Time Well Spent: Completing one Journey to Start Another

            Throughout my Masters in Early Childhood Studies I have learned a lot about myself and others.  I have relearned the value of self-reflecting and how it benefits both you and your mission.  I have learned and redefined my passion in the early childhood field.  I found that I am very passionate about the inclusion of all children, especially the young children that demonstrate challenging behaviors.  I am a firm believer that all young children should have high quality, safe and equitable education and care no matter what their ethnicity, race, gender, ability level, or family type.  During this program I learned about research and how important it is for the early childhood field.  I also take with me the knowledge about diversity and now understand that it is a long hard journey that begins with me taking a little step and is a lifelong process.   

            In our Foundations class we had to list three professional goals that we want to accomplish.  As I review my three goals I see that I am well on my journey of making a safe high quality, equitable learning environment for all young children.  I still have a lot of room to grow and I am a true believer in lifelong learning.  We also had to write a mission statement for the early childhood field and I would like to share mine.  The following is the mission statement that I wrote in our Foundations class:

The mission for the early childhood field is to create a high quality accessible learning environment that is individualized and promotes children’s cognitive, language, social, emotional, and physical development.  Provide families with support, education, and opportunities to be involved in their child’s development.  Provide programs that support interventions, preventions, and treatment for all young children.  Prepare professionals to extend their knowledge of the development of children and identify appropriate and effective skills needed when working with young children.  Provide educational opportunities on psychological flexibility to professionals and families.

If everyone in the early childhood field built and followed this mission I think that we would see high quality accessible education and care for all young children.

 

Saying good bye is a hard thing to do.  I want to thank all my colleagues that have supported, commented, and shared their ideas with me.  Without your support this program would not be meaningful.  You are what made this program successful for me.  I hope that we stay connected with each other.  Thank you for helping me grow and improve my abilities to make social change in the early childhood field.

 

 

If you need me for any reason my email address is lucibarnes@hotmail.com I hope that we can continue to support each other on our journey.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Organizations of Interest

Save the Children organization caught my eye because their values alien with what we have been learning about.  I also like that they are committed to helping children and families help themselves.  Their website is http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.BF0B/Home.htm

 Association for Childhood Education International’s mission is that every child in every nation will have access to a quality education.  They also offer their members access to network groups, student clubs, and special interest forums.  Their website is http://www.acei.org

 The Council for Professional Recognition - Child Development Association (CDA) offers opportunities to explore other organizations.  Their website is http://www.cdacouncil.org/resource-center/early-childhood-organizations

 National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE) is dedicating to improving the education of early childhood teachers.  They offer professional growth and advocacy opportunities. Their website is http://www.naecte.org

Job Opportunities

1. U.S. Headquarters Positions

Headquartered in Westport, Connecticut with a major office in Washington D.C., our staff is a diverse group of people working in a variety of specialties including:

·      Program and policy work in the areas of U.S. programs, Child Protection and HIV/AIDs, Education and Child Development, Health and Nutrition, Hunger and Livelihoods and Humanitarian Response.

·      Marketing & Communications

·      Resource Development

·      Finance

·      Human Resources

·      Information Services

2. U.S. Field-Based Positions

Save the Children runs and coordinates programs for children and families in 29 states across the country. Our field-based positions work with local and national partners to implement programs in Early Childhood and Education, Literacy, Nutrition and Exercise.

3. International Field-Based Positions
Our U.S. headquarters also recruits a limited number of qualified individuals to support field-based programs in a variety of International locations. In addition Save the Children International and 30 national Save the Children organizations around the world also recruit for positions overseas.

ACEI has two internships available for the summer of 2013. Interns are given the opportunity to gain work experience consisting primarily of online research and data gathering that will contribute to the development of briefing papers and other types of resources. In addition to their day-to-day assignments, interns will have the opportunity to attend various meetings related to childhood education.  Interns should be enrolled in a graduate degree program that focuses on global education issues with a particular interest in children's education. A focus on one specific aspect of childhood education, such as basic education or early childhood development, is also acceptable. Interns, who have had some international experience working or living outside the U.S., are preferred. 

I could not find my international dream job in my search; however, I would like the opportunity to travel and help internationally with early childhood.  My best guess would be that I would need similar skills as I would here.  It would also be beneficial if I spoke other languages.

A job opportunity that interests me is opening up and running an early childhood program that is all inclusive, equitable, and high quality.

·         A Master’s degree or higher in early childhood and experience

·         Knowledge of early childhood development, diversity, and be culturally enriched

·         Knowledge of rules and regulations of early childhood program

·         Strong communication and collaborative skills

 

Another job that is of interest is Education Coordinator for an early childhood program.

·         A Master’s degree or higher in early childhood and experience

·         Knowledge of early childhood development, diversity, and be culturally enriched

·         Knowledge of rules and regulations of early childhood program

·         Strong communication and collaborative skills

·         Four years of experience