Time Well Spent

Lifelong learning is truly time well spent.

I have become so much more alert to issues that not only affect young children, but those that inform about adult learning. I have had a deep interest in early childhood since I became a mother twenty five years ago, and then as I learned about child care as an owner and director of a center.  With a business background, I had experience supervising and mentoring adult staff, but learning about the characteristics of adult learners was new and very inspiring to me.  I am now a trainer of adults, and will continue to be as I collaborate with colleagues, fellow citizens, and my communities of practice. I will continue to work on behalf of the children in my community, wherever I may be, by gaining the trust and cooperation of other adults.  I am very happy to have studied the elements of successful collaboration, especially listening to the wisdom of colleagues in our discussions and in blogs.

In addition to listening, and acknowledging and learning from the wisdom of others, I have developed a deeper realization of the impact of my personal social identity on all that I do, and on how I relate to diverse people. I have a new awareness for the need to include more diverse people in both my personal and professional lives. 

I must remember that adults learn best when the materials are presented in a pleasing manner, evoking positive emotions that make the information memorable. Just like children, we learn and remember information when it is meaningful to us, when we feel safe in our learning environment, and have trust in the leadership. During my coursework at Walden, I practiced these with my colleagues and the staff.

A long-term goal I have is to become a fearless advocate for early care and education, not simply an armchair cheerleader. The Interconnections (Laureate Education, Inc. 2012) multimedia presentation reminds us to become members of professional organizations, but I wish to go further and commit to being active in my local AEYC chapter, of which I am currently a passive member.  I wish for my advocacy efforts to make positive changes in child care and preschool education in the State of Ohio. I will start by working in my local school district, where early childhood is surely under stress, and in my city, where children must have a safe place for learning, on the playground.

I wish to thank you, Dr. Morgan, and fellow students for providing a safe place for learning and discussion that was intellectually stimulating. It has stretched my vision of my career in Early Childhood.

My contact information is:

blindedbyscience@sbcglobal.net

Facebook page: Terri Weekley (Garfield Heights, OH)

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer).(2012). Interconnections [Webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

The International ECE Community

     In the international community of the early childhood profession, I am drawn to agencies that work with orphaned children, or those with disabilities, perhaps because I desire to serve children who have the fewest resources. Save the Children initially appealed to me because it was founded and is based in The United States. An Early Childhood Professional does not have to travel outside of home borders to find children who struggle with poverty, lack of health care resources, protection from family and environmental threats, or lack of appropriate developmental stimulation. Save the Children was started in Appalachia, during the Great Depression, and stretched overseas to help children in war-torn, post-WWII Europe. Today, they work world-wide in disaster relief as well as in long-term restoration of basic children's rights to survival, protection, development, and participation. Positions posted at Save the Children are of limited duration, an appealing option to anyone who is looking for a variety of experiences. Information about Save the Children can be found at http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

     In Budapest, Hungary, The Pickler Institute, at

http://pikler.org/AboutUs.html 

serves orphaned infants and toddlers, and educates caregivers about their methods of providing tender attention within an institutional environment. The Institute has conducted long-term research about the success of the chidlren who have been cared for in the Pickler methods, and is a model for all institutional care, including child day care in the United States. The Institute is interesting, however I believe that job opportunities are limited by its small size and budget.

      Whole Child International, at

http://www.wholechild.org/vision/ also serves children living in group homes by providing training in developmentally appropriate early childhood practice. The three corners of their vision are attachments for children, continuity of caregiving, and small groups. The description of Whole Child International's efforts in Nicauragua include director and caregiver training, creating appropriate environments for children with limited resources, and creating meaningful histories for children without guardianship. The website indicated that recruiting for positions is a slow process.

     Working for any of these agencies would require me to be fluent in Spanish or French. Immersion may force fluency of my street and classroom Spanish, and so working in a Spanish-speaking country might be a possible option for me. My lack of foreign language ability, however, limits the flexibility I have and may compromise my personal safety serving outside of English-speaking nations. In addition, social skills and personal habits that accept modest living will be needed traits to live where infrastructure many not always provide electricity, transportation, water or plumbing, or comfortable housing. As poor as some of our American communities seem, many areas in the global early childhood envionment are without even basic, survival resources. American early childhood professionals must be gracious guests in foreign homes.