Time Well Spent

Throughout my early childhood studies, I have shared and developed a sense of community with my early childhood community of practice. I have gained knowledge, abilities, and leadership skills that will help me both in and out of the classroom. I have expanded my knowledge of effective programs and services and how to make informed decisions through research that will impact and improve my ability to work with children, early childhood professionals, and the communities.

My long term goal is to continue to promote positive learning experiences in early childhood programs for ALL children and their families.

As I look at the title of this blog, I began to shed some tears. It has definitely been “TIME WELL SPENT” on this journey of obtaining my Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Studies with a Specialization in Administration, Management, and Leadership. My final Capstone Project was challenging, but has tremendously deepened my understanding and knowledge in the early childhood field. I can remember Dr. Davis putting in some of the course assignments: “the sky is the limit”- when you envision your own growth and accomplishments in the field. My understanding of this phrase is to mean that the potential you have in the early childhood field is limitless. There is no limit on how you can advocate for social change for children and their families in the early childhood field.

To my Instructor and Colleagues- Words of Encouragement:

 

 

Job/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Three international organizations that appeals to me:

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): http://www.unicef.org

UNICEF believes that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstone of human progress. UNICEF was created to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. They believe that we together can advance the cause for humanity. Also, they advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, promote girls’ education- ensuring that they complete primary education as a minimum, act so that all children are immunized against common childhood diseases, and are well nourished, work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people, and involve everyone in creating protective environments for children.

Save the Children- http://www.savethechildren.org

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. This organization help children and families help themselves by commitment to accountability, innovation and collaboration in the heart of communities.

Academy for Educational Development (AED) - http://www.aed.org

Academy for Educational Development’s mission is to make a positive difference in people’s lives by working in partnership to create and implement innovative solutions to critical social and economic problems. This organization works in all the major areas of human development, with a focus on education, health, and economic opportunities for the least advantaged in the U.S. and developing countries throughout the world.

Job Opportunities

The job opportunity I found interesting to me internationally was a Coordinator at Early Steps to School Success (ESSS). Early Steps to School Success provides early childhood education services to pregnant women and children birth to five years of age, education services to their parents, and ongoing staff training to the community early childhood educators. The Coordinator will recruit pregnant families and children ages birth to five into the program, develop and schedule the program activities, provide regular home visits to families, organize and conduct parent/child groups in the elementary schools, conduct child screenings and make referrals to community providers, coordinate/collaborate with program partners, participate in training and technical assistance activities, and participate in the evolution of Early Steps, including data collection, interviewing and videotaping activities. The education requirements and experience I will need for this position will be an AA degree in Early Childhood or related field with 2-3 years related experience, experience and training working in an early childhood/parenting education program, experience leading parent groups, and experience in collaborating with early childhood programs in the community.

References:

Academy for Educational Development (AED). (2013). Retrieved from http://aed.org

Save the Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://savethechildren.org

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2013). Retrieved from http://unicef.org

 

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

Three national/federal organizations that appeals to me is:  The National Association for the Education of Young Children, Zero to Three, and High Scope. I chose these three because in the State of Georgia, these are well-known organizations with many valuable resources and information that will help you in the early childhood world, and also our pre-k program uses the High Scope Curriculum. I also explored the “Voices for America’s Children” website because the title caught my attention for being voice for young children. Below is a list of the organizations and what they stand for on the behalf of young children and their families.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children- http://www.naeyc.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the world’s largest organization working on the behalf of young children. Their mission is to serve and act on behalf of needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources.

Zero to Three- http://www.zerotothree.org

Zero to Three is a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.  Their mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. According to Zero to Three, early experiences will set a course for a lifelong process of discovery about ourselves and the world around us.

High Scope- http://www.highscope.org

High Scope Educational Research Foundation is an independent nonprofit research, development, training, and public outreach organization. High Scope’s mission is to lift lives through education. They envision a world in which all educational settings use active participatory learning so everyone has a chance to succeed in life and contribute to society.

Voices for America’s Children- http://www.voices.org

Voices for America’s Children are the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations. They lead advocacy efforts at the community, state, and federal levels to improve the lives of all children, especially those most vulnerable, and their families.

Job Opportunities

The job opportunities I found interesting that fosters the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field was a Senior Technical Assistance Specialist that provides technical assistance to state and territory Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Administrators, Head Start Leaders, and their partners to support building integrated professional development systems and effective workforce initiatives. For this position, I must have a Master’s Degree in early childhood, in which I will soon obtain, expertise needed to promote coordination of high quality early childhood development services and early childhood system reform. I must be able to establish and maintain positive ongoing relationships with assigned states/territories and Regions. I also found a job opportunity for being a Program Coordinator for NAEYC. They are seeking a Program Coordinator to support the work of our early childhood program Accreditation System. I must have experience in the field of early childhood education and a sound understanding of its practice, 1-2 years clerical/administrative experience, and experience handling a high volume of calls.

References:

High Scope. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.highscope.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org.

Voices for America’s Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.voices.org

Zero to Three. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org

 

 

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

Three national/federal organizations that appeals to me is:  The National Association for the Education of Young Children, Zero to Three, and High Scope. I chose these three because in the State of Georgia, these are well-known organizations with many valuable resources and information that will help you in the early childhood world, and also our pre-k program uses the High Scope Curriculum. I also explored the “Voices for America’s Children” website because the title caught my attention for being voice for young children. Below is a list of the organizations and what they stand for on the behalf of young children and their families.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children- http://www.naeyc.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the world’s largest organization working on the behalf of young children. Their mission is to serve and act on behalf of needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources.

Zero to Three- http://www.zerotothree.org

Zero to Three is a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.  Their mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. According to Zero to Three, early experiences will set a course for a lifelong process of discovery about ourselves and the world around us.

High Scope- http://www.highscope.org

High Scope Educational Research Foundation is an independent nonprofit research, development, training, and public outreach organization. High Scope’s mission is to lift lives through education. They envision a world in which all educational settings use active participatory learning so everyone has a chance to succeed in life and contribute to society.

Voices for America’s Children- http://www.voices.org

Voices for America’s Children are the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations. They lead advocacy efforts at the community, state, and federal levels to improve the lives of all children, especially those most vulnerable, and their families.

Job Opportunities

The job opportunities I found interesting that fosters the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field was a Senior Technical Assistance Specialist that provides technical assistance to state and territory Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Administrators, Head Start Leaders, and their partners to support building integrated professional development systems and effective workforce initiatives. For this position, I must have a Master’s Degree in early childhood, in which I will soon obtain, expertise needed to promote coordination of high quality early childhood development services and early childhood system reform. I must be able to establish and maintain positive ongoing relationships with assigned states/territories and Regions. I also found a job opportunity for being a Program Coordinator for NAEYC. They are seeking a Program Coordinator to support the work of our early childhood program Accreditation System. I must have experience in the field of early childhood education and a sound understanding of its practice, 1-2 years clerical/administrative experience, and experience handling a high volume of calls.

References:

High Scope. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.highscope.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org.

Voices for America’s Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.voices.org

Zero to Three. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org

 

 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Three State early childhood organizations that appeals to me is:

Georgia Department of Education- http://www.doe.k12.ga.us

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) oversees public education throughout the state. It ensures that laws and regulations pertaining to education are followed and that state and federal money appropriated for education is properly allocated to local school systems. GaDOE also provides education-related information to students, parents, teachers, educational staff, government officials, and the media.

Bright from the Start:  Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning- http://decal.ga.gov

Bright from the Start is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families. Their mission delivers exemplary early care and education programs that improve the quality of early learning experiences, increase school readiness, and improve overall school performance. Their vision is to increase the number of Georgia’s children and families who have access to quality early care and learning programs. More of Georgia’s early care and learning programs will achieve and maintain higher, measurable, research-based standards.

Georgia Association on Young Children- http://www.gayconline.org

Georgia Association on Young Children has 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 includes 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. Their vision is a world in which all young children have the learning opportunities they need for healthy development, supported by early childhood educators who have education, financial support, and the recognition of their community. Their mission is to encourage and support healthy development in young children by working with others (1) to increase public awareness of the importance of early childhood education (2) to improve the quality of programs for young children through learning opportunities for early childhood educators.

Job opportunities

The job opportunities I found interesting and that I have a passion to work as an early childhood educator was an Early Childhood Program Manager, Director, and Administrator. I will be responsible for day to day management of the programs. I will plan, direct, implement and evaluate a developmentally appropriate program that supports the mission, values and goals of the program. I will also develop and monitor the budget for the program. The Program Director is responsible for setting up a system to monitor day to day compliance of funded programs, assist with staff hiring, scheduling of training for the program and day to day supervision of all program delivery staff.  The education and experience I will need for these positions is a Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s degree in education or related field preferred; comprehensive understanding of pre-k-12 education; significant experience in pre-k-12 education; knowledge and experience developing and delivering professional learning; and knowledge of Georgia Performance Standards and curriculum design.

References:

Georgia Department of Education (2013). Retrieved from http://www.doe.k12.ga.us

Bright from the Start. (2013). Retrieved from http://decal.ga.gov

Georgia Association on Young Children. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.gayconline.org

 

 

 

Early Childhood Wordle

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Reflecting on Communication in the Early Childhood Field

To Dr. Darragh and my colleagues in the course of Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field:

I would like to thank each one of you for all the information, insights, and support we shared throughout this course. I have gained more knowledge and understanding about effective communication skills that can be used in both my professionally life in the early childhood field, as well as personally. Also, I have learned how to build great teamwork and collaboration in various situations that will be beneficial to help foster the well-being of young children and their families that I serve.

As we get ready to enter into our specialization courses, I wish you the best of luck as you continue to strive to reach your goals and visions in the early childhood field. Through my blog, I would like for us to continue to stay in touch, encourage, and support each other as we continue on this journey. Once again, thanks for all you have done to contribute to my knowledge and understanding in the Early Childhood Field.

Team Building and Collaboration, Part 1

This week in “Team Building and Collaboration”, we learned about the five stages of team development:  forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. These stages are an importance for the team to grow where they will be functioning together effectively and achieve success.

For this blog assignment, I will focus on the “adjourning” phase when the team has completed a project and is getting ready to leave each other. I believe all groups are hard to leave when you have established a good team that has worked effectively together. The group I participated in was our group of pre-k team teachers last year. Some of us have been together 16+ years and have established a close bond. Due to the budget cuts for pre-k, our group was split up because some of the pre-k teachers couldn’t afford to take a cut in pay, which forced them to resign from pre-k and move up to other grades or retire. Breaking up a team can be very stressful for all involved. At the end of last school year, during our post planning, the team had their last luncheon together where we shared tears and many memories together as we are getting ready to depart and go our separate ways in the early childhood field.

I anticipate that I will experience sadness as well as joy when I adjourn from the group of colleagues that were formed while working on my master’s degree. I will experience sadness because some of us have been together from the first course, and I hope we will continue to keep in touch as we go on our journey in the early childhood field. We have shared many stories, ideas, and insights that created closeness even thought we don’t know each other personally. The joy I will experience will be because obtaining my master’s degree will be another stepping stone I have accomplished in my careerJ.

I think adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because the group will get a chance to analyze all the ups and downs they have shared in that team, and use this information in other groups in the future to help build effective teamwork.

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

For this week's blog, our assignment was to think about any disagreements, or conflicts we have experienced and share the strategies we learned that might be helpful and effective in managing and resolving conflict more productively.

I can recall an disagreement that happened my at my job concerning our Christmas pre-k party. It was time for us to have our Christmas parties, and we were making preparations to send home newsletters to the parents about what to expect concerning the parties. Some of our teachers wanted the parents to attend and some didn't. We have always had parents attend our Christmas parties, but this year some teachers had a change of mind due to us having an early release day. I was unaware of this change until a parent asked me why we wasn't having a Christmas party for the pre-k children.

Since pre-k is an important time in a child's life, I feel like parents should have every opportunity to be involved in their child's learning experience and extra curriculum activities, so I wasn't in agreement with the other co-workers about not having parent to attend the Christmas parties. Therefore, in order for me to approach the other teachers about this conflict, I had to come up with a strategy and quick.

In the text, "Real Communications", when we engage in conflict by debating the issue at hand, we exchange more ideas, reach better decisions, and foster stronger, healthier relationships (O'Hair & Weimann, 2009, p. 214). The strategy we always use is cooperative strategy, that way we can produce a solution that will benefit everyone. Also, the 3Rs are used in order to be an effective communicator in resolving the conflicts. We have to be mindful to be respectful, reciprocal, and responsive to each other differences through communication.

As educators, we have learned how to be more effective communicators as it relates to conflict resolutions by calling team meetings to discuss certain issues we may have concerns about. This has allowed our pre-k program and staff to be successful and one big happy "family".

Reference:
O'Hair, D., & Weimann, M. (2009). Real communication. New York:  Bedford/St. Martin's.

Who Am I as a Communicator?

When you are communicating with someone, try to be a very effective communicator because you never know how someone is watching your communication skills and reactions.

This week in Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field course, we were able to examine our own communication and listening styles, dispositions, and skills, as well as getting someone else to evaluate you. It was amazing to see how a family member and a colleague perceived my communication skills mostly the same as I did myself.

The insights about communications I gained this week is to never take communication for granted, and how not to make assumptions and perceptions about a person by their outer appearance. As an educator, it is very important to reach out to our children and their families we serve with effective communication skills. We need to make an effort to build a friendly network, especially  to the ones that we perceive as being "different" from us. When we exercise good communication skills, we will develop the abilities to communicate in a better constructive way.

Communication and Culture:

In an increasingly diverse economy, I come in contact with cultural diversity by interacting with colleagues in the school, my neighborhood, and my workplace. The United States is known as the melting pot nation, a place for people of different backgrounds to come together and ultimately grow together. Unfortunately, from language to food to religious practice, cultural traditions are still around us. I read in one of my daily bread books about hospitality:

Whether we inhabit a home, a college dorm, a prison cell, or a military barracks, we can welcome others as a way of showing our love for them and for Christ. Hospitality is making room for people in need. –David McCasland

When involved in a diverse community, I have a tendency to communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures other than my own. One of the most culturally unresponsiveness situations I find myself in is communicating effectively with my children and their families who speak another language; mostly in my area- Spanish. I have learned some beginner’s Spanish words, but I still can’t speak it well enough to communicate effectively. I find myself using a lot of hand gestures, using different objects to identify what I’m talking about, or if the communication is still not effective, I resort to a translator, which makes me feel terrible because I wasn’t able to supply the needs of the children and their parents.

As an early childhood professional, in order to communicate more effectively with my children and their families there are three strategies I will use. Among these are:

1. Understanding and acknowledging that we are from different cultures and backgrounds.
2. Become other-oriented by developing appropriate knowledge and understanding of the Hispanic culture and how they communicate.
3. Have a translator on standby when conducting parent conferences, special activities, or to translate newsletters, or any other important information.

* Here is a quote I would like to share by Bernard Baruch:

“We don’t all come over on the same boat, but we’re all in the same boat”

Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

Television Episode:

The television program I watched was an episode of “Martin” titled, “You’ve Got a Friend”. As I watched this episode on mute, I saw a variety of different nonverbal expressions and body languages that showed hand gestures, smiling, hugging, disagreement, eye contact, confusion, and hostility. The character’s relationships seemed to be an off-and-on togetherness.

After I watched the episode with the sound on, I realized the true meaning of the various expressions, and body gestures. It was exciting to see how my assumptions of their nonverbal behaviors of what were actually going on was so different from hearing the verbal communications.

I believe my assumptions would have been more correct if I had watched a show I knew well. But from watching this episode, I have learned that communication is not always straightforward. You can make the wrong assumptions based on messages communicated through body language and facial expressions.

This assignment was also great because I was able to put myself in a deaf person’s position, and see how difficult it is to read lips, and understand what a person is saying verbally.
　

Competent Communication

The person I chose that demonstrates competent communication would be my Pre-K Administrator. I chose him because when I need help or advice about something concerning my students and parents, I can go to him without being afraid or intimidated. He demonstrates effective communication skills and partnership with his employees by showing us trust and a mutual understanding that respects us professionally and as human beings. Throughout the years, we have learned that being able to communicate effectively with our parents will nurture the growth and learning of the individual child by sharing information, insights and concerns. It is a necessity and not an extra to exhibit good communication skills to our parents as well as their children.

I would definitely like to model my communication behaviors after my Administrator because our staff loves him, and we have a better working atmosphere among us.

Professional Hopes and Goals

As an early childhood educator, I hope to be an effective culturally responsive teacher when I work with children and families that come from diverse backgrounds. In order for me to be effective, I will strive to make learning more appropriate and teach the "whole" child, by taking each child's strengths and challenges into account, and plan and develop the curriculum and environment accordingly.

One goal I would like for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice would be to set the foundation in early childhood for every child to grow up in a world free from bias and discrimination, and be able to learn in an positive environment that will promote academics success in their lives.

I would like to thank Dr. Morgan and my colleagues for a successful learning journey in this course of "Perspectives on Diversity and Equity". I wish that each and everyone of you will continue to fulfill your goals in the early childhood field, and strive to promote equity, and social justice in an increasingly diverse nation.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

As an early childhood professional, we encounter children from diverse backgrounds all the time whose families come from many different countries. For this week's assignment, I were asked in what ways can I prepare myself for working in an early childhood setting when a child of a family who has emigrated from a country that I know nothing about will be joining my classroom soon. I was told to choose a country I know nothing about as this family's country of origin.

I currently live in the United States, and the country of origin I chose for the family to be from was China. First of all, for me to be culturally responsive, I need to have the ability to relate and to communicate with others who I don't share the same backgrounds, cultures, languages, and ethnicity. In order to be an effective culturally responsive teacher, I will teach the "whole child". I will have to do research and learn about the Chinese culture and find out from the family as to what they expect concerning the child's education, and how I can support them. My classroom will need to reflect the Chinese culture of the family and child. I will want to build positive bridges between the home and school experiences, and use a variety of instructional strategies that are connected to the different learning styles of both the American culture and Chinese culture.

As I done research on the early childhood education in China, I found out that much of the curriculum content there is similar to an American program, but the teaching methods are different from the "developmentally-appropriate practices' advocated by early childhood educators in the United States (NAEYC, 1986). The emphasis is upon the teacher directed, total group instruction. All children are expected to do the same thing at the same time. They are expected to proceed at the same pace. The child is responsible for keeping up and poor performance is usually attributed to "not working hard enough." Unlike the early childhood curriculum in the United States, the teaching methods and available materials limit opportunities for creative expression or pursuit of individual interests. Most importantly, in China as well as in the United States, the educators and families greatly love and value their children. They make major investments in their children and the education system.

By keeping this in mind, as an early childhood educator, I hope the child, as well as myself, will be able to learn from each other's cultures and let this learning experience be beneficial to the child, family, and other children on how to liverespectfully together in a diverse classroom setting.

References:
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1986). Position statement on developmentally appropriate practive in early childhood programs serving children from birth to age eight. Young Children, 41(6), 3-19.

Vaughan, JoAn. (1993). Early childhood education in China. Association for childhood educational international. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/kcts/preciouschildren/earlyed/read_vaughan.html.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

One memory of an incident when I experienced bias was when I applied for an Administrative Coordinator position online. I believe the hiring of this position was bias because I wasn't contacted for an interview. All I received was  an email stating:

 To whom It May Concern:
 Your application for the Administrative Coordinator, is greatly appreciated. Your qualifications, along with those of other applicants, were very competitive. However, the search has concluded and the hiring department has selected a candidate whose qualifications appear to meet its current needs...

This incident diminish equity in that there wasn't any interviews conducted, and the email was sent out unprofessionally. I felt like this was unfair and unjust treatment in selecting the candidate for the position, and that the person hired was already employed in that business. From experience, I know that in the school system I work, they have to post the available position, but many times someone in the system has already been hired for that position prior to the posting.

In order for this incident to be turned into an opportunity for greater equity, I think every candidate should be given an opportunity for an interview, in order to get to know the candidate personally and professionally, instead of drawing conclusions from an online application.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

For this week's assignment, we were instructed to describe an example of a microaggression we have detected this week or remember from another time. One example of microaggressions -microinsults and microvalidations- that happened to me I can remember was when a woman from another race was in the store looking at the African American hair products and asked me, "What do ya'll put on your hair to make it stiff, do ya'll use wax?" At first, I got offensive, but I replied, "I don't use wax on my hair." I knew no offense was consciously intended because she was a hairstylist, but I was put in the "Catch 22" position.

As a person of color, I felt insulted because most whites usually consider African Americans to have "nappy" hair. Even though I knew she unintentionally meant harm, it made me feel discriminated because of my race and made me wonder what was her hidden message in the question. I am aware of microaggressions because of my race, but I have chosen to be an overcomer of them because I know who I am, and what I am striving to become in life.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

In this course, "Perspectives on Diversity and Equity", I have been studying that there are many different perspectives, views, and beliefs about culture and diversity.

For this assignment, we were asked to find out from three different people their definitions of culture and diversity. The three people I asked defined culture as our heritage, or beliefs, why we do things; the way you were raised, your morals and rituals; and who you are, what your were brought up in. Culture can be referred to how particular groups of people live. It is the way we live our everyday lives, which include the language we speak, the religion or spirituality we practice (or do not), and the clothing, housing, food, and rituals/holidays with which we feel most comfortable (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 55).

They defined diversity as different cultures living together and around each other in the same community; the inclusion of different people which sets us apart from other cultures; and how we are all different, but come together. To sum up their definitions of diversity, diversity is recognizing and appreciating the variety of characterisitcs that make each individual culture unique in their own way, but learning to live together in a community or group.

My thinking about this topic has been influenced by seeing how other people define culture and diversity. As an educator, I have to be willing to talk openly about the different cultures in order to help foster a positive sense of self in our children and their families, which can make a difference about diversity in our community. Also, I can help children realize that eventhough we are differnt in our cultures and traditions, but we can learn to value each other differences and learn to live together and benefit from one another.

References:
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

My Family Culture

If I could only take 3 small items with me that I hold dear and that represents my family when evacuating to another country, I will take my Bible, family portrait, and my MP3 player. I will take my Bible, because my mother always tell me to trust in the Lord and He will see me through my trials. My family portrait, because I can look back on the time the portrait was taken and remember the good times the family spent together. Also, I will take my MP3 player, because I often listen to music to smooth my soul and songs have a tendency to carry an inspirational message.

If I were told that I could only keep one personal item upon arrival to the unknown country, I would be devastated, but I would choose to keep my Bible, because I know it will give me strength to survive in this country.

As a result of this exercise, I can now relate to how the children from another culture feel when they are dominant by our culture. When I put myself  in the position of being evacuated to another country, I felt a sense of fear, loss, confusion about not knowing what to do. The insight I have learned is that we always need to be willing to accept different cultures and families, because we never know when we will be put in a similar situation when we will want to be accepted by our different culture.

When I Think of Research...

In the course of Building Research Competencies, my knowledge and understanding about research had definitely been deepened. I have learned how to find reliable resources, narrow my general research topic of choice down to related subtopics, and also, gained knowledge about the terms and concepts used in the research process.

My ideas about the nature of research has changed because now I realize there is alot of information you need to know in regard to understanding research in early childhood. As with any research, there are risks of doing research involving children and their families.

I did encounter some challenges in understanding research in this course. In order for research to be informative, ethical, meaningful, persuasive, and significant, researchers have to follow the proper steps from selecting a topic to drawing conclusions. I found out throughout this course that learning about the process of formatting these steps can be challenging as I began to develop my research study outline.

My perceptions of an early childhood professional has been modified by understanding and evaluating research. Research today is greatly needed in order for advocates to seek out for the improvement in the early childhood field.

I would like to thank Dr. DiSpagna and all my colleagues for the support and helpful information shared throughout this course. I'm looking forward to gaining more knowledge and understanding of early childhood as I continue to work on obtaining my Master's Degree in early childhood studies.