Time Well Spent

Time Well Spent

Looking back on this time I have spent trying to earn my masters degree and make it through this class I realize that my passion for teaching has increased.  I must admit there were times that I felt that I wanted to throw in the towel and keep moving forward.  Some of you might not know but I have MS and since Sept. of 2012 I have been in doctor’s care for severe pain.  There were days that I was literally at my computer crying while doing my work because my hands hurt, by back and spine were hurting, or because I was too tired to think straight from lack of sleep.  But it looks like we made it!!!

Trying to decide which 3 deeply felt things that I learned that I got from this class was hard because I feel like I learned so much.  First, I must say I learned how to do APA (American Psychological Association, n.d.) the right way in most ways.  This teacher made sure that if we had not learned it before we were going to learn it now.  To some this might not be a big deal but to me it was something that I had been avoiding and needed to tackle.  Next, I learned that you have to have a “PASSION”.  I thought that just by sharing my desires with my students, my family, and my colleagues was enough.  Well it is not you have to be willing to go forth and try to accomplish goals.  Never stop.  Wanting to see equality in education was something that I have wanted since I was a teenager and I had my first experience at seeing that some of the schools we competed against were different than mine.  We must remember and pass on to others the fight that other parents, students, and teachers had to endure that made Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Brown vs. The Board of Education ( A Century of Racial Segregation, n.d.) a reality that came with pain, embarrassment, and accomplishment as these people fought for children everywhere to have the simple right to attend quality schools. I did not understand it then and I don’t understand it now.  Finally, I learned how to lean and depend on my colleagues.  Many of you helped me get from stage one to the finish line.  We emailed and tried to figure out how to fix problems and that meant a lot to me.  Leaning on others has always been hard for me because it meant that I was notdoing something right.  Well sometimes you have to lean on others in order to be successful, so for that I thank you!

Goals

My long term goal is to continue to fight for the equality that every student deserves.  I feel that if one student can take a computer home then ALL students should be able to take home a computer regardless of where they live or how much money their parents make.  I want to work with our local government officials like Bev Perdue (Bev Perdue for North Carolina Standing up for Quality Schools (n.d) that share in my passion and they want children to receive funding from our government that does not get cut every time they need more money to fix the roads.  I want to work with leaders like NAEYC who strive to make sure that teachers and administrators have the foundations that they need to make their classrooms successful (NAEYC, 2013).

Thank you and Good Luck!!!

I don’t really want to put my face on a webcam (not feeling to pretty these days) but I did want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to my instructor, who is probably tired of receiving help emails from me, and my colleagues some of which it seems like we have been together for years.  You guys are my inspiration and you have always been willing to help.  I wish everyone great success in their journeys as I know I will be seeing some of your names in some of the higher places talking about education.  Good Luck and Be Blessed!!!

                                                                        Here is My Wordle Link!

Wordle link: <a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/6628295/Equality_in_education" 

          title="Wordle: Equality in education"><img

          src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/6628295/Equality_in_education"

          alt="Wordle: Equality in education"

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References:

A Century of Racial Segregation 1849–1950 - Brown v. Board at Fifty (n.a.) (n.d.).      Retrieved: March 22, 2013.  http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-        segregation.html.

American Psychological Association (APA), (n.d.) (n.a.).  Retrieved: April 24, 2013.

            www.apa.org/.

  

Bev Perdue for North Carolina Standing up for Quality Schools (n.d).  Retrieved: April 3, 2013. www.bevperdue.com/issues/education.

National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC Institute 2013.      (n.a.). Retrieved: April 23, 2013. www.naeyc.org/.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

ISSA (International Step by Step Association) is a membership organization that connects professionals and organizations working in the field of early childhood development and learning. ISSA promotes equal access to quality education and care for all children, especially in the early years of their lives, and supports family and early years practitioners' empowerment (ISSA).  This program opens up doors for teachers across the world to connect and try to make differences in places like: Bucharest, Romania, Czech Republic, Budapest and Hungary.  Although these place our out of our nation I feel that this organization is designed by people from our nation to help makes schools better for children all over the world.  I feel that by joining this organization I will have the opportunities to see how to make the changes in my local area and beyond.  I could not find any jobs available but joining this team will be a great way to connect with others that share in the passion of quality education, safe places for children to learn and play, and getting teachers what they need to make a difference in the lives of our children.

-UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund) is an organization that works globally on many issues involving children.  For example, they are working hard at working with the children in Syria that have to endure days of violence in their homeland and within their families.  UNICEF is helping to gather water and food for these families while trying to help the children deal emotionally with the devastation that they witness everyday. 

One job that they have that I would love to do is: Information Manager, Education in Emergencies.  The requirements for this job are: Advanced university degree in Education, Social/ Behavioral Sciences, Geographic Sciences, Humanitarian Affairs, Political Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, Engineering, Communications or related technical field.
• 5 years progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels.
• Substantial experience in emergency and crisis situations.
• Experience of humanitarian needs assessments, surveys, humanitarian performance monitoring and evaluations.
• Experience in UNICEF or other UN agency or large INGO and experience in West- and Central Africa would be an asset.
• Fluency in French and English (written and spoken).

In order to apply for this job I would have to learn to speak French, work for 5 years at the national and international levels, and take evaluations in humanitarian assessments, surveys, and performance evaluations.  I would love to do this job and expanding my knowledge in these areas would only help me make this a reality.  It is in line with my desire to help all children receive quality education.

-One last source that I would like to more into would be UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2011).  This organization focuses on building relationships through culture, education, and communication.  Some of their goals are to focus on Africa and Gender equality (UNESCO, 2011).  Some of us know that women in different countries aren’t treated fairly and given the same opportunities in life or education as the men.  This organization helps to close the gap on this problem. 

            One of the jobs that I found interesting was the Project Officer (Capacity Development for Education for All).  This job works with national counterparts to promote participatory nationally driven efforts to enhance capacities in planning processes, management functions, and organizational structures to improve educational quality and increase educational opportunities for all (UNESCO, 2011).  The requirements for this job that I don’t have would be the 4 years worth of field experience in this type of educational work.  I feel that I have most of the other requirements which were: Planning, Programme implementation, and programme monitoring, and evaluation.  The education level is to have a masters degree in an education field which I am glad to say I am almost finished with.

All of the resources above are resources that I would be proud to work with.  Not only do they reach out to students world wide but they reach out to their families as well.  Either one of these jobs would give me the opportunity to expand my knowledge of how to give quality education to all students and how to make our world a better place to live by providing safe, equal, and functional schools for students to attend. 

                 

References:

Website: International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved: April 9, 2013.   http://www.issa.nl/index.html.

Website: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28,             2011, fromhttp://www.unicef.org/

Website: United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).             (2011). Retrieved: April 11, 2013.  Retrieved from   http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-          unesco/