Time Well Spent

I can not believe we are at the end of this journey. We have achieved a goal that required a lot of hard work and dedication. I have learned so much throughout this program that it is hard to narrow down to just three, but I will give it a shot.

1. I have learned a great deal about diversity and the importance of teaching children about diversity and acceptance of differences. Of course, as a teacher and a mom, I did this through teaching respect; however, I realized how much I lacked the knowledge of different cultures, so therefore, I was afraid to teach about it. Now, I have realized that we can learn about differences together. I have enjoyed learning about new cultures throughout this course and plan to continue to expand my knowledge of diversity.

2. Another topic I gained a wealth of information about is advocacy. I have a new found inspiration to advocate for children and education. I am not one to speak in large crowds or even small crowds of adults. However, I now have such a deep understanding of the importance of making a difference and the many ways in which one can be an advocate. I am thankful for this new understanding and plan to use this knowledge to benefit the early education field.

3. I have learned a great deal about technology and collaborating and learning with others using technology. In the beginning, I was worried that I would not get enough out of this program because it was all on-line. However, now I feel the total opposite, as I am amazed by all the knowledge gained from professors and colleagues throughout this program.

My future goals:

In my near future, I plan to open a learning center in my community. Before this program, I wanted to be able to offer underprivileged children an education at my center but had no idea how I would do that. Now, I have new ideas about ways to achieve this goal. I am so thankful that my capstone project allowed me to come up with these plans. Hopefully, in the next five years I will have my own center focused on educating low-income children through scholarships from the community and businesses within the community.

Saying Goodbye Is Hard To Do

Dear Professors and Colleagues,


Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to achieve a goal that was very important to me. I have enjoyed learning with each of you and appreciate all of the time spent helping me grow both personally and professionally. I have learned a great deal about myself and the education profession, and to each of you I am truly grateful. I wish you all the best in life with hopes that our paths will cross again!


Tabitha Krueger

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

International Websites:

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

This organization provides hope for millions of children and families around the world.  They help families in times of disaster and provide relief, recovery, and new developments. They work to provide education to children in over 30 countries around the world that need education to survive.

International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

I like this organization as it is a tool for professionals to connect with other professionals in the early education field. This can provide educators with many valuable resources and insights into how to improve early education.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, fromhttp://www.oecd.org/home/0,2987,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

This organization would be beneficial to research efforts or just for information regarding education topics. It also has information of policies and ways to improve economics and well-being of people around the world.

Job Opportunities:

Junior Professional Programme

The Junior Professional Officer programme (JPO) comprises a special category of staff members who are young professional men and women, interested in acquiring experience in the development field.  These staff members are sponsored by their respective Governments to acquire experience in international development cooperation activities under the close direction of senior UNICEF officials, while contributing to the implementation of UNICEF’s country programmes.

The general minimum requirements an individual must meet for entry into UNICEF as a JPO are:

• Citizenship of the respective country (Note:  selected participating donor governments sponsor a limited number of nationals from developing countries*).
• Age: between 28 and 32 years. 
• University degree equivalent to a Master's Degree or, as an absolute minimum, to a Bachelor's Degree;
• Two years of relevant professional work experience;
• Computer literacy in standard software applications;
• Demonstrate a keen interest in the work of the United Nations (UN), and of UNICEF in particular, and have a personal commitment to UNICEF’s mission and to the ideals of the UN Charter; and
• Demonstrate the ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which includes willingness to try, understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views. Languages: Fluency in written and spoken English and another UN working language, i.e. Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish or Russian.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

National/Federal Organizations:

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children birth to age 8. It has 80,000 members and offers a wealth of information on a variety of topics related to early education.

The US Department of Education community of practice would be beneficial to an advocate of early education because it has the latest news on education and displays many policies and practices and information on funding.

 The National Association of Child Care Professionals, the nation's leader among associations serving child care owners, directors, and administrators. The organization's goal is to improve, enhance and strengthen the credibility of the people who lead the child care industry by providing membership services and benefits. NACCP is the only association exclusively dedicated to child care management without regard to a center's tax status and corporate sponsorship.

Job Opportunities:

·         Instructional Specialist at University of Central Florida, 2^nd largest university in the U.S.

This is a lead teacher position in a preschool setting. Preferred candidates will have a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or similar from an accredited institution. Additional preferences include those who have previous teaching experience with children between the ages of 2 through 5 years. Knowledge of high quality early learning environments and Project Approach curriculum preferred.

·         PARENT-INFANT CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR www.parentinfantcenter.org

The successful candidate will have:

Strong belief in and love of early childhood education •Able to work independently with close attention to detail °Excellent communication skills, verbal and written •Able to identify priorities, plan work schedule, meet deadlines °Honesty, integrity and commitment to confidentiality °Able to manage multiple tasks and frequent interruptions °Basic computer skills and familiarity with word processing, spreadsheets, accounting and database programs.

Qualifications •MA in Early Childhood Education, Social Work, Nonprofit Management or related field. Five years’ experience working with both preschool and school age children in formal or informal educational settings. •Minimum of three years' experience in an executive position at a comparable non-profit organization.

·         Vice President, Young Children & Families

The Martha O’Bryan Center is looking for an experienced and creative leader to join our executive team. You will provide strategic leadership for our programs and Center-wide efforts around Young Children & Families. You will also work with leaders in the fields of parenting and early education locally and nationally to strengthen the network of services available to the students and families in Nashville 

REQUIREMENTS:

Required: Experience managing teams of exempt-level professionals in a human services organization or school. Strongly preferred: Master’s degree (M.A. or M.S. ) from a college or university in counseling, psychology, education or social work, with a minimum of five years of experience with children/family programming in a supervisory capacity.

Local and State ECE Community

Local or State Organizations:

• The SCEA organization is the South Carolina Education Association, a professional association for South Carolina educators. It is the leading advocate for educational change in South Carolina providing legislative initiative, professional development, and  support and guidance for a career in education. This is a large organization that has many members. I feel like it is a helpful place to find information on leading education topics and issues.
• The Children’s Trust of South Carolina is a nonprofit organization that works to make sure parents have access to the services needed to make a difference in the lives of their family. This organization provides numerous programs that promote safety, prevention, and advocacy for children and their families. This organization may be able to offer resources and information for the families affected by my Capstone challenge. Hopefully, this will be an organization that can help me and the families that I will be focusing on throughout my Capstone project.
• My local YMCA is an organization that focuses of youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The YMCA believes that the values and skills learned early on are vital building blocks for life. My family spends a good bit of our time at our local YMCA, and I would like to volunteer more time to this organization.

Jobs of Interest:

• Director of Early Childcare Center: A bachelor’s degree or two year degree in early education; experience working in child care setting and/or school setting, management experience would be a great addition
• Early Education Center Owner: A bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in early education; experience working in childcare setting and/or school setting, management skills, director experience in childcare center
• Children’s Services Coordinator at Children’s Attention Home:  A Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services, Education, or a related field OR work equivalence is required.  Prior experience with a children’s service’s-related group home or similar organization is preferred but not required.

Hopes and Thanks

A Special Thanks To My Colleagues


Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights with me over the last eight weeks. This small town southern girl has learned a great deal about diversity in the world we live in and the importance of providing all children with an anti-biased education. I have always been an accepting person but lacked the knowledge to truly educate children about differences. I appreciate all the stories, posts, and responses from each of you that allowed me to grow as a professional and a person.


My Hopes For Early Education


My hope for early education is that we teach all children that importance of diversity and accepting others for who they are. Children need to learn from an early age about other cultures and understand that it is okay to be different from your friend and neighbor. If we teach children acceptance for others and respect for all people when they are young, our schools and communities will be better places to learn and live. In order to accomplish this goal, educators must be willing to understand the importance of diversity so that they can share this understanding with young children. 


Good luck to each of you as you work to be an anti-biased educator! I wish you all success in your future goals!


Tabitha

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I chose the East Asia and Pacific because I do not have knowledge of the impacts on early education in this area. The other areas it seemed that I have some knowledge on and hear more about in the media.

Challenges of children in this region:

Childhood poverty:  In Lao PDR, while 38 percent of children are assessed as income poor, as many as 75 percent are assessed as living in poverty. Inequalities are the major factor to child poverty in this area. Adults see poverty primarily as a lack of income; children see poverty as not having enough to eat or not being able to go to school.

Nutritional Status: A survey reported that one in three children under age five in Viet Nam do not currently meet their full height potential which causes problems with cognitive and social growth. This is caused by chronic nutritional deficiency during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life. The damage caused by this deficiency to a child’s development is permanent.

Fiji Floods: 14,000 people (5,000 children) had to leave their homes due to the flooding in Western and Central Fiji. These people are sheltered in evacuation centers that are lacking access to water, food, and other items. There is concern for sickness and disease, as Leptospirosis, diarrhea and typhoid are a real threat in the flood-affected areas.

Any time a child is living in unsafe or unhealthy circumstances it can affect their emotional wellbeing and development. A child that lives in poverty does not get proper nutrition, and experiences horrible natural disasters will have challenges in development.

Exploring this website and reading about the challenges in East Asia and the Pacific reminds me of the many emotional challenges that children all over the world experience.  Although issues of severe poverty are not prevalent in my local community, I know that we have these issues in parts of our country as well. I would be interested to dig deeper and try to find out if there are government programs that support some of these families in this region.  Reading information like this inspires me to find a way to make a difference (even if it is a small difference) in the emotional well-being of young children.

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

As Levin & Kilbourne (2009) states, "Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular culture." Like most parents and early educators, I am extremely concerned about the effects of sexualization in the media on our children. As a parent of 9 and 5 year old boys and a 10 month old baby girl, I am terrified of the things that they may be exposed to when I am not around.

The most recent example of sexualization in the media is the song, "Sexy and I Know It." This song is all over every radio station, used as theme songs in numerous television shows, and even in a M&M commercial that aired for the first time while my family was watching the Superbowl. My five year old son loves music and loves to dance, so obviously this song is one that makes you want to dance. However, the lyrics and moves that go along with it are not appropriate (what so ever) for children. I have tried really hard to avoid this song at all cost, but it is hard to do when it is plastered all over the media. I have attached a link to the commercial for those of you that have not seen it. It may seem somewhat innocent; however, the original song and video are so inappropriate and the commerical is making reference to what is now called "the wiggle dance" made famous by the singing group of this song. You can also look up the original song on YouTube (just know that it is totally vulgar).
Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q33drZUXSzY

Another example of sexualization that I have experienced as a parent happened when my oldest son came home from school to tell me about a drawing on the school bus seat. Apparently, a middle school child had drawn two people doing sexual things on the back of the school bus seat. Well, of course, this led to the elementary children discussing what they thought the picture represented. My son came home very confused about things that some of the older children said on the bus. Unfortunately, my husband and I had to clear up some things with our 9 year old child that we were not yet ready for him to have to comprehend.

As an educator of fifth graders, I am often disturbed by the things I hear these children talk about. They seem to be very informed about sex, sexuality, and sexual content. I hear them talk about television shows, movies, music, and video games that are clearly not appropriate for children. Not only do I blame the media for completely exploiting sex to make money, I also blame the adults that are suppose to be supervising these children. I am not naive enough to believe that parents have complete control of what their children are watching and being exposed to; however, I do believe that part of the problem is the lack of supervision of children.

As educators, we can continue to provide positive, age-appropriate learning experiences for children. I would love to read this entire book, so that I can be prepared to help children survive and thrive in this sexualized world.

References:
Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1–8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

I have taught fifth grade for seven years, and over those years, I would hear stories of teachers being accused of being racist by students and their parents. However, this was something that I thought would never happen to me. I was too devoted to all of my students for anyone to say such untruthful things about me. Well, I was wrong.

Several years ago, I had an African American male student that entered my classroom with a bad attitude about school. He was extremely intelligent, and I picked up on that right away. He misbehaved on a regular basis at the beginning of the year, and I knew of some issues with his home life. So, I was determined to let this child know that he was something special. Not only was he special to me, but he was special to the world. We immediately became very close, and I felt like I understood him. Occasionally, he would act out and get into trouble, but for the most part, things were going well.

It was time for parent-teacher conferences, and I was so excited to finally meet his mother and brag on what a bright child he was. To my surprise, this conference did not go as planned. The mother immediately became defensive and started reciting incidents that her child recalled from school. However, these incidents had never happened. On several occasions she called me racist.  The child sat there in the chair and stared at the floor (never looked up at me), and he continued to lie about events that had never occurred in my classroom. Obviously, I was heart-broken and so disappointed and wanted to make some sense of what had happened that day.

I talked with administrators, counselors, and other teachers who reassured me that they felt that he lied to his mother about things at school to get her attention at home. Even if the attention was negative and the situations were not happening, it still gave him the attention he was looking for. Although this made sense to me, I was devastated by this experience. It definitely changed my relationship with this child and also hindered my interaction with other African American children for some time. In the back of my mind, I was fearful of being accused of being racist again. Luckily, I was able to work beyond this fear as I built trust in families that I worked with.

Observing Communication

My observation for this week's blog was completed at a local park. I observed a mom and her young daughter while having a fun day of play. They were with a group of other moms and children. The young girl kept coming over to the mom and asking her something, but the mother was not paying her very much attention. I noticed the mom kinda try to nod her head and send the child back out to play. As the child left, the mother would pick up her conversation with the other moms. In a few minutes, the child would return trying once again to get her mother's attention. Again, the mother tried to occupy her and send her off to play. The child got frustrated and stomped her feet and threw up her hands as she walked away. A short time passed and the child returned. Only this time she became extremely frustrated when ignored by her mom, and she began crying and yelling. This time the mother had no choice but to pay attention to the little girl. After calming her down, she realized that the little girl wanted to show her something. There was a really big ant hill over by the huge sand box and some of the other kids were messing with it.

After making this observation, it made me think about the times that I may have treated my own children in this same way. Many people think listening is so simple, yet it is easy for listening to become just other task (Stephenson, 2009). The mom could have made this example of communication more effective by stopping her conversation with the other moms, getting down eye level with the child, and let her know she was listening. After the child expressed her concern over the ant hill, she could have walked over with the child to help her solve the problem.

Because the mother ignored the child on several attempts of communication, she may have relayed the message that you are not as important as the ladies I am talking with. It caused the child feelings of frustration, anger, and hurt.

This observation made me stop and think about the way I communicate with my own children. There are times when I feel as though I may ignore my children when busy doing something else. I think it would be more effective to stop what I am doing and explain to my child why I am not able to give him my undivided attention. Also, let him know that as soon as I finish the task at hand I will make sure to listen to him. This explanation may save me several additional interruptions and avoid frustration from both parties!

Reference:
Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90–95. 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=37131016&site=ehost-live&scope=site 

Creating Affirming Environments

In my family child care home, it is important to represent a variety of cultures, ages, races, and abilities.  Providing a variety of materials will allow for children to make connections to their own life (Laureate Education, 2011). Specifically, I want to make sure that the differences of the children in my care are represented in my home. I want pictures of their families to be visible and work that the children completed to be on the walls. I want the environment of my child care home to be inviting, comfortable, and stimulating. 


In order to do this, the following will be present in my home:

• An inviting entry way with a place to put each child's belongings. There will be a board with a calendar of our learning events, birthdays, and other significant pieces of information. Parents will sign their children in at this location.
• Walls/Decor: Walls will be colorful with posters and other learning materials. There will be photos of families on the walls and work or art that the children completed.
•  Play area: In the play area, I want to include toys for both genders, different races, multiple cultures, and a variety of ability levels. This will include books about different cultures, races, and genders, dolls of different races, puzzles and games for different abilities, dress up materials for both genders, cars with tracks, blocks, legos, dinosaurs, doll house, airplanes, and many other toys that are age appropriate (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). 
• There will be an arts and crafts area that will include play dough, crayons, paper, easels, paint, and other art materials.
• There will be a cozy area that the children will lay on their own individual cot, with a blanket and small pillow for rest time. 
• There will be a fun outdoor area that includes outdoor play toys, sand/water table, and riding toys.
• The curriculum will consist of age appropriate learning activities that fosters cognitive and social development. Circle time will consist of discussions on character traits in which we will discuss similarities and differences. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and share feelings during this time. We will share information related to culture, holidays, and traditions throughout the year. Every child will feel welcome and comfortable expressing who they are!

What I Have Learned

My hope for children and families from diverse backgrounds is that they feel respected and accepted when in my classroom. I want the children to feel comfortable sharing things about their culture and all students to be accepting of each other. I want all children, no matter the background, to encounter a positive learning experience.


One goal I have for the field of early education is for all educators to have training in the importance of embracing children of diverse backgrounds. With this training, educators would be given strategies for interacting with these families, ways to incorporate different cultures into curriculum, and resources for future use.


A BIG THANK YOU!


Dear colleagues,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ideas, insights, and experiences with me. I appreciate your comments and responses on my work and have learned a great deal from each of you. As our program comes to a close, I wish each of you the best of luck. Hopefully, I will have the privilege of learning more from you in the next course.


Thanks again,
Tabitha Krueger

We Don't Say Those Words

I have six boys of varying ages in my after school group. Back in December, I had a new member to join the group, an African American girl. After a few days of her being in the group, the youngest boy who is four years old asked why the brown girl had to come to our group. I was shocked that he would say that in front of the other kids, and tried to hush him so that no one would notice what he said. I quietly told him that we did not say things that might hurt the feelings of others. I did not want to make a big deal about it or keep it out the forefront of our conversation so that it would not make the new child feel badly. He was just simply upset that a girl had joined the group and referred to her race when describing her.

As an educator, I know I did not handle this situation correctly. I was caught off guard but should have used it as a teachable moment. I should have taken the time to explain to him that it was okay to be frustrated because the group would be changing; however we are not all the same. People can be different races, like different things, or different genders. I would then discuss with him the positive things that she can add to the group. I also believe it would have been a great idea to discuss with the group before having her join us. This way the children could have expressed any concerns about having a new member before she arrived. This would have given me a chance to talk with the group about difference ahead of time.

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

--If you have ever used or heard homophobic terms such as "fag," “gay,” “homo,” "sissy," "tom boy," or “lesbo” as an insult by a child toward another child? Or, by an adult toward a child? Describe what occurred. How might these types of comments influence all children? 


     Teaching fifth grade and listening to children in the neighborhood, I have heard children using these terms to insult other children. Unfortunately, these terms are used in a negative way to insult children who they may not like, who are different than they are, and sometimes just simply for no reason at all.  These comments influence other children because they hear these words being used to make fun of other people and in ways that are negative and hurtful. So, this influences what they believe the terms actually mean.  I have always talked with my students and my own children to explain to them that the words they use can do a lot of damage. I do not allow words as these to be used in a derogatory way within my classroom or my home. 


--How you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child?


     The first thing I would relay to the parents who are concerned about this matter is that we always hire educators who are most qualified to offer the children a high quality early education. I would ensure them that as administrators our number one goal is the safety of the children and each staff member is dedicated to making sure the children are   safe and well cared for. I would also let the parents know that sexual preference should not be an issue as we live in a diverse world where we hope that children will grow up to accept all people. 


--Your response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families.


     I am a little torn on this issue. As a parent, this is a topic that I have not talked a lot about with my children. In my community, it is not common that they are exposed to same sex families. Therefore, I would rather introduce my children to this, talk with them, and read about it when I feel that it is right for my family. So, I am not sure that I would prefer to have them introduced to this topic at their early childhood centers. Within my community, this is not a topic that many children are exposed to in public education. My response would be to look at the community where the childcare center is located and determine the diversity within the area. If it is any area with a diverse community, it will be more accepting than areas where it is not as diverse.