ADVOCACY ACTION OVERVIEW

I have worked in an Early Childhood setting for seven years now.  Seven of those years I have been director in a non-profit child care center in an at-risk neighborhood.  On this year I have have the most wonderful opportunity to work as a substitute teacher in a three year old Headstart classroom for the same organization.  While this is a great challenge I am enjoying the day-to-day interactions with the students and parents as a teacher versus a director.

During our readings on this week I was really able to hone in on what advocacy really is.  There are so many different facets of advocacy, and to my surprise I have been advocating for individual families and children, and for our program for many years.  I look forward to learning more about informed advocacy during this eight weeks and what else I can do to advocate even more for the families and children that we serve.

When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

Post at least three consequences of your experience being a part of a caring, collaborative learning community for your professional growth and development. Use any format you choose. 1) It is always great to learn from the experiences and/or training that others have gained in the field. 2) We do not always have the pleasure of training with those that have like passions.  So that was great!! 3) You really have the opportunity to study and grow in your field.  Because I have been working in the field of early childhood for several years the information that I have gained is very useful.  Lastly, my goal in each of my classes has been to apply the knowledge or sure an enlightenment with those that I work with.

Post one goal for using this collegial experience to enhance your advocacy, policy, and/or system development work on behalf of young children, families, and the early childhood community.  During study of early childhood systems, I must say that the assignment regarding the Hypothetical Family was the most impactful.  I really had to think when considering how I would make sure that my family had everything that it needed in a comprehensive early childhood system.  I know that the development of a strong comprehensive early childhood system would be of most benefit to everyone, but as an advocate I would like to actively work with those policymakers to ensure that every aspect of that system would be covered.

My Hypothetical Family Situation

I am single young parent still in my sophomore year of high school.  On January 25^th I gave birth to a premature son.  Upon speaking with the doctors because of his premature birth several of his organs did not fully develop to include his lungs.  He gained enough weight to come home after a one month stay in the hospital.  While having my exit interview with the Doctors they informed me that because his lungs did not fully develop he would have to have a portable oxygen tank with him at all times until his lungs are able to mature a little more. Brain functioning was delayed.

Needless to say, I was devastated. I am employed at McDonald’s making minimum wage and living with my mother.  I do not have the finances needed to properly take care of a special needs child, but this is my child and my choice is to raise him myself.  After bringing my child home I noticed that he was not using his limbs properly they were stiff and limber.  After returning to the Doctors office with these concerns it was discovered after many medical tests that he also had cerebral palsy which affects muscle tone, movement and motor skills.

1.       Have I given a complete picture of my family, or are there details missing that I should include in order to complete the assignment successfully? If so, what are your suggestions?

2.       Is this situation realistic?

3.       Are there any specific websites I should be reviewing with regard to learning about quality services and programs for my child and family in this hypothetical family situation?

4.       Does anyone have any thoughts, based on my specific family situation that will affect the early childhood system I am creating?

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

President Obama – “The Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge” this is a $500 million state – level grant competition. The Obama Administration has sought and secured increased investments in Head Start and child care so that more families have access to quality, affordable care, while pursuing important reforms such as requiring Head Start grantees to compete for continued funding (Press Office, U. S. Department of Education, 2011).

What appeals most to is the continual support of early education and the pursuit to provide quality care for those family.  I think that this challenge will cause grantees to push towards quality in order to be considered for obtaining the grant.

References

http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/obama-administration-announces-500-million-race-top-early-learning-challenge

PARENT, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

• The value that hearing such stories has for early childhood professionals, for the public, and for policymakers and government officials.  Listening to the stories by parents gives those teachers and professionals that are working in field the added push to continue the great work of passionate teaching, advocacy and involvement in the Head Start programs.

• Your opinion regarding why or why not parent/family involvement is an essential system element for all strands of service in the early childhood field.  Parent/family involvement is so important to the as the first educators of children are their families.  When the family becomes a partner with the teachers the child develops great relationships in their education.  When teachers develop those partnerships they are also able to understand the child in a different way by understanding the uniqueness of each family.

QUALITY PROGRAMS FOR ALL CHILDREN

From your perspective, what is current public opinion in the United States with regard to the value and importance of providing quality services (including early care and education) for young children and families?  In an article entitled “Why Obama’s Plan to fix Head Start is Not Enough” by Kayla Webley it states that in Forty Years there is still the question of the effectiveness of the preschool program Head Start (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2011). What indicators and other information have influenced and are influencing your thinking? I think that the Head Start program is great but the continual discussions from the public to determine its effectiveness leads me to believe that statistics from the program and college graduates are not sufficient. 

Over the next five years, I hope that the public’s opinion would change and they would see the validity in offering early childhood education not only to those in poverty, but to everyone.  There are many aspects of early care that children need to foster positive outcomes in their education journey.  How do you hope this change in public opinion will influence early childhood education strands of service, systems, policies, and advocacy?  Should the public’s opinion change and the need to have education for all is enforced overall we will be a stronger society with well education citizens. What then do you imagine will be the related implications for young children, families, and the early childhood field? I can imagine stronger families which will produce stronger leaders and educators and the day when early education is seen as EDUCATION and not as an alternative to babysitting.

References

National Institute for Early Education Research, (2011). Retrieved November 9, 2011 from http://nieer.org/news/index.php?NewsID=3205

CHILDHOOD ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC POLICY

Part 1: Why did you choose this specialization? I chose the specialization of Advocacy and Public Policy because while working in the early childhood field my passion to help families and to make them aware of available resources to them grew stronger and stronger.  In order to grasp and understanding of what was available to the families it was also important to me to be aware of new policies and how they make affect the families.

Part 2: Why are advocates essential in the early childhood field? Advocates are important because I believe our job entails seeking out what is in the best interests of families and young children.  Without advocacy there would be a disconnection between the early childhood field and what is available to assist families and young children.

Part 3: What do you hope to learn about public policy and advocacy? 1. How can I advocate for families on the local as well as the world level. 2. How efficient is advocacy? How to stay abreast of new policies being introduced how to be instrumental in helping families to understand how policies will affect them and their families should they become law.