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.

Another 8 Weeks Completed!!

It has been wonderful to share information during this coarse on collaboration and communication.  I thoroughly enjoyed the insight gained from each of you in our weekly discussions.  My prayer is that each of you will be successful as we continue our journeys in our chosen career field.  Once again our time together has been great.

Team Building and Collaboration, Part 1 - Blog Assignment

Consider the adjourning phase for several of the groups in which you have been involved. Think about which aspects of the groups made for the hardest good-bye.

The aspect of one particular group that made it hardest to say good-bye was a group that I participated in during undergrad.  The reason it was hard to say goodbye because I had learned so much about these individuals during the forming of the group.  At once entering the performing stage I saw who would step up under pressure and the person that actually held the group together.  It is so wonderful to see how people interact and who the really are outside of the environment for which you are used to seeing them.

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? I would agree that for me high-performing groups are hard to leave.  However, on the other hand in a group where you see growth in individuals it makes the effort put forth in the group much more valuable.

Groups with the clearest established norms? This would be a group of individuals that have worked together before where all are aware of one another’s weaknesses and strengths. 

Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? A group formed during my undergrad years.  Why? I knew that I would no longer see those individuals; we would not have late nights in the library studying for exams and no more birthday and anniversary celebrations.  What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? Christmas party, attending graduations and dinners afterwards and strong friendships developed.  How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master’s degree in this program? I think that this would be somewhat difficult, but not as difficult because we only know each other through are introductions at the beginning of each course and through our views in different discussion assignments.  The element that is missing is our one-on-one interaction in which I feel creates a stronger bond with your peers.  This is the one thing that I miss from my undergrad years the one-on-one contact with my colleagues. Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?  This stage is important because you celebrate the victories and it is also an opportunity to discuss changes that could improve the event if it takes place consistently.

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

On this week the conflict that I experienced with a colleague was as follows: there are many reports that are due at the end of the month for our child care center.  I along with another colleague rely on each other for certain parts of the report to be completed before submittal.  On this week my colleague indicated that I had given her the incorrect information the day before the report was due.  I followed up with her when I had not received my portion of the report only to find this information out on the day of.  However, I knew that I had not given her the incorrect information, because I only had in my hand what she was lacking.

Instead of arguing with her I decided that I would make another copy and drive the information over to her and put it in her hand rather than fax it to ensure that she received her copy and I would at that point make a copy of the report that I needed to complete my month end report.  This is not the first time that this colleague has indicated that I had not given her what she needed so I was very frustrated that she waited until the last minute, but I also know this about her.

STRATEGIES:

1.    I could have used the cooperative strategy and asked her if she needed help.  I saw when I arrived that she had a lot going on and may have been overwhelmed but would not ask for help.  I should have offered help.

2.    I could have also used reciprocity – if I help her this time without her having to ask if she is missing documents or needs help the next time she will ask and she will also ask me if I need help to ensure that we both complete our reports in a timely manner.

Who Am I As A Communicator?

During my initial evaluation of myself in the Communication Anxiety Inventory I scored a 60.  In this evaluation I did not agree when I scored High which according to the test “reveals considerable anxiety in most areas of communication.  This is not unnatural, but this type of general anxiety about communication presents problems for you as you attempt to influence others” (Rubin, 2009).  The second evaluation Verbal Aggressiveness Scale I scored a 76.  I disagreed with the score High which according to the test indicates that I “often resort to character attacks and ridicule to others who do not share your viewpoints.  Your aggressiveness may cause anger, hurt feelings, and embarrassment, and will rarely, if ever, persuade the listener to your point of view” (Rubin, 2009).  Lastly, my evaluation of Listening Styles Profile I scored in Group 1.  I agree with the majority of this evaluation but not that I “struggle in fast-paced environments” (Rubin, 2009).

What was very surprising is that those individuals that evaluated me in reviewing the results from the test they both indicted that Communication Anxiety Inventory was Low, Mild, Moderate, Elevated and High in this order.  My Verbal Aggressiveness Scale was None, Low, Moderate, Significant and High and lastly my Listening Styles Profile was Group 1.  Their perceptions of me did not differ from what I perceived myself to be but as indicated I disagreed with some of the results of the evaluations. In discussions while sitting with the other two evaluators it was very interesting to know that they both thought that I enjoyed public speaking, but I do not.

Insight gained - 1) "Self - monitoring is your ability to watch your environment and others in it for cues as to how to present yourself in a particular situation" (Snyder, 1974).  Sometimes I tend to over self-monitor and count myself out of situations that I may have been very successful in doing.  2) "Self - disclosure when you reveal yourself to others by sharing information about yourself" (O'Hair, 2009).  Because of past experieces I am very reserved when it comes to sharing information about myself.

Should I work on these two areas I will be able to better communication with colleages and parents in the early childhood profession.  As communication is all about building relationships.

References

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.