End of a Journey

Three Deep Learning Experiences:

My first deep learning experience occurred when I finally uncovered the biases I had towards a particular group. This was incredibly difficult at the time. I struggled to understand how I could possess such biases and still be a teacher each day. It is through this program I was able to uncover my bias and worth through my bias with the support of my colleagues in this program and colleagues at my school.

The next deep learning was in regard to the support system I had. Early on in the Master’s program we were asked to share those that were a part of our support system. I did not recognize why this was so important to the degree I was working towards, however now I recognize that the support system we have and those that surround us are the very ones that help us grow and develop just like our children. It is each of these members that play a role in the overall development of a child including me as a child enters my classroom each day.

The final deep learning I had was in regard to the power we have to change the injustices that exist towards children and families. Each person that has stood for children and worked towards change had to start somewhere just like us. This helped me realize that any of us can be advocates or positive change in our children.

One of my long term goals is to work towards improving the quality of teaching I provide my children with each day, and to help improve the quality of teaching that exists around my school as a whole. I hope to bring forth new strategies and information that will spark the passion of those in my school who have lost sight of their passion, and help support new teachers in building positive high quality classrooms. As a person who recently began my career as a teacher, I am in tune with some of the challenges and set backs that may occur and my goal is to be a mentor as we gain many new teachers in the coming year.

International Organizations

World Vision-   This organization is Christian- based and focused on working with children, families, and communities world-wide to help them reach their fullest potential despite the causes of poverty and injustice.  World Vision ( 2013) serves close to 100 million people in 100 countries around the world. In the United States, this organization works in the urban and rural areas to provide poverty relief services.  They help children by providing free tutoring from trained volunteers as well as helping expand current community organizations that are child-centered.  This organization also provides disaster relief world wide, nutrition, and water supply to those in need, as well as health needs of expecting parents.   Looking into the many job opportunity, one in particular caught my eye. This administrative coordinator position is in Nashville, TN and required extensive attention to detail and ability to multitask. Some of the responsibilities include coordinating calendar appointments for team leaders, coordinating tour representative travel, ordering supplies for events, and conducting data entry and analysis to report project results.  This job requires 5 years of administrative support experience, which I do not have, but all other requirements I possess. This job sounds very challenging and a major change of pace for me as a current teacher.

Save the Children-  Save the Children has some similarities to World Vision, in that they both respond when disasters strike. They are there to provide nutrition, medical care, and education as well as remain through the long recovery process. In the United States they provide programs to support children growing up in poverty. Save the Children (2013) states that nearly 13 million children understand all too well what it means to go without including access to books, preschool, healthy foods and a place to play and exercise. Save the Children has programs such as Ready to Learn, Success in School, and Healthy and Active which served nearly 185,000 children last year. While there are job openings all over the world, the closest one is in Kentucky as a Program Specialist for School Based Programs. This job requires partner planning and site support, implementation of training and technical assistance programs as well as monitoring the implementation of school based programs. For this job I almost fulfill all the requirements expect for a minimum of 5 years as a teacher. This is a job to definitely keep my eyes on in the future.

CARE- This is a leading organization in fighting global poverty. This organizations focus is on helping women in poverty because they feel women have the power to help whole families and entire communities (CARE, 2013).  This organization works to improve education, access to clean water, expand economic opportunities and protect natural resources. CARE responds in times of crisis by providing the immediate survival needs and helps them rebuild their lives in the weeks and months to follow.  CARE also works at the local, national, and international levels to bring about policies that address the underlying causes of poverty. Many of the positions under the CARE organization were stationed overseas or simply did not meet my interest, however under the internship and fellowship section they included two positions, one for economic development and the other for learning tours. The learning tours position involves a great deal of research on potential countries for future trips, recruitment, and post trip responsibilities.  This job is something a little different from what I am typically interested in, but I do feel it would provide a great learning experience to develop my communication skills, and understanding of poverty around the world.

References

http://www.care.org/

http://www.savethechildren.org

http://www.worldvision.org

National/Federal Organizations

    The three national/federal organizations I selected include The National Center of Family Literacy, The United States Department of Health and Human Services, and Jumpstart. Each of these organizations grabbed my attention in different ways.

     The National Center of Family Literacy grabbed my attention simply by the title. Literacy is such a critical topic within our nation today. This organization focused on the entire family literacy not just the child’s. Its focus is supported by research that children’s reading scores are improved when their parents are involved in helping them learn to read. They also find that low income and mother’s lack of education are big factors in students’ education. This organization currently does not have any positions available and does not state any information about job descriptions or qualifications. It simply mentioned sending in a resume.

      The next organization is the United States Department of Health and Human Services in the Administration of Children and Families. One specific job is a child care program specialists. This job would involve evaluation child care programs, identifying and researching policies that impact child care, as well as assisting other staff with presenting information regarding successful child care program practices. This job requires progress in a Master’s program or a Master’s Degree.

     The final organization is Jumpstart. This organization works hard to close the achievement gap between our countries children. While this organization focuses on training college students and volunteers to work with preschool children, it also has many jobs for others.  One particular job within this organization is the Executive Director of a particular region. This job requires monitoring and evaluating current strategies in use for the program, as well as build partnerships with those in higher education and early educator because of there impact in helping reach goals. This position also requires taking on full management of 35 regional staff and maintain a positive culture in which each individual is maximizing their potential. This position requires at least a Bachelor’s degree but prefers Master’s or more. It also requires 10 years experience within the fundraising or nonprofit leadership which is something I am far from possessing.

From these three observations of job positions it is clear that my opportunities exceed beyond the classroom, however I also need develop my experience in fundraising and leadership.

References:

http://www.famlit.org/

http://www.hhs.gov/careers/

http://www.jstart.org/

Exploring State and Local Roles in the Early Childhood Education Community

This week has been quiet stressful with the accumulation of all the different responsibilities in my life. I am quiet thankful for my support team who have been great ears to listen, and minds to help bounce ideas off. As I looked into different local and state organizations, I found that Memphis has many different organizations, agencies, and communities of practice that gain my interest.

Metropolitan Inner Faith Association (MIFA) is an organization that supports vulnerable seniors and families in crisis through high impact programs. One particular program helps families who experience an unexpected loss of income and help provide them with housing and food. They also have programs that provide life skills training, counseling, and mentoring. This organization strikes my interest because it falls in line with my passion for helping families of low economic status and provide them with resources that will help them get on their feet as well as support the family. The main aspect that drew my attention to this organization originally, was its top value to welcome and respect all people and act with integrity (MIFA, 2008).  While no current positions are available within this organization, it does state that college degree is required. However, many volunteer opportunities are currently available within this organization such as delivering meals, working alongside a mentor.

Stand for Children Leadership Center is an organization focused on solving problems facing children. It also provides training for other individuals who wish to be a part of standing up for issues facing children by convincing elected officials and voters to invest in vital children’s programs. A career within this field would help provide change in the childhood programs in another avenue outside of being a classroom teacher. This is actually a job I truly feel would fulfill my passion towards childhood education outside of being a classroom teacher. A job within this organization would involve excellent leadership skills, as well as the ability to motivate, manage, and develop a staff that can create proposals to state and district policies. Looking over these qualifications I am lacking the five years experience in the education field at the moment, as well as experience in writing in this form.

Porter-Leath is the primary resource in the Memphis area for at risk children and families (Porter -Leath, 2013). This organization provides the building blocks needed for healthy development along with the tools necessary to make this happen. This organization includes Head Start programs as well as resources to provide training for parents as they teach their children. Many other resources and outreach opportunities are provided throughout the year from this organization. This is yet another program that fuels my passion to help families in the Memphis area in ways beyond working in the classroom. Many positions are available in this organization including an educational coordinator which would oversee all the activities occurring in a Head Start program, and the Parent Educator which will visit with up to 30 families within the program and provide training on parents as teachers.  I am comforted to know that both of these positions fit the qualifications I currently possess, as fall directly in line with a type of position that I can see myself holding in future years.

With these three organizations in mind, I have realized that fulfilling my passion does not simply mean I must remain in the classroom. While I love my job as a classroom teacher, I am aware that within the next few years I will want change. Recognizing that making that change is more possible than I originally thought is comforting.

References:

Metropolitain Inner Faith Association (2008). Our programs. Retrieved from www.mifa.org

Porter-Leather: Better children. Better Families (2013). About Porter- Leath. Retrieved from www. porterleath.org