When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning

When I made the decision to do an on-line Master's program I was a bit skeptical about the depth of learning that I would be able to grasp.  I have been amazed over and over again throughout this program.  My classmates have been extremely supportive and I have learned so much from them I will forever be indebted to each of you for forcing me to grow as a professional.  So the first consequence of my experience is being amazed at the depth of learning I have experienced.  The second consequence is that it has caused me to think consider the possibility of continuing down my educational journey and seeking doctoral degree.  I really never had considered it until now.  I have grown to love the interactions between classmates and look forward to hearing the various perspectives on similar topics.  The third consequence is the transformation within myself regarding my comfort level in advocating for comprehensive early childhood system.  I felt coming into this class that I had a foundational knowledge, but I feel fully equipped to go to Capital Hill and testify about the importance of comprehensive early childhood systems. 

 

 

My goal is connected to my last consequence because my goal is to go to Washington, DC and testify in some type of hearing on child care issues about the importance of comprehensive early childhood systems for ALL children.  This program is equipping me to meet my ultimate of goal of possibly getting a change to work in DC as an early childhood public policy specialist.

 

 

I want to thank all of my classmates for your part in my education journey and thank you so much for pushing to think about things differently.  The experience has been priceless!!

 

Thanks!

 

Jill

My Hypothetical Family Situtation

I have been married for four years and my husband is currently a full time student in college.  I work at the local Head Start agency.  We have two children.  Our youngest child has had severe ear infections that have caused deafness and speech problems.  Our socioeconomic status is well below the poverty line.  We receive food assistance from the Women, Infant and Child (WIC) food program; medicaid for health services, but we do not qualify for food stamps because my grandfather helped us to finance a new car so that we would have reliable transportation.  Our oldest daughter just started at the Head Start where I work since she has finally turned 3.  Our family situation has been impacted most due to the political contexts in Oklahoma around government funding.  English is our first language.  Our youngest deaf child has been in a variety of programs that are not equipped to meet her needs and they lack in overall quality as well.  Since we receive child care subsidy to assist with our child care bill our choices of quality care are limited especially since we are needing more specialized care for our daughter.

Due to the fact that we receive government support for our health needs the primary need we have currently is a comprehensive program that focuses on early learning and development for child with special needs. 

What are my gaps?

Does this situation seem realistic?

What help do you have for me?

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

Child Care Aware of America is advocating for increased pre-service training for child care providers.  They are working closely with the Child Care Bureau on this issue.  It also helps move the agenda because the current Bureau Chief is the former Executive Director of National Association of Resource and Referral Agencies, which is now known as Child Care Aware of America.  Linda Smith has dedicated her life to improve the conditions of programs for young children.  Increased pre-service training will equip teachers better before they go into classrooms with young children.

National Association for the Education of Young Children along with several other agencies are all working toward getting the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) reauthorized.  The reauthorization is a strategy to increase the quality of care for ALL children even though CCDF has a primary focus around the increased quality for children receiving child care subsidy.

Both of these strategies are seeking the same end goal of increased quality for ALL children.  Everything surrounding this work appeals to me because this is the type of work I do everyday.  I work at the Center for Early Childhood Professional Development and we operate our states professional development system so it is personal to my work, but also important to me because I feel passionately about the importance of this work.  The prevalence of low-quality care and the link between quality and child outcomes have spawned a movement to improve program quality in the United States and have prompted calls for consumer advocacy and education on this issue (Wesley & Buysse, 2010).  This is the very reason I feel that Walden University has a specialization in Public Policy and Advocacy in Early Childhood.  This is a very political and hot topic in early childhood and is only going to continue to grow.


Reference

Wesley, P. W. & Buysse, V.  (2010).  The quest for quality promising innovations for early childhood programs.  Paul H Brookes Publishing.  Baltimore, MD.