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Our program is coming to a close, how bitter-sweet. There has been so many great people that I have learned from and gotten to know. I have learned a great deal from each of my colleges and my classes. My goal is to take everything that I have learned from my Masters, teachers and colleges and utilize it in a professional job such as creating programs, implementing services for children/families or creating anti-biased educational materials/resources. One thought that has really stuck with me is that:
"When we embrace a vision of social justice
and ecological teaching in early childhood education, we join a lineage of
educators who are intent on changing history, participating in the 'ongoing
story of men, and women, ideals intact,' who understand that how we engage with
the youngest children in our communities speaks volumes about the kind of
society in which we hope to live" (Pelo, 2008, p. xiii).
Its hard to pin point just three things that have made a lasting impression. There was so much information to take in and implement. I have learned that while I am a decent leader in the early childhood field I definitely have room for improvement. I did not realize all the different styles of leadership, how they work, when is the best situation to utilize which one, etc.
I have greatly developed my ability to critically examine issues, trends and current research on topics in the early childhood field. I had very limited understanding and means to do adequate research and correctly read and analyze what I had found. I can now utilize my research skills to keep up to date in the field and apply these findings to my professional world.
Before starting this program I knew that I was already a pretty anti-biased individual and how important diversity is in our world and the early childhood field. I now know how to create anti-biased environments, help others to become anti-biased, what is needed to be anti-biased, how to incorporate the 4 anti-biased goals and what it really means to be anti-biased. While we might not have or implements prejudice comments/actions there are still small indiscretions that are biased and these are the hardest ones to realize and work on. A thought that has really resonated with me since one of our first few classes is that:
"
compassion and creatively are essential if we are
to be truly competent in the face of the complex challenges posed by cultural
diversity” (Barrera, & Corso, 2002).
Each of you, my fellow classmates has done a great job in helping each of us develop a better understanding of the topics we learned, seeing different perspectives and becoming better educators. Thank you so much for all your hard work, dedication, passion and understanding. It was a great joy to interact and learn with each of you. I wish you all the best in everything that you do and hope you achieve all your heart's desires. Dr. Teri, thank you for all your patience, understanding, dedication, knowledge, passion and for teaching us and making us better professionals and advocates for children and their families. If any of you would like to keep in touch you can email me at JerseyStar1821@yahoo.com. Best wishes!!
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Rica, thank you for sharing. I like your wordle. Good luck in your future endeavors. Terri Matthews
ReplyDeleteRica,
DeleteI agree that through out this program we have be presented with so much helpful and eye opening information it is hard to pick only a few! Best Wishes and Good Luck in the future.
Nicole Leonard
Rica, nice job and I absolutely love the artwork throughout. What an eye opener this whole experience has been and I agree that it was hard to pinpoint just three learnings as we have learned so much. I wish you the best and know that whatever you aim for you will do your BEST! My blessings are with you.
ReplyDeleteI am experiencing problems with posting to goggle but will email you my assignment so that you can comment if you like.
Rica, what a wonderful quote you included by Pelo stating that "when we embrace a vision of social justice and ecological teaching in early childhood education, we join a lineage of educators who are intent on changing history, participating in the 'ongoing story of men, and women, ideals intact,' who understand that how we engage with the youngest children in our communities speaks volumes about the kind of society in which we hope to live" (Pelo, 2008, p. xiii). You also mentioned a goal that you have, which is a goal that I share as well. This goal you mentioned was to take everything that we have learned from our MS program and from each other, and to utilize this valuable information in our professional careers such as creating programs, implementing services for children/families or creating anti-biased educational materials/resources. Thank you for all your encouragement throughout our program, it has been a joy to study alongside you and to grow along the way!
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