Time Well Spent

·         I have learned to comprehend the concept and applications of Early Childhood Studies.  I have learned to respond positively to this field and apply it to my everyday life and goals.

·         My long-term goal is to continuing my education by pursing another degree in education.  I would like to obtain a Ph.D. in Education

 

·         Farewell my fellow colleagues and Instructor…. This is a dream come true!! I am the second person in my family to obtain a Master’s degree.  It has been challenging and sometimes I even thought of giving up.  Thanks for all the motivation that I received from my family, friends and instructors.  Walden University made my learning experience wonderful.  I am glad that I chose Walden University. I would like to wish my colleagues good luck on a successful future!!!

·         Wordle:

 

·         Favorite Quote:   Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tamakio Sharell Scott

Email:  tamakio.scott@gmail.com

tamakio.scott@waldenu.edu

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Blog Assignment: Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Ronald McDonald House Charities

The Ronald McDonald House Charities provides a place for families to live when they have children that are hospitalized for seriously illness, critically injured or medically fragile as children are being treated at the hospital.  It saves family the expense of paying for a hotel and gas money especially if they live far away.   The treatment may last a day, a month, or even longer.  It's a long time to be away from home, or to divide a family. Families are stronger when they are together, which helps in the healing process. By staying at a Ronald McDonald House, parents also can better communicate with their child's medical team and keep up with complicated treatment plans when needed. Website:  www.rmhccga.org/

Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) is a charity that provides the only hospice services in Scotland for children and young people with life-shortening conditions.  Social business Clothes Aid collects clothes door-to-door across the country, to raise money for a range of UK charities. We ask households, schools, businesses, community groups and Charity Champions across the UK to donate clothes and fashion accessories using our official collection bags. Clothes are weighed and sold in shops in nearby countries to raise money for UK charities back home 

Website:  http://clothesaid.co.uk/partner-charities/childrens-hospice-association-scotland/

Child Welfare Information Gateway – Child Abuse & Neglect

Family centered practice focuses on working with the family unit t strengthen family capacity and ensure the best possible outcome for children.   It offers resources on child abuse and neglect.  

Website:  http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/

Job Title:	Job Opportunity Training Advisor

Location: 
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville,

Minimum Requirements: 

·         Master's degree in education or human development.

·         Expertise in pre-k learning domains and curriculum philosophies.

·         Excellent organizational skills.

·         Excellent written and oral communication skills.

·         Three years' experience working with adults and conducting training workshops.

·         Three years' experience designing and teaching online classes (Blackboard).

·         Three years' working as a preschool teacher.

·         Three years' experience coaching and/or mentoring teachers/trainers.

·         Experience designing training materials for adults.

·         Experience in collecting data and writing research reports.

·         Experience as an editor.

·         Experience working with deadlines.

·         Three years' experience with Microsoft and Word Perfect office suites and Statistical Package for Social Sciences.

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

Georgia Department of Public Health:  Babies Can't Wait

Babies Can't Wait (BCW) is Georgia's statewide interagency service delivery system for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities and their families. BCW is established by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which guarantees all eligible children, regardless of their disability, access to services that will enhance their development. Additional information about IDEA and national efforts supporting the implementation of the early childhood provisions of the law is available through the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center

The Georgia Department of Public Health is the lead agency administering the Babies Can't Wait Program in Georgia. The Division ensures that:

• services are provided in accordance with federal guidelines;
• families have access to the services which are needed to enhance their child's development; and
• training is available to ensure that professionals who work with children and families have up-to-date information.

Babies Can't Wait is administered through 18 District offices throughout the state. Through the 18 offices, children and families in every county in Georgia can access early intervention services. Anyone can refer a child to Babies Can't Wait. In order to refer a child to BCW for an evaluation, contact the district office which serves the county in which the child and family reside. You may use the Children and Youth with Special Needs Coordinator Contact List for information on how to reach local Babies Can't Wait Programs.

 

NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

NEA Is Committed to Improving Early Childhood Education

High quality early childhood education represents one of the best investments our country can make. NEA believes it's a common sense investment we can't afford to pass up. NEA recommends, among other things:

o    Free, publicly funded, quality kindergarten programs in all states.

o    Mandatory full-day kindergarten. Just 14 states require school districts to offer full-day kindergarten. 

o    Optional free, publicly funded, quality "universal" pre-kindergarten programs for all three- and four-year-old children whose parents choose to enroll them. Three states are moving toward such a program - Georgia, New York and Oklahoma.

o    Federal funds to make pre-kindergarten programs available for all three- and four-year-old children from disadvantaged families. State and local governments should provide the additional funds necessary to make pre-kindergarten available for all three- and four-year old children.

o    Dedicated funding for early childhood education. Public schools should be the primary provider of pre-kindergarten programs, and additional funding must be allocated to finance them in the same manner as K-12 schools.

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Early Childhood Director

To provide leadership and supervision across all areas of the Early Childhood programs. Directly supervise staff – education, social service, support, etc. Providing professional leadership through the following: supporting teachers with lesson plans and curriculum implementation, holding case conferences with social service staff, scheduling in-service training, providing staff development workshops and holding parent meetings.

      

Requirements:

Master’s Degree in Early Childhood or Elementary Education

New York State Teaching certificate (preschool, nursery)

2 to 5 years of early childhood teaching experience & 2 to-5 years of supervisory experience

Commitment to Early Childhood Education and proven ability to collaborate and motivate

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

·         At least three local or state organizations or communities of practice that appealed to you, and explain why you chose them

1.      Bright From the Start:  Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning

2.      NCCP:  National Center for Children in Poverty

3.      GAYC:  Georgia Association on Young Children

I chose these organizations because they each worked independently and collectively with local, state and national organizations to move Georgia closer to meeting and improving early care and education for young children. Efforts have included support of appropriate early learning standards and assessments for young children, accreditation of child care and early education programs, professional development opportunities for those who work with young children, early detection and support of children with special needs and family support programs.

·         Job opportunities (currently available or not) that interest you

1.      Family Advocate

2.      Child Development Specialist

3.      Early Childhood Education Instructor

·         Skills and experience that you would need to competently fulfill each of these roles

I will need strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate with both clients and colleagues. I will need to be flexible and innovative, in order to work with children and families. I will need my skills learned from taking classes at Walden University

Reflecting on Communication in the Early Childhood Field

The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.”                          By:  Oscar Wilde

Thanks to each of you for sharing your thoughts and inspiration throughout this class (EDUC-6165-2 Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field).  I have enjoyed reading and commenting to each of your blog.  I have learned a lot.  I hope that each of you have enjoyed reading my blog as well.  Good Luck to each of you!!!

Team Building and Collaboration

Adjourning is the process of "unforming" the group, that is, letting go of the group structure and moving on.  Adjourning refers to the team breaking up after the task has been completed.  Transforming involves the team not breaking up but instead moving onto other tasks and objectives (from what I understand).
I found these stages of team development quite relevant.  These stages can be cyclical once changes occur, such as the introduction of a new team member or the change of some other team variable that can modify how the team works.  Some of you may be familiar with this model of group development but for those that aren’t I highly recommend that you take these phases into consideration and explore them within your current organizations. 

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

Conflict with a Co-worker......

I once had an agreement with a co-worker.  There was a debate over who should be nominated for employee of the year.  My co-worker asked who I was nominating and when I revealed my answer, she became upset.  My co-worker was telling me negative things about the person that I selected that was not related to the job performance.  She was basing it upon the person personal life. I carefully listened to my co-worker and then proceeded to tell her that I respect her opinion but I also wanted her to respect my opinion.  I explain that we as human will have some disagreement but it’s all about respecting one another.  My co-worker did not agree with me and the debate cause us to lose our friendship. 

I am always willing to listen to other people’s opinion and I wish other people would treat me the same. 

Who Am I as a Communicator?

This week’s activities were very interesting and informative in total different ways than past weeks. For my evaluations I chose my cousin and my co-workers. Almost all of the descriptions I received in all three of our evaluations were word to word exactly the same but the scores were different. Perception is a cognitive process through which we interpret our experiences and come to our own unique understandings (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2009). What amazes me is that how would the understanding of me as an individual got to be so similar in all three evaluations. May be it is due to the computer generated system but still scores I got were different and the descriptions were similar word to word. I understand this is an assignment but as a detail oriented person I am curious to know how did this happen and what is the meaning behind this. Often people can come to vastly different conclusions even in the exact same circumstances. This is because each individual organizes and adapts his or her perceptions into existing memory bases called schemas (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2009).