My hope for everyone is to remember your true passion for
the early childhood field. The first essential learning from the program at
Walden is that no matter what we are doing it is all about building
relationships and collaborating with others. Whether we are teaching children,
or working with families, or leading a team it requires trust, commitment,
empathy, strong communication, and passion. My second learning lesson is how important an anti-bias
approach to teaching young children is for all children and how
important it is for us to identify our personal biases and be aware of any
hidden messages we may be sending to others. The third lesson that I learned is how critical the first
three years of life are in a person’s life, especially in terms of epigenetics and early
brain development.
Sometimes I feel that my dreams are so ingrained and
subconscious that I do not know what they are until I reach them. I don’t know
exactly where I will be in 15 years, but I know what is important to me and
what I am working for. I have a passion for children and I want every caregiver
to understand the importance of the early years on a child’s life. Through this
course I have learned the importance of being a child advocate and getting
involved in the community. My current goal is to stay involved with community
groups that are passionate about helping children and families and see where it
takes me!
Thank you all so much for inspiring and motivating me over
the course of this program. If it weren’t for all the blogs and discussion
posts I may have missed a few assignments honestly. But knowing that others
were counting on me and working just as hard as me kept me motivated. You
should all feel incredible right now because you are all inspiring to me.
Dr. E,
Thank you for all your support and encouragement throughout
this course. You made a difficult task seem manageable and worth it! You have
been inspiring and motivating. You pushed me to find my way by asking the right
questions.
Sincerely, Mary
Sincerely, Mary
Yes it is important for all of us to remember why we decided to go into the field of early childhood. We chose the field because we love young children and want to support young children as they learn and grow. I wish you good luck in wherever the road may lead you and may you continue to keep that passion for working with young children.
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your last blog post because it contained great quotes and expressed many of the same feelings I have about this experience. I have enjoyed reading your work each week and thank you for the information and ideas you shared during this educational experience. I have definitely learned from you. Best of luck to you in the future!
Courtney
Mary,
ReplyDeleteLove your post here. I have enjoyed reading all of your discussion posts and learning about the work you do which I believe is rather unique. I wish you the best as you move on to the next venture in your life with this degree.
I really like how you pointed out that you want everyone to remember their passion. I think this is so critical as time goes on I believe the road blocks and push back we may receive from lack of funding can cause us to lose that passion. I too believe it is so important to keep that passion going no matter how difficult it may be. Thinking positive through the negativity that can be out there is so valuable. Thank you for all you have contributed. Best of luck to you.
Hi Mary
ReplyDeleteI must say that this has been an incredible journey. As you stated, we must continue to advocate for children. We have to be their voice. In order to do this, we must get involved. We can make a difference and change lives. My passion is to teach children to the best of my ability and make a difference in their lives. Collaboration is very important because one person can not get the job done alone. We all need each other.
I would like to thank you for your weekly feedback and comments. It helped me to get a better understanding of my capstone. Good luck in accomplishing your future goals.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! This MS program at Walden University has taught us that to be an agent of change and advocate for children, first we need to know ourselves and examine our own biases and next to put a word on those injustices and oppressions that occur in our own lives and that of the children we serve when we see them happening. Anti-bias education is really to take a stance against those injustices in our society that really affect our children’s lives even if they seem not to understand or bother about it. Empowering ourselves and that of children’s lives is what I guess Nelson Mandela meant when he said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Yes, we have the tool now, let’s make good use of it. Though we were not classmate for this final course, we have done many courses together and you have been an excellent classmate. Your contribution to our learning community was very insightful and rich to me. I wish you good luck in your future endeavors and I am sure your dream will fulfill. Congratulations!