Walden as a Container - Farewell

As I reflect on the time I have spent as a Walden University student and the pursuit of my Master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies, I know that this experience has allowed me to grow as an early childhood professional in ways I did not entirely imagine.  

I think my most significant personal growth came during my Perspectives on Diversity and Equity course.  Being given the opportunity to consider my personal culture and figure out who I am, what my discomforts are, and what I may have misunderstood before the course, was a true gift that will allow me to be a better member of society. 

Another significant lesson was during the communications course, I came to really understand that communication is not only a two way process, but to be successful it must be respectful, reciprocal, and responsive. This understanding and the 3 Rs are now deeply rooted as part of my personal values and is a way of being for me.  

Finally, I see my capstone project as a gift.  The challenge of advancing leadership capacity at all levels of the early childhood field through leadership development, as a first step toward the internal advocacy and mobilization necessary to “moving the overall field forward as a more viable, coherent, accountable, and respected field of practice” has been on my mind since I read Ready or Not in 2007 (Goffin & Washington) (Goffin, 2009, p.1).  Having the time and focus to tease apart the historical context and the current scope of the challenge as well as setting some real life professional goals to address it, has helped propel me into the next phase of my career. 

In October of 2012 I was asked to state my professional goals.  They were as follows:

• ·      To complete a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Studies with a specialty in Public Policy and Advocacy so that I may have a deeper more formalized understanding of the field of early childhood.
• ·      Once I complete my Master’s, to advance my career as a leader in the field of early childhood and be a voice for young children, their families, and the professionals who care and educate them.
• ·      To be on the 2014 ballot for the National Association for the Education of Young Children Governing Board as a candidate.

As of today, June 26, 2014, I am proud to say I have reached 2 of the 3 goals by completing the last course in the Master’s program and having been on the NAEYC ballot this last year.  I also believe I am well on my way to reaching the third, to advance my career as a leader in the field of early childhood and be a voice for young children, their families, and the professionals who care and educate them, however I know this goal is to broad and must be refined in order for it to be attainable.  As I set out on the next phase of my professional journey my revised goal is to dedicate my career to developing the leadership capacity of the field of early childhood care and education as a way to contribute to the end goal of access to affordable, high quality, early childhood programs for all children and families.

As I close my last blog post as a Walden University Master’s degree student, it is appropriate to say a few good-byes and thank-yous to all my thought partners and loved ones.  First I would like to thank my colleagues from my Capstone class as well as Dr. Dartt for their insight and support.  Your contributions made my project stronger then it would have been if I had been on my own.  Next I would like to acknowledge and thank all the colleagues and instructors I have had during my tenure as a Walden University student, for their contributions to my success.   I have met and worked with some amazing people in the last 21 months.  I would also like to thank my colleagues outside of Walden University for the opportunity to speak about the ideas and experiences I was having as an online student.  Finally, I must thank my family for their support and patience as I completed this program. 

 Just this week someone shared the following quote with me.  I would like to share it with all of you as I say good bye!  I look forward to watching each of you as we lead our field forward, so that one day all children and families have access to affordable, high quality early childhood programs starting them on a path to becoming contributing members of society.

“My life has taught me that good teaching is about creating a container for exploration”

                                                                                                                          David Robinson

Thank you!

Betsy

Goffin, S. G. (2009). Field-wide leadership: Insights from five fields of practice. Retrieved from https://a20f3032-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/goffinstrategygroup/docu/Field-WideLeadership_Final.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cr5PVMgkFjeERwGdT-JlaAVMK3aX5vGfhbRFFxqEQS8q5451FTD6Yv-w29f9vjuexlOoaxKqJWa_0ZTQJTEhQ7JAFFwEW0tM6WxgkIIAjGAAjJQXQ9nAkp_BStsJLU-hIpIgA9FL9GVpdvfAer1q9PQEaKy-rFWXDouNbl-Mnv_3JpnBtpDjv2wAYxSJYWqLY5XR5q9oIkpx6I9_vfBvQoghLL5UJz67k_pOZsDXb_klhAeQ8iDNZGAA-viTVPG_Nyvp0TM&attredirects=0


Goffin, S., & Washington, V., (2007). Ready or not: Leadership choices in early care and education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

“The mission of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. We work with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change. We measure productivity and global flows of trade and investment. We analyze and compare data to predict future trends. We set international standards on a wide range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals.

We also look at issues that directly affect everyone’s daily life, like how much people pay in taxes and social security, and how much leisure time they can take. We compare how different countries’ school systems are readying their young people for modern life, and how different countries’ pension systems will look after their citizens in old age”.

One item I found especially interesting was something called Starting Strong III - A Quality Toolbox for Early Childhood Education and Care, which is an advocacy toolkit for starting quality initiatives around the world.

(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, http://www.oecd.org)

World Forum Foundation

“The mission of the World Forum Foundation is to promote an on-going global exchange of ideas on the delivery of quality services for young children in diverse settings.

World Forum on Early Care and Education: 
Every two years 600 – 800 early childhood professionals from more than 80 countries 
gather to share ideas on a wide range of issues impacting the delivery of 
quality services for children and families.

Working Forums: In the alternate years, Working Forums—regional meetings of early childhood professionals focusing on specific issues—take place.

Both types of gatherings serve as “meeting places” where all those interested in promoting the well-being of young children and families can share ideas, strategies, and perspectives.

World Forum Projects: At World Forum gatherings people often come together to launch global projects on specific issues and topics. Current projects focus on men in ece, AIDS and young children, nature education, peace education, teacher education, and immigration and young children”.

Attending the next World Forum in 2016 is on my bucket list.

(World Forum Foundation, https://www.worldforumfoundation.org)

World Organization for Early Childhood Education

“We are part of an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization with members in more than 70 countries.

 We are college professors, preschool teachers, primary-grade teachers, school administrators, social workers, psychologists, doctors, nurses, policy makers, administrators, journalists, physical therapists, librarians, lawyers, policymakers, college students, volunteers, parents, grandparents, advocates, and activists.

Our goal is to ensure the wellbeing, rights, and education of children (birth – age 8) and their families in the U.S.A. and around the world -- today and in the future.

OMEP is the oldest and largest international organization focusing on early childhood. OMEP has Consultative Status with the United Nations, UNICEF, and UNESCO”.

This is an organization I was not aware of and I am glad to have found their website.

(World Organization for Early Childhood Education, http://www.omep-usnc.org)

NAEYC International Department

While attending the NAEYC Professional Development Institute I learned of some work NAEYC is doing internationally.  The director of the International Department at NAEYC is a woman named Stephanie Olmore.  Olmore is currently working with the Director for Early Childhood Education Programs in country of Saudi Arabia to increase quality in their early childhood system.  Stephanie will travel this fall to Saudi Arabia to help first hand.  Although at this time I have absolutely no qualifications to do this work I think it would be fascinating to work along side Olmore as an aid to learn about what she does.  I believe I would need to be organized and willing to learn and do anything while acting in this role.

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

At least three national/federal organizations or communities of practice that appealed to you and why you chose them

·      The National Governing Board of NAEYC – Although this organization is far from new to me I remain dedicated to its mission and would like to contribute my expertise and my passion for the field to further advance that mission.  I reached a personal goal of being on the 2014 ballot for the NAEYC Governing Board.  Next time I would like to be elected.

·      The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership – I would like to be able to attend the 2015 National Leadership conference presented by the McCormick Center.  The conference is an opportunity to “meet national experts, learn new skills, and gain the knowledge you need to be more effective in your leadership role. Equally important is the opportunity you’ll have to network with others who are doing similar work and experiencing the same challenges you do” (http://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/professional-development/national-leadership-conference/).  I believe the learning and networking possibilities would add to my personal community of practice and expertise.

Buffet Early Childhood Fund – I am inspired by this organization, specifically the Alliance for Early Success, and would like to learn more about them, the work they do and perhaps ways to get involved professionally.  Here is some information from their website.

Established in 2005, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund is committed to establishing a more level playing field for all children as they enter kindergarten — a goal that should be a given in any society that values equal opportunity.

In partnership with other funders, we seek to redefine "education" to encompass the first five years of life and learning through an integrated strategy to invest in:

·      Practice, through Educare schools in the nationwide Educare Learning Network

·      Policy, through the Alliance for Early Success and the First Five Years Fund

·      Knowledge, through the Harvard Center on the Developing Child (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and the National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation) and the work of Nobel Laureate in Economics James Heckman.

(http://www.buffettearlychildhoodfund.org/index.html)

Job opportunities (currently available or not) that interest you

Working as a member of the Goffin Strategies Group.  “Goffin Strategies Group is dedicated to strengthening early childhood education's ability to provide effective programs and services for young children through leadership, systems, and capacity development. Results are achieved through customized consultation, including design, facilitation, and implementation of multi-stakeholder change initiatives, documents that analyze and promote understanding of complex issues, and strategy development.

The collaborative and results-oriented approach of the Goffin Strategy Group mobilizes people and organizations to become focused in intent and action” (https://sites.google.com/site/goffinstrategygroup/Goffin-Strategy-Group-Homepage).

Skills and experience you would need to competently fulfill each of these roles

To participate in and fulfill any of the above mentioned roles I would need to continue to develop my communication, facilitation, and strategic planning skills.  I would need to remain focused on learning and understanding important policy issues that are affecting young children and their families.  I would need to build my personal community of practice to ensure I would have a network of people who could support me as I learned.

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

Wyoming Early Childhood State Advisory Council – I would like to be on this council because it makes recommendations to the Governor based on needs assessments regarding the effectiveness of services, programs and activities affecting early childhood development.   I believe this would be a powerful way to contribute to the well being of Wyoming’s young children and families.

Wyoming Early Childhood Association (WYECA) – the state affiliate of NAEYC.  WYECA is involved in professional development and advocacy activities that promote the well being of young children and families.

Teton County Systems of Education – this organization is a collaborative group that is focused on creating a community where all children enter adulthood prepared to be a positive contributing member of society. 

Equipoise Fund – Their mission is “to energize, enrich and encourage the vision, voice and visibility of the women and girls of Wyoming” (http://equipoisefund.org/about-us/).  They do this through grants, initiatives and partners, and by creating, conversing and—most importantly—celebrating positivity.  Their work is rooted in social equity and social justice and they delight in helping the women and girls of Wyoming elevate their roles in their communities and in the state.  Several of their initiatives are focused on girls and adolescents. 

Job opportunities (currently available or not) that interest you

Wyoming Kids First – “an early childhood systems building initiative governed by the Wyoming Early Childhood Partnership (WECP). The WECP was created to improve outcomes for Wyoming’s youngest children through the facilitation of collaborative, systemic actions that impact children’s preparation for success in school and in life. The organization was modeled after North Carolina’s Smart Start program and the North Carolina Partnership for Children” (http://www.wyokidsfirst.org/about-us/).  I would like to work for this organization in any number of positions because they have the ability to lead effective early childhood policy change in Wyoming.

 Skills and experience that you would need to competently fulfill each of these roles

I believe I have the beginnings of many of the skills it would take to fulfill each of these roles.  It is through experiences in these roles and others like them that would allow me to be able to develop my skills further adding to my ability to be an active member of the organization.  Each new role and experience contributes to the next level of competency.