The End!!!!

Wow! I wondered if I was every going to make it to this point.  These past few weeks have gone by quickly.  I have enjoyed all of my classes through Walden University and would recommend this school to anyone who is pursuing their education.  I really doubted myself throughout this course but with the Lord above holding my hand each step of the way I have finally reached my destination.  I am so happy for myself and for each of you also that have been on this journey.  We did it!!!

I have been stressed from time to time and wanted to give up but when I would read comments from my classmates I knew I had to continue on.  I have learned tons of new and valuable information that I can carry back and use in my field of early childhood education.  We have become extended family with each other throughout our courses at Walden and without having our classmates pushing us sometimes we may easily give up. 

My long term goal is to continue to educate myself in everyway possible about the changing issues in the field of early childhood.  I want to continue working on my project to help fight childhood obesity.  One goal I hope to reach is to teach kindergarten in public school system.  I know I will reach my goal because I have faith and I know now that I can do whatever I set my mind to. 

Many Thanks
I would like to give many thanks to Dr. Davis for the encouragement and feedback you have give me throughout this course.  Your encouraging words made me see that I could do this and I did.  You had faith in each one of us and you knew we could succeed and you gave us that push.  Thanks for everything.  I would like to say thanks to all of my classmates for all of the comments you gave because your encouraging words meant a lot also.  We have came to the end of our journey for now but I hope that each one of you succeed in whatever plans you have in life.  I want to wish each of you the best of luck in whatever you do in life. 

All our dreams can come true...if we have the courage to pursue them.  Walt Disney

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
Nelson Mandela


WE DID IT!!!!!!!!



Organizations

1.  Bright From the Start/www.decal.state.gov.us

• Bright from the Start:  Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is the state agency responsible for all areas of early childhood development, including child care licensing, professional development for child care providers, child care resources and referral agencies, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.  This site provides detailed information about Bright from the Start programs, services, information and resources, including resources from the Nutrition section.

This website offers a lot of useful information.  It keeps me updated on changes in licensing for our center.  It has many useful articles as well as ideas that can be carried into the classroom.

Job available:  Business Operations Specialist

Under general supervision, research and interpret applicable state and federal regulations, procedures and laws. Provide monitoring of child care provider program compliance. Review child care policy and procedures. Provide technical assistance and consultation to state staff, regional staff, and county staff as appropriate,( i.e., Program Policy Specialists, Regional Managers, Child Care Program Specialists, County Directors, supervisors). Respond to customer inquiries, draft correspondence to legislators and the general public. Provide consumer education regarding DECAL programs. Participate in computer system change request definition and user acceptance testing.
Develop and prepare a variety of documents and reports such as status reports, accounting documents, outreach training materials, surveys, consumer information and forms. Participate in internal and external committees and task forces. Travel (including overnight) may be required.

Qualifications:Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, Early Childhood Education or other related field and one year of professional experience in a human service delivery program which was in a service planning, evaluation, or delivery capacity.
The successful applicant will possess experience in the application of state/federal policies, assessing the needs of families, supervision, and/or consultation. The successful applicant will possess competencies in the areas of oral communication, written communication, analytical skills, Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Project), internet proficiency, teamwork, and planning/evaluation.

2.  University of Georgia Cooperative Extension

• Cooperative extension provides research based information for Georgians on a variety of topics, including child development, family relationships, nutrition, food safety, food preservation, financial management, and housing.  This site includes free print publications on a wide variety of topics, including nutrition and physical activity.  This site also includes a search feature to help you locate the cooperative extension agent in your county.

Jobs available:  I found  no jobs available on the website

This website is useful in many ways.  It provides information food, nutrition and child development.  This website also allows me to use my local extension offices to find field trips in the area for my students such as pumpkin patch, Christmas tree farm.  It offers a lot of valuable resources when needed. 

3.  USDA Food and Nutrition Service

• Provides children and low income people access to food, a healthful diet, ad nutrition education.  This site contains information about federal food programs, as well as nutrition education and food safety resources for adults and children.

Job available:  No jobs showing available at this time due to federal government shut down  this website was unavailable at this time. 

We use this website to help provide nutrition information to parents along with using ideas from website to incorporate into lesson plans to teach children about healthy foods.



 

Orgainzations

SHAPE-Georgia Student Health and Physical Education Program

This program promotes fitness and healthy habits by determining a student’s fitness levels in P.E classes, and then teaches them how to improve their health and track it.  The program is being used in Gwinnett, White, Hall, Bibb, and Lowndes counties in Georgia but is a program that is expected to be statewide.

 

WIC- Women, Infants and Children

Mission is to support  low-income women and children up to age 5, who are at nutritional risk by providing foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating habits.

Strong4life

A wellness movement designed to help change and reverse childhood obesity and its associated diseases in Georgia.  Reaches families through public awareness, school programs, healthcare providers, community partnerships and more.

 

The programs that I mentioned are programs to help provide children and families with a healthier lifestyle and these programs are also aiming to help prevent childhood obesity.

The job that I have interest in is Physical Education Teacher.  Currently there are no jobs available in my county.  The requirements to become a Physical Education teacher is Bachelor’s degree in physical education and have a state teaching license.

 

Good-Luck!!!

It is my hope that I become the best teacher possible to those who I may serve throughout my lifetime.  I have learned many new things throughout this course that I plan to take back into the classroom and also share with my co-workers and use this knowledge to make myself a stronger and better educator.  I have a renewed sense of hope for those I serve.  I want to make sure that everyone who enters my classroom is comfortable and knows that everyone is special in their own way and that I as a teacher do see that.  I do not ever want to make someone feel as if they are being judged.  I simply want to become a strong anti-bias educator.  I know I have to continue to prepare myself in order to make it happen and work on it each and everyday.  As we know all people deserve all opportunities no matter what.

I want to wish each and everyone of you the best.  We are here to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.  I hope as you continue your journey that you will be blessed with such a wonderful experience in what you do.  The journey may not be easy but end the end when you see that tiny seed bloom into a beautiful flower you know you have done something positive.  Again, the best of luck to you all. 

I have one class left here at Walden and will be getting my Master's.  It has been a long road but I have made it and so will you all.  Best of Luck!!!!

 

South Asia/Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

South Asia

 

 

We really never know how thankful we are until we read about the life of others in another country. It is sad to know how some of the children in other parts of the world suffer. They are born into many difficult situations. I choose a county in South Asia called Sri Lanka. It was one of the first countries in the world to sig the UN convention on the Rights of the Child but mechanism to ensure justice for children, prevent sexual abuse on children along with building a approach to child protection needs to strengthened.

 

 

  Maternal and child nutrition remain a major challenge. Babies are being born with low birth rate and children are growing up without having any parental care. All of these issues are so sad that children have to face these things especially when it talks about children growing up without parental care. It also stated that one third of Sri Lanka household have no access to sanitation and one quarter have no access to safe drinking water. When you think about this you think about all the diseases and germs that accumulate from not having these necessary items.

 

 

 We again are blessed that we have these things and a lot of other things that we sometimes take for granted. Education is not so great. Children do not get the education they need and only about 62% of teachers are trained and have low standards of teaching. UNICEF helps in working toward improving education, improve health care and have a better quality water and sanitation facilities.

 

  UNICEF. (n.d.) Children in West and Central Africa. Retrieved on June 22, 2013, from:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html.

Sexualization of Early Childhood

It is shocking how the media targets young children with so much stuff and ideas. So does the media really targeted being sexualized by the media. Yes, they are. Children are not yet ready to made decisions so what is presented to them is what they see and their minds get set on what they see and sometimes. Everywhere you look you see children being sexualized by the media. In the classroom you can see it because you see young children and they are wearing nails from having been at the nail shop, wearing lip gloss and some even wearing makeup, wearing very tight fitting clothes and I have even seen some girls wear miniature high heels. Sexualization is unhealthy for young children. It is simple leading them down the wrong track or seeing something that they should not have to face at a young age. Also, many misconceptions can take place especially how some parents let their young children dress. Some are dressed from head to toe as if they are getting ready to go the club. As teachers we want to work with parent and be a team to work to give the student the best learning experience possible. At the end I totally agree with this statement. Levin and Kilbounce stated that many industries make an obscene amount of money using sex and violence to market their products to children(2009, pg. 4)

Observing Communication

I observed a young child and parent standing in line in Wal-Mart and the child was asking the parent why that lady had those things sticking out from behind her ears. They were actually hearing aid and she had one behind each ear. The child asked the parent was something wrong with the lady and the parent proceeded to tell the child that the lady may not be able to hear as well as she would like to and she could not hear like he could so these were special tools that helped her to hear. The parent told the child that sometimes things happen to people and they need special tools to help them. She told him to remember that his papa needed the walking stick to walk with and the child replied yes mama so that he won't fall down. The conversation ended funny when the child said I guess God don't make everybody the same. He seemed ok with the answer the parent had given him especially when she reminded him about his papa having to have a walking stick.