Time Well Spent



This final assignment is both exciting and sad as I have met wonderful people who I have had the pleasure of learning from. It is the end of a wonderful journey I have been on and the beginning of another journey.



I have learned that it is important to help those that are less fortunate than me and that at this time 2012, there are so many children and families both in the Unites States and abroad who are not getting the very basis of needs met which are food, clothing, shelter and medical care. I have learned that through my journey here at Walden, that I must do what I have said so many times in the papers that I have written, and that is to continue my focus and goals be an advocate and make a difference in the lives for children and their families.



My farewell message to all of my colleagues is that you stay focused on the goals that each of you have set for yourselves, remember the words that you have written and expressed in the discussions, papers that you have written, be a continued advocate to make a change and to make the lives of children and families who are most vulnerable and in need better. I would like to keep in touch with those that are interested, my personal contact information is stevensd@gccsa.org (work) and debra_stevens@att.net – personal. Cell is 832-256-2772.I look forward to seeing the future accomplishments of you all! Please contact me if there is anything I can do, and if you are ever in Houston, Texas, look me up as I would love to meet you in person.



Lastly, to my wonderful instructor, who was patient, encouraging, motivational, enlightening and with me, and I am sure with everyone that you continue to be a guiding light to the students that will come after us and my very best wishes to you as you too, make a difference in the lives of your students! Thanks for all you do!



Debra Stevens- MS Education Graduate (finally yeah!!!)

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: International

One of the organizations that appealed to me is Plan Organization. Plan is a child-centered community development organization: I chose this organization because they work with children families ,local governments for the overall success and improvement of their conditions for a positive change. A position that is listed is for a Program Manager in Zambia. The individual will be responsible for driving the full development and implementation of the program, focusing on common or regional components of the program, coordinating common approaches and working closely with other staff across the four countries. The position requires Master’s Degree.

Individual must demonstrated knowledge of gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and/or girls’ rights issues and international development theory and practice, with specific wide ranging knowledge on gender issues in Southern Africa, focusing on the impact of child marriages and related gender issues. Demonstrate knowledge and experience of donors with an interest in gender issues and/or the Southern Africa region including knowledge of donor requirements in relation to concept development, proposal writing and implementation planning.

The second organization is Child Empowerment International which works to reduce the cycle of poverty in areas of civil unrest through empowering and educating marginalized children. This organization did not have a job posting however they did have opportunities in which an individual could intern, donate, and sponsor children.

Third organization is UNICEF-is the leading advocate for children’s rights, active in more than 190 countries and territories through country programs and National Co

mmittees. I chose them because they not only focus and assist children and families in the United States but all over the world and offer a multitude of services from health, education, nutrition, child protection. They also support children with disabilities. Parent support is also important and UNICEF as they offer life skills to help the development of parents as well. There is a position in Egypt in Management. The position requires a Master’s Degree with experience working in non- profit organization’s for a minimum of three years and willing to travel to other countries to monitor the other locations.

 

plan-international.org

http://www.childempowerment.org/

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.htm

 

 

 

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

 

This week blog assignment was to identify three organizations I was interested in , the job availabilities  at those organizations the job requirements for them. Three of the national/federal organizations that appeal to me is national Head Star organization, National Black Child Development Institute and Neighborhood Centers Inc. which is federally funded program.

 I choose the National Head Start organization because I work at a head start organization and in my 12 almost 13 years working with Head Start I have learned a lot from what this organization does for low income families and the wealth of resources that are offered.

The National Black Child Development Institute is a national organization’s mission is to improve and advance the lives of Black children and their families, through advocacy and education and the majority of children and families that I work with are children of color and I feel that I must search for resources that I can give to families that will help them.

Neighborhood Centers is an organization that receives federal funding to Partnering with families, teachers, care providers and community-based groups, Collaborative for Children focuses on early care and education for children ages birth to six. They  help parents find child care, provide parents with materials, resources and instruction pertaining to child learning, care and development, support and assist to develop early care and education professionals, increase public awareness surrounding the impact of quality early education, and to strengthen early care and education systems .I am involved in a program with this organization that involves several licensed child care centers private sector and head start centers in the Sunnyside area of Houston. We meet monthly to discuss what is new with policy in the early childcare industry, organize events in the community such as recruitment , enrollment events, and health fairs.

National Head Start has positions for Director. The position requires a Master’s Degree and experience working in a federally funded program and responsible for the overall compliance for the agency which consists of 23 centers . National Black Child Development Institute has an opening for a Fund Development/Major Gifts Associate the PRIMA

RY FUNCTION/PURPOSE: The Major Gifts Associate will support the fundraising priorities of the President and CEO and other staff at National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI). The Associate will also maintain a personal portfolio of major gift donors. Time will be spent supporting the organization in reaching their annual fundraising goals, identifying, engaging, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding current and prospective donors to meet annual revenue target. The Associate will serve as the main point of contact for these assigned donors to help deepen their relationship and increase their support for NBCDI and Collaborative has no positions available at this time.

 

 http://www.nhsa.org/services

http://nbcdi.org/about/

http://www.collabforchildren.org

 

 

Exploring roles in the ECE Community:Local and State Levels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

This week assignment was to pick at least three state or local organizations that appealed to me and they are the National Head Start Association which is a national organization, Neighborhood Centers , a local community organization and lastly Collaborative for Children also a local organization.

I choose these three because of the areas of helping children and families that they all are involved in. all organizations bring resources and education and serve for social and economic development for children and families.

Head Start NHSA offers a wide variety of services to its members and to the Head Start and Early Childhood Education communities. Their services include advocating for the rights for children and families, Affiliate Relations, Disaster Relief Fund, Find a Head Start Program, Head Start Alumni, Marketing Opportunities, Professional Development , Opening The Doors Volunteer Program.

Neighborhood Centers a local organization that strive to understand the needs of the clients and to make a positive difference in their lives. They offer a variety of services such as:  Economic development, Citizenship/Immigration service, Comprehensive family health and education, Leadership & Civic Engagement, Youth programs, and Senior programs

Collaborative for children is a local organization that services infants to 5 years of age. They offer programs that are focused on the development physical and mentally of children starting at birth. They assist families with finding services for their children if they are developmentally delayed, need child care at low cost. They are a non- profit organization that does not charge fees to parents for services. All agencies provide tools needed for individuals and families to build self- esteem and to become self sufficient .

Job opportunities available for Head Start are ,Support  Manager, Disabilities manager and Head Start Director. NCI had no positions available as well as Collaborative for children. You must be knowledgeable of community action agencies and non -profit organizations. All require at least two-five years in all positions and be available to work some weekends as needed to do events for the agencies. Computer literate and knowledgeable of Excel, Microsoft Office/Word and this is for all positions including the cook position.Must be knowledgeble of state, local and national laws and regulations to maintainn compliance in all areas.

 http://www.nhsa.org/

http://www.neighborhood-centers.org

http://www.collabforchildren.org/

 

                                                 Profile of a Volunteer






I selected Cynthia Bell she is a volunteer for Community in Schools. Community in School is a program that has programs in public schools such as Girl and Boys Scouts, Backpack Buddy, Christmas Wish Program, Career Day just to name a few. She is a foster Grandparent who volunteer’s Monday –Friday’s at the school. Mrs. Bell has impacted so many lives in her years of service to countless to count.



She is there no matter the weather and is always smiling and saying good morning to everyone she encounters.
Her contribution is invaluable as she is know as Grandma to many of the student’s who have no grandmother in their lives and even to the one who does.
Mrs. Bell encourages, helps with tutoring the at risk students and is a positive influence to not only the students but the adults as well.



I want to give back to children who are most in need and by seeing the work and the positive outcomes that I see of the volunteering that Mrs. Bell does makes me aware of how important not only advocating is for the students and their families that I come in contact with but volunteering in other areas as well.

 

“Using Social Media to Get Connected”

My past experiences using the internet and  social media  was overwhelming as once I clicked on the button, there was so much to choose from. After years of searching sites too many to count, I have gotten more comfortable and pretty good at finding what I need with only a few words typed in the search bar.

 This has opened a whole new world for me. I have come into the age of using social media to broaden my experience and networking with others who share my passion for advocating for children and families. This area has enabled me to share so much valuable information to parents, staff, colleagues, and collaborative partners who I come into contact on a regular basis.

The social media tools that were in the article for this week’s reading , Facebook, twitter, blogging, you tube, are all good resources to find and share information as well as stay connected to groups of interest. I feel these are all good media tools to get the word out and get more individuals involved in advocating for children and families.

I would share these sites with parents, staff and colleagues at staff meetings, trainings , workshops to broaden their resources and would encourage them to become members of organizations, volunteer, become active in writing letters to legislature on behalf of others using these sources.

These tools are invaluable to me as a student, parent, grandmother, supervisor and advocate for children and families and by using these resources , I have become more knowledgeable of many organizations and individuals who have the same goals and want to make a difference in this field.

 

 

                                                          "Advocacy Messages"

 

 

 

 

One campaign message I believe to be important and inspiring is in the article of Autism Speaks.The agency launched a major radio advertising campaign Sponsored by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Mike Doyle (D-PA),  on the bill  that would authorize an additional three years of federal funding frozen at current levels to continue research, services and treatment for autism and related behavioral disorders. The authorization would not add to the national debt, while allowing critical work to continue in addressing autism, which has been declared a public health emergency by the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC),( Autism Speaks 2011).

 

                                                                                                            

 Another is the advertisement for missing children from the website www.missingkids.com. This website is inspiring and important because there are many children who are kidnapped yearly either from someone they know and who are strangers to them. I have just finished watching the story of Carlena White, a young woman who was kidnapped when she was only 19 days old. She was reunited with her biological family only because of this organizations website and services that assist in finding missing children.

I believe both of these organizations are beneficial to families and are great and important resources that should be supported by everyone.

www.autismspeaks.org/advocacy/advocacy-news/new-autism

www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet

 

         

          "My Own Capacity."

Issues impacting young children and their families that fuel my passion is those living in poverty , cannot get health services and quality education.

Special skills that I have that will contribute to my advocacy efforts is my ongoing continued education in this field, resources that I have made in the community as well as collaborative partners who also advocate for the same issues. My communication and research skills will help in gaining resources for the families.

I have met and maintained relationships with City Clinics, Doctor and Nurses, Food banks, schools and stores willing to provide services to children and their families. I also use my colleagues as a resource to other services. My gift of being able to articulate what is needed, communicating in an effective manner, wiliness to work at different events, reach out to community leaders to inform them on the needs and my overall desire to make a difference and too be a part of the solution.

I hope to continue to grow in my knowledge of advocating, learning new and innovative ways to reach those most in need, build better skills on reaching legislature and planning events to get more support in this area to better use my current skills and to learn new ones .

 

                                                     “My Role as an Advocate”

My motivation to work with young children began when I entered the field of early childhood  approximately 20 years ago and saw how inexperienced teachers interacted with children they were responsible  for and how parents treated their children because they did not have good parenting skills and the knowledge of rearing and teaching young children.  It also brought back memories of my own life and how many things I did wrong as a parent because I too did not have the knowledge of early childhood development.

Whether it is a mico or  macro level , any effort that a person can make ,makes a a difference no matter even if they pass of flyers to an advocacy event or help to organize it, every thing helps and is needed to make a difference in the lives of others make it better.

 

I believe in order to be a community leader on early childhood issues one needs to stay abreast of what is happening in the field  from  being knowledgeable of state, local and federal laws and regulations as well as the needs of the community. Knowing how children learn and develop so that it can be articulated to the community so that when you advocate and ask for needed funding you will have a better chance of getting it if you know how to ask and answer questions.

I believe that the resources needed in order to be a state leader on early childhood issues  is for that individual to  be knowledgeable of early childhood development the regulations, laws and policies of child care and young  children and their needs in order to function and succeed for life are essential and be willing to  campaign to get other leaders on board for the cause.

 Tactics and strategies I have used to mobilize others is that I keep individual

s abreast of new issues on policies and news that come up from Minimum Standards, Head Start and other areas of education/child development I send emails, share I staff meeting’s as well as be available to rally for the cause of advocating and  when other see my passion they want to be involved as well.   

 

Advice I would give to someone who was interested in taking a leadership role in advocating for young children and their families  is to be passionate about the work, communicate ,listen to the issue and concerns, be willing to continue learning of new and innovative ideas to share with others and always keep what is best for the  child and family as the guiding force and understanding that one person can make a difference in the life of a child and their family. 

 

Personal Advocacy Reflection

My personal story of how I have been impacted by the advocacy of someone else is when a relative needed assistance when she had a child with special needs. She did not know where to turn since she was a young mother and we had not had anyone in our family who had a special needs child. It was a trying time as it was 20 years ago and people did not talk about certain things and children were called retarded back then. It was only when the child turned 4 years old that it was decided to send the child to a special school for 4 hours a day and during that time a teacher took special interest and gave my Aunt the needed support for her and her child.

My cousin is now a productive citizen who has a job and is doing well. That experience has stayed in my mind and heart and has made me want to do more for children and their family. I have made it a lifelong passion to help others especially those who have expressed to me that they don’t know what to do and where to get the needed assistance.

I am glad to be I the profession I am in to be able to be a resource to families and know I help to make a difference in the lives of others.

Hello

I am excited in starting this next class and more because I have one more to complete this journey. I look forward to working with the two of you this semester.

Debra

Farewell

As we come to the close of another eight weeks, I would like to thank Robin and Dr. Thomason for being so supportive during the class. I have really enjoyed reading your points of view, your stories and experiences throughout this class and for providing your support and prayers.


Learning through you both has been a rewarding experience. Thanks Robin for supplying so many great and valuable resources that I have now added to my list of resources.

This week for the final blog assignment we were asked to post at least three consequences of your experience being a part of a caring, collaborative learning community for your professional growth and development & post one goal for using this collegial experience to enhance your advocacy, policy, and/or system development work on behalf of young children, families, and the early childhood community.

CONSEQUENCES:

1) Learning about the early childhood field has expanded my knowledge of the field on a broader level. I learned that state and government plays a vital role in ensuring programs meet quality standards, and how some individuals don’t see the importance of starting from birth to educate children and how programs encounter the same type of funding, accessibility and awareness issues all over the United States. I have also learned that the ultimate goal is the same and that is to provide children with a quality education and support families in there efforts to succeed.

2) Learning about the systems and challenges families face when looking for childcare for their children has helped me to establish new resources and professional contacts that I will be able to utilize throughout my educational process, as well as, my professional career to better serve children and families.

3) Learning through my colleague has been a rewarding experience. It has accelerated the learning process for me by giving me an opportunity to learn about more early childhood programs that I had no previous knowledge of prior to this class.

GOAL: My goal is to maintain my awareness of issues as it relates to public policy and advocacy and share ideas for improving education and advocacy efforts for all children and families. I plan to continue to learn and grow through the resources and other information shared with me by my colleagues, and, hopefully, continue to build new relationships that will be a valuable part of my continuous learning.

I plan to continue to learn and grow through the resources and other information shared with me, and hopefully, continue to build new relationships that will be a valuable part of my continuous learning.

I wish you many blessings as you reach your goals and of completing this program and beginning new life and work experiences as an advocate for children and families.

Thank you and may God continue to bless you as you move forward

Debra

My Hypothetical Family Situation

This week blog assignment was to write about a hypothetical family  situation in which you are a parent about to give birth to or adopt a child who has or who will have an identified special need(s).Myhypothetical family :  

I am a single mother with 6 children , oneof my children has been diagnosed with systematic lupus and has to vist the rheumatologist monthly has to take several medications to remain well enough to function in daily life and activities.

I work as an EMT and have to pay for childcare in the evenings since I have not been given a morning shift.It is difficult to get all of my children t school on time most mornings due to unreliable transportation

The ages of my children range from 4 year old twins(one of which seems to be slighltly hard of hearing) to 16 years old(the 16 year old has Lupus).

I was born in the United States and speak English.My family needs several services,what are your thoughts on the services that are needed and where can I find help?

                                                         

 The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

Strategies that are used by advocates and the organization where I am employed GCCSA-Head Start is to get parents more actively involved in their child’s education and well- being at school and at home.

By getting the parents involved it improves the student attention in class and it makes a better parent-teacher communication and will foster the well-being of the whole child and their family.
Policies that tend towards improving teaching quality in the classrooms has led to the implementation of the CLASS tool which Federal Monitors are using to monitor classrooms on the federal reviews every three years in Head Start Programs across the country.
I have recently been trained on using this CLASS tool since my agency is now requiring us to monitor the teaching staff starting this upcoming school year. Policy makers are putting systems in place to monitor the progress of students enrolled in the program as many individuals who hold positions in state and government office are opposed to using funds to operate the program. I am hopeful that by using this tool and getting high scores will change the minds of individuals who have a vote, understand the importance of keeping and funding Head Starts across the country.

Organizations like ECE and are working in low- to moderate-income communities where public schools and Head Starts are located, turning their attention to improving public education. They work at the neighborhood and policy levels to address the range of issues on inadequate funding to maintain these much needed programs.

What appeals most to me is that programs are staying abreast of the regulations needed in order to maintain a quality program that meets and in some cases exceeds expectations of policy makers and are advocating for families most in need.

Early Childhood Education - International Context - Children, Programs, Eccd, and Development - StateUniversity.com http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1926/Early-Childhood-Education-INTERNATIONAL-CONTEXT.html#ixzz21xpdEY5h

                           Parent , Family and Community Engagement

In viewing the videos of families who have and had children in Head Start made me understand and appreciate the program even more. Head Start benefits not only the child and their family it benefits the community as well by providing needed services to under income families getting them where they can be self -sufficient and productive.

The parent and family Involvement benefit the child by the parents being involved in their child’s education and success in school. It gives the families the opportunity to volunteer at the child’s school, serve on committees and be a part of the decisions that are made in the program especially when they serve on the Policy Council Committee. Take part in their child’s classroom as an observer, or a volunteer, and contribute their time and input to enrich the program. The child gets to see that their parent is taking an interest therefore enhancing the child’s self -esteem. Additionally parents working with staff and other parents in a cooperative way to achieve mutual goals benefits the child success.

 

I believe the value for early childhood professionals, the public and for policy makers and government officials hearing such stories is that by hearing them they will understand the importance Head Start has on children, families and the communities where the centers are located and the importance of advocating for continued funding for the program and for qualified teachers and support staff to teach and provide services such as health and nutrition services, early detection for  disabilities. Mental Wellness Services or therapy is also provided, as needed, to address children’s social-emotional needs.

                                                

                                 

                                        Quality Programs for all children

This week I have learned about the five strands of early childhood and how socio-cultural, economic, and political/policy has influenced how agencies and private organizations provide their services to young children and their families. The strands I viewed were Head Start/Early Head Start, Day Nurseries, Special Education, Nursery School, Kindergarten Education/Primary Grades.

A majority of women with children, infants through age 13, work outside of the home, many due to economic necessity, and the childcare industry is viewed as an essential industry supporting the workforce within the United States. Despite the economics that have contributed to the need for both parents to work outside of the home, government economic support for childcare facilities in terms of tuition remains limited to populations that are living in poverty. Childcare, therefore, for the majority of American families is supported through private pay.

However there are federally funded and not for profit organizations who understand the importance of early childhood care and the need for quality services to meet the needs of children who are in low income and poverty stricken families. I hope that over the next five years public opinion will continue to improve and individuals will become more educated on how important early childhood development is and how a child’s physical Development, Social and Emotional development is important for the overall well being of the child.

Implications for young children is that if the government and society continued funds early childhood development programs and projects for the ongoing services for families who are in the most need in the future then maybe we may not have to spend as much of the tax payers money to build additional prisons to house individuals who did not get needed educational and other required services at a younger age and we will have more involved citizens that will build better communities throughout the world.

Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy

                                         

I choose this specialization because of my years of advocating for individuals even before entering the early childhood field. I believe that my many years working with low income families and people living in poverty, and coming from a single parent household for most of my childhood years, I realize the importance of advocating for people less fortunate and to be a voice for them. I hope to be able to continue to work, advocate and be a resource for children and families who are in the most need of assistance.

I believe that advocates are needed in the early childhood field due to the number of, families , who are not knowledgeable of services and resources that  their communities and the government  offer and they need a voice to speak up for them especially those  who don’t know where to turn to get the services they need in order to improve their circumstances in life. I believe that becoming a skilled and confident advocate is crucial for early childhood professionals and for the field because we need to be a first line of reference for

families as well as a resource for them to become knowledgeable themselves so that they can advocate for their children and families.

I hope to learn how to work with families in a more effective manner , learn more strategies. Learn more about the law in reference to children with special needs and how I can advocate for them in order to get and maintain quality services for them and put a more user friendly resource guide together for parents that are specific to their individuals needs.

I have a  managers meeting  bi-weekly on Friday’s. It is compiled of Center Administrators from all 24 Head Start centers in my agency, Operation Support managers and the director and Assistant Directors of the program. It normally lasts anywhere from 2-3 hours depending on the information that is given. I also had staff meeting for the end of the school year with my staff of 6 individuals. The meeting that was hardest to leave was the staff meeting because they were anticipating relocation letters, wondering where we would go after the school closed after summer school was over ( we are located in a Houston district school) subject of vacations and raises, which is always lengthy. The rituals in my staff meeting is that they wait until after the meeting to ask any questions or make any comments because I have noticed that when I allow questions after each topic, then it sometimes tends to be lengthy comments and takes up more time. Opposed to our management meeting where if anyone has a question or concern time is taken at that time to ask or comment.

I imagine that the adjournment will be a sad one as although I have not meet anyone personally, I have come to feel a special place for some especially those I have had many classes with over the last 2 years. I hope that at the graduation I will have the opportunity to meet some of the individuals I have come to know through group communication, blog readings and general student lounge conversations. Adjournment is an essential stage of teamwork because it gives the opportunity to say what is important, ask any questions or post any comments we may have and take the opportunity to say thank you and give well wishes.

                     Resolving Conflict

This week I have been faced with a difficult situation at work , I have a staff who is constantly defying the rules even after she has just received a reprimand is still not getting it. I have tried to be patient with her as she is a great teacher, however she allows personal issues to cloud her judgment at work and does not think sometimes. I have thought about this the entire weekend and have decided to talk to her on tomorrow and ask her again what she needs from me as a supervisor. I will l isten without judgment of her past issues, will come open minded and be ready to give guidance from the employee handbook and hope all will go well. I will be reminded of the 3 r’s respectful ,reciprocal and responsive in my interaction with her.

This week the class assignment was to take a few assessments and see how we communicate also we were to ak others to take the same assessment of how they see us as communicators. I completed the assessments and was surprised in some areas on how it came out. I asked my granddaughter Javon ( in photo above) who is 18 to do the assessment . I explained to her what it was for and she was all to happy to assist! After seeing the excitement in her face, I reminded her that she did live with me and allowence time was approaching, just kidding there was no bribbing at all. After seeing the results I was also surprised that in the verbal aggression and the communication inventory it was almost the same in the scoring with somme small changes. I contributed this to her living with me at different times in her life and for the last 4 years she has been with me and we have become closer, and I do believe that makes a big difference. I asked my youngest daughter who is 35 to do the same thing and it was totally different in how the scores were from her viewpoint.

 I have realized that that is due to me not communicating with her the same as with Javon. I tend to allow the grandchild to get away with more that I ever allowed my daughter to get away with and back when my daughter was growing up, I was not a good communicator and did not know how to express myself the way I do now. This has really been an eye opener as to how I am percieved by myself and others and I will ensure that I do a better job at being mindful of how I verbalize, use gestures and tones.

Week 3 Blog Assignment

When reading the assignment I immediately said to myself  that I don't treat anyone differently when communicating with them . I treat everyone with respect and courtesy. Well after rethinking that statement, I realized that there are some groups of people who I do treat differently.When a parent comes to me who does not speak english well or who does not speak english at all I do have to communicate differently because I dont speak any other language but english. I have to find someone to translate what I need communicated ,and when I let the parent know I am looking for some one who can assist us, I find myself using hand gestures like pointing to myself and pointing away as to tell the person I will return with help.I seem to speak a little slower to them and make sure that I have eye contact the entire time as to connect with them some way. Three strategies that I have used to help me communicate more effectively is to speak clearly,make and keep eye contact, and make sure that I am aware and mindful of the cultural differences and language barriers that I am faced with regularly with some of the individuals I come in contact with.

For this week’s assignment I decided to watch the show New Adventure of Christine. I watched for 15 minutes with the sound off, and 15 minutes with the sound on. While viewing with no sound it seemed like the two ladies were frustrated for most of the 15 minutes. their facial expressions were that of many frowns and body language such as waving of their arms quite often. There was a man who entered the home and seemed to laugh a lot , and although he laughed a lot, the women smiled for a short time but did not seem to be as excited as the man. Once I turned on the sound, I found that the woman with the frown most of the show was divorced and the ex -husband was remarried to a woman of the same name and her and her ex remained friends.

I interpreted that the characters in the show were angry and did not get along with one another .I do believe that had I been watching a show that I regularly watch, I would have been able to tell the plot just from watching even with the sound off.

I learned from this assignment that facial expressions are often misleading as well as a person’s body language,

The person I chose to write about that demonstrates competent communication is my Aunt Melissa. My Aunt Melissa is calm no matter the situation she speaks clearly and when speaking to anyone she is always mindful of what she says and how she responds when dialoging. She exhibits eye contact and appropriate facial expressions. She sits up straight to let you know she is giving you her full attention.

I want to model some of my own communication behaviors after her because she listens, reflect on what is being said before she responds and have positive outcomes when dealing with people.

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that they are given the opportunity to be a part of a community and to overcome the obstacles that they may face.  
One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to the issues of diversity, equality, and social justice is to become an advocate for families and children and to educate the public on how important it is to involve individuals from other cultures so that we can have a growing community of diverse populations and to teach our children starting from early on to respect all people and to do what is right for society as a whole for the greater good of our nation.  

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues for the inspiration, words of encouragement and the wealth of knowledge that I have gained from the discussions and blogs. I wish the very best that life has to offer all of you and know that all of us will do great things for the children and fam

ilies we serve as well as those in the different communities.

  Best of luck and many blessings ,Debra       

Welcoming Families from Around the World

In preparing myself for a child who came from Africa into the child care facility I would research the country where the child and their family has come from on their customs, culture  ,traditions, food and clothing choices. I would also inform the staff so that everyone would be aware as everyone must be involved to make the whole family comfortable and welcomed and to make their transition smoother. Additionally I would have the teacher incorporate lessons on the country of Africa so the other students will know about the child entering the class. Pairing the child with a buddy would help the child to make him/her feel part of the class. I would provide resources for the family upon the needs that they may have.

                              

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

In the 60’s in the South was a time of extreme prejudice for African American’s. I was 6 or 7 years old when my Grandfather and I was at a store and I had to use the facilities and we were told that there was none for “niggers” my Grandfather was in his late 60’s at the time and had seen and been the target of more  prejudices than anyone I knew. I remember the look on his face, he did not say anything to this clerk and I wondered why he was so sad only later to find out just how people who do not have the same color skin as I do often treat people of color negatively. He later told me how I must be careful of what I do and say when I am away from home because he loved me so much and did not want anything to happen to me. Later I came to understand that although we were good enough to spend our money we were not good enough to be treated with dignity. The same family still owns the store and the children now operate it. I went to school with one of the children who no one would imagine came from the same family due to her compassionate ways towards others.

Equality was diminished by not respecting me and my Grandfather. At the time this incident brought up feelings of shame of being a little colored girl and not feeling worthy and less than. It also made me feel bad for my Grandfather because I know he would have liked to express his opinion but was afraid for our safety if he were to speak out.

I believe that if the clerk would have to change her views and that we are all human and all are worthy of being respected and if the situation was reversed she would have a better appreciation of what people of color have had to, and still are dealing with and most likely will continue to experience until the end of time.