Time Well Spent

I cannot believe this journey is already over! It has come so fast and felt like so long all at the same time. Throughout my time at Walden, I have learned so much. The first thing I learned was that when I work for something I can achieve it. For so long I struggled with feeling like I wasn't smart or capable of much, but being able to finish this program has given me so much confidence, and I am so grateful  The next thing I learned was that more than anything, I want to be an advocate for children. They are truly the future and each child deserves the best possible outcome in life. Children deserve to receive high quality education no matter where they live. I will continue to be a voice for children so that they can get what they deserve. The last thing I learned was that there are so many possibilities for me in my future because of this degree. It is difficult to do a lot with just a Bachelor's degree in Child Development. Having this education will allow me to accomplish more than I ever imagined.

One long-term goal that I have for myself, which I am very passionate about now, is to strive to ALWAYS be learning. I have grown to absolutely love learning and have a better understanding of what I can do to continue learning, even though I am no longer going to be in school. The amazing thing about learning is that we can never do too much of it.

I am so incredibly grateful for all of my professors and peers that have helped me along this journey. I would not be here if it weren't for all of you. I have felt so encouraged through my professors and have felt like I could always turn to them when needed. To all of my peers, CONGRATULATIONS! We did it. I have loved learning from each of you every week. You have truly inspired and taught me. I wish you the best in everything you do. I know that together we can change the world.

I would love to keep in touch with you all. You can find me on Facebook under Linzie Lee DeVaney. Good luck to all!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

I have loved getting to explore different organizations on a state, national, and now international level. The first international organization that appealed to me was NACD, The National Association for Child Development.  They are an organization who help children with many different special needs get the services that can help them. They believe that a child's education should be overseen by the parent. Their job is to help parents achieve the goals that they have for their children with individual programs and daily communication (NACD, 2016). After looking into their organization, I was impressed with all of the tools that they have to try to help as many children as they can. It definitely seems like they have the best interest for children.

The second international organization that I found was OMEP. The goal of OMEP is to "ensure the well-being, rights, of children (birth-age 8) and their families" (OMEP, 2016, p. 1).  The reason I loved this organization was because they advocate for early childhood education through educating themselves, as well as others.  They truly stand up for what is right for children and look for ways to create a better life for children around the world. Their members represent many different groups of people in relation to child development, including: administrators, social service workers, lawyers, parents, and many more.

The last organization that stood out to me was HighScope. I did not realize that HighScope works on an international level, but their preschool education approach, which is research validated, is used all throughout the world.  Their goal is to promote high quality early childhood education worldwide.

A job that I found that I would definitely be interested in obtaining would be a curriculum specialist for HighScope. This position would require me to provide instructional support and coaching to Head Start teaching staff. I would likely need more training for this job, but because of my passion for early childhood education and the appreciation I have for this organization and Head Start, it would be something that I feel I would greatly enjoy.


References

http://www.nacd.org/who-we-are/

https://omep.us/about-us/

http://www.highscope.org/

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

The first national organization that strongly appeals to me is the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  There are few, if any, principles that NAEYC has that I do not agree with.  I feel that they are always trying to put children first and are excellent at teaching educators what is important and helpful for teaching young children.  They also have standards that should be used with your colleagues, parents, and your community.  They believe in creating environments where children can thrive.

www.naeyc.org

The second national organization that I found that strongly intrigued me was the Association for Early Learning Leaders. I found this organization through research and was very pleased with what I found out about them.  They are nationally accredited and their goal is to help teachers in early childhood settings strengthen their knowledge, skills, and abilities to ensure quality programs for young children (Early Learning Leaders, 2016).  They believe in providing children with excellent care and education. They have so many ways to help educators, such as: webinars, trainings, newsletters, conferences, magazines, resources, and more.  I would be very interested in signing up with their membership. 

http://www.earlylearningleaders.org/?page=membertoolkit

Another national organization that I have always admired is Zero to Three.  The mission of this organization is to ensure that all children ages zero to three have a strong start to life (Zero to Three, 2016). They want to create a nation where infants and toddlers are able to reach their full potential. This organization is funded by federal, state, and local government grants and contracts.  They believe that, "Early connections can last a lifetime" (Zero to Three, 2016).  After becoming a parent myself, I can see how true it is for a baby to have support and love from their parents. 

www.zerotothree.org

A job that I found that I would be interested in having on a national level would be the Publishing Manager of NAEYC.  Here is the job description:

 "This individual manages business processes such as print purchasing and distributor tracking for NAEYC's books program and for book-related resources (brochures, e-books, and digital products). Manages some key Content Strategy and Development team functions such as managing permissions, rights, and translations. Serves as a financial manager to the books team and also manages the budgets for 2 periodicals" (NAEYC, 2016). 

www.naeyc.org

If I had not decided to study child development, I would have chosen to study finance and so I feel that this job would be a great fit for me and my passions.  I would definitely need to gain skills in publishing because this is something I am not very familiar with. I would also have to be aware of all of the book-related resources NAEYC has to publish. I would love to work on a national level similar to this.

The next job posting that I feel I would enjoy doing is for Zero to Three and would be the Senior Policy and Technical Assistance Specialist.  This job would be to, "execute state policy priorities and support states in their system & policy work by providing technical assistance and developing written material" (Zero to Three, 2016). I definitely feel that a lot of skills would be needed for this position that I would have to learn.  They also require 10 years of experience and is a full-time telecommute job.  I would need to be heavily trained in something in this field before I applied for this position.

www.zerotothree.org

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Organizations/Community of Practice

1. Nevada Association for the Education of Young Children - They give members the tools and information to promote effective public policy that is needed to improve early childhood education in Nevada. There are four imperatives that they focus on during the time frame allotted. Each imperative strives to improve children's lives in Nevada and resonate with my own views of what is needed for children. 

2. Healthy Southern Nevada - The goal of this organization is to help schools become "caring communities of learners" (Healthy Southern Nevada, 2016). They work to help build students' sense of community in school by focusing on the environment and the relationships. This is an excellent goal that I feel can be overlooked sometimes. I would be interested in helping promote this initiative. 

3. The Children's Cabinet - Their focus is on helping to keep children safe and families together.  They work to ensure that all of their basic needs are being met. I like this organization because they strive to provide resources and services to families in need. 

Job Interests

The main interest that I have in a career after graduating from Walden is becoming an adult educator in a college setting, preferably online.  I would definitely need some experience in teaching adults in order to obtain this job.  I also feel that  would have to continually educating myself in the child development field. Having knowledge with technology would also help me in this job. 

The next job that I would be interested in pursuing would be a parent educator. I would love to share my knowledge that I have gained with other parents who could benefit from it. After becoming a parent myself, I feel that this would be a job that I would enjoy. 

Websites

http://www.healthysouthernnevada.org/index.phpmodule=promisepractice&controller=index&action=view&pid=661

https://nevaeyc.org/policy/

http://childcarelv.org/en/community-partners

Reference

Healthy Southern Nevada. (2016). Child development project. [Data File]. Retrieved from http://www.healthysouthernnevada.org/index.phpmodule=promisepractice&controller=index&action=view&pid=661

Thank You!

It is so nice to be at a point in this journey where I am starting to form relationships with many of my colleagues.  It will be interesting to see who I will see in my particular specialization now that we are already at that stage!  I would not be able to have had the same learning experience without the discussions that we have been able to have throughout this course.  I have enjoyed getting to know each of you better, as well as getting to know some of you for the first time.  Each of you have given me better insight to the subjects we have been learning that I would not have been able to gain by myself.

I hope that each of you have positive experiences in your future classes and that you are able to achieve all that you want to when you graduate.  It is such an accomplishment to have gotten this far and I know that we can all reach the end! Thank you to everyone and I hope to learn with some of you again.  If you would like to stay in touch you can reach out to me via Walden email or find me on Facebook.

Adjourning Teams

Out of all the groups I have been in, the adjourning stage has always been the hardest if the group was high-performing.  I was always relieved when I was able to say good-bye to group members that were frustrating and made whatever task we were working on harder than it should have been.  There was one job I had in college that allowed me to have personal goals, as well as work on team goals each day.  We had team leaders who were constantly encouraging us to do better and there were incentives for when we did well.  We did a lot of activities to get to know everyone and the leaders were all organized and truly cared about what they were doing.  I really enjoyed working with everyone and when the time came for me to quit the job I was very sad.  I left because my school schedule conflicted with their hours, but found another job that was similar, but there was no sense of teamwork and the leaders at this job clearly did not care about how well we did as a team, nor how well each of us did personally.  It affected my own job performance because  I didn't feel connected with anyone and didn't feel like it mattered how well I did.  I was not upset when I was able to leave this job and I no longer talked to anyone from this office, unlike at my old office when I still talked to a lot of the people I worked with.

I am not sure how adjourning this program will be for me because I have not had the opportunity to meet anyone in person and each class has had different people.  I have enjoyed getting to know a few people better that I have had multiple classes with, but I do not feel I will be terribly upset when I am finished and no longer know what is happening with my classmates.  I have had a positive experience with everyone I have had classes with and hope that everyone is able to pursue the goals they have after graduating.

Conflict and Communication

I am currently working for my dad's real estate appraising company because of the flexibility it provides and the necessity to pay for school and so there are not a lot of ways for conflict to arise there because I don't typically work with anyone besides my dad.  One personal conflict that I have recently been having with my husband is in regard to his driving  I have always thought that he was a really good driver, but lately every time he drives I find something that he is doing wrong.  He has become very irritable with my comments and has begun taking everything much more critically than I intend.  I still prefer for him to drive us places, but he has started to resist driving.  I have recently been much more aware of the things that I say to him when he does drive.  It is easy for me to say whatever is on my mind without really thinking about the feelings of whoever I am speaking to. Being slower to speak is something that I have been working on with the people I am close to because it is not my intention to make anyone feel badly about themselves.  I have also realized that it helps if I express my appreciation to him when he does drive so that he can feel that I am grateful for his driving and concern because most of the time his driving irritates me is when he is being cautious or braking quickly for safety reasons.  Understanding that his intentions are always good helps me to speak kindly and avoid contention with him.  I definitely feel that striving to live the principles of nonviolent communication can help my husband and I avoid any contention and conflict that has arisen and will allow me to avoid having any annoyances towards my husband when it comes to his driving.

Communication Surveys

For the assignment this week, I had my husband and my older sister take the surveys for me.  It was really interesting to see their results because my husband's were almost exactly the same as mine, but my sisters were pretty different.  For the anxiety score, my sister's score was a lot lower than how I scored myself and how my husband scored me.  It made me feel confident that most people are unaware of my social anxiety and also made me realize that my husband knows how I actually feel in social settings.  This week I was able to focus on not allowing my past experiences influence the way I first see people.  Although I don't feel it is a problem to make connections to people you know to people you just meet, I still want to focus on seeing the new person as who they really are and not perceiving them in a different way.  I have been talking to my husband about some of the things we have been learning in this class and he has started to point out my communication skills, whether they be positive of negative.  One thing that I have realized that has a big influence in my communication is facial expressions.  My facial expressions sometimes seem to be more exaggerated than I mean them to be.  I feel that both of these things can help me with my communication in professional settings because it will allow me to focus on who I am talking to and be aware of expressing myself in the way I intend to.

Effective Communication Strategies

I have realized that depending on who I am talking to, I will communicate differently.  I am definitely more comfortable communicating with people who come from similar cultural backgrounds as I do and find that I become more guarded in the things I say to people who are from different cultures. I have some family that are different races, religions, and social classes and I typically feel like I have to communicate differently than I normally would when I am around them.  A few strategies that I have thought of that can help me communicate more effectively with people who are different than me are:

1. Think before you speak.  It is easy to just speak without really thinking about what you are saying or whom you are talking to, but it is important to consider the person and to make sure that what you are saying is appropriate.

2. Consider what they say.  When speaking to anyone, it is crucial to work to understand and reflect on what that person is saying.  Effective communication comes from effectively listening to the other person and actually hearing what they say.

3. Put yourself in their shoes.  Similarly to the Platinum Rule, I feel that it is important to work to understand who you are communicating with and then speak and treat them the way that they would like to be treated.

Communication with Television

For this assignment, again consider what you have been learning about communication skills and styles. Then record an episode of a television show you do not normally watch. Watch the show with the sound turned off.

I chose to watch a Disney show because it is something that most children would watch.  Throughout the show, it was clear that the main characters are twin girls who live very different lives.  One of the sisters is very popular and also appears to be a famous singer, while the other sister is more on the nerdy side and is not as outgoing as her.  I felt like I was able to understand the majority of what was occurring throughout the episode even though I couldn't hear what was taking place. 

Now, watch the show with the sound turned on.

The show was not difficult to understand and I was surprised with how well I understood what was happening.  I was shocked that it was so easy to understand the plot of the show just through watching the show.  Facial expressions and hand gestures were very helpful in deciphering what was happening throughout the show, though it was still easier to have the details of what was happening.  I realized it was more difficult to understand what was happening with the other characters that weren't the two main girls without being able to listen, but I felt I was able to grasp the majority of what was happening. It was definitely more appealing watching the show with the sound on than it was without it.  

Communication Example

My parents are a great match because they are able to balance each other very well.  My mom is excellent at communicating with people and making friends, but she is very expressive and doesn't always handle situations that can be confrontational as well as my dad can.  My dad is calm and is one of the greatest communicators I know when it comes to dealing with people in problem situations.  Earlier today a problem arose with work and I was near him while he was on the phone with the other party he was dealing with. Although he was very upset about the situation that had occurred, he was still able to be professional on the phone and clearly state his problem without becoming angry or upset.  My dad is great at listening and trying to understand others when they talk to him and is great at making people understand him.  I would definitely want to model my dad's communication behaviors and hope to be as calm and professional as he is.

Professional Hopes and Goals

After diving into diversity and equity throughout this course, a hope that I now have in regard to working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I will have the mental understanding of what I can do to make these families feel like they belong.  I want to be able to use the knowledge that I have gained to ensure that the families I work with feel comfortable with who they are and that they know they can come to me with any concerns they have.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field that is related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that professionals will be encouraging of diversity and look for ways to teach children that we should be accepting of everyone around them.  We have the power to share with children that everyone is special and that it is alright to be different.

To my colleagues: I have really enjoyed getting to know each of you better throughout the last 8 weeks.  Each of you have taught me something and have given me more insight on diversity and equity and I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to be in this class with each of you.  Thank you for helping me on this journey and I hope that all of your future classes go well!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country that I chose to explore as the country of origin that "my" family moved from is Thailand. I was able to learn a lot of facts about Thailand that I had no clue existed.  I learned five ways that I can be culturally responsive to this family.

1. Taking off my shoes when I go to their home for a home visit (The Thailand Life, 2016). 
2. Ensure that I don't point when talking to them or giving them a tour of the school (The Thailand Life, 2016). 
3. Calling all of the adults by their first name with the title Khun because they are not used to their last name being used (Kwintessential, 2016).
4. When greeting the Thai family I will use the "wai"gesture rather than shaking hands (Kwintessential, 2016). 
5. I will make sure to never pat the child on their head because they believe that it can be dangerous to their well-being (Everyday Culture, 2016). 

I feel that these preparations would help me know how to make a family from Thailand feel more comfortable and respected coming to America. I know that if I moved to a new country I would feel pleased and grateful in knowing that someone took the time to find out about my culture and do things that would make me feel comfortable in my new environment.  

References

Countries and Their Cultures (2016). Thailand. [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Thailand.html

Kwintessential. (2016). Thailand-Thai language, culture, customs, and etiquette. [Data file]. Retrieved from 

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/thailand-country-profile.html

The Thailand Life. (2016). 10 Things you didn't know about Thai culture [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.thethailandlife.com/10-facts-thai-culture-and-customs 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

In the movie 42, Jackie Robinson's story is shown of how he made it to major league baseball.  It was incredibly difficult for Jackie Robinson to become a professional baseball player, not because he lacked the skills, but because of the prejudice that existed during that time.  There had never been a black baseball player in major league baseball and people were not ready to accept that, but he continued to work hard and when a white man was determined to bring him on his team, Jackie had to work harder than everyone else because of the way people treated him.  His teammates treated him terribly, the fans were extremely rude to him, and besides his own racial community and coach he had no one on his side.  This experience completely diminished equity because he was treated this way because of his race.  It was not fair that a black man couldn't play baseball, but he had to be the first to make the change and show that it was not just a white person's sport.

While watching this movie, I was devastated by what Jackie and his family had to go through.  The way people treated him was awful and unnecessary.  There were many times throughout the movie that I felt uncomfortable watching because of the trials that Jackie had to face because of his race. When I see things like this, I continuously wonder why anyone would treat someone so harshly. Because of what Jackie went through, he was able to make the change for black people to be able to play baseball and overcome the hardships that came from people against it.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Throughout the week there has only been one occurrence of a microaggression that I clearly remember detecting.  At my job a new person was hired and when he told us that he was from Utah someone said to him, "Oh you must be Mormon."  He said that he actually wasn't a Mormon, but just because he is from Utah people always assume that about him.  I don't think he was offended by what the person had asked him, but he definitely seemed somewhat annoyed at the fact that people were supposedly asking him that question regularly.  There were other times throughout the week that I remember thinking what people said could be seen as a microaggression and there were even a couple times when I thought something and realized it would have been a microaggression.  They are much more common than I understood and I think it is because most people don't realize that they are discriminating against or stereotyping people.  I have learned to be much more aware of what I say to others and will probably continue to hear microaggressions being used around me now that I have the knowledge about them.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

The first person I asked told me that he defines culture as the habits of people around you and that diversity is the differences that exist between people.  The second definition I got was that culture is the rituals, belief systems, and philosophies that are common to a particular group of people and diversity is the elements that differ within a group.  The last definition I received was that culture is the unique identity traits, traditions, and beliefs of religions, races and civilizations and that diversity is differences in those three things within one larger group of people.

I felt it was very interesting that although each of these people come from different cultures, they all had similar answers.  The definitions that were given closely align to what we have studied about culture.  The amazing thing about defining culture is that it is difficult to have a wrong answer because culture embodies so many different things.  I was surprised that no one mentioned the typical "surface culture" traits that a lot of people first think of when they think of the word culture.  That shows that they understand that culture is deeper than things like clothing, food, and music.  I have been influenced by these definitions and continue to have a deeper understanding of the fact that everyone's culture is special and meaningful in their own way.  Culture allows us to learn about other people and can connect us to people who are different than us.

My Family Culture

I would be so nervous moving to a completely different country with a different culture, especially if I could only bring three items with me.  The three items that are special to me that I would bring are a Book of Mormon, family cook book, and my wedding album.  The Book of Mormon is important to me and represents a large part of my culture.  Not only do the scriptures represent my religion, but my religion is also a main reason I live the way I do.  It is precious to me and I want to be able to continue to read the scriptures and be able to teach my own children about God and the scriptures, especially if my religion was not in the country I moved to.  Bringing a family cookbook would be very important to me because food is a huge part of my culture.  Most recipes we use have been handed down and are special to me.  Nearly every time we get together as a family there is food involved and not being able to cook food that I am used to would be very upsetting.  My wedding album has all of my most precious pictures from the greatest day of my life.  It has pictures of my family and it reminds me of the joy that I experienced that day.  My marriage is a huge part of who I am and I would want to always have those pictures and memories with me. If I already had to come to this new place with just three items and then was told I could only keep one I would be devastated. Each one has a lot of meaning to me and I don't know what I would decide to leave behind.  It is hard to say what is the most important thing that represents my culture, especially when someone's culture incorporates so many things. My culture is something very special to me because it makes me the person I am.  I can't imagine having to leave everything behind and have to live without my culture.

When I Think of Research...

I just want to start out by saying thank you to all of my classmates and Professor Parrish.  I have enjoyed this research class much more than I ever could have expected.  Something that has really stood out to me about research throughout this course is the fact that in order to do your own research, it is so important to have a clear and refined research question.  I have enjoyed my research simulation, and had refined my question multiple times, but I still feel that it could have been refined to make it even more understanding and impacting on the field.  Before when I would think about research, it always seemed to sound kind of dreadful, but I have come to realize that when you are researching something that is a passion of yours, it can become enjoyable.  I never could have seen myself in a career doing mostly research, and though I still have a long way to go before I would feel comfortable in a research field, I can definitely see it as a possibility for me.  It has been so helpful to be able to learn more fully all of the components that come with research.  I feel that one reason research can seem so daunting is because there is so much work and steps that need to be considered, but no research would be successful if it weren't for every process that is required in research studies. I am grateful for the knowledge and confidence that this class has given me and feel that it will benefit me in any way I choose to go as an early childhood professional.

Research Around the World

I chose to learn more about the Early Childhood Australia website and find out what is happening in Australia.  The reason that this website stood out to me, is because it is the Australian equivalent to the U.S. based NAEYC.  Currently, research is being done on supporting early childhood care and education teachers who work with children with complex additional needs, including: disability, significant development delay, and complex social, emotional, and behavioral needs.

 I really enjoyed reviewing their Code of Ethics and finding similarities to NAEYC's Code of Ethics.  Something that I found interesting was that in addition to how we treat children, families, colleagues, and community, Early Childhood Australia also has ethics regarding students, employer, myself as a professional, and conduct of research.  I realized that other countries care as much as we do about ethics regarding work with children and we can even use what other countries believe in addition to our own ideas.

There was also a section of this website called Parent Resources that I felt were a great addition.  It included four sections that included: children's health and nutrition, separation anxiety, sleeping, and transitions to school.  Each had helpful information explaining the topic and talking about what could be done to help children struggling with any of these.  This is a website that I can see myself referring to and feel it is an important tool for people in Australia, as well as people around the world.

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

If I had the means and knowledge to conduct research on any topic in the early childhood field I would want to study autism and find out the cause and what can be done to help children who have it. There are many theories and beliefs that exist, but it still leaves families feeling so uncertain about why their child has it.  There are cases where one day the child is typical in their development and social interactions and the next day they wake up different.  There are also children who just seem to be born with autism.  There are parents who blame themselves and parents who blame outside factors.  Because autism is a spectrum disorder the variety that autism has is almost too big to comprehend.  Some children speak more than what is considered acceptable and some children can't even speak one word.  There are so many ways a child has the possibility of being labeled with autism--how can that be for just one disorder?

Being able to find these answers, as well as the answers to many more questions that exist about autism would be very beneficial.  It can be difficult for a child with autism to fit in or feel comfortable and it can also be difficult to know what is best for each child who has it.  Having this knowledge would be able to make a difference in how children are viewed and can spread awareness of the best possible ways to help them.

My Personal Research Journey

After a lot of contemplation of what I was truly passionate about, I came to the conclusion that my passions in this field are the strongest for developmentally appropriate practices.  I have seen how using developmentally appropriate practices strengthens a child's experience in the classroom because it is geared to each of their needs.  Although it takes much more time and dedication from the teacher, using developmentally appropriate practices is necessary for providing children with the best possible outcomes.

I am interested in researching the effects that developmentally appropriate practices have on children versus the effects that Common Core has on children.  Using Common Core requires little work from the teacher and takes away the need of getting to know each of their students.  I look forward to being able to study the different ways that these techniques play a role in children's school experience.  I am hoping to be able to find the necessary information to help me with my research and I look forward to learning more about each of the subjects.

From what I have read, my classmates have chosen interesting topics that I am excited to learn more about.  Research is an important aspect in this field and I know that I will be able to gain experiences in this course that will help me throughout my educational and professional career.