Teresa Herbert

One of the things that I enjoyed learning about in this program is the importance of having a Community of Practice (CoP) in the early childhood field.  Before this program, I did not know the reason why it was necessary to have it and the impact that it could have on the profession.  I learned about the people and the resources I would need to depend on to make sure that I can be successful at getting rid of homelessness.  While learning this concept in this program provided me with insight on how to develop a community of resources, I also learned about leadership in the early childhood field.            Furthermore, another concept that I liked learning about was leadership in the early childhood field.  I learned about developing people and about leadership teams in regards to solving a potential conflict in the field.  I learned a lot about my leadership style, and I learned about the way that I communicat...

The first international organization that interest me is the Inclusive Education Network.  This organization has a worldwide campaign called “Education for All (EFA),” a movement that is a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth, and adults.  The job that interests me is the principal position.  I am interested in this position because I want to be a leader in the early childhood field, especially when it comes to providing all children and families with an education.  Although there are no qualifications and/or requirements listed for this position, it is imperative that an individual who functions in this capacity has to be able to know the curriculum, know teaching methods and know learning strategies that work for diverse learners so that he or she recognizes the needs of students who are receiving special education services (Inclusive Education Network, 2018, p. 1).  I would think that a four-year degree from an accre...

The first organization I chose is the Council for Professional Recognition.  The reason why I chose this organization is because the field of early childhood education provides a multitude of organizations that support the professional development of early childhood teachers and that promote improvements in services to young children.  Currently, there are no positions available.  However, a position I would be interested in with this organization is a CDA Professional Development Specialist.  I would take on this position because I believe I could share information with others on how to work and how to build relationships with families, community members, and with other colleagues.  The education for this position is as follows: Candidates must hold a minimum of a Baccalaureate or Associate degree from an accredited college or university in one of the following disciplines: Early Childhood Education/Child Development Elementary Education/Early Childhood Educ...

https://www.hhs.gov/programs/social-services/homelessness/research/strategic-action-plan-on-homelessness/index.html The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2018) (HHS) is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and supporting the delivery of essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.  One job opportunity that is interesting to me is the program specialist position. The qualifications for this position includes: (1) Possess a degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. (Must provide transcripts) ; (2) Possess a combination of education and experience -- that provided you with the knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. (Must provide transcript) ; (3) Possess four years of appropriate experience that demonstrates acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or s...

Hello Twylynn Edwards, Thank you for taking this class with me.  I am glad to have you as a colleague in the early childhood field.  It was enjoyable interacting with you and reading your posts for the discussions and the blogs.  Thank you for supporting me throughout the course.  I wish you much success throughout the rest of your academic journey at Walden University. Teresa Herbert Hello Elizabeth Young, I want to say thank you for supporting me throughout the class.  It was really a pleasure reading your discussion posts and blog posts.  I love how you communicate with co-workers and family members, and that has made me want to improve my communication with others as well.  Thank you for being one of my colleagues in this class, and I wish you nothing but success in all of your endeavors.  I am glad we were able to share a classroom together as early childhood practitioners at Walden University. Teresa Herbert

High-performing groups can be tough to leave.   It could be that no one wants to leave from a position which all team members get along with each other, and that camaraderie produced productive and positive performances.   This in turn, can spoil a person when he or she goes to a new job, and that same individual who expected a similar situation to occur is disappointed because team success do not equal and/or surpass what he or she is accustomed to experiencing.   For this reason, it could be suggested that groups with the clearest norms can be cumbersome to detach from because of the relationships that were established throughout the duration of one’s tenure at the job.   Furthermore, one of the most heartwarming closing rituals that I have experienced occurred when I left my job as a home visitor.   Because many of the parents knew when my last visits were to their homes, they thanked me by cooking for me and buying gifts to wish me well.   It made me ...

The two strategies that would help me manage conflict more productively comes from the three “R’s” from The Center for Nonviolent Communication, and they are reciprocation and responsiveness.  These strategies could better help resolve conflict because when people are listening to each other they are respecting each other, and they can come to a mutual understanding for a revolution.  Also, from a responsiveness aspect, if both parties are calm when expressing their emotions throughout the conflict, then it will be easy to solve problems.  For example, I have a co-worker at one of my previous jobs, who was the director of the school.  She overheard the owner of the school saying that she was not doing a great job handling her school.  The owner ridiculed her and said other inappropriate things about her that hurt her feelings until she started crying. Later, when the coworker stayed at work that day and when she got home, she wrote the letter, and the next da...

I believe that I am an effective communicator.  I communicate well with my co-workers and with the young children. Also, when I am talking to my students’ parents, I communicate well with them when interacting during parent-teacher conferences.  I make my parents fill comfortable in my classroom.  Furthermore, others view me as a fun-loving conversationalist.  For instance, when I am communicating with co-workers, I have good conversations with them, and we love to talk about what we improve on when teaching our students.  Having great conversations with co-workers is similar to dialogues that I have with my family.  I treat all interactions as if the person I am speaking to is a friend or relative who I have known for a long time.  I want the individual I am speaking with to be comfortable while we are engaged in conversations.             Moreover, what surprises me sometimes is when I am comm...

I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures.  For example, my class is comprised of students who are African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian.  When I am communicating with the Hispanic and Caucasian parents, I find myself speaking more in a formal and direct manner.  However, when I am speaking to the parents of my African American students, I find myself speaking more informally to them.  I adjust my communication based upon who I am talking to, especially when it comes to interacting with people from different cultures and backgrounds, but there are some strategies I could utilize to assist me with communicating with people from various cultural backgrounds.             Furthermore, some of the strategies I employ is using direct eye contact, using hand gestures to explain what message I am conveying, and using formal language.  This way, it will assist me...

In the series “Gimmie A Break,” as I watched it with the sound off, I noticed that based upon what I saw, it looked as if there is a mother-daughter relationship.  The mother was African American, and the daughter is Caucasian.  The mother looked as if she was caring for her daughter because the daughter came home with a black eye from a fight at school.  The feeling is that the mother is upset and angry about her daughter being hit in the eye, and she wants her daughter to fight back.  The feeling of the daughter is one of being nonchalant in her attitude, for her face had an expression of indifference as if she was nonchalant from sustaining a black eye.  When the daughter was given the initiative from her mother to fight back, the girl began to ball up her fists and make an aggressive face to show her mother that she is ready for battle. However, when I watched the show with the sound turned on, the assumptions that I had was that the mother was the girl’s...

The person who demonstrates competent communication is my mother.  For instance, my mother is my emotional support and my foundation.  I can come to her for advice, and she continues to guide me whenever I am facing life’s circumstances.  What makes my mother effective is that she is a great communicator, and she is a great listener.  I am extremely close to my mother, and we have extensive conversations on a consistent basis.  My mother is sensitive to my needs and wants, for whatever I am concerned with, she is concerned also.  My mother always display empathy towards my siblings and me because she understands what we are experiencing throughout life.  She is also aware of who she is as a woman and as a mother.  I would like to fashion some of my own communication behaviors after my mother because she is my role model.  I have already expressed some of my mother’s competent communication tendencies because I am empathetic and caring as wel...

There are many outcomes that I gleaned from learning about the early childhood field from an international perspective.  For instance, according to Hale (2014), there are three consequences that early childhood practitioners learn about how the field is enduring overseas.  She writes, The first consequence of learning about the international early childhood field is that as early childhood educators, we live in a world that calls for continuous change, and therefore, information on best practices and best policies can be utilized throughout the world.  The second consequence of learning about the international childhood field is that having an awareness has to be developed.  When early childhood practitioners are unaware of their students, the students’ families, and of themselves, then the opportunity for discussion and growth cannot be established so that all parties understand the willingness to be invested in children’s development and children’s education....

One of the new insights that I gained in relation to international early childhood education that relate to my professional goals is to be a leader in my community, for I want to own a daycare center.  That way, all children would be able to receive an education.  According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2011), “The Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011 noted that 7.3 million primary school-aged children in Pakistan were out-of-school in 2008 (UNESCO, 2011), the majority of whom were girls” (cited in Mahmud, 2014, p. 6).  Unfortunately, it can be implied that in Pakistan, many children are not obtaining the knowledge they need to move forward in their education.  If I had my own daycare center, I would make sure that every child in my community would receive some type of schooling so that they are not lacking the foundation necessary to aide in their development.  While I plan to take the initiative as a leade...

The Children’s Defense Fund leads people to learn about how funds are necessary to defend children.  After searching through the website, I found that the organization has plenty of resources on a variety of aspects regarding the early childhood education field.  For example, in the “Policy Priorities” section on the Children’s Defense Fund, the policies focus on the areas of ending children’s poverty, children’s health, early childhood development and learning, elementary and secondary education, child welfare, and juvenile justice (Children’s Defense Fund, 2017).  Also, in the CDF monthly newsletter, it does cover improving the quality of education in the early childhood profession.  For instance, the CDF has Freedom Schools which immerses children into reading programs as a way to improve children’s reading prowess as well as close achievement gaps so that they do not lose any knowledge during summer vacation.  This program assists all children, despite thei...

The country that I chose was Mexico.  One insight that I gained from the Center of the Developing Child (2016), is that Mexico along with other Latin American countries are able to share knowledge and information with each other.  The information that people share with each other stretches across the worlds of science and innovation.  According to Harvard University’s Center for the Developing Child (2016), the Frontiers of Innovation program is centered around three aspects, and they are : (1) science; intervention strategies;  (3) a learning community (p.  1). This means that information can be shared to ensure that scientific breakthroughs are groundbreaking.              Another insight that I gained from the Center of the Developing Child (2016) is that many Latin American countries within the Frontiers of Innovation clusters are implementing technology into early childhood education.  For ...

The specific sections of the World Forum Foundation (2017) that are relevant to my current professional development are the Special Needs and Men in Early Childhood Education ones.  The “Special Needs” section is relevant to my current professional development because I work with many children who have special needs, and I am always looking to improve my craft in regards to how to better accommodate and instruct them.  Furthermore, the “Men in Early Childhood Education” section is relevant to my current professional development because there are not enough men in the profession.  However, when it comes to the section of “Men in Early Childhood Education,” I have a new perspective on this issue.  For instance, throughout my tenure in early childhood education, I have not seen many men in the classroom, for there are typically women who are teaching the children.  The perspective I had to recognize is that this is not the norm throughout the world.  Accordin...