Blog: Connecting with Your Community

Child Development in the Critical Early Years at WU has been very insightful and inspiring as I pursue my career as an Early Childhood Professional. This course has further my understanding and has sparked a greater flame as I pursue my doctoral degree to affect positive change for children and their families. As I continue my learning, I would like to continue exploring parental involvement professional development, and budget in the early childhood field. Continuously reading information form Child Trends and the National Education Association is essential to all of our work as early childhood professionals. I encourage everyone to make this academic and professional journey, a priority as we are need for the work.

Healthy Prenatal Development

Research-Based  Overview

Through my research of this critical topic, I have found that mothers who are slow to visit a doctor during pregnancy, should seek the service of a medical practitioner as soon as possible. They should begin their visit to the doctor regularly and allow them to treat to stave off complications. It is essential that there is a great risk of low birth weight and death.

Advocacy Message

Healthy prenatal development is essential. Early and regular prenatal care is important to support good health for the mother and baby. Expecting mothers should visit their health care professional regularly. Expecting mothers should do the following (not limited to) these critical factors:

1.      avoid exposure to toxic substances

2.      Follow a healthy and  diet

3.      limit caffeine intake

4.      Not use alcohol, drugs, or tobacco

5.      Take vitamins and include folic acid

Importance to Me

As an early childhood professional, I am an advocate. I have to be courageous. “The best place to be is on the offense, making the case for child care and early childhood education from your perspective, using the “Support Our Youngest Citizens” frame when you can (Berkeley Media Studies Group. (2004).” To support expecting mothers is to work with them to help them develop a healthy context for their developing fetus based on program and community resources, as an early childhood professional who is happy to support healthy families, I invite  mothers to meet with me. I want to share with them the importance of prenatal care. Most importantly, I want to  share with them that not receiving proper prenatal care can result in risks of complications.  I want to encourage them to see a health care provider as soon as possible, without making them feel like they have done something wrong.

           

Call for Support

Support young children and families. It is vital information that we help keep mothers and babies safe and healthy.

Reference

Berkeley Media Studies Group. (2004). Making the case for early care and

education: A message development guide for advocates. Retrieved from

http://bmsg.org/sites/default/files/bmsg handbook making the case for early care and education.pdf

The Finale

For the past 8 weeks, have had the opportunity to learn and share collaboratively with my colleagues in Education 6162, Issue and Trends in the early Childhood Field. With the help of our professor, my colleagues and I have work together in an effort to grow as graduate students and professionals in the field of early childhood education. I was unable to talk with international early childhood professionals, but certainly learned from the international early childhood education and care websites. What I learned, I shared with my colleagues via class discussions and this Blog platform. I can honestly say that I my knowledge base have grown and my passion has been ignited. All of the resources have helped me, particularly the articles. The articles were information, compelling, easy to read, and as I printed, read, and highlighted pertinent information, I will forever keep them in my toolbox to share with others. Since I have developed more professionally, it is my goal to share with those who I work with so that we all can be highly qualified professionals, working at highly qualified facilities. My colleagues have certainly supported me. Their responses to my blogs and discussions helped me to think deeper and more critically. I hope that I have done the same for them as I tried my best to offer insights on specific topics.

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development:

1. Make decisions that are in the best interests of children.
2. Be a resource to everyone.
3. Early childhood education and care is not just local work, but I have a job to do internationally.

My goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations:

1. To attend professional conferences internationally in an effort to gain my knowledge as well access to professionals internationally in an effort to learn from them.

Thank Professor Myers for the knowledge you have rained on us and Colleagues, I wish you continued success in the early childhood education and care field. Whatever role you may be in or will be in the future, I am confident that you will support children and families and always remember------- Do What Is Best for Kids!

Professional Goals, Hopes, and Dreams

When families seek the help of early childhood programs to provide care for their children, I am certain that they are in hopes that they are looking for a child care center, kindergarten, or preschool that they consider to be the best. As an early childhood professional and a master’s student in an early childhood program, I receive the challenge to ensure that every child has access to an inclusive and viable education as a participant in early childhood programs that I am a part of. My professional goal, hope and dream is to provide an excellent early childhood program that offers every child a strong foundation for learning, healthy development, and long term school and life success. Providing a quality earl childhood program is not just a slogan for me. From being a participant in this masters’ program at Walden University, I clearly understand what quality in early education and care means and I am working to provide quality everyday.

Where I live, Redondo Beach, California, I have specifically found that every early childhood education program is considered high quality. The professionals are all graduates of higher learning and they follow high quality standards set by the state of California. All of the programs are excellent. Where I work, 15 minutes away, the programs vary in quality, not allowing every child equal access to excellence. This suggests that much work is needed statewide in evaluating and monitoring early childhood programs.

Professional development opportunities do exist. However, as I researched how to obtain them, I found that those opportunities are afforded through and to early childhood education and care programs that are a part of school districts.

My professional goals are to complete my Masters Program and open my own early childhood education and care center in honor of my beautiful mother. She was an early childhood professional and she recently passed away unexpectedly.

I can honestly say that she upheld the three characteristics of a professional (Castle, 2009):

1. An extensive understanding of the body of knowledge that

    composes the area of professional expertise,

2. A high level of competence in the practice of the skills  

    identified as essential for effective professional performance,  

    and

3. A conscious commitment to the ethical standards embraced

    by the group of professionals who comprise the field.

My professional goal, hope and dream is to provide an excellent early childhood program that offers every child a strong foundation for learning, healthy development, and long term school and life success.

Reference

Castle, K. (2009). What do early childhood professionals

do? Dimensions of Early Childhood, 37(3), 4–9. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Sharing Web Resources

The early childhood organization that I selected at the beginning of this course is The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) at hhtp://nbcdi.org/. Because I have been navigating through this website, I am now able to expand my inquiry. I have shared information regarding the website by way of answering five questions aimed to address the resources this website offers.

1.     Follow some of the outside links that you have not yet explored. Where do they lead? I clicked on the “Points of Proof” link and was very impressed with the information that I found. The link provided a drop down menu where I was able to select an organization, city/state, age of children, and category. I live near Inglewood, California so I selected that city/state and found an organization that supports the African American women during their pregnancy stage.

2.  Thoroughly search one area of the site. What do you find? At the top right side of the website, I found an area that I have truly never paid attention to. It is titled, “T.E.A.C.H, Shop, and Stay Connected”. I clicked on that area and the website offered an opportunity for visitors to donate, join, sign-up for newsletters and alerts, and shop.

3.  If you receive an e-newsletter, follow a link related to one of the issues you have been studying. What new information is available? Additionally, find out if the site you selected at the beginning of this course offers any information about the issue of this week. Currently I am not receiving an e-newsletter, but took the time to sign-up. This week, our focus of learning has been on excellence and equity of care and education for children and families; specifically availability, accessibility, and affordability. The website is full of resources. The website offers information for organizations that work to ensure equal access.

4.  Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education? The website is full of resources. The website offers information for organizations that work to ensure equal access. This is found specifically under the link, “Points of Proof”.

5.  What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain this week from exploring the website and/or the e-newsletter? A new insight that I gained this week from exploring the website is that resources are available if one is serious about their work. I also realized that these resources are free and can be shared with parents and early childhood professionals.

References

National Black Child Development Institute

http://nbcdi.org/
(Newsletter: http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/ )

The Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” Website

The Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website located at http://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/what-we-do/global-work offers information and resources to support children internationally. By exploring this organization’s website, I gained three new insights:

1.     I learned the mission of the organization (The mission of the Center on the Developing Child is to drive science-based innovation that achieves breakthrough outcomes for children facing adversity).

2.    I learned that research and practice is the framework for what they do (The Center’s diverse activities align around building an R&D (research and development) platform for science-based innovation, and transforming the policy and practice landscape that supports and even demands change).

3.    I learned that their work is not just within the United States, but is all around the world (Together with partner organizations on the ground, the Center promotes innovation in Brazil, Canada, and Mexico, as well as across a broader international platform).

Additionally, I found information about issues of equity and excellence. What I found is quite simple, but powerful. The Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” does not specifically work to support a specific group of children. Their work is global. They work to provide positive results for all children around the world.

Reference

Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative”. (n.d). Retrieved

from (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/what-we-do/global-work/).

Sharing Web Resources

I have been studying the NBCDI (National Black Child Development Institute) website. NBCDI is an organization related to early childhood. As I continue to explore the website I found information that answers the questions that preceded them:

1. What specific section (s) or information seemed particularly

relevant to your current professional development?

Currently, we have been emerging ourselves in the importance of family engagement, how to get families involved, and types of activities to involve parents in. NBCDI offers an annual conference beginning September 30 to October 3 in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference will feature presentations on many topics; specifically family engagement.

2.  Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

NBCDI has a new publication, Being Black Is Not a Risk Factor: A Strengths-Based Look at the State of the Black Child (2013). I did not find this resource to be controversial. However, I definitely began to think about my learning and work in the early childhood profession in a new way. It is important that we understand the existing conversations about Black children in early childhood.

3. What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

The website shares that Congress has supported their work by reauthorizing the Child Care Development Grant Block Grant Act (CCDBG). The new law supports early learning and financial security for families and children.

4. What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

I have learned that NBCDI has been in exists for 45 years. Their work has included engaging leaders, policymakers, professionals, and parents in relevant issues that have an effect on Black children and their families. 

Reference

National Black Child Development Institute

http://nbcdi.org/
(Newsletter: http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/ ).