Profile of a Volunteer

The person that I chose to profile was my grandfather:

My grandfather has been such a influence in so many  lives through the efforts that he has shown in the lives of others.  He has contributed to his community through church, to the elderly community, and also in the lives of children in school. He makes meals for families, picks up children in the community for Sunday school, and he dedicates time to the elderly in the community to drive them to pick up food boxes from the pantry.

He has impacted others in so many great ways and has touched families in a way that is special and monumental. He is not doing it for any recognition but the fact that he does it in his heart, and the passion shows through all of his efforts.

The vital take away of the efforts of volunteering is to make sure that you are doing it from the heart. If no passion is shown, then others can feel the sincerity or lack thereof. Children are great at feeling the sincerity of others efforts, so ensure that the intentions are pure and from the right place.

Using Social Media

I currently do not have any source of social media, but I have had previous experience with Facebook. It is a great way for information to reach a mass amount of people within a small amount of time. It is also a great marketing tool for how your information can travel among individuals who you may not be directly linked to. I do not have social media but I do watch a large amount to YouTube. That is how I hear about new clothing stores, makeup launches, receive ideas on decor, and even innovative lunch ideas for my daughter. The influence of others helps to make decisions about shopping, clothing, and even lifestyle choices. I think that social media would be and is a very valuable asset to advocacy. It is a way to get the information and issues to the world to increase awareness. For any fundraising and monetary contributions, big time investors are able to see and identify the focus points and research the topic being identified. Social media also allows you to track your views and will let you know what tools for marketing are effective or need improvements.

Advocacy Messages

Three Campaigns: All three ads that I chose were very inspiring and informative. They all delivered clear and concise messages of meaning and were effective to touch hearts.

https://youtu.be/b-xScLIevw0https://youtu.be/0W2IY28drKhttps://youtu.be/gQcU1T3jYmE

My Own Capacity

• What knowledge, skills, dispositions, and/or talents do you possess that will contribute to your advocacy work?

I think that the skill of effective listening and background knowledge are major contributions to advocacy. I also am passionate about learning new information and have the patience with addressing families concerns when facing new challenges. This skill will make it easier to work in the field of advocacy and early childhood.

• Which issues impacting young children and their families and/or the field of early childhood fuel your passion?

The ways that families are touched and moved by the efforts of advocates helps to influence my passion. Children and their families are grateful for the services that advocates and professionals provide to their lives. They appreciate the effort that is put forth and their gratitude fuels my passion as well. You become apart of the day to day lives of the families who you interact with, and they joy that is brought to them from the accomplishments that are made is enough to reward me and enhance my passion. 

• What special skills do you have that will contribute to your advocacy efforts? How will you incorporate these skills into your work?

My best skill that I have acquired is personal knowledge.  It is one thing to connect with families based on educational knowledge and background, but it is another to have personal and first hand experience. I consistently say that having a brother with autism has helped me to do my job more effectively, ad also allowed me to be on the other side of the table. This contribution is huge and gives me great knowledge to the answers and emotional bonding that families need. 

My Role as an Advocate

• What motivated you to start advocating for very young children?

I have spoken previously about my younger brother that has autism, and the tremendous role that my mother and the advocate that she worked with have play in his development and success thus far. The impact that Ann has had our our family's life, made me feel needed within the early childhood community, based on my personal experience. This also has given me the opportunity to make an impact in the life of individuals directly and indirectly. Sharing the joy of achievement with families and the community is the driving factor for my passion for advocating in the early childhood community.  

• Why is it essential to acknowledge and foster advocacy efforts at the micro as well as the macro level?

The micro level of advocacy is what shapes the macro opportunities and efforts to begin to take form. Also, when advocating at the micro level, there is instant ratification for the effort that has been put forward and it shows the community the positive changes that have bee implemented on their behalf. On the macro level, the changes put in place by advocacy become universal and benefit communities on a broader scale. This takes more time and initiative than on the micro level, but helps families to see that every community matters the same. Both levels are equally important and deserving of change that will benefit the field. 

• What does it take to be a community leader on early childhood issues?

A community leader requires patience, resources, knowledge, compassion, and perseverance. 

• What resources does it take to be a state leader on early childhood issues?

It takes a broad scale of networking to be a state leader. It is also needed to have a group of educators and parents that are within the early childhood community. Also there is a need to be informed on current legislation and have knowledge of statues that are currently in effect for early childhood. 

• What tactics or strategies do you use to mobilize others?

To mobilize others, I use compassion and understanding. Those two key techniques are valuable when it comes to understanding others and ensuring that they are sure to understand your own point of view. I also use effective listening to ensure that every thought is well captured. 

• What advice would you give to someone who was interested in taking a leadership role in advocating for young children and their families?

I would give them the advice of ensuring that they have done their research. Assuming the role of leadership in advocacy means that you have studied the field thoroughly and have all the knowledge needed to identify troublesome issues in the field that need to be changed. The leadership role in advocacy assumes the responsibility of the community they are impacting on the micro and macro level. This position is not take lightly and needs to display effective execution of issues and related topics. 

Personal Advocacy Reflection

Advocacy has personally had an impact on my life. My brother has autism and has had a tremendous amount of developmental delay and educational impact, as a result. My mother found an advocate to work with his speech therapist when he was first diagnosed, due to her lack of knowledge about what challenges were to come. She also used her to be involved in his IEP meetings. If there was any terminology or techniques that she may have not been familiar with, the advocate and other educators in the meeting were there to advise her of the services that they suggested. This also helped her to become comfortable with the advocate and ensure that the best interest of my brother was at hand.

The advocates name as Mrs. Ann, and she really became apart of the family. When my brother received his diagnosis, they lived in Tennessee. The school system lacked funding for many services that were highly recommended for him, and the advocate pushed and ensured that he received what he needed. He needed a full time nurse, that was able to go to school with him and also be home with him as well. The advocate also found programs that provided diapers and thickening solution for his liquids, for free of charge. This was a big help to our family and provided us with a great sense of relief and trust.

Advocacy Action Overview

Advocacy is a valuable resource to early childhood.

We need more advocates to stand up and be influential in the lives of families and their children.

When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

Three downfalls of being apart of the professional learning community are:

1. The lack parental involvement that is sometimes present.
2. Misrepresentation of student's true needs.
3. The lack of funding needed to properly ensure that individual needs are met.


One goal that I have created is:

I want to effectively and efficiently represent the children and their families in the field of early childhood education, and I will provide the best information and resources that I can to make their development successful.

My Hypothetical Family Situation

For this assignment, I identify myself as a parent who is about to adopt a three year old little boy (Jacobe) that has just recently been diagnosed with autism. Both of his parents were killed in a tragic car accident and he does not have any family who is willing to adopt him with the severity of his condition. I am currently married and we currently have a 6 year old daughter. He does not have any siblings from his parents but has been separated from his grandparents. They felt as though they were to old to care for their grandchild. I am currently a speech therapist with my own practice and my husband is a marketing executive for Apple. Due to our financial successes, we feel as though we are equip with the resources to adequately care for a child with special needs. The knowledge and experience that I hold as a speech therapist in Early Learning and with special needs children, also qualifies for being great foster parents. English is our first language and is also the first language of Jacobe.

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

Advocates for Special Education are using effective strategies to collaborate with school districts, families, and educators to make the most informed decisions in regards to students needs. The advocates make voices for parents and explore various avenues of concerns that may be present. They look for opportunities that may be missed or are not funded by the school district, and ensure that the parents are afforded that greatest opportunities for their child. There are not any credentials that are to be verified in order to be an advocate, so it is important that the parents do their research and background investigation to ensure they can meet their needs. The collaborative efforts with the school can make a huge impact on the successes of the student.  

Parents feel a sense of security when the advocate is familiar with the school district that their child attends, and that they are informed about how the school district operates. The comfort that parents feel from having an advocate that can make informed decisions for their student makes parents at ease. Advocates do typically charge fees, but there are ways to assist with the cost. 

The part of this work that appeals to me the most is the research and knowledge that goes into collaborating within the field. The work that gets put into the meetings that make the best decisions for the children. Also, comforting skills for the parents and making them understand the decisions that are made for the child. 

Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

The use of family and community engagement is very vital to early childhood. Children and educators are valuable assets to a child's  academic achievements. Community involvement and family stability will always be a major contribution to a child making adequate progress.

Professionally, I have gained a greater appreciation for family involvement. It is a known fact that having adequate family support makes a student successful, but the family is just as needed for the teacher as they are for the students. Teachers are able to gather background knowledge about the family and home environment and use this knowledge to use in the classroom. Parents hold key information about children that teachers need to know in regards to a child's learning style.

These stories are very helpful to the field of Early Childhood to share various perspectives within the field and give insight and ideas to the field. The resources that we share with each other are more valuable than anything because they are based upon experiences. Parental involvement will always have a great lasting impression upon the community of early childhood. The use of parent's experiences helps to open up various avenues of teaching and researching students characteristics.

Quality Programs for ALL Children

I think that an emphasis has been placed heavily on early learning programs and ensuring that they are accessible to ALL populations of students. Two states that I recently researched offered 6 free hours of pre-k for parents to have their children enrolled in prior to starting kindergarten. In Georgia, it is the Georgia Lottery Pre-k Program and in Florida it is VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten). These two programs offer free support at any daycare center in the state to properly prepare students for entry into Kindergarten. This will help the parents who can not afford traditional daycare expenses or who are on a waiting list for an already full Head Start Center.

http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/vpk.aspx  - (Florida VPK)
http://decal.ga.gov/Prek/About.aspx   - (Georgia Pre-K)

I think this emphasis on preparation for Kindergarten is extremely necessary and will increase in upcoming years. This support from the government gives parents that may not have the financial stability to send their children to traditional daycare centers, an opportunity to prepare their children for school.

What Resonates With You About Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy?

Why did you choose this specialization?

The specialization is near and dear to my heart due to my passion and strong-will towards children and providing their families with adequate resources. I want the to ensure that children are supplied with the tools necessary to be successful in grade school through adolescence. An education is a precious piece of knowledge that will open the doors to future endeavors and create a vast amount of opportunities. Public policy and advocacy speaks to implementing change in the field of early childhood. Ensuring that policies are complacent with the current needs that are to be met in the school system. Also, advocacy gives educators the opportunity to be a voice for the students, families, and the community that the schools are located in. To speak to the school boards and ensure that the voices of the pubic are heard. 

Why are advocates essential in the early childhood field?

Advocates are essential to the early childhood field to be the voice to the public, as I mentioned earlier. There are times when there are issues that the community would like to present before the school board, but lack the research and knowledge to make the information substantial. Just as an attorney represents a defendant, a advocate represents the thoughts of others. This is essential for change in this field and bringing awareness to things that may go unseen. 

What do you hope to learn about public policy and advocacy?

1. I hope to learn adequate strategies to obtain issues of concern from the community.
2. I hope to become an effective communicator and person of trust to reach out to the community and supply resources of useful information. 
3. I aspire to bring about change that impacts lives and makes this field even better than it was prior to my presence. 

Adjourning from Groups

"In the "adjourning" stage the project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off into different directions" (Abudi, 2010). This has been found to be very challenging for me when I have worked with family or when working with a team that I have grown to gain a great relationship with. When working with a team, rapport and friendship can easily be developed without any intentions on it happening. I had the best experience when training to work for AT&T. We had a week long training in Boyton Beach, FL. We were in a classroom with these team members for eight hours a day. Went to breakfast together, lunch, and even had dinner and outings. We were all there for the common goal of training for our position, but when the training was over we all had to leave and head to our various stores. This was difficult. Also when leaving from my family trip, it was all planned out and we all accomplished the goal of a successful trip, when concluded we all had to leave and head our separate ways. 

I think that adjourning from my Master's program will be just as difficult. Many of my colleagues have been in all of my classes and we are evolving together. Some have even reached out outside of class and had questions. When the conclusion the this class and this program comes, it will be bittersweet. I know that we will all have a degree and be successful but I will miss the journey that we were on. 

Conflict Resolution

Two strategies that I have used recently during a conflict were listening and empathy. I am constantly bombarded by complications in the work place when dealing with customers and their complaints. Last week, a customer called the office very hostile because a payment was not taken out of her account on her due date and she thought she was on automatic drafts. She was irate, I understand her frustrations due to late fees and extra accruing interest, but she was screaming at me and very disrespectful. I took the time to listen to all of her frustrations before I began to speak and also apologized before doing anything else so she could see that I was compassionate and empathize about her situation. Yes, I came up with strategies of compromise that worked on both behalves. I set her up on auto draft for next month, took a payment over the phone free of charge, and waived accrued interest back to her due date. I now have a satisfied customer and found a resolution to the issue.

In this situation, I feel all three R's were used. Respect, Response, and Resolution. I respected the customer by listening. I responded to her by showing empathy and responding in a positive manner. Then I also found a resolution by taking the payment, getting her auto draft set up, and also waiving any additional interest. She was very satisfied with the results and the office looked good for adequately handling a customer complaint. My colleagues have shared that they get better responses from the customers when they let them vent and just listen instead of interrupting them. The customers are pleased with the patience that is displayed and not being rushed away. This is essential for early childhood because parents want the same positive responses and to be treated in a manner that they are being heard and not rushed.

Communication Similarities and Differences

This week I was really surprised that others viewed me as a good listener!! Personally, I believed that I listen actively, but for others to think the same was surprising and exciting. This is a big communication trait that I have been working on consistently in every aspect of my life. My co-workers always speak to my patience with customers and the great rapport that I build. 85% of my success is due to just listening. I am happy that my efforts are reflecting not only to myself but also to others. This week in communication I have learned that appearance is very essential to how people may read you. Also body language can speak volumes to character. When looking at that photo, we created assumptions about her life, occupation, personality, and even her family based on just one still moment in her life. This can become very inappropriate if our assumptions are wrong. We would hope that we are correct but there is always room for error. I hope that the impression that I give people is energetic, happy, family oriented, and an open communicator!

Communication Among Cultures

When communicating with people among various cultures we have to use various techniques that will make the process relatively easier.

1. Listen. The main thing in communication is that we should listen to each other and ensure that we have an understanding of the conversation. People among various cultures may express themselves in diverse manners, so we must ensure that we have a full understanding of the conversation which requires us to listen actively. Listen ensures that both parties have equally addressed everything that is on topic and got to hear each other out. I think about the conversations that I have on a daily basis and how I am practicing to listen more effectively.
2. Patience. Being patient, especially if there is a language barrier, is very important. You have to slow down and be sure to be attentive to what is being said. We are so quick to offer solutions or our opinion and have not a complete understanding of the entire situation. This will lead to asking question that ensure understanding and making sure you guys are on the same page.
3.Knowledge. If we know we are in an environment where we will be surrounded by other cultures, we need to absorb as much knowledge about the cultures as we can. The more we know and understand, will help us to understand their values, morals, and communication patterns. The more we learn about each other will ensure that we do not insult each other and are helping to engage in effective practices. If we are aware of the differences that are among various cultures, you will grow to respect the differences.

Week 2 Blog Post

The show that I chose to watch for this week's assignment is My 600 lb. Life. My coworkers constantly come  to work and describe the show and what it is about, but I have never had the opportunity to watch it. It came on Wednesday, and at first it was very hard to try to tie in the conversations just by watching with no sound. There seemed to be a strong sense of family on this particular episode. The lady was surrounded by children, who I initially assumed were her kids. She was receiving a lot of help from them such as day to day tasks. Bathing, cooking, even putting lotion on.

The show started showing pictures of her when she was younger so I assuming she was giving background on how she gained so much weight and what her childhood was like. She also began to travel, with a man to this office. A guy came in with a doctor's coat on and I was assuming at this point she was reaching out for help to lose weight. Watching this show was very emotional. They were speaking with those children individually and also with her. She would seem to be screaming in several points during the show, and I assumed she was venting her frustrations of that lifestyle.

Watching this show with no sound, and then going back to watch it with sound, many of my assumptions were right. Three of the children she had adopted from a cousin that could not support them, then she had two that were her own. She is a school teacher and she spoke about how difficult it is to engage with her students with that large amount of weight that she is carrying. She was going into details about how food is a comfort to her. And the segment when she was screaming at the man in the car with her, that was her brother. He drove her to Texas to see a specialist that deals with morbidly obese clients. She began to get frustrated with the process and took her angers out on him.

This experience shows me that even with no sound, communication can be a visual act. I did not get every assumption right when watching the show, but I grasped a great deal of detail just by seeing body language and tying in key pieces of information.