Time Well Spent

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. ~Newt Gingrich

This is it!  My final blog post!  I am at the end of my master's program and will soon have that hard earned diploma in my hand.  As I turn the page on this chapter, I want to say a thank you to all my colleagues who shared this journey with me.  Congratulations to all of you who set out to accomplish your goals.  You did it!  And thank you to my instructor, Johnna Darragh.  I really appreciated your encouraging words and support throughout the classes I had with you.  

Going through this program was difficult.  I sacrificed time with my family, stayed up late and worried a lot.  Now that it is over, I am not sure what to do with myself.  All I know is that I had three really important reasons that started me on this journey and stuck with me through it all.  And here are two of them:

 I learned so much during this program, it is hard to narrow it down to only two or three things.  I see the impact this course has had on my professional knowledge every day at work.  I feel it in the confidence I have when I talk about the field.  I know the knowledge I gained has made me a stronger leader and a turned me into a real teacher.  As I move on to more challenging positions in my career, I can feel confident that I have the skills to be successful and be able to build on them as I work toward the next step in my career progression.

I want to leave you with one more quote:

"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places."~Author Unknown  

We got to this place because we did not give up, we kept on going, always looking toward that dim light at the end of the tunnel.  Week after week, course after course that light got a little brighter.  And now here we are outside of that tunnel and into the light of new opportunities!  Congratulations, everyone!  Job well done, time well spent!

~BethAnn
bethannk3@msn.com

International jobs and roles in the ECE community

This week I will be discussing jobs and roles in the international ECE community.  There were several organizations that caught my eye when I was looking for some to share with you.

The first one is The World Association of Early Childhood Educators (2012).  Their core mission is to advocate for the development of every child, to educate their members in the latest research and information in early childhood education, help educators to network, and bring to light the importance of the early years. The first thing I noticed on their site was "Hot Topics" and the first one was "How brains are built: The core story of brain development".  I thought this was great because the challenge I chose for this course was nurturing brain development in young children.  I didn't see any links to career opportunities, but there is the option of becoming a member of the group and networking with other ECE professionals.

The second organization I found was the Association for Childhood Education International (2011).  Their mission is to promote and support the optimal education, development, and well-being  of children worldwide. They advocate for children, but also train and educate teachers and care providers.  They have many ways to help members further their education, including CDA programs, grants, scholarships and awards.  The work with many partners around the world and within the United Nations, as well.  Opportunities to get involved with the organizations seem to start with memberships or internships.  

The third organization I want to share is UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  This organization is dedicated to building peace, eradicating poverty and building international dialogue, mainly through focus on education throughout the world.  This organization actually listed job opportunities and they seem to range from highly skilled positions to office and administrative support.  One thing that caught my eye about this organization is their campaign to create equality in education for girls and women around the world.   

References:
Association for Childhood Education International. (2011).  Retrieved from http://www.acei.org

The World Association of Early Childhood Educators. (2012).  Retrieved from http://www.waece.org/

UNESCO. (2015). Education for the 21st century.  Retrieved from http://en.unesco.org/themes/education-21st-century

Jobs and Roles In the ECE Community: National and Federal Level

There are many national organizations for early childhood education.  One of the most well known is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2015).  I would love to work for this organization some day.  I am not sure what jobs are available with them right now as that function of their website is down, but I am certain that a Master's Degree in early childhood studies would be able to get me an entry level position somewhere in the organization.

Another national organization that looks promising is the NAECTE, the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (2015).  As an organization, this is more of a Community of Practice as their purpose is to promote growth and advocate for their members, create a forum for discussions of issues in the ECE field.

A third national/international organization I find intriguing is the HighScope Educational Research Foundation (2015).  They are an independent organization based on the landmark research study in the Perry Preschool Program, which tracked 123 children born in poverty through the HighScope Preschool Curriculum in the 1960s until their 40's.  The study showed the effectiveness of early childhood education. They have several job opportunities such as vice president, training and curriculum specialists, and various teachers and administrators at several different programs.  I feel that with enough experience I could qualify for one of these positions.  It would be awesome to work for such an organization!

In the federal arena, there are several agencies that perform work in the ECE field.  Obviously, each military branch has their child and youth programs with plentiful opportunities to work in centers or administration.  But within the Department of Health and Human Services there is an office within the Administration for Children and Families dedicated specifically to early childhood development.  Their job is to "promote a joint approach at the federal level to improving the availability of high quality early learning and development programs" (Early Childhood Development, 2015). I am not sure I would want to work for the federal government any more than I do.  Eventually I would like to work outside of the military in one of the organizations I mentioned above.


References:
Early Childhood Development. (2015). About. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/about

HighScope Educational Research Foundation. (2015). About us.  Retrieved from http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContentId=761

The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. (2015). Home. Retrieved from http://www.naecte.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2015). Home. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org

Start of EDUC 6990. Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

In thinking about communities of practice this week, my mind jumps to communities within the early childhood field.  I am a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2014).  This is a great organization, and if you don't already know about it click here.  This is definitely an organization I would like to work for someday if the opportunity ever presented itself.

In Hawaii, we have an affiliate organization of NAEYC, the Hawaii Education for Association of Young Children (2014), or HAEYC.  I was privileged to attend an HAEYC conference back in October and it was really nice such a large gathering of early childhood professionals.  I have not yet become a member, but I am considering it.  I would also consider working for this organization.

In my search for local organizations, I came across the Hawaii Early Childhood Action Strategy.  The Hawaii Early Childhood Action Strategy is a research based strategic plan, informed from the fields of neurobiology, developmental psychology, and human capital economics in early childhood systems development (Hawaii Early Childhood Action Strategy, 2014).  It is definitely something I want to learn more about.

References:
Hawaii Action Strategy. (2014). Home. Retrieved from http://hawaiiactionstrategy.org

Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children. (2015). Home.  Retrieved from http://www.hawaiikeiki.org

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2014). Home.  Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org.