Time Well Spent

 I had no idea how little that I new about Early Childhood Education. I thought children gained their education starting in elementary school. Head Start and Pre-K was babysitting jobs too me. Now, I am coming to a completion of my M.S. in Early Childhood Studies my thoughts of early childhood education has completely changed. I used to wonder why one of my friends were always reading to her toddlers, and now I know why. The importance of play, the vision of anti-bias education, and the four goals of anti-bias education are three deeply felt learning from this program.

Play is an important part of a child's early development. The children's brain begin to develop, and their language and communication skills begin to mature. They learn how to problem solve and their motor skills begin to develop. Ages 0 to 5 are the critical years of a child's health, well-being, and the overall trajectory or their lives There are milestones for children to reach at certain ages. The child has gained the foundation of their learning by the time he or she reaches age 5. They have formed their self identity, their gender, and their race. They have learned the difference between fairness and unfairness. This made me think back on Anti-bias education.

Anti-bias education is to make sure every child develop to his or her full potential, and they are to blossom. Louis Sparks and Julie Edwards are quoted "All children and families have a sense of belonging and experience affirmation of their identities and cultural way of being, All children have access to and participate in education they need to become successful, contributing members of a society, The educational process engages all members of the program or school in joyful learning, Children and adults know how to respectfully and easily learn, and work together in diverse and inclusive  environments, All families have the resources they need to fully nurture their children, and All children and families live in safe, peaceful, health, comfortable housing and neighborhoods." (Sparks & Edwards, 2010). 

I will take the four goal of anti-bias education with me: Each child will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities, Each child will express comfort and joy with human diversity: accurate language for human differences, and deep, caring human connections, Each child will increasingly recognize unfairness, have language to describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts, and Each child will demonstrate empowerment and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions." (Sparks & Edwards, 2010).

My one long term goal is help all children learn from each other by sharing their traditions and experiences, and by having their family members being a part of their class with weekly conversation with each student's families.

Dr. Ernst, I thank you for your feedback and guidance through this course which has been invaluable. My classmates, What can I say? I think of each of you as family now. You have been so supportive through our discussions. I hope all of you accomplish your dreams in this field of Early Childhood Education. I conclude with this quote by Maria Montessori “Free the child's potential, and you will transform the world.”.

Reference:

Edwards, J. & Sparks, L. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves.                                   NAEYC. Washington, DC.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community Internationality

I chose three communities of practice: Go Internationally! Exploring International Communities of practice in ECE. Diane A Rivera.

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) 

The Academy for Educational Development is a non-profit organization that aims to develop many areas including health, economic, civil society, and education. In 2011, Family Health International and the AED came together to create FHI 360. The organization earns its success through its different core values. It resonates with me because the organization helps people with passion, respect, and integrity promoting innovation, diversity, and excellence. They are also driven by a strong personal commitment to make a big difference in the lives of underprivileged people. FHI 360 works to cultivate a workplace by promoting understanding and acceptance of differences regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, culture, ethnicity, age, religion, and other diversities. The career opportunities for full-time and part-time are vast in all continents. I see interesting jobs related to learning and education, research, counseling, and early childhood most of them in the United States, Indonesia, and Kenya. Each position requires specific qualifications but all are looking people with these skills: good interpersonal skills and ability to work with others, organizational and administrative skills, ability to build and maintain relationships, and good communication skills – verbal and written.

International Step by Step Association (ISSA)

The International Step by Step Association (ISSA) caught my attention because they envision a society where families, communities, and professionals work together to empower each child to reach their unique potential and embrace values of social justice and equity, but more importantly, they believe in the holistic development of young children. The organization puts the focus in different age groups: from birth to three and for three to ten. They also impact other areas, like families, professional training, inclusion, and diversity. The organization is an international learning community powered by the leading early childhood experts in Europe and Central Asia. Their commitment to unite and support professionals and partners to deliver high-quality early years services equitably and the vision of challenging existing knowledge and practice and constructing new approaches and models seem interesting to me. At the moment, the organization does not provide available positions, however, they offer webinars and continued education to support teachers and school leaders' careers.

Childhood Education International

Childhood Education International works to transform education so that every child has access to quality and equitable learning experiences supporting their right to receive an education and learning. The organization not just ensures education, but also promotes education’s progress by transforming and reinventing education to meet the child’s needs, the needs of their community and workforce, and the emerging needs of the world. The organization supports its mission and vision by four guiding principles: start early, work collaboratively, act globally, and think innovatively. The 10 universal beliefs included in the Code of Ethics used also to inform about their decisions to contribute to advancing children’s education around the world seems thorough to me. The organization caught more of my attention knowing their print and online publications focused on innovations in education, policy, and research on a variety of topics. The publications offer a new path for early childhood educators and practitioners to write a small post or research articles. For ECE interested to share engaging stories about children and their potential, this is a great opportunity to catch up. (Rivera, 2020). 

Job Opportunities International:

Early Years Practitioner United Arab Emitates:

Skills: 

• Early Years Teacher
• Pre-School, Early Years Teacher
• KG/Foundation 1, Early Years Teacher
• KG/Foundation 2, Early Years Teacher
• IB PYP, Early Years Teacher

Kindergarten Teacher Candidate must be based in China Beijing, China.

Skills: 

• Early Years Teacher
• Pre-School, Early Years Teacher
• KG/Foundation 1, Early Years Teacher
• KG/Foundation 2, Early Years Teacher
• IB PYP, Early Years Teacher

Preschool Teacher; Permanent vacancy in Doha, Quatar:

Skills: 

• Early Years Teacher
• Pre-School, Early Years Teacher
• KG/Foundation 1, Early Years Teacher
• KG/Foundation 2, Early Years Teacher
• IB PYP, Early Years Teacher