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