Time Well Spent

To Dr. Darragh Ernst and colleagues, thank you so much for your support over the last 8 weeks. Thank you for your positive feedback and sharing your knowledge with me. To those of who you I have had the pleasure of working with since the beginning of our program, it has been amazing getting to know, learning together and encouraging each other. I wish you all the best in your next adventure and stay healthy and safe during this pandemic. WE DID IT!!!!! Congrats on completing your Masters Degree. Now lets continue to make a positive social change for young children, families and the field of early childhood!

I have created a Word It Out that illustrates some of my experience and deeply felt learnings from the MS ECS program:

"Let us put put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children" By Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota Siuox Chief

Contact Info: Jamie Havard (New last name is Eagney)

Email: jamie.eagney@gmail.com

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Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

 Three international organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me are:

• Save the Children -- I found drawn to this organization because they truly are focused on the best interest for children and everything they do is centered around children to make sure they are healthy, safe, and have access to high quality education (save the Children, 2020).

• UNICEF- Throughout my time at Walden, I have explored this organization. The organization  works in over 190 countries  to save children’s lives, protect their rights, and to help them reach their potential from birth through 19 years old.

• International Bureau for Children's Rights (IBCR)- This organization interested me because they work with social workers, defense and security forces, judicial system staff, civil society groups, government agencies, and other organizations to implement child-friendly practices (IBCR, 2021). They are focused promoting children's and that they are able to express their opinions, access education and live free from all forms of violence, exploitation, abuse and negligence (IBCR, 2021). 

Job opportunities  that interest me include:

• General Service with UNICEFF- This job will allow me to provide administrative and support services across all areas of the organization in both headquarters and field duty stations. I think being first hand in the field would be very rewarding. The skills and experience required include completion of a secondary education and one to four years of relevant professional work experience.

• Early Head Start Teacher in North Carolina with Save the Children Program- The job description includes: The Early Head Start Teacher develops and implements individual and group educational plans for infants and toddlers, designed to promote social-emotional, physical and cognitive growth in a manner appropriate to their stage of development. In each Early Head Start classroom, two Early Head Start Teachers work together to lead child development activities with support from Program Aides and Volunteers.

• Head Start Program Director-  I will be responsible for its overall leadership and management. The requirements include Bachelors or better in Early Childhood Education or related field or Bachelors  in Human Services or related field.

Reference

International Bureau for Children's Rights (IBCR)

Save the Children. (2020). https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work

United Nation's Children's Funds. (n.d.)  https://www.unicef.org/

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

 Three national/federal organizations  that appealed to me include:

• Head Start
• NAEYC- National Association for the Education of Young Children 
• Children's Defense Fund

I chose these organizations because they all are committed and focused on supporting young children and their families. Head Start strives to create communities that are  healthier, stronger and empowers children and their families to be successful. The Children's Defense fund provides a strong voice for all children in the United States who are not able to be their own voice. The organization is focused on several important topics including health, education, child welfare, mental health, child care, pregnancy, income and jobs for the youth. NAEYC is an organization that promotes high quality education for young children through practice, policy and research. 

I would be very interested in pursuing a job with these three organizations. Some job opportunities that interest me include e-learning specialist at NAEYC which would be a great opportunity during this pandemic. I did not find any current job positions at Children's defense fund. However, I think it would be very empowering to use my voice to advocate for young children and continue to support the program in making positive changes for our youth. Head start has jobs including early childhood specialist, educator, center director, and head start supervisor. 

The Skills and experience I would need to competently fulfill each of these roles include using my skills and knowledge that I have as an special educator and anti-bias education to be an advocate for young children and their families.  Some of the  job requirements for the early childhood specialist consists of: 

• Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education
•  ten years of professional experience
• 5 years of demonstrated experience in the field of early childhood education
• 5 years of experience offering training and technical assistance within early care and education
•  Experience working with Infants/Toddlers and their families 
•  Experience in parent, family, community engagement 
• Experience working with dual language learners 
•  Experience working with unique populations 
• Experience working in different learning environments (home based, center based, etc.)
•  Experience in working within early elementary school systems 
• Experience with mental health and/or social emotional development of children 
•  Experience working with American Indian/Alaska Native peoples
• Experience working remotely
•  Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) required.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Three organizations that I chose include

1. Maryland families engage- https://marylandfamiliesengage.org/

I chose this organization because their main focus is on supporting individuals  who care for and work with young children. The website has resources and information regarding child development, family engagement initiatives,  and building relationships with families to support family well-being, and strong parent-child relationships (Maryland families engage, 2020).

2. Administration of Children and families- https://www.acf.hhs.gov/

I chose this state organization because they are focused on promoting economic and social well-being of children and families.  

3. https://www.umms.org/childrens/health-services/child-life/specialists: Child life Specialist. 

One job opportunity that interested me was at the Administration of Children and families. They did not currently have any jobs available that suited me. However, I think working for Administration of Children and families would allow me to pursue my passion of helping others in a different environment ( not school/classroom based) and positively impact the health and well-being of individuals locally and around the world. 

As you can see, the programs and organizations that I researched all have one common theme which is supporting young children and their families which is my passion to make sure they have the resources and support to be successful and thrive together as a family. 

Reflecting on Learning

 An explanation of my most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families with whom I will work is to never lose focus on the overall goal of an anti-bias early childhood educator and to be a voice for the voiceless to bring to light the issues of our economic class, gender disparities, racial, culture, and language and to openly discuss misinformation and negative messages that are interpreted. Finally, to build children's self esteem so they are proud of who they are,  their background, skin color, and family heritage. 

And to my colleagues, thank you for your continued support over the last 8 weeks. We are almost at the finish line!!!! Enjoy the holidays with your families and loved ones.

"This is an important journey. It's a journey that will entice you, frustrate you, compel you. It's filled with new things to learn and it goes on for a lifetime. No matter how much you know, there's always more to learn" (Laureate Education, 2011) 

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Your commitment to anti-bias work. Baltimore, MD: Author

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world I chose was Latin America and Caribbean specific Dominican Republic. I have travelled to the Dominican Republic for vacation a few times and thought it would be interesting to learn more about this area since I have been there. 
Some of the challenges that children in this region of the world are confronting include:

•   COVID-19 PANDEMIC- causing children and families  to be without access to education, health care, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water  (UNICEF, 2020)

• low quality of care for mothers and newborns in public health facilities is reflected in a very high neonatal mortality (UNICEF, 2020)

• malnutrition  (UNICEF, 2020)

• physical and sexual abuse  (UNICEF, 2020)

• hurricanes and floods lead to health emergencies such as the cholera, AH1N1, dengue and Zika epidemics  (UNICEF, 2020)

• Violence in schools (UNICEF, 2020)

• access to preschool and secondary school (UNICEF, 2020) 
• low investment and not an inclusive environment 

These experiences might have an effect on children’s emotional wellbeing and development because of trauma and lack of nurturing love and support at home to help them development.

As I looked through website and different information that is available, it is very eye opening how fortunate I am to be raised in a home that was nurturing and loving that cared for me and provided me with proper nutrition, housing and education. 

The influences I have  as a person and as an early childhood professional is looking for ways to create a positive change locally and around the globe to give back and help young children be safe, grow and develop with proper care and nutrition. It was very upsetting to see that that the Dominican Republic does not support children with disabilities ( 21% of children between 6-11 years old) cannot read or write (UNICEF, 2020). Therefore, using my voice and being an advocate for those who do not have the resources is essential. 

Reference

https://www.unicef.org/dominicanrepublic/salud-y-supervivencia

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

  According to the ideas presented in the book excerpt, So sexy so soon, children are being bombarded with messages in the advertising and media industries linking physical beauty and sexual attractiveness with happiness which does not surprise me at all.

 I agree that children are being bombarded with messages that is linked to beauty and appearance at a very young age which makes me so sad and worry about what is to come. Many young children that are girls are wearing makeup and their caregivers are straightening their hair or curling it. My friends young daughter is wearing crop tops and has mentioned that she needs to have a certain type of body to wear bathing suits so she joined the running group that meets after school and runs together. It is so disheartening that children this young feel as though they need to look a certain way. When I was in elementary school I dressed as a "tom boy" and did not care about how I looked ( hair, makeup, clothes). I believe social media and technology have a lot to do with young children today and the negative messages they see and hear.

Therefore, it is essential as an educator to emphasize healthy development and talk about how pictures and the social media can display negative messages.