Time Well Spent

Throughout this course and the program overall, I have learned so much informative information that will help me throughout my professional career. Learning about diversity and equity was very important to me because there is such diverse classrooms in today’s society. It is so important to be aware of different cultures in our classrooms and understand and incorporate those cultures into the curriculum. This allows the children to feel comfortable, respected and included.

I have learned that embracing diversity is a very important part of working in the early childhood field and realizing that there are many different ways to be a family has helped me to do this. As long as there is love children can be from any sort of family. We need to be respectful and accepting of this.

I also learned an abundance of information about the different learning and teaching strategies and styles. Being able to recognize the different learning styles within my classroom will allow me to adequately meet the learning needs of my children.

Learning about Community of Practice (COP) and leadership styles was one of the most informative objectives in this program because it allowed me to envision the goals that could be accomplished through a COP and the resources all members bring to the table. Knowing what characteristics to look for in a leader will help ensure that the right leader will be selected to run my COP in the future.

One of my long term goals is to create or be a part of a COP that will provide the necessary educational resources for children in the foster care program who struggle with behavioral, educational, or developmental issues in school. My goal is to avoid allowing these children to fall through the educational cracks of a dysfunctional foster care system. I would like to continue to educate myself on issues relating to work I do which will mean keeping up to date with the latest research regarding abilities in young children.

I cannot express into words how much this experience has changed my life. I am forever grateful to all of you for the many comments, suggestions, and words of encouragement and hope that you all have given me. This has been a journey of learning new strategies and most of all learning about myself so that I can better serve the children and families I encounter. My professors have all contributed to my success throughout this program. Through the feedback you have provided, I have gained much knowledge and skills that I will contribute to my success within the field of early childhood. I wish you all the best of luck in your journey in accomplishing your goals and know that we will all contribute to the field of early childhood! God Bless! -Porsche Dalton

Job/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Working internationally would be a dream. I would love to work in a different country and be immersed within a foreign culture. I always wanted to go to Africa and work with the families and children.

Aid for Africa

http://www.aidforafrica.org

Address: 6909 Ridgewood Ave.

Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815

Mission:

Aid for Africa is a unique alliance of the United States based charities and their African partners dedicated to helping children, families and communities in and around Africa. Their grassroots program focus on health, education and economic development.

Employment:

Aid for Africa has positions in their member organizations. Invisible children (San Diego, CA), H2O for Life, Books for Africa (Atlanta, GA). They are looking for internships and volunteers.

Skills and Experience:

Some lifting

Accept students as interns all over the US and some require only one year of college

Care 2 Make a Difference

http://www.care2.com

Address: Redwood California

Care 2 is the largest social network for people who want to make a difference. The team empowers members to take action with action-oriented tools and content on Care2.com, enabling members to rapidly pool their resources and produce lasting changes. Care 2 powers its members activism via cause driven education, activism and fundraising campaigns that benefit more than 1,000 of the world’s non-profit organizations.

Employment:

Support the Care2 campaign team’s effort to provide fast and high-quality advocacy, membership recruitment and fundraising campaigns for non-profit clients. Research progressive legislation in Congress and urgent advocacy topics, monitoring breaking news, blogs and content partner sites daily for compelling campaigns, write and copy edit Care2 action alerts, blog posts and success stories; monitor social media outlets to better understand how users are talking about and using Care2 and for which issues people are passionate about; Communicate with Care2 activist petition authors to help them promote their petitions.

Skills and Experience:

Student actively enrolled in coursework and seeking to complete school internships credit in a relevant field (such as journalism, marketing, political science, women’s studies, environmental studies, public policy). Recent graduates are also invited to apply.

Planet Aid, Inc.

http://www.planetaid.org

Address: 6730 Santa Barbara Court

Elkridge, Maryland 21075

Mission:

Planet Aid is a 501 © 3 nonprofit organization that collects and recycles used clothing and shoes to protect the environment and support sustainable development in impoverished communities around the world. Planet Aid’s mission is to inform, mobilize and inspire individuals and communities to work together to bring about worldwide environmental and social progress. They work to strengthen and organize communities, reduce poverty and promote small enterprise development, support sustainable local food production, improve access to training and quality education and increase health awareness and encourage healthy lifestyles.

Employment:

The Manager in Training (MIT) system offers individuals an opportunity to obtain training, gain work experience, and broaden their outlook through international service work. Upon completion the manager in training may obtain a position with Planet Aid on the path to become a future manager with Planet Aid.