Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

I live in a community where there are some amazing early childhood organizations and centers. The first organization I researched is Alliance for Kids. Alliance for Kids addresses several areas of early learning including family support, parent education, health and mental health. The organization brings together various agencies and work collaboratively to provide quality care for children and families (Alliance for Kids, 2013).

 Alliance for Kids allows various organizations, in our community, to post jobs within the early childhood field. Currently, there are two positions posted. The job opportunities posted on their website are for early childhood educators. The requirements include meeting state requirements for teacher, a high school diploma and some college; however, a bachelor’s degree is preferred. 

The second organization I researched is the Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. This organization is a non-profit focused on providing support and guidance to child-care centers. Their goal is to promote growth, sustainability and quality within licensed private early childhood programs (Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado, 2013). They partner with jobing.com to provide a list of employment opportunities throughout the state of Colorado. Job seekers are able to post their resume and search jobs for free.

Finally, the Community Partnership for Child Development provides 1900 children living poverty or difficult circumstances with early childhood education with the help of Head Start, Early Heat Start and the Colorado Preschool Program. Not only do they provide educational services but dental, health and family support services as well (Community Partnership for Child Development, 2013). Currently, they have several openings including outreach coordinator, child-care provider and education assistant. The position I would be most interested in would be child-care provider.  The requirements include past child-care experience and at least 16 years of age.

I am interested in these organizations because of their commitment to the early childhood field. They provide families with resources as well as provide quality care. As I begin my capstone project I will use these resources to help me.

Reference

www.allianceforkids.org

www.coloradoecea.org/About

www.cpcdheadstart.org

See ya later, not goodbye

Dear Colleagues,

As we say goodbye to another course, I want to take a minute to say thank you for sharing your personal and professional stories and experiences. I have enjoyed learning from your perspectives and growing as a communicator and professional. I wish you all the luck in your future studies and careers.  Online learning can be difficult to built personal connections with classmates; however, I have felt drawn to many of your stories and would love to keep in touch with any who would like. 

My contact information:

Amber Brown

School: Amber.avink@waldenu.edu

Personal: peache3117@yahoo.com

Or facebook friend me!

I wish you all the best in your future studies and hope to stay in contact with you all!

Adjourning

I have to admit that it has been a long time since I sat on a group that had a specific task and would adjourn at the end of the project.  The group that I felt most cohesive with and had the hardest time saying goodbye to was my special education team.  This group wasn’t formed with a specific project in mind rather we had the responsibility of running the special education department within our school.

This group was very difficult to leave because of the cohesiveness and closeness we felt as a group. When groups have a specific vision and can work in conjunction with each other I believe they are more efficient which makes it harder to leave.

Some of our meeting norms were to start on time, follow the agenda and respect opinions. By following an agenda the adjournment process was simple, quick and efficient. Our team knew when the meeting was over and what our individual responsibilities were for the week. Having an adjourning system makes the process more comfortable for those involved.

I am curious what our adjournment process will look like as we near the end of our program.  Will there be a blunt ending? Will it be a process, as we get closer to the end? My hope is that we will have the opportunity to say goodbye, get contact information from our classmates and stay in touch as we continue with our careers. 

Managing Conflict

Conflict will arise in any relationship. My husband and I both have a lot on our plates.  He is starting his career as a real-estate agent while staying home and raising our son. I am working full time, getting my masters and finding the balancing act between wife and mother. Needless to say, our tempers have been short and we have had conflict as our stress levels rise.  As I have read the course resources this week two techniques I have found useful is practicing non-violent communication and finding a compromise. Last week my husband assessed me on my communication style. According to his results, he feels I sometimes blur the line between attacking the person vs. the issue. Using the strategies within non-violent communication has caused me to be more aware of how I communicating. I believe compromise is one of the best options when resolving conflict. Each person has to give a little while still feeling validated and respected.  I have used these strategies this week and have found success. J

Communication Skills and Styles

I scored a 49 in the communication anxiety category. This puts me at the moderate level. I have always struggled with being anxious in front of a small group or when speaking publicly. I do better in a one to one setting. One thing that surprised me was that both my husband and dad thought I was comfortable speaking in public. My husband put me in the low category and my dad in the mild. One theory I have on this is that my personality is outgoing and I comfortable talking to new people. Because of this they assumed I was comfortable talking in front of a group.

I scored a 64 on the Verbal Aggression Scale. This put me in the moderate category. My dad assessed me in the same category. However, my husband put me in the significant. I have thought a lot about this section. My dad and I have similar personality and communication styles, however, my husband and I are different in the way we communicate.  He is more laid back where I need to talk it through and have closure.

Finally, I am people oriented on the listening styles profile. My husband and dad both assessed me in this category as well.

My dad made the comment that I choose two men to assess me in the communication skills. I have since wondered if a woman would have had similar or different results.

After reflecting on these results, I want to continue to take on projects that challenge my fear or public speaking. I want to make a stronger effort to speak out during our team meetings or trainings I may attend. I also want to be more aware of my husbands’ communication style and how my directedness may hurt his feelings.

Communicating within diversity

I experience cultural differences on a daily basis. I work with families whose children are considered high risk for special education. My colleagues come from different educational backgrounds and my friends have varying political and religious views.  All of these factors can make communicating effectively a challenge. I do believe I communicate differently depending on the context and situation I am. For example, when interacting with colleagues I am professional and straightforward. Many would consider me serious. However, when I am communicating with my friends I have a totally different style. I am more laid back and comfortable expressing how I feel without any fear.

Considering the cultural differences I experience the three strategies I would use to help communicate more effectively would be to consider and use the platinum rule with all my interactions. Second, I need to have empathy. I am working with families who are learning to cope with their children’s special needs. As an effective communicator I need to draw on my own experiences to better relate. Finally, I need to make sure I am actively listening in all contexts.