Farewell to my Instructors and Colleagues Week 8 Time Well Spent

https://www.scribd.com/document/346763829/Final-Blog-Presentation

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Three international organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me are: 1) United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 2) Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) 3) World Organization for Early Childhood Education and Care (OMEP).

The reason I chose UNESCO is because in a globalized world it is important to look at the bigger picture when it comes to children, families, and equality. Children are our future and the future of the world. By focusing on human rights, access to quality education and full freedom of expression UNESCO is working to improve humanity and the global economy for our most vulnerable citizens (http://en.unesco.org).

My second chose for an international organization that appealed to me was The Association for Childhood Education International. The reason I chose this organization was because of their mission statement “To promote innovative solutions to education challenges and inspire action that creates positive, sustainable futures for children and youth worldwide.” As a change agent for early childhood education the ACEI looks at ethics for early childhood programs on a global scale instead of a national one. Creating universal standards of equality; to ensure the optimal education, development, and well-being of children worldwide (http://www.acei.org).

The third international organization that appealed to me was the World Organization for Early childhood Education and Care (OMEP). OMEP has teachers, researchers and child advocates that have come together since WWII to promote the well-being, health, rights, and education of the world’s most vulnerable citizens and their families. The main focus of OMEP is making high quality universal preschool a reality for every child on a global scale, through advocacy and policy making efforts. Universal Preschool is a passion of mine and has been since I entered the early childhood field (http://worldomep.org).

A job opportunity that I found, on an international level that I am interested in is: Consultancy - Curriculum Adviser Pre-primary Education, Honiara, Solomon Islands for the UN.

The main function of this job is “to lead the development of an appropriate pre-primary curriculum for 5 year olds using play-based strategies to achieve defined learning outcomes, develop the syllabus, teachers' guide and the supplementary learning materials for children.” Most of the skills and experience that I would need to competently fulfill this role I already possess; I have curriculum development knowledge, and at least 6 years of experience in the early childhood field, but I still need to gain knowledge of government policies in Taiwan and experience with educational reform. To read more about this job opportunity and others like it go to: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1491519811108

References:

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI). (2017). Retrieved from http://www.acei.org

World Organization for Early childhood Education and Care (OMEP). (2017). Retrieved from http://worldomep.org

United Nations Jobs. (2017). Retrieved from https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1491519811108

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

My task for this week was to select at least three national/federal organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me and explain why I chose them.

One of the national/federal organizations or communities of practice that appealed to me was The National League of Cities. The NLC is committed to providing an ethical, proactive voice for city officials on a national level. Helping them to focus on issues of poverty, education, and homelessness by lobbying on their behalf to find funding and affect policy change. The strategic goals of the NLC are:

1. Proactively drive federal policy on behalf of cities, on issues that directly impact them.
2. Promote innovation and provide proven strategies and valuable resources. That address the challenges cities face.
3. Raise the profile of city governments as key leaders and partners in improving the quality of life for our nation.
4. Expand the capacity of city officials to serve as ethical, effective and engaged leaders.
5. Achieve our mission and goals through an organizational structure that is aligned, nimble, accountable and transparent.

To learn more about the NLC you can go to: http://www.nlc.org/

The second National/federal organization or community of practice that appealed to me was The National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice. The NRC is designed to promote family-centered, community-based, culturally competent practice within organizations and across systems. They accomplish this goal through research and evaluation, training and technical assistance, and information dissemination, with an emphasis on translating research and evaluation findings to social work practice. They work with federal, state, and local government, private nonprofit and for-profit organizations to improve outcomes for children and families across the country.

To learn more about the NRC you can go to: https://clas.uiowa.edu/nrcfcp/

The third and final National/federal organization or community of practice that appealed to me was Alternative Family Services. The AFS is evidence based and outcome driven. Their goal is to support children and families that are fostering, adopting or have adopted, and biological families. As children are in families, families are in communities. Their work is sensitive to the social context. As every child and family is unique, so is every community. The work of the AFS reminds us to be knowledgeable and heedful of the distinctive characteristics of the cultures and communities in which our children and families are embedded.

To learn more about the AFS you can go to: http://www.afs4kids.org/home/resources/

The reason I chose all three of these Federal organizations is because they work to advocate for children and families on a national level. Giving a voice to populations that may not know how to navigate the federal political system or advocate for change is one of the main goals of all three of these organizations; as a change agent in the Early Childhood Field this is a personal goal of mine as well.

A job opportunity that is of interest to me within the federal government is: Education Coach & Professional Development Specialist, who will work closely with the Senior Program Manager and the Education Managers to train and work with staff at centers to ensure mock assessments for Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scales (ECERS), Infant/Toddler Environmental Rating Scales (ITERS) and Pre-K Classroom Assessment and Scoring System (CLASS) are conducted throughout the school year. This individual will work with teaching staff to develop and establish individual Professional Development Plans and will also mentor and present trainings on an on-going basis to support teaching staff to improve ECERS, ITERS and CLASS scores. To see the complete job posting go to: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/careers/Region9/California/Education-Coach-PD-Specialist.html

Another job I found that I would be interested in is a UN Job: Early Childhood Care and Education Minimum Quality Service Standards, Vanuatu. This job posting would give me an opportunity to show my commitment to early childhood education, and show my passion about making a lasting difference for children, by working with the world's leading children's rights organization. To see the complete job posting go to: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1490915099289

My Master’s Degree would help me to qualify for either of these positions educationally but the experience needed for both of these requires a life time commitment to the early childhood profession and field. I have been teaching or working as a director in early childhood programs on a local, state and national level for almost 20 years. I feel like the knowledge and experience that I possess along with my educational experience help to qualify me for either of these experiences. 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

As an early childhood education professional I feel as if my first responsibility to my community is to be a role model. In order to be a role model I have to teach by doing. Environmental education volunteers for Seattle Parks and Rec. is a local organization that has practices that appeal to me. As an early childhood professional it is my responsibility to lead by example. By belonging to a group of individuals that educates community members in regards to protecting our environment I would be able to teach my students and their families about taking care of their environment and being part of their community. https://www.seattle.gov/parks/volunteer/environmental-education-volunteers

 Another local organization COP that has practices that appeal to me is the Ryther League. The Ryther League supports fundraising and volunteer work at Ryther children’s home. Ryther houses children in an inclusive environment while they await adoption from the foster care system. Most of these children are harder to place because of behavior that results from trauma caused by abuse and neglect. The reason I chose the Ryther League is because I believe every child deserves a firm foundation and without a family it is hard for children to overcome traumatic experiences so they can move on and grow educationally. http://www.ryther.org/ryther-league/  

The third local community of practice that appealed to me was Roots Young Adult Shelter. Roots Young Adult Shelter builds community and fosters dignity through access to essential services and a safe place to sleep for young adults experiencing homelessness. These children become parents and the cycle of poverty, abuse and neglect continues until it is broken. Once we know better we do better. By being a part of this COP I could assist homeless youth by teaching parenting skills and basic life skills that will help them to be successful adults and future parents. http://www.rootsinfo.org/about/mission-vision/

A job opportunity that is currently available that is of interest to me is Early Learning Coach for the City of Seattle. The reason this job interests me is because it is part of the universal preschool early childhood pilot program that the City of Seattle is working on to create high quality universal preschool for every 4 year old in the city of Seattle; helping to give them a firm foundation.  As a successful educational coach I could reach many more children and families by teaching teachers how to provide a high quality educational model.

Upon completion of my Master’s Degree I will possess the educational knowledge necessary for any of these positions. I have worked within the Early Childhood Field for over 20 years in different capacities and this gives me the experience that is being sought for these positions.