Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

I had the opportunity this week to watch some parent stories in relation to Head Start programs and what they did for their families.  The first video I viewed was an interview with father Zachary James, he had eight children go through the Head Start program.  Not only was the program beneficial for his children but it also inspired Zachary to go back to school to get his GED.  Before he had gotten his diploma, he was unable to read a children's book to his own kids.  Mr. James' story was definitely inspirational for me to work harder to improve the family engagement at my center.  Professionals in the field often only focus on the benefits family engagement has on the kids, but we do not realize how wonderful it is for the parents and families also.  This father went on to finish the education he stopped and now as he said, has higher expectations and standards for his own children and values the importance of swallowing one's pride and ask for help if needed. 

Another mom, Eva, expressed how Head Start taught her to make every moment a teachable moment when she is with her son.  They play games like peek-a-boo, but use letters to fuel the game.  Like Mr. James, Head Start helped Eva prepare for her GED and now she is getting ready to start her CDA so she is better prepared to be a "teacher" for her children. 

Involvement opportunities also give parents the chance to see what your program is all about.  Parents can see it is more than just child care, their children are growing, learning, and developing into productive members of society.  Parents may also become motivated to continue their education so that they can be better parents and role models for their children. 

Resource
Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (2010).  National Head Start Association 37th Annual Parent Conference.  Retrieved from http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/about/stories/pfs.

Quality Programs for All Children

From my perspective, the current public opinion in the United States with regard to the value and importance of early care and education for young children and families is divided.  Within my own center families either recognize the importance of socialization, learning and curriculum, and structure for young children, but on the other hand families think of early care as a glorified babysitting service for working parents.  In talking with others about early care and education, the public still do not know the difference between a daycare and an early learning center.  Even some educators that have their children in care do not look at the teachers as educated professionals and more often than not parents are surprised to know that the teachers actually have degrees in education and are state certified.  The seemingly sudden push in political platforms and in state and federal budget reforms to increase funding for early education programs shows the importance of investing in our youngest citizens.

I hope in the next five years that the public will as a whole realize just how essential and critical early education and care is for children.  I hope the idea of daycare is reformed.  Once everyone, most importantly parents, realize that early childhood education is beneficial for their children, we will see a change in ECE strands of service, systems, policies, and advocacy.  We are already seeing the influence in policies and advocacy, but there's a lot more work to be done.  I hope that with this increase of knowledge more children and families will have access to affordable child care, resources, and less children will be able to slip through the cracks, so to speak.

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

I chose to major in Public Policy and Advocacy because families and children are not aware of all of the resources available to them.  There are a lot of flaws in the educational and justice systems that are put into place to help families and their children, but more often than not those systems fail.  I want to be apart of the movement to improve these systems and be a voice for those that need the most help.  Becoming an advocate is essential in the early childhood field because our youngest citizens need the most help.  They will go up to either be productive members of society or they will end up deteriorating the fabric of our countries unless they are put on the right path.  I started out advocating and working towards this major many years ago as a volunteer for the Special Olympics and now as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
I hope to learn the following about public policy and advocacy:
1.  How to become more involved in the political bodies in the community and the steps needed to start making a change. 
2.  Systems or strategies to improve the livelihood and quality of education and care for children and their families
3.  How to start campaigns to make changes to laws and policies at the local, state, and federal levels

The Adjourning Phase

I have a really hard time working in groups.  I usually pull the weight, do all of the work because others don't and often times it seems as though I always care more than the rest of the group.  The last center I was at before I was promoted and transferred was really hard to leave.  We had created a collaborative, high-performing group, that consisted of working together, mutual trust and respect.  As a group, we knew what we needed to do everyday, we ebbed and flowed together almost seamlessly, were always willing to help each other out, and if there were problems, we were able to work through them.  It was a rare work atmosphere to experience, one that I hope everyday to have at my present center.  When I left, it wasn't goodbye, it was a see you later.  I knew that even though I was leaving, the group would continue to flourish and prosper, ebbing and flowing like they usually had. 
I imagine when I adjourn from the colleagues I have had the pleasure of working with while attaining my master's degree, I will leave with a feeling of being apart of something great, the feeling that others had similar experiences as I did and we were able to come out better educational professionals than we had begun as.  This stage is important because it is a shared success, with its ups and downs, highs and lows.  It is a celebration, not a tearful sad goodbye.  We know that we worked towards a common goal and made it, despite our individual personal stresses and roadblocks, we did it and we did it together.

Communication Perspectives

This week when I and three of my family and friends evaluated my communication and listening styles I was more surprised at how each person viewed my verbal aggressiveness level.  My friend was on par with the results I personally got, but my mother and husband each evaluate me right above or below where I had seen myself.  My husband sees me as being more verbally aggressive in stressful or upsetting situations with people I do not know and my mother saw me being low.  I think it was a moment of "ohhhhhh, noooo..." when my husband and I talked about how I responded to people I didn't know in not so ideal situations.  I have "seen the light" and know that I need to be more aware of how I react to strangers when upset and what I say. 

Two insights I gained this week about communication came from the resources and my professional life.  You can be an extremely effective communicator in your face to face interactions but in this time, you need to be just as effective virtually.  People tend to be more lax in their virtual interactions and do not see the importance even in just sending an email of communicating effectively.  I also gained insight in perceptions of self and others.  The way you perceive yourself and present yourself in professional situations greatly influences the perceptions of others. 

Communication Across Different Cultures

I interact daily with families from cultures different from mine.  Some families have come to the United States in recent years and others are born and raised here, but their backgrounds and experiences are different than mine.  When I talk to families or colleagues that are naturally born citizens of the United States I do find myself talking to them differently than I do families that came here from another country.  I tend to find myself listening more to families from other countries, mostly because I find it interesting to learn about their cultures and experiences. 

I believe one of the most effective forms of communication is being aware of the nonverbal cues you display.  Each culture is different in how they perceive certain body cues.  I read a quote recently that was along the lines of we have many different languages across our globe but the one common denominator between all cultures is a smile.  

A New Perspective on Communication

I took the time to watch ABC's TV show "Once Upon A Time".  I do not typically watch a lot of fantasy shows, but decided to give this one a chance.  In this episode, the characters appeared to be in a close relationship with each other.  They appeared to be lost or stranded together.  This episode proved to have a lot of emotion, there was (perceived) anger, sadness, hopelessness, relief, and confusion.  At first, I was distracted by the lack of sound.  I was playing on my iPad and occasionally speaking to my husband.  But after a few minutes, I treated the show like I was people watching (a guilty pleasure of mine).  I was able to read lips and make my own assumed dialogue which was quite entertaining and comical.  Even though the situations the characters were involved in were clearly meant to be dramatic and appeal to a "darker" view, the only way that I could stay focused was to make things up as I watched. 
When I finally got to watching the show with the sound on, I realized that my perceptions and the assumed dialogue I had created were completely off. Where I thought the characters were a close group of people, with dialogue I saw they were a divided group with smaller individual problems.  This assignment helped to reinforce not to assume or place my own personal perceptions on others without the proper dialogue to go along with it.  I do enjoy silent movies, which are meant to be seen not heard; they tell their story through more traumatic and increased body language. But I did not enjoy watching a TV show that is meant to be heard and seen with minimal body language that I could use as cues.  Now I am hooked on the TV show!