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.