Wow, I can’t believe I am writing the last blog post for this course (and my degree)! I have learned so much throughout this program. I feel that I will now be able to offer my students a higher quality educational experience. And look forward to making a positive impact in the field of early childhood education. I have learned that I need to have more confidence in my capabilities. There was a time when I didn’t think I would earn an Associate’s degree let alone a Master’s degree! I have also discovered a desire to educate adults within the realm of early childhood education. During this course I learned that I am deeply interested in the development of early literacy skills. I hope to pursue this topic further.

A long term goal that I have is to find a position teaching in the early childhood education department at a local college. Before I do this I want to gain at least three years of experience teaching in early childhood classrooms. I want to be able to share real life experiences and scenario examples with my students.

I would like to say farewell to my classmates and instructor. It has been a wonderful experience getting to know you. I hope to stay in contact with many of you. I have gained valuable insights from your perspectives on the field of early childhood education. The collaborative learning experience has been invaluable. It has be a great resource to be able to get feedback and ideas from people who are working in various facets of the education field. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences with me.

Blog Assignment Week Six

This week I’ve been researching international organizations that relate to literacy skills. I found numerous organizations. Here are three that I found particularly interesting.

Book Aid International (http://www.bookaid.org/)

They are an organization dedicated to supplying books and literacy support to people in need. “Book Aid International increases access to books and supports literacy, education and development in sub-Saharan Africa” (Book Aid International, 2013). I chose Book Aid International because I believe it is a cause worthy of pursuing.

International Reading Association (http://www.reading.org/general/AboutIRA.aspx)

The International Reading Association is a non-profit organization who advocate for world-wide literacy. Their mission statement is “The mission of the International Reading Association is to promote reading by continuously advancing the quality of literacy instruction and research worldwide” (International Reading Association, 2013).

Build On (http://www.buildon.org/who-we-are/)

I chose Build On because they are dedicated to making a positive impact on education worldwide. They strive to give students a chance to succeed by providing quality learning environments. “Build On’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education” (Build On Inc., 2013).

A job opportunity within the literacy field that I found interesting was a Reading Consultant. This position would involve assisting students who have below average literacy skills. I wouldn’t consider taking the position because it is available in Connecticut. I would be interested in a similar position if I could find one available in Northern Vermont.

The following is what I found (including the requirements for the position) for the Reading Consultant position:

Reading Consultant - Grades K-3

Institution: New Milford Public Schools
Location: New Milford , CT, USA

Level: PreK-12 Classroom

Job description:
Elementary Reading Consultant

Job requirements:
Requires Connecticut certification as Reading/Language Arts Consultant or Remedial Reading (endorsement #102 or 097).

Found at http://acs.reading.org/jobs/find.cfm

Week Four Assignment

I have researched and chosen some literacy related organizations. I have also found some job opportunities in the early literacy field that are of interest to me.

National Center for Family Literacy

http://www.famlit.org/ncfl-family-literacy/

I chose the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) because they are a great organization who believes in supporting and building family literacy.

The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance (NCBLA)

http://www.thencbla.org/index.html

The NCBLA is a non-profit organization who also supports early literacy. They “believe that all young people must have equal access to exciting and interesting books and information sources that invite them to dream and give them the tools to achieve their dreams” (NCBLA, 2013).

Early Reading First

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/index.html

I chose Early Reading First because I really liked their mission statement.

“The mission of Early Reading First is to ensure that all children enter kindergarten with the necessary language, cognitive, and early reading skills for continued success in school” (Early Reading First, 2013).

Early Literacy Related Job Opportunities:

Director of Early Literacy

http://www.applitrack.com/hartford/onlineapp/JobPostings/view.asp?all=1&AppliTrackJobId=1752&AppliTrackLayoutMode=detail&AppliTrackViewPosting=1&ref=indeed.com

Job Description:

Responsible for planning, organizing and implementing projects and programs designed to increase the effectiveness of early literacy instruction to ensure the Third Grade Promise in grades Pre-K through third.  This position is collaborative in nature and designed to support the uniformity of research based literacy practices across the district.

Requirements:

•         Advanced degree in Education (Ed.D.)

•         Reading consultant/language arts consultant certification

•         Successful experience in developing and implementing research based practices within an urban setting and or lab school.

•         Experience with Bilingual populations

•         Ability to organize and conduct research

•         Presented at local, state or national reading and or language arts conferences within the last five years in at least four of the five essential components of reading

•         Prior experience in adult leadership, including developing and providing professional development,  teaching college level courses in reading and coaching teachers.

•         Demonstrated ability to provide family literacy workshops

•         Expertise in using a balanced literacy approach in teaching reading to early elementary students

•         Demonstrated ability to use instructional technology including computers, video equipment and cameras

•         Instructional expertise demonstrated through model teaching, team teaching, video presentations and student achievement gains

•         Demonstrated ability in using protocols for looking at student work and a variety of data sources to make decisions about targeted strategies and academic supports

•         Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the Common Core State Standards and oral language and early literacy development

•         Excellent organizational and analytical skills necessary

•         Demonstrated strengths in leadership, sound interpersonal and communications skills and an understanding how to facilitate growth in adults

•         Must possess excellent written communication skills

•         Classroom teaching experience in an early childhood setting (pre-k or kindergarten)

•         Experiences in making presentations at conferences and/or working in a university level research professional environment.

Early Literacy Specialist

https://jobs.agencies.virginia.gov/applicants/jsp/shared/position/JobDetails_css.jsp?postingId=828410

Job Description:

Responsible for implementation of the Reading Road Show- Page Gus Bus program which includes: conducting visits in neighborhoods throughout Page County, engaging parents, distribution of books and food bags, maintenance of attendance records, data collection, generating reports, attending community events and planning appropriate activities on the bus.

Requirements:

- Must be able to work some mornings, some afternoon/evenings and occasional weekends

- Knowledge of child development and best practices in early childhood education

- Experience in early literacy initiatives

- Demonstrated ability to work with children

- Experience with behavioral issues present in a non-traditional classroom environment

- Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with children, youth, adults, agency professionals, school staff and community members

- Excel at multi-tasking and taking initiative in an independent work environment. General computer skills required and proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel

- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience preferred

- Ability to speak Spanish preferred 

References

Early Reading First. (2013). Early reading first information. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/index.html

National Center for Family Literacy. (2013). NCFL and family literacy. Retrieved from http://www.famlit.org/ncfl-family-literacy/

The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. (2013). About us. Retrieved from http://www.thencbla.org/index.html

Week Two Assignment

Vermont Early Childhood Organizations:

The first organization I want to highlight is the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VAEYC). Their goal is to improve the education and care of young children in Vermont (http://vaeyc.org/). I chose VAEYC because they are affiliated with National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAEYC is the biggest organization of early childhood professionals in the United States (http://vaeyc.org/index/vaeyc-history/). This organization has a wealth of resources and has the means to create positive change in the early childhood education field.

The second organization I chose is Building Bright Futures. “Building Bright Futures (BBF) serves a dual role as both the Vermont Early Childhood Advisory Council and 501 (c) 3 statewide governance body for the early childhood system, aligning the work at the State level with the work of 12 regional Councils across Vermont to make improvements in access, quality, and affordability of early care, health, and education for families and young children 0-6” (http://buildingbrightfutures.org/about/home/). I have attended some of the events hosted by BBF and they have been high quality events that I would attend again. I believe this is a great organization that is helping to improve young children’s educational experiences.

The third organization I chose was the Vermont Early Childhood Alliance. “The Vermont Early Childhood Alliance is a statewide coalition of individuals, organizations, businesses and agencies from the private and public sectors dedicated to supporting ALL of Vermont's children during the early childhood years” (http://www.kidsarepriorityone.org/).  This organization is collaborating with other organizations in Vermont in hope to make a bigger impact on the early childhood education field.

Job Opportunities of Interest and Skills Required:

I am primarily interested in working in a Pre-School or Kindergarten classroom. I checked into job openings in my area. There were several openings for para educators, but there were no teaching positions available in the early childhood field. In about ten years I hope to begin working at the local community college teaching early childhood education courses. I also checked to see if they had any openings, but they didn’t have any either. Luckily I am not planning on going back to work until my children are in school. Hopefully I will be able to find a position then.  In order to teach in Vermont I would need to be licensed with the State.  A bachelor’s degree is also required. I will have my master’s degree by the fall, but I am not currently licensed. That is my next project once I complete my master’s degree.

References

 Building Bright Futures. (2013). Building bright futures: Priorities. Retrieved from: http://buildingbrightfutures.org/priorities/

Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children. (2012). VAEYC history. Retrieved from http://vaeyc.org/index/vaeyc-history/

Vermont Early Childhood Alliance. (2013). What is the vermont early childhood alliance. Retrieved from http://www.kidsarepriorityone.org/

Wordle Inspiration

This week I had to create a Wordle that represents some educational concepts that resonate with me. This is what I came up with. I hope it's as inspiring for you as it is for me! 

I would like to thank all of you who have participated in our blog assignments. I have found them to be uplifting, insightful, and inspiring. The collaborative learning process that we have been going through has taught me many valuable lessons. I have gained a great deal of knowledge from reading my colleagues blog posts, comments, and discussions throughout this semester. Thank you for your input and sharing your professional knowledge with me. It’s been a pleasure learning with you!

"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." - Marva Collins

Week Six Blog Assignment

For this week’s blog assignment I have been given several questions to answer. Below are those questions combined with my answers.

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave?

I am not sure how to answer this question. I think it would be difficult to leave a high-performing group. Accomplishing things give you a feeling of pleasure and importance.  Leaving a group like that would be hard because you would also be leaving behind that feeling of accomplishment.

Groups with the clearest established norms?

I think that groups that already have established norms in place would be easier to leave. They already have a “normal” way of adjourning and therefore, it is easy to leave. It is likely that you would feel closure leaving a group like this because you have already gone through the steps.  

Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why?

I would say that the playgroup that I attend is the hardest to leave. I feel this way because my son really enjoys being there and does not like to leave. He always gets upset when it’s time to go. He’s only one so I can’t really explain that we’ll be back next week.

What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced?

In a group setting, the closing rituals that I have experienced are pretty similar. The leader usually goes over the results of the meeting. Next they go over the things that should be accomplished before the next meeting. She/he then asks if anyone has any comments or concerns.  Finally they say something along the lines of “ok, see you guys next time”.

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?

Getting a degree online is very different from getting a degree on campus. Because of this I will probably write some farewells on my colleague’s blog sites. I will thank them for their insights and how they have helped my grow professionally and personally through their stories and comments.

Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

Projects as well as conversations need closure for people to feel good or complete about them. Adjourning is a necessary phase of all meetings so that the team members know what is expected of them.