A truly sad farewell

A sad farewell to my colleagues and to my journey at Walden. I truly believe that I have learned and immeasurable amount of knowledge since I have been here. I have gone from the first step of signing up to now on the verge of graduation. I have found that the instructors that have lead us on this journey are truly provided with the best knowledge and resources they have and pass them on to us in a way that will better us in the field we have chosen. In the Merging Passion, Vision and Practice media from this course under the advocacy tab there was a quote that truly means the world to me and feel that no matter where we are and no matter the field that we are in is true. "We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history." (Walden University,  2013). As long as we all stick together and focus on the same goal, we can attain anything we want. I feel that now that I have done this journey I have a true understanding of the way a school needs to be ran and the way a school should be ran. I know now that when I have to speak to an employee or a parent that I can prepare myself first, gather all the information needed and truly hold their attention. I have learned that I am the type of leader who wishes nothing but the best for everyone, and tries to see nothing but the best in everyone. I also know that when I began this course I thought it would mean a title and a bigger salary, what I have learned throughout this program is that my job is truly about helping the parents and the children through a time in their lives where they are all learning together.

My long term goal is to hold the position I am in now for a few more years, gain some more experience and move onto a district manager type of position or even someone who does in-home consulting. I would love to be able to get on the same level as parents and help them through whatever their issues may be. I can help them with their home life and how to balance work, school, and kids. I can show them how life does get better after the rough patches. I would love to truly help someone who needs it.

My farewell message is that I wish all of you the best in whatever it is that your decide to do. some of you have truly inspired me with your responses to my blogs or to my discussions. I have learned a lot through my peers as well as the instructor. I have asked many questions and got many answers, I have also given many answers that I was simply trying to help. Dr. Teri Davis has been one of my most inspirational instructors yet. I have a high school teacher that I still talk with to this day and I would rank her right up there with him. Thank you for all of your patience and your words of wisdom during this course!

This course has taught me that this right above is what is the most important thing to remember, family! My grandparents, my mom, dad, uncle, and my brother who is special needs. These are the people that I am working for. these are the people who once struggled to understand their children and the stages that they go through. These are the people who put me under enough pressure to make me a diamond. "A diamond was once a mere piece of coal before it was put under a little pressure." This quote I will forever hold onto. Because if it was not for this pressure from my family and from peers, and from wonderful instructors, I would have shown as bright as I am right now!

Thank you to all of you who have ever responded to a post or a blog or even any of you who have glanced at them and it made you think.
Good luck to all of us!!
Tiffany Strack

If you would like to stay in touch and I would love to hear from you. You can contact me by email at smileyface705@yahoo.com

Walden University. (2013). Merging passion, vision, and practice. Retrieved from Walden University, EDUC 6990 website

building international love

I have looked into a few of the links provided for us this week and found that some of these organizations are quite amazing!

I would love to work with UNICEF who influences policy makers around the world and fights for the rights of every child. "We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress." (UNICEF. 2003). This is something that I wish more people believed in. We are the teachers and the advocates for the future of the human race. UNICEF truly believes in this and shows it world wide. The one career opening I think would be a bit much for me, but if I could handle it I would love the opportunity. They had an opening for a regional director in west and central Africa. How fun would that be to travel and live in Africa for a portion of your life? I would love to see the world and be able to help out at the same time. http://www.unicef.org/index.php

 UNESCO also sounded like an amazing organization! I like their ideals of working to connect nations around the world based on commonalities. This organization want all of us to have an open dialogue and be able to communicate about the things we have in common. We are all for the human race surviving and being able to simply get along, this organization is one that backs that notion. The job opportunities that they offered were not exactly my style but they sounded promising for someone who has the brain for numbers and international communication. I personally am not a numbers person and never have been. I do feel though that this organization has the right idea of trying to connect people through commonalities and respect. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

The International Step by Step Association sounds as though they are really geared toward the children. This organization seems to be in it for the kids not for the business. "Using a thematic or project-based approach, classrooms are organized around developmentally appropriate learning and activity centers." (International step by step association. 1999). This sounds like the type of place I could work for as they are geared to helping centers around them place the ability to learn in the hands of the child. Having the organization to implement DAP is something I think most centers could use. I could not find a link to the careers but in general I would love to work for this company. They have their heads in the right spot and the children are what we are all really doing this for anyway!! http://www.issa.nl/services.html

(I could no find an exact copy right date for the ISSA so I used their established date, and UNICEF only said 2003 under their legal tab.)

International step by step association. (1999). Retrieved from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

 

UNICEF. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/index.php

 

Federal Agency

          The children's Bureau is a federal agency that is dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families. This agency is devoted to improving important topics such as child abuse, child neglect, adoption, and foster care. They seem to be an all around company that oversees and points people in the right direction when issues arise. They work with families to help with support from CPS as well as other national agencies. While I could not find a link to career opportunities, this Bureau seems like an agency I would love to work for. They offer services not only to children and families but work with legislative issues to make sure that there is something in writing that helps to protect the children. They offer resources and access to people who need grants or other forms of monetary assistance. They also have links to many other agencies that support children and improving their lives. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb
          The Child and Adult care Food Program is an agency that helps to ensure that both children as well as adults get the nutrition they need while in day care programs. They help to make nutrition and care more affordable to low income families. They break down what is considered to be a nutritious meal for both children and adults. They also offer grants and other assistance to day care providers across the country. The career that I found to be the most intriguing with this agency was the investigator. It was described as a person who helps to find those who violate laws in which day care providers should abide by. The investigator gets to travel all over, go under cover, (that I liked the sound of ), and they help to keep everyone healthy and ensure the food they are being served is not past its prime and being prepared in the correct format. http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/
          The U.S. Department of Health has an agency called the the Administration for Children and Familes (ACF). They help to secure the health and social well being of families and children around the country. They help with job assistance for adults in need as well as helping with TANF which is the new name for food stamps. This program helps to ensure that famileis and children have their monetary needs met in order to provide food for them to survive on. This agency offered careers in any field you could imagine. They ranged from custodian to nurse, to food prep. The majority of the positions listed were for people who were way above my level of intelligence. Salaries were for 100,000+ as nice as that would be I do not believe that I would be ableto fulfill the needs of the positions that were offered. I do however think that this agency would be wonderful to work for as they do have many options and a variety of services that they offer. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/

Local and state level early childhood

Hello everyone,
It's nice to be back in the world of blogging. I have chosen a few random agencies from around the country. I like to keep options open when thinking about the future. I found a website for California state licensing. I have always liked the idea of being able to work for the licensing. Being in the restaurant business for so long, we had secret shoppers that would come and evaluate our performances. I was very good at pleasing them, as I was always on top of the time limits we had for each portion of the meal we were to serve. I woudl love to do that as a side job. Being able to "grade" people on their performances is something that I have always had an interest in. I think working for the licensing board woudl be thrilling and fullfilling at the same time. i woudl be able to help those who were in violation of certain codes but would also be able to keep our childcare facilities safe for our children. http://ccld.ca.gov/PG411.htm this is the website I found for the California licensing agency. They have multiple job openings with this agency as well. I like the investigator opening, it decribes the position as a peace officer and one who does intenese investigations within the childcare facilties.
The next agency I thought of was the head start program. They have a great track record with helping children get a head start in education. Being able to work with children who would not nirmally get the care and attention they need would be something I think woudl warm my heart. These children are sometimes classified as at-risk children and most people give up on them. The job openings they currently have are for teachers. As much as I love being in a classroom. I want the opportunity to be able to train the teachers to help these children. I want to be able to communicate with teachers and parents on how to help the children. http://headstart.seta.net/ This is the website I found for the head start program. This too is in California. (maybe someone is trying to say something to me haha) The skills required for this position are simply to have some ECE credits and are run off of a teir system. I would qualify for the highest tear, as it requires one year of fulltime employemnt in the early childhood field.
The last thing that I thought of was working for the department of social services. I think being able to help children by helping the parents may be a way to help stop some of the issues that we are faving in our daycare facilties today. Some parents cannot afford to take their children to daycare and that leaves tyhe system to deal with the mess. The children stay uneducated and at home until they reach kindergarten, and then they are not prepred for what is ahead of them. Being able to assist families who were truly in need woudl be something I believe woudl benefit everyone in he long run. I looked on the website for social worker informatino on careers but found that there was nothing available at this time. http://www.dss.virginia.gov/