EDUC-6990 Final Blog Post

 The first meaningful thing that I have learned from this program is the importance of being a good leader. “Effective leadership in early childhood education requires individuals to be in touch with the prevailing sociocultural attitudes in their communities regarding child care and child development.” (Scott, 2015). He goes on to talk about how a leader has to understand the science behind childcare and policies. He also talks about the importance of communication and team-building skills. I have learned so many good skills that will help make me a great leader. The biggest thing that has been in every class I have taken is the importance of communication. Being a good leader means that I know how to communicate with my team.

The second meaningful thing I learned from this program is the importance of a budget and how much it costs to run a childcare center. A budget for a childcare center is so much more than just bills; there are hundreds of things to account for. Sorenson & Goldsmith, 2018) taught me how to create a budget that aligns with my mission and vision statements. They taught me that budgeting is not simply about money, but it includes how the center is run and what my goals are for the center.

The third meaningful thing I learned is the importance of forming relationships with not only my staff but other people in this field. I learned the importance of collaboration which is something I still talk about to this day. Collaborating with my colleagues is one of my favorite things to do because I know they have great ideas that I have not thought of. Collaborating helps each one of us learn something new and gives us the opportunity to learn.

My long-term goal is to get a job that focuses on creating policies and procedures for childcare centers. I want to create policies that will help create a high-quality learning environment with high-quality teachers.

I truly cannot believe this is the end; it feels like I started this program just yesterday with all of you. Thank you to all the instructors who were with me during this time and taught me things that I will put to good use in this field. My colleagues throughout this experience have been amazing, and they have taught me so much. I hope I am able to keep in touch with some of you as we continue our careers in the early childhood education field. It would be an honor to work next to each and every one of you. I will definitely miss interacting with everyone weekly.
Reference

Scott, D. (2005). Leaders on leadership: How do you envision leadership in early care and education in 2015? YC Young Children, 60(1), 20-22.

Sorenson, R. D., & Goldsmith, L. M. (2018). The principal's guide to school budgeting (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

EDUC 1990 International Organizations

 The first international organization that appealed to me is the International Child Resource Institute (https://www.icrichild.org/). The first thing that I noticed when I found this organization is that they have a world map on their home screen. By clicking on any part of the world, it will take you to that place and give you more information. They even have different symbols that pop up when you hover over that place. There are different things that they focus on, such as childcare education, children’s rights, empowerment of women and girls, etc. I clicked on India and found out that this organization has been working with India for over 10 years to fund education. You can also find different projects they are currently working on and past projects that they have completed.

The second international organization that appealed to me is Grace Children’s Hospital International Child Care (https://www.internationalchildcare.org/). I love that the home page was blunt and straight to the point, informing you about the statistics in Haiti. If you continue to scroll down, it gives 2 options either give or learn. When I clicked on to learn, it gave so many resources and information about the work that they are doing and why they are doing it. I the how straightforward their website is, and it gives you all the information you need to know.

The third international organization that appealed to me is the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (https://www.unicef.org/). This organization appeals to me because they are focusing on child protection, survival, education, etc. They are activists for children and give children a voice everywhere; under their what we do tab, they say, “We never give up.” That line sticks with me because we can never give p on the children; we have to stand up for them.

One job opportunity that interests me is a senior policy analyst position. I am interested in developing and analyzing policies to ensure everyone is receiving high-quality education. This position requires me to have a degree in education, be knowledgeable in policies, and have strong communication skills.