"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