Friday, June 30, 2017

Time Well Spent

To start off my final blog for my master's I would like to say thank you. This was an interesting journey for me. I would like to thank Dr. Embree for all her hard work for me and the class. Over nine months ago I found that I was pregnant and that the baby was due during the time I would be taking my master's capstone. I decided to put of my capstone course for eight weeks so I could have my baby boy and get my brain kind-of back on track so I could finish strong. Due the month of April our family suffered a tragic loss. My mother-in-law and nephew were hiking in the Grand Canyon and lost their footing and drowned. This has been a very rough time for my family. My three girls were very close to her and they struggle everyday without her. I did not realize how much I have build a positive relationship and loving relationship with her until she is gone. The reason I mention this to you all is because this class has not been easy for me. I was trying to find a way just to write the paper and not interact with the class before class started. I am glad this did not happened because I enjoyed interacting with all and learning about your passions. I found reading and interacting with you help me stay the course so again I would like to say thank you very much. My project evolved as I was working on it and learning from you and Dr. Embree. Because of the state of mind I was in before the course started I was not sure this paper could come together like it did. My long term goals have changed because of my loss. I still want to have a preschool but it will be put off because my family needs me more the starting a new business. Right now my focus is on volunteering at my children's school and helping them succed in school. My baby boy will never know his grandmother but i must create a world of memories for his sister's I will use my education to help my children and the children I work with at the school. Because of this project I will be talking to a few individuals who have built an therapy business in Colorado because they can help me see if it is possible to have them start building a business like this in our community to help with early intervention and intervention. My future was to work on my doctorate but know I am not sure I can accomplish it emotionally. I would like to thank everyone for your support and comments they did help with my project.

Friday, June 16, 2017

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Community of Practice
ECTA Center
http://ectacenter.org/topics/intl/intl.asp
They have a large number of resources for early intervention and many articles that can provide knowledge.

International Society on Early Intervention (ISEI)
The growing need for effective early intervention programs. A professional society providing a framework for communicating advances and promoting international networks in the field of early intervention
http://depts.washington.edu/isei/


Job
Developmental Specialist - Early Intervention
New Bedford, MA
Meeting Street is where children of all ages and abilities receive individualized attention from highly trained, dedicated educators, therapists, and staff who work as a team, sharing strategies and identifying solutions to bring out the best in each and every child. At Meeting Street, we believe in the power of inclusion and foster it in all we do. Our goal is to create an environment, and ultimately a world, where individuals of all abilities learn, play, work, and live together.

Early Intervention
Meeting Street’s Early Intervention provides children and their family the services needed during the very early years of development. Our personalized approach includes a team of professionals who will evaluate your child and then create and implement a customized plan that includes all areas of development. We offer most of these services in the child’s home making it convenient for parents and more effective for children.

SUMMARY OF MAIN DUTIES:
Partners and provides support to families of eligible and potentially eligible infants or toddlers so the child can develop to their fullest potential and participate functionally within their family and community.
EXPERIENCE, TRAINING AND EDUCATION 
Bachelor of Science or Arts in Childhood Development, Early Intervention, Early Childhood Education or Special Education with a concentration in infant/toddler development.
OR
Bachelor Degree from an accredited institution with at least 12 college credits of coursework focused on infants, toddlers and/or families AND 300+ hours of practicum or work experience with young children under the age of 5.
A minimum of 1 year experience working with infants, toddlers and families in an Early Childhood setting. 
Home visiting and/or case management experience within a multidisciplinary team preferred.
Valid pediatric CPR and First Aid certification.
At least 1 year of relevant experience preferred
Bachelor degree preferred
Citizenship, residency or work VISA in United States required

Infant Toddler Specialist - Early Intervention 
Ready Set Go Therapy, LLC - Raleigh, NC 27603 
Part-time, Contract
Ready Set Go Therapy LLC is seeking experienced, professional, compassionate, fun-loving, and highly enthusiastic Infant Toddler Specialists, who love to work with infants and toddlers; (0-3 years old); with developmental delays and/or disabilities and their caregivers. The service will be provided in their natural environment during weekly sessions. We are serving families in Wake, Harnett, Lee, and Johnston Counties. We are seeking therapists to cover a variety of areas. We are in need of part time English and Spanish Speaking therapists. The Therapist must possess a Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood or a related field, with a solid knowledge of Early Childhood development.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

Community of Practice

The Annie E. Casey Foundation - This foundation has a community of bloggers and articles related to the improvement of children in the United States.

National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) as article and a community of organizations that related to early intervention.

Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children - provides a network ofn professional development and information sharing


I would love to one day teach at an online school early education because I believe it is so helpful and many professionals have to work and go to school. I have enjoyed my experience at Walden and would like to return the favor.
Jobs :
Infant/Toddler CDA Instructor-Coach
Job Summary: The Infant/Toddler CDA Instructor-Coach is responsible for assisting 20-25 child care teachers in meeting the educational requirements needed to attain the Child Development Associate’s Credential through direct instruction, providing aligned technical assistance visits and coaching, coordinating site visits and guest lectures, facilitating communities of practice, and observing, and implementing applied practice activities. This includes working full-time, year round in the CDA program. He/she will be responsible for teaching the CDA classes, and mentoring and supporting candidates in successful completion of the requirements to attain a CDA credential.
Qualification Requirements

  • Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education or related field preferred
  • Certified Toddler CLASS Observer
  • 5+ years professional experience in field of education
  • Deep conceptual understanding of the CDA program and Adult learning styles.
  • Experience providing professional development and support to education professionals
  • Ability to track and monitor student progress
  • Adept use of technology
  • Must have valid driver’s license and transportation
  • Ability to obtain a Louisiana Right to Review and background check
  • Position requires a flexible schedule, including some evening and weekend work
  • LA Pathways Trainer Certification

Instructor - Education/Early Childhood
This is a full-time, 9-month position 

Must be able to teach Education and Child Development classes  with varied strategies. Must serve on various committees and outside boards. Must serve on Club Sponsor, Department, Division, and College-wide committees. Must integrate technology in instruction and College responsibilities. Other duties as assigned. 

Faculty Commitments 
Wow: I commit to wow by closely monitoring student behavior and progress and intervening immediately to connect students to college resources. 
Fun: I commit to fun by knowing each student's name the first week of class and finding ways to connect with students outside of the classroom. Innovation: I commit to innovation by utilizing learner-centered pedagogy to improve student success. 
Family: I commit to family by having one-on-one meetings with each student early in the semester to ensure a personal connection with each individual. 
Yes: I commit to yes by developing a highly structured course with clear expectations for students and consequences for not meeting those expectations. 

SALARY: Based on Faculty Salary Schedule. Excellent benefits

EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:
Prefer a proven record of successful education, child development/early childhood teaching experience in community college. Prefer three years of experience in working with preschools or school age classrooms possibly including kindergarten, pre-kindergarten, special education, nursery school, ECI, Head Start Programs or child care.

EDUCATION:
Master’s Degree in Education, Child Development/Early Childhood Education or related field required. 

Friday, May 19, 2017

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The three community of practice organizations that I have found interesting are:
Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their families (ICC)
Vernal Moms group
Vernal Home School Resources

I chose the ICC because it links to all the different agencies in Utah that work with Early intervention. They get all these different agencies and work of the issues facing early intervention in the state of Utah. They bring parents into the group for participation. They also have a direct link to the Governor or Utah. I find what they work on interesting and helpful. I chose the Vernal Moms group because they are moms that are located around the area with young children and they have activities for families and moms. They interests are to keep children active and explore the Unitah Basin. I chose the Vernal Home School Resources because so many children are home schooled in our area and I am interested in their view point of early education and why they chose home schooling. They do activities and meet regular to group teach the children.

Jobs that I am interested in the area really is not what i am doing with my life. I have a 2 month old, 5 year old, 7 year old and a 10 year old. I volunteer and work at their school. If I could I would have a teaching position at their school. The requirements that I need are a degree of any sort. They are a private school and do not need teaching certification. They do hire ex-educators so I would qualify to teach the lower grades with the education I have received from Walden.


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Encourage and Support

Hello,
I would like to thank everyone for all that they have shared over the past 8 weeks. I have gained so much information with you. You all have given me many things to move forward with in my career. I have relished all the experience and information you have shared. I would like to continue having the ability to stay in contact so we can be there to support each other.
Charissa Merrell
jcmerrell@stratanet.com

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Team Development

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave?
High preforming groups are harder to leave because they build a stronger relationship. They can work together without relying on the leader to be the go between or the monitor.
Groups with the clearest established norms? When a group has a clear idea of their goal they seem to work harder. I know that the groups that I have worked with that have had distinct goals for a specific reason they seem to give it all till the end. I have worked with individuals that give more then their share because they know what the results can bring.
Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why? The groups that were hardest for me to leave were the high preforming groups because we build a relationship beyond the project. I learned much about my team members.
What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? The experience that I have had with closing rituals as been any where from a luncheon to a small gift. The luncheon was the most effective because we got to talk about future and past.
How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program? I hope I adjourn from the groups with individuals I can contact in the future. I want to gain friendships and acquaintance with individuals I can lean on for information and support. I want to say talk to you later instead of good luck and never talk to them again.
Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork? It helps with closer and to help you see what you accomplished. To me it helps me know I did a good job and what I could improve on.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

NON-Violent Communication

The biggest disagreement that I have that has effected my life for more then hours is one argument I had with my husbands brother. He lives in Tennessee and we live in Utah. 6 months before the argument we went down to his wedding. It was a fun time but his marriage did not last. 6 months later they were divorce. He came home to his parents house for a weekend to deal with all that he went through. He was into drugs and alcohol. When he did these things he was violent and this is what caused the marriage to end. He also does not have a high regard for women due to his relationship with his mom and other women in his family. We were living with his parents at the time. This was five years ago and we had a 4 year-old and a 1 year-old. The whole time he was here he was rude to his mother and father. My husband had an accident and he and grandpa watch our kids. Anyways so when it was time for him to leave the girls and I were in the house and so was he. My oldest keep asking him if he could do things with her and he would make up a story as to why he could not. The he preceded to tell her lies about when he would see her again. By this time I was done with his lies. I asked him to stop lying to her and tell her the truth. He said that he was not going to do that because it was not fair to the child. I said well your lie will create false hope in her. Then he got mad and we started to have a screaming match. He mom walked in and told us to stop he called her all kinds of  awful names. By this time his dad came in and he tried to break it up but we just continued. Honestly to this day is was stupid but many things caused his reaction to my question. We are still not speaking even now. What I have learned from our resources is that I should have let it go because he was not in the right frame of mind to receive my asking appropriately. He say me as an object and same with my daughter. He was selfish then and still is. When he was home two weeks ago he say he did not need family and all he wanted was acquaintance out of his family. He only sees his side on everything. What I have also realized is why I have be upset with him all these years. I am looking at my self-deception of the situation. My issue with him is the way he disrespects his parents and all women in general. These are my issues not his. I have begun to write a letter to apologize for picking the wrong time to talk about lying to a child. I also am apologizing for my issue with how he was in the past. His parents have told me he has changed and his fiance acts like he has changed. I am still judging him on his past actions. This argument bothers his parents because they want family to get along and spend time together. The problem is that many things have not happen in the past with this family to make forgiveness easy for the boys. I am working on forgiveness toward him but it will take time. I could not apologize until I knew what I had to apologize for. This argument was not about being right or wrong it was about how one person mistreats people who love him. He does not like women who stand up for themselves and many other things. He sees his family and other individuals as objects. I have to look at him as an individual who is struggling to understand his world is not perfect and he cannot control everyone. I as a person need to learn to argue with individuals with a calm more collective way so that the environment can be productive. His dad has wanted me to write him an apology letter since that day but I could not until I understood why. He called me many names and said hurtful things because he was hurting and not in a could frame of mind. This is more about healing things that never should have been. It will take time because he will never admit he was wrong or in the wrong. He parents are pushing and they just need to let it go. We will work it out or not.