to him for 28 years and now that we are divorce, he is still in the picture due to the children and grandchildren it is very hard to ignore his tone and aggressiveness.  However, with the Holidays being here and knowledge from this class I am sure I can get through this with using the win/win approach and the cooperative strategy.

If anyone has any suggestions on how I can make it through this holiday in peace with my ex-husband?  Please share them.  Thank you

Who am I as a Communicator?

I evaluated myself less than what others evaluated me.  I was surprised in the area of Communication Anxiety.  I evaluated myself as moderate whereas, others evaluated me as low.  I will need to build my own personal confidence on speaking in large and small groups.

In the listening styles profile, I assessed myself as people-oriented and so did my granddaughter and daughter which surprised me too because my daughter always says I do not listen to what she says.  However, she actually sees me as empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others.  This is the way I am and have been my entire life.  However, I have gotten hurt often due to improper judgment because of trusting everyone.

The verbal aggressive scale I scored a 68 and my children scored me as a 59.  This demonstrates that I think I am a person that may cross the line in attacking personally.  However, my children feel that I know how to maintain a good balance of respect and consideration for others but I will attack the facts.  I agree with them that I do avoid attacking someone personally when I argue but I do tend to sway to a higher level if someone attacks me.

I believe that I need a lot of work on verbal aggressiveness because I need to be respectful of the viewpoints and intelligence of others.  This practice comes from the use of the “Platinum Rule” To treat others the way they want to be treated.  It is very difficult for me to move from treating others the way I want to be treated.  In addition, I need to use the listening styles profile to help improve my communication anxiety level.  Therefore, I can feel comfortable speaking in large or small groups.

The evaluations taught me to stop being hard on my communication skills.  I learned that what I perceive of myself is what others see in me (Rubin, Palmgreen & Sypher, 2009).  However, I tend to lack confidence in myself, which makes me have a higher level of anxiety.  After these evaluations, I feel a need to use more self-monitoring skills to improve my own perception of myself.

Reference:

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009).  Communication research measures: A sourcebook.  New York: Routledge

Communication and Culture

When it comes to communicating differently with people from different cultures and groups, I speak in different ways.  When I am with family I speak as myself, I feel free to speak to them about anything and in anyway.  I always use respect in my communication by use of less non-verbal as much as possible.  Although I may use slang to keep up with my adult children, however when I am with my parents I speak proper English because that is what they taught me as I was growing up.  As a child, I lived in England for four years of my teenage life and I spoke with an English accent but when we returned to America, I learn to speak like people I was around even if it was a southern accent or northern accent (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).  I seem to be able to adapt to all types of accents and vocabulary of different culture (Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S.J., 2011).  I consider it a blessing to have that ability.

However, I had to learn to use the accents where it is acceptable.  As an educator, I speak formally with others, because of my position at work.  When I was teaching in the classroom, I spoke according to the words the children were able to understand, and then I would teach them the proper way of pronunciation and vocabulary usage.  I know I still need work on communicating in a public forum because there are many different cultures present and I become very confused on what accent or vocabulary to use.  Therefore, I have to find the third culture of my own language and use it wherever I go to establish great communication skills.  Practice will make perfection (Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S.J., 2011)

 .

According to Beebe,

“Adaptation across intercultural contexts is usually more difficult than adaptation within your own culture.”  (Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S.J., 2011)

Reference:

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011).  Interpersonal communication: Relating to   others (6th Ed.).  Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010).  50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc

Communication skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

       I chose to watch “Living Single” in which I have never seen before.  While watching the non-verbal behavior of the show.  I saw quite of lot of nonverbal cues such as touching, using hands to communicate, facial expressions, and a lot of body language.  In fact, as I viewed the show with the sound off, I concluded that the show was about friendship and the feelings of others.  All characters of the show demonstrated nonverbal codes such as kinesics, the way their body movements and gestures sent messages.  In addition, there was the feeling of closeness of all the characters by their nonverbal behaviors.  Before I watched the show with the sound on.  I decided to see if I was right about what I saw in the non-verbal cues by making a story of the observation.  My story was that one of the friends was jealous of two or her friends doing things together without her.  One of the men in the show was tired and could not sleep, however when he was at his friend’s apartment, he console one of the girls that was upset at her friends, and then he fell asleep on the bed.  I thought that was rude and insensitive to her needs.

            However when I watched the show with the sound on I found I was right, except for the guy who was sleepy had found that her bed was squeaking and that is what made him fall asleep.  He had brought a new box spring for his bed and he missed the squeaking noise that helped him sleep nightly.  Although I was right about the girls and jealously due to the lack of not being involved in having fun with the other girls.  In conclusion, it could be because I have an Aunt who is death and I have watched television shows many times without sound.   

            This experience has taught me that I have a good eye for non-verbal cues.  In addition, I need to use this ability in everyday life to help with my communication.  The “aha” moment came when I found out I was on right about the verbal and non-verbal of the show and it is important to observe the non-verbal, as it is to listen to the verbal cues.  To my colleagues, I would advise to watch more shows with the sound off to build non-verbal skills.

Reference:

Hair, D. & Wiemann, M. (2009).  Real communication: an introduction.  New York: Bedford and St. Martin’s

Week 1- Communication

        When I think of someone who demonstrates competent communication, I think of my new supervisor, Sandy.  She is a person who speaks in a kind soft voice.  Sandy makes you feel that when she communicates to you about something that was not of good judgment, she communicates it as a learning tool instead of a punishment.  In fact, today, I had a conversation with her about communicating with staff, without them feeling that I am attacking them.  She told me that she reflects on what she said to someone before she claims if it is right or wrong.  Sometimes it is necessary to speak to a staff member immediately, but it should not be punitive.  If the staff member feels it was punitive, then take the time to reflect on how it came across to that person.  Examine the statement by asking questions like was it harsh, belittling, an inappropriate place, or time, or is that person extra sensitive?  She stated that once you have reflected over these questions and they were all no’s then you move on to the next task.  However, if it was all yes’s then you should make sure the person understand the statement in another way where it does not represent cruelty.

      My supervisor is always happy, with a smile, and she uses props to describe what she is saying.  Therefore, Sandy is a high degree of cognitive complexity (Hair & Wiemann, 2009).  I believe that is what makes her an effective communicator.

      I would love to learn to reflect and correct myself on communication to strengthen my communication skills with staff.  Being a supervisor, I have to make sure that my staff understands what I expect of them.  Therefore, the way Sandy reflects on written and verbal communication is the way I hope to be able to do as I grow in my career.

Reference:

Hair, Dan O., Wiemann, Mary.  (2009). Real communication- an introduction.  (pp. 3-28).  New York.  Bedford/St. Martin’s. 

Professional Hopes and Goals

• One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds

1. Families that come from diverse backgrounds are accepted in any childcare center.

2. The education staff will learn about the culture and language to share with family to make them feel comfortable.

3. Have a curriculum that is diverse for all regions of the earth.

4.  Educators are to understand and continue to encourage families to share their backgrounds in the classroom.

5. Educators are to be trained on the how to avoid microaggressions.

• One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice 

The goal I would like to see is that all early childhood educators receive required training on respecting all people regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, or social economic status of the families and children we serve.

• A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

I would like to thank all my colleagues for your comments on my post and wish everyone well as they transition from this course to another or even graduation.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Belgium

• At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family

1)      I will do research on the family to find out about their foods, language, celebrations and schools.

2)      I will try to learn the hello word in their language to welcome them to the center.

3)      I will place pictures of families from Belgium in the classroom

4)      I will post in the classroom words in their language.

5)      I will furnish Belgium games for active play in groups.

• A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family

The preparations that I make before the family comes to the center will help me understand, respect, and recognize their unique culture.  It will help the children in the classroom to understand the new family coming.  In addition, we hope the family will feel welcome and respected by the way we have prepared for them in the classroom.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

A television show I watched back in the seventies, “The Jefferson’s,” was about a Black Family that moved from the projects to a condominium in the city.  The father of the show George Jefferson was an owner of a clothes-cleaning company and his wife stayed home to take care of their only child, Lionel.  They a met a couple of bi-racial parents of their sons girlfriend.  George Jefferson showed a lot of prejudice toward the couple and their child.  By calling them names and treating them as though he was better than anyone else was, because he worked hard to get to the point of being rich.  This show had microaggression as part of the weekly script, to the point that George Jefferson would treat his house cleaner badly by calling her lazy and other unforeseen words of discrimination due to her economic status.  (Gorski, 2007).  He did not only discriminate against race and economic status, he was also a person of ageism, LGBT-ism, religionism, and ableism. (Sue, 2010).  This sit-com caused a lot of controversy over the display of such prejudice.  However, in the seventies, it was a top rated sit-com and it still comes on cable to this day.  As a teenager and watching this show weekly, I began to believe it was true about others in a prejudice manner.  To the point of making me believe that, people were like George Jefferson and being a Black American.  I thought all black Americans treated other people that were different the same way.  Until I experience the world alone and I overcame the fear of Back Americans and the prejudice because not all Black Americans were like George Jefferson.

• In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice, and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

The bias, prejudice, and oppression represented in the sit-com “The Jefferson’s” by the way the words used would not diminish equity.  The treatment of bi-racial families and the unfair treatment given by George Jefferson was a prejudice sit-com.  This sit-com encourages the use of prejudice.  In order for it to diminish equity, it would have to change the entire script of microaggression actions.  That would include changing the character of George Jefferson.  Although doing a change to the sit-com it would not have been at the top of the charts.  However, it could have changed the thinking of others about people. In addition, to treat people the way you want to be treated.  Perhaps if this had occurred in the nineteen seventies we would of diminish equity in the years of two thousand.

• What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

      The entire sit-com made me feel less about my own culture of being a Black American.  The treatment George Jefferson made against everyone made me feel ashamed.  The reason for feeling ashamed is that I lived in England for four years of my pre-teens years that I made lifetime of friends that were white and of other cultures, social classes, and religions.  My parents always taught me to treat everyone the same way I want to be treated and that is what I did as a teen.  However when we moved back to the United States I found out through watching television, my cousins, and neighbors that white people will hurt you if you do not stand up for yourself.  Therefore, in reality of the sit-com “The Jefferson’s” I had to realize that it was wrong to treat people the way the show taught.  I just began to feel shame of the behavior of George Jefferson on the show and more of my own culture after understanding Black Americans.

• What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

The scriptwriter, show director, and audience would have to change in order to turn the prejudice of George Jefferson’s character to be of greater equity.  The scriptwriter and director must focus on the diversity of the community and respect the feelings of others.  In addition, this will change the effects on the community into an opportunity for greater equity.  (Margles, S & Margles, R., 2010).

Reference:

Gorski, P. C. (2007).  The question of class.  Education Digest, 73(2), 30–33.  Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Academic Search Complete database: http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27177336&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Margles, S., & Margles, R. M. (2010).  Inverting racism's distortions.  Our Schools/Our Selves, 19(3), 137–149.  Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database: http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=51372248&site=ehost-live&scope=site

 Sue, D. W. (2010).  Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender, and sexual orientation.  New York, NY: Wiley

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

During this week, I have seen the behavioral microaggression occur.  It happened at my place of work where a parent comes in to pick up their child and he was of an Asian.  I spoke to him and we held a conversation about the school and education objectives.  During that conversation my case manager, who is Caucasian, walked pass and looked at the parent strangely.  I stopped in middle of my conversation, because the parent’s eyes left mine to look at her.  When I looked at the case manager, her face was showing a face of discouragement.  I looked back at the parent and the smile left the parents face.  I felt uncomfortable when I looked at the way she looked at the parent.  It made me feel awkward and different.  Therefore, I know the parent felt the same way.  I immediately begin to return to my conversation about inviting him to the Open House that night and the parent said he would try.  After the parent left, the case manager came to me and said, "I doubt if he comes because those families do not have time to come to this type of event."  I looked at her and walked away.  However, that evening the parent did show up and I greeted him with pleasure and my case manager did not even acknowledge his presence.  I felt that she only assumed because she had encounters with other Asian families that did not show interest in coming to Open House, that this parent would do the same.  This made me think immediately that she had placed him a group of different people to the point of stereotyping.

Observing other people this week on verbal and body language, I learned that people say things to each other that contains microaggression in brief conversations or non-verbal looks.  I realize that we only say things unintentionally that can be harmful to children and adults.  Therefore, there is a need for change in every one.  As in the video as Dr. Sue  explains how he felt flustered and embarrassed at how people thought that he was from another country just because his looks.  I thought about it all week and in my observations of others and myself, I seen that we actually do make assumptions of people.  One incident as an example that occur this week, is that a parent comes in and drops off her child, but if you did not know that she is the mother of the child you would of assumed she was the grandparent because of her looks.  I did it to her when she first started coming to our center.  I called her grandma and she corrected me to say that I am the mother but I started late with my children.  At that moment, I apologized and felt horrible for making the assumption.  Now I understand it as environmental microaggression.


Reference:
Video, (2011). Microaggressions in everyday Life. Dr. Derald Wing Sue. Retrieved from:http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I spoke to two friends and one relative about their meaning about culture and diversity.

            The first one I wrote to on face book and he is an African American Male in is 50’s.  Cecil comment was short and to the point. He said, “People is your culture.” In addition, “Diversity is how you deal with the culture.”

            The second person I spoke to was my cousin, she is a African American female in her 40’s. Tammy stated, “That culture is what you wear, how you talk, where you live, and how you do things.”

On diversity she said, “It is the difference in people such as race, religion, social and economic status.

            The third person I spoke with lives in Spokane, Washington and She is Caucasian. Heidi has been my friend since 7^th grade.  She said, “Well...it is teaching different cultures...  like Native American, Chinese, African American...etc...  Their life styles. Like some Native American’s children think it is rude to look at an adult in the face...  but as teachers we want them to so we can see they are listening.”  As far as diversity she said, “To me it is how people are different and learn in different ways because of their back ground.

It is like a multiple of differences.”

     My friends and cousin meaning of culture and diversity reflects the same thing I learned in the course so far as that culture is unconscious. For example, Cecil spoke about culture as though people make up culture and diversity is how we deal with culture and in our studies about learning about culture. A quote by Wade Davis, an anthropologist said,

“ The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you:

They are unique manifestations of human spirit.”  By Wade Davis (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010)

This shows that what Cecil spoke about is true that people are our culture and diversity is how we deal with it. Whereas my cousin Tammy said, that culture is what reflects your identity of the way you live. According to Sparks and Edwards culture identity influences how we live. (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010) However, when she described diversity she focused on the inner self whereas in the video, Janet Gonzalez-Mena spoke about how culture and diversity is the unconscious parts of people. In addition, when Heidi explained her view, I recognize it from the article by Ngo on discourse, by understanding a person history, ideas, and images of who we are to represent our lifestyles.  (Ngo, 2008)

The interviewers omitted the individual identity, such as the holidays, celebrations, backgrounds, and languages. (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010)

Thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my thinking about culture has meaning meanings to all. Before I took this course I had very little awareness of culture being invisible. I have always defined it by celebrations, languages and holidays until I learned that there is more to culture than what we see. It has helped me identify my own culture and diversity values.

 References:

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. (2010).  Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves Chapter 5, “Learning about Culture, Language, & Fairness” (pp. 56–60).  NAEYC.

Laureate Education, (2011). Culture and diversity. [Video Program]. Retrieved from: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com

 Ngo, B. (2008). Beyond “culture clash”: Understanding of immigrant experiences. Theory into Practice, 47(1), 4–11 Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.

My Family Culture

Imagine the following:

“A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country.  The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees.  You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event.  However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details.  You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently.  You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take three small items with you.  You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.” (Blog 2, 2011)

I would choose to take my Holy Bible, because it holds the words my mother and father taught me as a child.  The second item I would take is pictures of my photo album that holds pictures of my childhood, family, and friends. The last item of the three that I would take is a gold engraved picture of the escape to the Underground Railroad.

The items I chose to take with me are a part of my family.  My family reminds each generation of the importance of knowing God, by understanding that the Bible is the path to knowledge and understanding.  The photo album is a reminder of the love we share as a family and the gold engraved picture holds the value of where we struggle to get where we are today as African Americans.

If I had to give up two of the items I chose and keep only one then I would keep my Holy Bible.

Because of this exercise, I learned that I hold the truth dear to me.  The Holy Bible is the passage to truth, freedom, understanding, faith, determination, peaces, and love.  However, my culture identifies what I was taught as a child.  It taught me to obey rules, to be who I want to be, and how to handle my feelings.  My family believes in God and knows that without him in your life there is no understanding, peace, and love.  It does not matter where you are or how you feel, the word of the scripture will get you through.  I have actually learned how important it is to hold on to your culture and understand the differences of culture in others.

In addition, I have learned how important to begin this process in the classroom so that children do lose sight of their own culture and beliefs. (Video, 2011)

Reference:

Blog 2, (2011). My Family Culture.  Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5691618&Survey=1&47=8342480&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Video, (2011).  “Family Cultures: Dynamic Interactions”. Sylvan Learning Center.  Walden University. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5691618&Survey=1&47=8342480&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Consequences of International Contact

There are three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field:

1.    To learn about childhood issues in the world

2.    The knowledge of comparison of other countries to America Childhood issues

3.    Finding resources to enhance my professional growth in the early childhood field

During the time spent exploring Australia early childhood field, I learn the importance of continuing my education to become a professor.  The need is not just in America, but it is in other countries too.  The knowledge of knowing the issues in Australia has enlightened my perspective of the needs for our young children.  In fact, as I explored the issues I was almost to the point of wanting to go to another country to teach and share my knowledge of the importance of early childhood education.  However, I learn that we need to take care of our children in America first before we can reach out to other countries.  Although the knowledge of knowing about other countries issues help to teach others in America the importance of early childhood education to make changes in our society.

One goal I have in mind to pursue in the field related to international awareness of issues, trends and spirit of relationships is to continue to bond with international colleagues, as I grow to my professional achievement.

I wish that as we continue to strive to receive our Masters Degree in the Early Childhood Studies that we keep in mind the importance of staying in contact with the issues of the world related to our field. 

 I wish this to all my colleagues that shared their post on contacts with international colleagues to continue to stay in contact with their country of choice.  This will help us grow to help all children of the world not just America.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

The new insight I gained from the ECA Web Watch this week is about the health issues concerning young children.  They spoke about the poverty issue in Australia States and Territories.  Their findings lead to about the same issue we have in America.  Families in low income, poverty level, or poor communities have children that lack in nutrition due to no food in the home.  In addition, there is a high mortality rate in infants due to accidents because of families not having the proper education on infant development.  It is very shocking to learn that 60% of children have dental decay and 70% are overweight.  (AIHA, 2011) This report came from the population of Torres Strait Islander, Aboriginal children and socio-economically disadvantage areas. (AIHA, 2011)

In addition, of having no communication contact, other than Australia weekly web watch.  I wanted to share my issues, opportunities, and goals with my readers.

·         Issues  regarding quality care in Columbus, Ohio

In Columbus, Ohio, the issues regarding quality are not having enough high quality childcare centers and the high cost of care.  Ohio Department of job and family services expects quality to be education programs valuing the proven ability to give a child a positive, developmentally appropriate experience and a great start in life.  Quality care is essential to high-risk families, where children need it the most. (ODJFS, 2011)

• The opportunities and requirements for professional development  in Columbus, Ohio

The opportunities for professional development exist throughout many agencies.  Action for children offer trainings in the evening and on weekends to meet staff required training hours for the year.  It is an expectation, that early childhood workers who work directly with children be required to have a CDA (Child Development Credential Associate Certificate) as a teacher assistant or teacher.  The director must have a Bachelors’ degree to maintain center operations.  In Ohio, it is voluntary for centers to apply for step-up-to-quality programs.  This program provides a yearly funding to centers who succeed in the meeting the requirements to become a star rated center.

• My professional goals

My long-term professional goals are to become a professor for early childhood studies and being a part of the community that acknowledges early childhood educators as professionals.  My short-term goals are to continue as a center coordinator to ensure that quality is maintain for the center and agency where I work.  

• My professional hopes, dreams, and challenges

Professionally I hope to become a professor in a college to teach adult learners how to become professionals in the field of early childhood.  Becoming a professor I want to make a change in the childcare centers by teaching the teachers, therefore there can be a change in the outcomes of our children.  I dream that one day the young children that are learning now will take America in a new positive direction for all.  The challenge I may face in trying to accomplish this is my age as a professor in college.  It is very difficult for someone at my age to move from one job to another, however, I am willing to try.

Reference:

AIHA. (2011). Headline indicators for children. Retrieved from http://www.aihw.gov.au/
ODJFS. (2011). Licensing Manual. Retrieved from http://emanuals.odjfs.state.oh.us/emanuals/DataImages.srv/emanuals/pdf/pdf_forms/GUIDE.PDF

National Head Start Association Newsletter Update

In the National Head Start Association website, I explored some outside links that lead to how to Find Head Start programs, NHSA Radio, NHSA Blog, and Affiliate Relations.  In each of these links, I found them very interesting.  To find Head Start Programs throughout the United States was very informative.  It also leads to employment in other States.  I was totally surprise to know that Columbus, Ohio Head Start Program has higher pay, than others are in the state.  The NHSA Radio is exciting to hear in debt discussions about issues and concerns from others in Head Start and Child associations through America.  The NHSA Blog was very interesting also; it made it available for me to share the information on Face book.  Affiliate Relations shows different seminars, organizations, and The Ohio Head Start Association is an affiliate.  (NHSA, 2011)

One area on the website outside of the newsroom to be exciting and informative is the Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood link.  The link shows multiple power point presentations, given by centers of Excellence in the Midwest, South, West, and East of America.  The one I found that relates to some of the issues I studied during this course shows the Youth Development Incorporation Head Start in Albuquerque, New Mexico give the power point presentations.  The Power point presentation title, “Achieving a Center of Excellence in Early Childhood Education through Dual Language Implementation,” focuses on helping reach the optimal level of language acquisition for all.  There are pictures that allow you to see how they incorporate language acquisition in the classrooms.  I found the presentation to be one of excellence.  (NHSA, 2011)

I receive a bi-weekly newsletter from the national head start association and it was address to me, which discuss the decisions made by congress this week that will affect Head Start.  It states that Head Start is among the many programs that face reduction or elimination over the next three months.  Although, Pell Grants will receive more funding, it will help Head Start because they are under the same legislation.  However, without immediate advocacy efforts the future of Head Start may be in jeopardy.  NHSA Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director is asking parents, staff, and members of your community to join their national effort to save Head Start.  It is critical that we attend events such as Town Hall meetings to make sure our member of Congress understand the value of Head Start.  (NHSA, 2011)

Other insights about issues in the early childhood field, I gain this week from the website of NHSA.org is the information on funding and the effects on the families.  The highest quality childcare service in America can affect the entire issue of quality standards for childcare centers, if funding stop in the Head Start programs.

References:

NHSA.  (2011). News and Advocacy.  Retrieved from http://www.nhsa.org/news_and_advocacy/recent_news/government_affairs_update_week_of_august_4_2011