One deeply felt learning I have come through this course with is that there is a need for a unified certification or qualification that carries nationwide. States very so greatly that it is difficult to move employment from one state to another. I also feel that it would improve the view of our field as Professional in the eyes of others.

                I found the advice and strategies in the Adult Learning course to be very helpful. It is great to have resources to draw from and I enjoyed the class greatly. I already use some of them in my current position and I hope to use the resources further in future positions in which I can impact early childhood educators.

                Finally I have learned so many things from all of my classmates. It has been interesting to see your perspectives through different positions which you hold, your cultural ties and even your interests going forward. The information and ideas seem so much more expansive then when I attended ECE courses over 20 years ago. Technology has helped us tremendously with this expansion as well. I’ve really enjoyed this aspect of the program.

                A long term goal that I have is to complete my Doctorate in the future. I do plan to take a little time off from school but this is a goal I have always held. I hope to grow in the field and advance into a position that allows me to teach or work closely with adults who are or would like to be Early Childhood Educators.

                Dr. Dartt, Your suggestions, comments and newsletters have been helpful and made navigating this final course a lot less intimidating. Thank you. Deciding on a topic that was not too broad was a challenge and you helped me greatly to narrow it down. To my classmates, I enjoyed working through this course with your input. Some of you have been in several of my classes and it was always great to see a familiar name. I wish you all the best and would enjoy keeping you as contacts. My personal email is Jennifer.coggin@gmail.com and office is directorhrgoddard@gmail.com. I wish you all the best in your future plans and perhaps we will work together down the line!

                One international organization which interested me is The Early Learning Association Australia. https://elaa.org.au/ This organization interested me as I lived in Australia as a pre-teen and am curiuos about the state of early childhood education there. Australia is a country I would certainly consider living in again so I was interested to see what positions they may have available there. This site seemed to have a lot of great resources and information.

                I was also drawn to the organization Save the Children. This is an organization I have been familiar with since I was a child myself but have never really looked into in detail. http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htmThis site definitely gives a good perspective on how different early childhood issues are form regin to region. There are so many circumstances where survival takes precedence over even important issues such as a child’s education.

                The International Step by Step Association caught my interest as it was one that I was not familiar with. http://www.issa.nl/index.html The site seemed to have a lot of content specifically to European regions and Central Asia the childcare issues there.  I was interested to see the different perspectives and trends in that region.

                A position I found interesting was A Diploma Qualified Educator for a non-profit organization in Australia. The position is for a children’s cooperative that focuses on the natural environment for playscapes and learning. The position requires a Diploma in Children’s Services (Education and Care). The salary was listed as “Children’s Services Award” which was vague but I assume the position is subsidized.

                Another position that seemed interesting but intense was a Child Protection Sub-working group Co-Lead in Turkey. This position did not mention a degree requirement but did require other skills such as:  Language skills in Arabic and English, experience in humanitarian work, negotiation, conflict resolution and a willingness to abide by a child safeguarding policy. It seems that this position could be dangerous but that there is a critical need to protect children in this area.

                

One National Organization which appealed to me was actually suggested to me by a classmate. The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. I like this organization as it focuses directly on the support and issues relevant to the early childhood educator. The association also offers grants and awards to educators which appreciates the contributions of educators. There is also a link to job announcements.

                I have always loved the organization Zero to Three. This site may not appear to directly support my goal of teacher compensation and retention however it does at its heart, by highlighting the great importance of the early years on a child’s development it shows the importance of caring and professional teachers who impact young children.

                While not an organization of my own state the Texas Early Learning Council was suggested by a classmate as a link to a community of practice who had put together a Mentorship Program Toolkit. I am sure this will be useful to me as I develop my project and will be a great resource for ideas.

                One national job opportunity that appealed to me was Assistant Professor at a University in Washington which caught my eye as I happen to be vacationing there right now, this positon requires a Doctorate in Early Childhood Education, experience in preschool, birth to three and collaborating skills.

                Another position of interest was CEO/President of Community Services for Children. This organization provides leadership for Head Start Programs. This position preferred Non- profit experience and a Masters Degree.

National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. (2015). Our purpose. Retrieved from  http://www.naecte.org/

ZERO TO THREE. (2014). Our Mission. Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/

Texas Early Learning Council. (n.d.) Professional Mentoring and Coaching Toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.earlylearningtexas.org/mentoring-toolkit.aspx

One local organization that I found appealing was the Colorado Department of Education. http://www.cde.state.co.us/  I explored this site as I considered my community of practice and felt it mirrored some of my missions such as better compensation for preschool teachers. The site also offered insight to job opportunities in the field as well as links to local early childhood organizations.

                The second local organization I explored is the Office of Early Childhood. http://www.coloradoofficeofearlychildhood.com/#!ec-resources--partner-organizations/cfat

This page was of interest to me as it touched on many topics and resources which could positively impact young children such as socio/emotional mental health, nutrition and links to early childhood councils

I also chose to look even more locally and explored the Denver Early Childhood Council.

http://denverearlychildhood.org/ this page had great links to training and opportunities for professional development. An extensive resource library and opportunities for community involvement.

                When exploring job opportunities a position that appealed to me was a Quality Assurance Inspector. This position is one in which I could impact young children by ensuring their school environment met health, safety and educational standards of excellence. This position requires a Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Education or a related field. Preferred qualities include prior experience as an early childhood educator as a teacher or administrator and knowledge of best practice.

                The second position which appealed to me was an Assistant or associate Professor in Child, Family and School Psychology at the University of Denver. This position requires a Doctoral Degree in education, psychology or a related field and at least 12 years’ experience working in an educational setting. Preferred experience includes an educational or psychology licensure and accreditation.

                The third position of inters was an Education Support Specialist. This position required a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in early childhood or education or related field. Preferred experience includes a knowledge project management and leadership skills.

In some ways I think it is easy to leave a high performing team because you know you have been successful in your goals and may have resolution to what you and hoped to accomplished. When clear norms are established it may be easy if all members disband but if it is only a member the remaining people can feel a little lost and unsure how to replace the component of the vacating member. The group which I participated in that was hardest to leave was the team I formed in the first year as a Director. While the first year was extremely difficult I worked with a wonderful assistant Director and Center board and together we were able to save and reform a struggling school. After seven years together it was hard to relocate and face new challenges wondering if I would have that sort of performance in another group. I think it was toughest because we had overcome so much. As a closing ritual I was given a going away party which was sweet but difficult for me. I tend to get nostalgic and I prefer goodbyes to be quick and without a big to do. I have enjoyed getting to know and interacting with many of the same people from class to class in this Master’s program. I hope to keep many as contacts and would love to network with them in the future. I think adjourning is necessary as it closes a chapter and frees us to meet new challenges, which is the way we can grow as professionals

A conflict I recently experienced at work was a situation in which a parent was upset because she felt her child was not enjoying Kindergarten and was upset at drop off. The parent stated the child felt the teacher was mean. Observation of the classroom showed that the child appeared to enjoy class but was in need of fairly constant redirection and struggled with following directions. Despite this she gave her teacher hugs frequently and seemed to have bonded. One conflict resolution skill we were able to employ in this situation was compromise. After meeting with the parent and teacher together we chose to change the behavior tracking system so that it reflected and rewarded the whole class behavior rather than each individual child. The class earned a pom pom in the jar when any one group of children did something praiseworthy. This we felt would help the child feel less like she was being singled out for negative behavior and may not feel as anxious at drop off. It also accented the positive behaviors of the class rather than negative. Another conflict resolution tool we used was one of the Gerber’s three R’s, responsiveness. When the parent brought the concern we listened responsively, set up a meeting immediately and responded in a way that she felt heard and didn’t have to dwell on the concern for days. The situation seemed to be resolved quickly and the child and mother appeared much more comfortable and at ease immediately afterwards.

For the most part, I felt that my self-evaluation matched well with those who evaluated me. I am aware that I have communication anxiety in public speaking and large group situations. I think what surprised me most was that those who evaluated me scored me a bit higher in competence in this level. Perhaps I am more effective than I think, or maybe we are just more critical of ourselves. Of course I am aware I am anxious but possibly this is not as apparent to those who I present to. In terms of verbal aggressiveness I fell in the moderate category in all cases. I also scored fairly well in listening although there was indication that I trust too much. In the second two surveys my colleagues scored me equa with my own. My colleagues also choose to evaluate themselves for fun. I was interested to find that they scored similar to me as well. Those one who did score with less communication anxiety also grew up as one of 5 sisters and was a performer. It was insightful to consider maybe even a larger family may help us feel comfortable speaking to groups. I found it interesting when reading the text this week that we can become aware of our own mindlessness by certain signs such as reduced cognitive activity and inaccurate recall. I also found it insightful that we can sabotage our own communication through self-denigration. This information can be helpfully to me professionally by reminding me to be cognizant in meeting with faculty and to use positive thought in self-preparation for speaking engagements.