Final Farewell

The time has come to say farewell to a great group of people and an awesome learning experience.  

  When I started this program, I was debating what I wanted to do with my life.  I had been a teacher for 5 years at that point and I was not enjoying my career choice like I had when I started.  I knew that I still wanted to work with children, especially younger ones.  I decided to do this program because it would allow me to have the opportunity to still teach and give me new career choices.  Through this program I was shocked, disturbed and disgusted by what I was reading.  So many children are born into poverty or die because of gun violence.  Many families don't take advantage of programs that are offered to them for free while others do not even know that these programs exist.  Therefore I have decided that I want to advocate for these children and families and give these children the opportunities that will give them the tools needed to be successful.  I also realized through this program that I had been teaching was a positive way to teach children.  I had been working in a school district that was against everything that I believed in as a teacher.  I started to question my beliefs and my teachings.  This program has reinforced my beliefs and values and have made me even more passionate about standing up for what I believe in.  I have also come to the conclusion that there is a lot of opportunities available to advocate and help children and families.  I need to take my focus and continue my passion for it.  

  A long term goal that I am going to accomplish is opening my own day care.  I would love to teach children the ideals of early childhood and help them develop solid foundations for their futures.  I want to support the families in my community and provide programs that support the health and development of their children.  

  As I come to the conclusion of my last post I have to give a great deal of thanks to all of the professors and colleagues that I have had.  It was great to go through this journey with people who thought the same ideas as me and supported me through discussions and blog posts.  The doubts that I started feeling about myself quickly went away after this program started and I was thankful for the support and constructive criticism.  

  I thank the instructors throughout this program for their constant support, constructive criticism and ideas.  I would have thoughts that I could not quite express and with their help I was able to get my ideas out.  I truly value the time and effort that each of the instructors put in to provide me with feedback so I could better myself and understandings.  I have been able to develop a clear picture of my future and career goals as I finish this program.  

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: International

Working with an organization that will affect the lives of millions of children and families seems like a dream.  The more children and families that I can have an impact on, the better.  The issue is deciding which organization is the best fit for me and my values
  One organization that I strongly support is Unicef.  Unicef works in over 191 countries with over 60 years of experience.  The purpose of Unicef is "to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child's path" (www.unicef.org).  I strongly support any organization that is working to benefit the well being of children and families.

  A career choice that I would like from Unicef is Senior Child Protection Specialist.  The qualifications for this position include having an advanced degree in Education or other related field to Unicef, 12 years experience in international development with managerial skills, language skills in English and secondary language, and software skills.  With this position I will oversee many individuals who share the same passion as I do for helping children and families.
A second organization that I support is fhi360.  This organization holds a vision that provides opportunities for all children to reach their maximum potential.  It also partners with government and civil society organizations.  They hold ideals of innovation, mutual respect, passion, accountability, teamwork, and commitment to excellence (www.fhi360); all of these values mean a great deal to me as I hold these ideals as important in my classroom now.

   A career choice that I would like from fhi360 is Associate Director, Communications, Alive, and Thrive Project.  This position would allow me to extend my leadership skills to ensure other individuals are following and implementing the values of the organization.  The qualifications and skills required are a bachelors degree (masters preferred), 8 plus years experience, 2 plus years field based experience, interpersonal skills, management skills, knowledge of nutrition issues, strong writing and communication skills.

  A third organization that I support is Save the Children.  Save the Children currently holds offices in 120 countries throughout the World.  Another piece of this organization that I really respect and admire is that 89.4% of the organizations money goes into the programs; programs that affect over 143 million children (www.savethechildren.org).  This organization works to provide a healthy start, opportunities, and protection from harm (www.savethechildre.org).

  A career choice that I would like from Save the Children is a Program Specialist Early Childhood Development.  This position requires knowledge in early development, early language and literacy, experience in reflective practice, interpersonal skills, organizational and management skills, and flexibility (www.savethechildren.org).


Reference:
fhi360  www.fhi360.org
Save the Children www.savethechildren.org
UNICEF www.unicef.org

Working in Groups

When working in groups I have discovered that it is most difficult to leave a group when the group works well together.  The group has created a bond and the bond is strongest when the team members can relate to one another.  For example when I had to work with other education professionals to grade a sister school, we became comfortable and close to hold discussions.  When our adventure was over we found it difficult to part ways and return to our own schools.  We all stayed in touch and continued working with each other through emails.  When I compare this work to the work I did in college with group work, I realize now that my college groups were  not as effective as this professional group.  We did not work together well as goals were not set and roles were not distributed properly. Each member of the college group was simply out to get a good grade; it did not matter how effective our planning or strategy was as long as the outcome was a positive and each member of the group contributed.  Also, if one member of the group did not finish all of the work adequately, then the other members would simply pick up the slack.  At the end of the group or class, we would all part ways.  No further contact was made nor was it desired.
  I did notice that at the end of my first Master's program with Walden University, there was a sense of loss, or sadness.  I had been with the same group of adults for 18 months, and at the end there was nothing left.  That is the only part of the online programs that is not my favorite.  I can only hope that when this program ends I will have built some type of professional relationships with others so I can continue to get outside professionals.  

The 3 R's to Resolve Disagreements and Conflicts

   This week at my school was quite possibly one of the most challenging weeks of my teaching career.  I had a huge disagreement with the other math interventionist with whom I share a room with.  Here is a brief summary of what the disagreement was about:  a female student who does listen to women very well (issues with the mother), confided in me that she had been making poor choices with regards to her life.  She had been stealing gum from a local drugstore and was not eating.  The girl insisted that she had stopped stealing and she had been eating more often.  The girl is clean, fed, and dressed everyday for school and there are no signs of neglect.  I told the girl that I care for her and her brother and that I am glad she was making better choices but if I found out that she was stealing again that I would have to call her father.  The other math interventionist over heard this discussion and apparently discussed it with her husband that night.  She came in the following morning and informed me that if I did not discuss this with administration and call CPS, the police, and the drugstore that she would.  She felt I did not handle the situation well and that I needed to do more.  I felt as if I had been put into a corner and had no way of getting out.  After a discussion with my administration they felt the issue had been handled well and that I had done everything correctly.  At the school level there was nothing to be done because the children were not being neglected and the stealing was a police matter.  Needless to say  the other math interventionist was not pleased and still felt that the police and the drugstore needed to be called.  
   Based on the readings this week, I used the 3 R's to help resolve this conflict.  I will admit that I was very upset with the entire situation and felt that I had been backed into a corner.  I respectfully listened to her point of view, and then I expressed my concerns in a calm manner.  Even though I was quite angry I did not get aggressive or yell at my co-worker.  I also was honestly listening to the other side of this discussion and took all of her points into consideration.  I was responsive to the communicator in a calm manner and gave the same considerations in listening that I would have liked for myself.  I kept eye contact with the speaker and again, expressed my concerns and feelings in a strong yet calm manner.  

Perhaps to solve this conflict better  I could have suggested a compromise to the issue at hand.  I was clear on how I felt and what had happened, but she was strongly against any other options other than what she proposed.  I wish that she would have listened to other solutions that I could have been used to handle the situation.  However, she would not take any other options for a resolution other than her own.  

Communication Evaluation

  When I saw the results for my communication evaluation compared to those who evaluated me I was surprised.  There was not a huge difference, but the difference did come in the way that I evaluate myself compared to others.  I do not give myself enough credit when it comes to assessing my listening skills.  When it comes to communication, I speak clearly and effectively.  I do have some public speaking anxiety, but not much.  My weakest area is with listening.  I do not actively listen as well as I thought I did.  As I read through the questions of the survey, I realized that I need to continue working on my listening skills; especially when it comes to listening to others if there is a time crunch.  However I am wondering if I took the survey from different points of view just as I had my significant other take the test and a co-worker.  With two different thought processes in mind I can only hypothesize that results would vary.  

Am I Speaking Clearly?

  I remember learning in an education class during my bachelors program that we use different kinds of speak depending on the atmosphere and the people that we are around.  Thus to answer the question of whether or not I find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures, I would have to say yes.  I have found that when I am with my colleagues at school, I speak in  a professional manner.  When I am with my students, depending on the grade because I teach 4-8th graders, I speak differently.  With the upper grade children, I have to treat them as an equal and show that I am a real person just like they are.  The more that they see of me in a real role, the better relationships I can build and communicate better.  Often children who do not do well with other teachers flourish in my group because I treat them as an equal and with respect.  However, I can still joke with them and they feel comfortable joking with me.  These children are from a various of backgrounds, but mostly Hispanic.  When I speak with my friends from various backgrounds, Hispanic, African American, and Asian I get along with all of them, but again, in different ways.  Lastly, whenever I speak to parents or guardians regarding their children, I am professional, but also friendly to build a relationship with them.
   I typically get along with everyone, so communication is not an issue that I feel that I have to develop.  I would like to become more confident when speaking with or in front of my peers and with other adults.  I do enjoy the relationships that I have because they are all unique. 

Three strategies that will help me to communicate more effectively with all of these groups are to be aware of my non-verbal cues (not multi tasking, eye contact), making sure I maintain an open relationship with all groups, and to change my listening habits to become a more active listener.  

Communication, Communication

For this weeks' post I decided to watch a Disney show called Pair of Kings.  I would not normally watch this, but my niece loves Disney and many of its programs.  The premise of this show is twin brothers inherit a small isolated island, Kin Kow.  The boys grew up in Chicago with their aunt and uncle as their parents died when they were babies.  

     From what I observed in the first ten minutes I can tell that the boys have a strong relationship with each other.  They exhibit constant eye contact, their bodies are facing each other, and their facial expression seem to react to what the other has said, or events happening.  Even the "guards" have a good relationship with the kings as the constantly are interacting and guarding the boys.  The boys do venture off into the island and get into mischief.  However, the girl guard does show some anger or frustration in her face.  

  When I watched the show with the sound on I learned that the frustration the girl was exhibiting is because the kings are portrayed as less than average in intelligence.  The boys are similar to the character Amelia Bedilia in that they take everything literally.  The boys do love each other, but often argue within the show.  They genuinely listen to each other, but when it comes time to take responsibility for their actions, the boys quickly blame each other.

This was an interesting show and I am not sure what benefits it holds for children.  The body language, eye contact and active listening are all good models of what to do during a discussion, but the show itself was bizarre. 

Communication

For your blog this week, think of someone (e.g., family member, celebrity, politician, friend, or professor) who demonstrates competent communication within a particular context. What behaviors does this person exhibit that make him or her effective? Would you want to model some of your own communication behaviors after this person? Why or why not?

When it comes to communication the first person that comes to my mind is my friend Christopher.  Christopher was a teacher and holds a degree in English and Journalism.  He has an extensive vocabulary and can talk to anyone about any topic.  He is well spoken and very intelligent.  Some people may find Christopher offensive as he is very honest and blunt about anything (he is autistic as well, thus he has had to learn emotions as he was growing up).  However as this is Christopher's greatest attribute, he can be abrasive at times.  I personally never get offended, but I have had several co-workers question how I can be friends with him.  I am also bluntly honest and appreciate that I have Christopher as a friend.  I know that if I need an honest opinion I can ask him.  

  Christopher is an effective communicator because he can express himself well to everyone.  In conversations with Christopher, I know how he feels and what he expects depending on the conversation.  I do aspire to have an extended vocabulary like Christopher, and be able to express myself clearly as he does.  I often wonder if people do not understand what I am saying because I do express my ideas clearly.  

  The one behavior that I would not like to have that Christopher does possess is his inability to sense emotion in others when he speaks.  Sometimes Christopher is offensive and he does not understand while others get upset.  Also, he cannot read emotions of others.  Perhaps him not being able is what has made him such an effective communicator.