Time Well Spent

 

Throughout my master career here at Walden University I have learned so much and will continue to learn from University as I apply for my PhD. in a few months.

First, I learned to always keep up with the changes that are going on around us in the field of education. Always think outside the box to solve any problem, never give it. Understand the challenges that some families go through regardless of their situation.

Second, I learned to always advocate for the voiceless. If it’s your passion you will work hard to make things happen. I learned to explore the world of education, by being in this field. I learned that your voice can be very powerful, all you must do is believe.

Third, I learned to remember to think about all the children, not just about the children I serve in my community but those around the world too. They need us advocate for them as well. While being in this program, I had the opportunity to research different countries and I learned a lot about their struggles. I am the type of person that will give back and I have started researching different organizations I can donate too.

Overall this has been a great journey, I’m sad to say goodbye to my colleagues but I hope we will all stay in touch and share our experiences after this. My goal is to continue to focus on educating our young children and helping our families along the way. I will continue to support families in the best way I know how. I will continue to expand my knowledge and understand this field as I learn more about it every day. I’m super excited to expand my knowledge in the leadership field.

I appreciate all of my professors for guiding me to this point, but I would like to give a special thanks to our professor Lisa Embree, she was very helpful and patient with me while I was gathering my thoughts for my capstone project. I appreciate everyone encouraging words and inspiration throughout this course.

Best Wishes

Monique Tucker

Please keep in touch… don’t become a stranger

My email: moniquelloyd1@yahoo.com

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The first national organization that appealed to me is UNICEF.  This organization stood out to me, because it supports the whole child.  If a child is being abused, living in unsafe environments, and have issues with basic health and nutrition, but they need to be normal. “UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.” (UNICEF, 2019, para.  They promote the rights of children to receive an education, to succeed, and to grow up in a safe environment. A safe environment is the best place for a child to grow and learned. There were many jobs available on the website for people to apply.

World Forum Foundation (n.d.) is another organization that stood out to me, is a community of practice dedicated to advocating for children. They have working groups that compile resources on specific global early childhood issues. Each group creates information and tools to address its specific issue that are guided by its Leadership Team and its mission. The work of the World Forum Foundation because of the array of issues they address, from promoting gender balance in early childhood education workforce to cultural global awareness. Their mission is to promote an on-going global exchange of ideas on the delivery of quality services for young children in diverse settings. I did not see any employment opportunities posted.

The other organization that stood out to me was, Children International (n.d.) is an organization that works to end the cycle of poverty. They work to ensure children are healthy, educated, empowered and employable. I was interested in this organization because they work with the children to provide them with tools to better themselves and to go on to become productive members of society with skills to help others in the community. It really stood out to me because I work for a similar organization now which is Head Start and we do the same thing.  In Ecuador they are partnering with private and government organizations to provide affordable health insurance and medication. In India, education is an issue. Children International has an Early Childhood Development program that helps prepare poor children for school readiness. An employment opportunity at Children International that I was interested in the Administration Coordinator. The position is working closely with the Global Philanthropy team and track the progress of various projects. The candidate must have effective communication skills with a diverse spectrum of groups and individuals and have a commitment to the Children International’s mission; to help end global poverty.

 

Reference

Children International (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.children.org/

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved April 13. 2019 from https://www.unicef.org/

World Forum Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://worldforumfoundation.org/

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

The first organization I chose to explore is Zero to Three, an organization that is devoted to giving all babies and toddlers a healthy start in life (Zero to Three, 2019).  The mission includes a commitment to family and work-life balance, transparency, and a focus on healthy and positive relationships.  The job opportunity that I was interested in is a Regional Field Specialist.  This position provides training and support for the staff of the regional office, and partners with Head Start and other early childhood programs to support school readiness for children ages zero to five.  The job requires a master’s degree in early childhood education, at least 7 years of experience in the field, and excellent oral and written skills (Zero to Three, 2019).  I would apply for this position because I of my experience and history with head start.

The National Association of Young Children (NAEYC) is an organization that is committed to constantly working hard to promote” high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8″ (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2019). Being an employee with this organization a community of practice can provide guidance and support to become an advocate for play based learning within the community Executive Director,  skills needed for this job; Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, NAEYC recognized Director credentials, knowledge of NAEYC accreditation guidelines and standards, understanding of Reggio Emilia Philosophy, minimum 4 years of experience leading an early childhood center, develop, train, and manage teaching staff, coach and guide curriculum development and implementation.

UNICEF is one of the organizations I would be interested in because they “promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does in programs, in advocacy, and in operations” (UNICEF, n.d.). The job I found in UNICEF is an Administrative Assistant. This job requires a lot of administrative skills, facilitating contracts, and filling invoices which are things that I need to work on.

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education (National Education Association). This association has affiliate organizations in every state. NAE has an intern position that would be great for experience and exposure in education, it will allow me the opportunity to get to understand the job and get the experience I need.

Reference

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). https://www.naeyc.org/

National Education Association. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org

UNICEF. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=519419

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

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.

Tennessee Association for Children’s Early Education

Tennessee Association for Children’s Early Education or TACEE.  TACEE’s mission is, “to provide members with professional development opportunities and to advocate for best practice in the care, development, and education of all Tennessee’s young children.” (TACEE, 2019). This organization focuses on collaboration, inclusive environments, advocating for children and public policy, among other things that are important to me and the early childhood community.

United Ways of Tennessee

United Ways of Tennessee supports child care reimbursement for low income families in the Child Care Benefits program and works within communities to improve access to high quality child care. United Ways of Tennessee is the association of 36 United Ways that come together for collective action in our state. One such effort is our Raise Your Hand Tennessee effort to recruit volunteers to read to, tutor and mentor children and youth (United Ways of Tennessee). This organization focuses on collaborating with the families and children in the local area to provide assistance.

 The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division

The Salvation Army Head Start and Early Head Start programs give at-risk children the same chances every child deserves. We provide comprehensive services to low-income children and families which include; healthy meals and snacks, assistance with medical and dental care, educational field trips, and support services to the family. Parent involvement is encouraged and children with disabilities are welcomed. We offer two center base options; half-day and *full-day (full-day parents must be working or in school full-time) (Early Childhood Development).

 The job that interest me the most, was the Community Engagement Coordinator, this position will help me become more involved with the parents and the community. Which is something I am working on now. The reason Community Engagement Coordinator resonates with me as a choice to reference for my project because it supports the community as well as the families.

This position is responsible for ensuring all events are executed with excellence by providing a superior experience for all involved, to grow relationships and increase the number of top UWMN partner volunteers from year to year, which in turn will grow awareness and funding for the organization based on the understanding of the importance of the model volunteer, advocate, and give.

Qualifications: • Education: • Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Public Relations, Communications, Organizational Management, Business, or related field • Experience: • Event planning and management: 1-3 years • Staff Management: 1-3 years • Project Management • Working with external stakeholders and volunteers • Sales or client interaction • Skills: • Oral, written and technological communication • Microsoft Products, specifically Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook • Additional: • A valid driver’s license and proof of insurance.

Reference

Early Childhood Development. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org/metro/early-childhood-development

TACEE. (2019). A bit about us. Retrieved from https://www.tacee.org/about

United Ways of Tennessee. (n.d.). United Ways of Tennessee Home. Retrieved from http://www.uwtn.org

 

 

 

My Passion

This week in our Capstone Course we discussed our passion. I chose to brainstorm on those words because my passion is parent engagement and involvement. I want to focus on the importance of parent involvement. I think it is very important for parents to be involved in their child’s learning. Throughout this course I hope to learn different ways to get parents engaged and involved.

A Professional Thanks Week 8 Educ 6165

First off I would like to say OMG we are moving so fast, our time will be ending very soon “Graduation is closer than we think”. The past eight weeks I have enjoyed reading and learning more about communication and collaboration. I must say I am walking away with a great load of information. To my colleagues I would like to thank each and everyone of you for your great comments and posts on my discussion posts and blogs. I have learned so much from you all. I wish you all the best of luck in your future courses and I know I will come in contact with some of you in the future. We has educators must stick together, remember your purpose and strive for nothing but the best.

A special thanks to Dr. Parrish, you are such an understanding person, I really do appreciate you.

Best wishes to everyone

Keep in touch

monique.tucker@waldenu.edu

moniquelloyd1@yahoo.com

EDUC 6165 Week 6

When I think about the various groups I have been involved in, I think they all different and I have felt differently when I had to leave a group. Some were quite easy to leave, especially if the group was unorganized and not formed well. Others were a little more difficult to leave because of the bond and the relationships I have formed throughout the course of time.

I do believe the high-performing groups are much harder to part with because you are working well together towards a common goal and you have become familiar and comfortable with the group of people. You have built this relationship with a group of people you trust that’s trying to accomplish the same goal.

Sometimes at my job it is hard for people to leave and move on with their lives because we are like family, we spend a lot of time with each other so not only are you working together to accomplish a goal, you are building relationships with people and you leave to trust them.

I will be sad when I adjourn from this group of colleagues when I finish my master’s degree program. I have been in classes with most of them and I will miss the connections we have formed.  I have learned so much from each of them and I would hope we can continue to be in touch after the program is finished and maybe we can all get together and meet at the graduation.

Reference

O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

 

6165 Week 5 Blog

Think about any disagreements, or conflicts, you have recently experienced or are currently experiencing at work with a supervisor or colleague, or someone in your personal life. Share at least two strategies you have learned about that might help you manage or resolve the conflict more productively, and why these strategies might be effective. For example, could you suggest a compromise? Could you look for a broader range of solutions to your disagreement? Could you use some of the principles of nonviolent communication or the 3 R’s to better help you resolve this conflict?

As I was reading the blog assignment for the week, I quickly thought about a few conflicts I have overcome in the past but there is one I am still working on today. We recently got a new Assistant Manager a few months ago, of course we are all still getting to know each other and trying to adjust to some of the changes that have occurred. Well I have had a few concerns with how she communicates with us as colleagues and teachers. She comes off to be very rude and disrespectful at times when she is talking to the group of teachers. Now I am the type of person that will not hold my tongue and I speak my mind regardless. I knew that the disrespect and her voice tone in communicating with us would not last very long because it was offending some people. So, I decided to call a meeting with our head manager to discuss the issues. After calling a meeting with the head manager we had a meeting with our assistant manager the next day. Which was fine with me because I wanted her to know how I felt but I did not want to seem disrespectful or rude. During the meeting I was using 3 R’s component; respect, response and relationship. I do have respect for her even though I felt like she lacked in that area with us because she was new. In the meeting I gave her positive responses to the questions she asked us about her. I am willing to work on building a relationship with her if she is willing to have an open-door policy to the staff. Another component of NVC that can be used is empathetic listening and honestly expressing. My assistant manager can use observations, feelings, needs, and request that would help her build a better relationship with the staff.  Building strong relationship is important in communicating with all families, children, coworkers and managers it allows everyone to see that we care about each other.

After meeting with our new assistant manager, things are not the best, but I can see that she is trying to make a change, which is always good. Like my mom would tell me, “you have to give respect to receive it”. A motto I will never forget.

I had the chance to ask my coworker how she would handle the situation if there were something she would have done differently? My coworker responded and told me she would have address the concern with the assistant manager first because she did not want to make it seem like she was talking behind her back to the head manager. I can see that could have caused a problem but for me I thought it was best to include both managers, so it could be address to everyone.

Reference

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

EDUC 6165 Week 4

When I think about the similarities and differences between how I evaluate myself as a communicator and how my husband evaluates me, I think I am a good communicate but my husband think I am a better communicated than him. My husband only thinks that because I am always on the phone talking or always trying to get him to communicate. I feel like I can do a lot better when it comes to how I communicate. I think I talk too fast and that’s something I have been working on. I have learned to say what I am going to say at least one time in my head before I say it out loud.

When I got my results from the communication anxiety inventory, I was not surprise of my score, because I enjoy communicating and speaking out loud. My score gave me confirmation that I am comfortable with public speaking.

The results from the evaluations will be helpful to me in my professional and personal life as the need for communication is everywhere. I must be able to effectively communicate with others in a way that is respectful and fair to all. As an educator it is my duty to make sure I delivery great custom service to all my children and families.

A few things I learned so far in this course from chapter 2 in Real Communication, I learned that perception is a key component to communicating with others. Perception is a cognitive process through which we interpret our experiences and form our own unique understanding (O’Hair, D., Wiemann, 2015). I also learned from chapter 3 to watch the biased language, refrain from calling an older person sweetie when communicating, this can be uncomfortable at times (O’Hair, D., Wiemann, 2015).

Reference

O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D.I., & Teven, J. (2015). Real Communication

(3^rd. ed). New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s.

EDUC 6165 Week 3

• Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?
• If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

Yes, I find myself communicating differently in every group I communicate in. When I am communicating with my children in the classroom I am sensitive to their needs and I am speaking in a calm tone. When I am communicating with my coworkers depending on who I am talking to I must watch what I say and remember who I am communicating with, because some of them I can talk to them like they are my friends outside of work and I can actually be myself and I might speak slang or I might not use complete sentences. When I am communicating with my parents I am very professional, but I must remember not use big words but make sure they are understanding what I am saying.

Based on what you have learned this week, share at least three strategies you could use to help you communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified.

1. “The Platinum Rule” states, “Do unto others as they would have you do unto them. If we use this rule to communicate, we will be able to communicate with people using heart and feelings, and people will feel more comfortable.
2. We must avoid using stereotyping. “Stereotyping is the act of assuming that individuals, because they belong to certain groups, or a set of attitudes, behaviors, skills, or moral. (O’Hair, D., Wiemann, 2015). If we do this, we are setting ourselves up to fail in the classroom when dealing with parents.  We must be willing to build a healthy partnership for children and families.
3. Being able to have an open mind when communicating with people from different cultures and diversity. We are all human, but we were raised in different ways, and we must be willing to give everyone a fair chance and opportunity.

Reference

Beebe, S.A Beebe, S.J., & Redmond, M.V. (2011). Interpersonal communication:

            Relating to others (6^th ed). Boston, MA  Allyn & Bacon Chapter 4 “Interpersonal

O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2015). Real

            communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s