Community Partners

Hello Colleagues! Listed below are the requirements for this first blog assignment.

3 Local or State Organizations

Bright From the Start- This is a local organization here in my home state of Georgia. It provides various services for many of the childcare facilities here in Georgia. They are responsible for things such as licensing as well as ensuring that daycare centers and early childhood programs meet the safety, educational, and nutritional needs of the young children they serve. This organization definitely sparked my interest because it teams with the government as well as our local Head Start Association that's located in Atlanta.   
Boys and Girls Club of America-  There are many Boy and Girls Clubs around the world. They all have the same mission, and that's to provide a safe haven for young and older children to get them off the street and focus on the positive aspects of their young lives. I have a love for this organization as it relies on the help of other organizations to stay open and operate. This program has a realm of many collaborations; so I think it's safe to say that they must have great communication skills as well as other collaborative skills when trying to get support from others.
National Head Start Association- This is an organization that will always remain near and dear to my heart because teaching children and helping families who are less fortunate is a great feeling. This organizations mission is to provide quality care to children of families with low-income. They always stand in support of the program; and they will go head first in their action plans to support the Head Start Program. When Head Start was in trouble a couple of years back they made it their mission to type up letters to members as well as current and prior Head Start parents. These letters were intended for legislative officials who felt that the program didn't work and were tying to reduce funding. Not only did the officials from the organization take the letters, but themselves as well as others who were willing to speak on behalf f the program! This is a company that I would love to have back me up in my efforts to advocate and potentially help in improving some areas of the program that needs improving.

Potential Jobs for the Future- Of course Teaching Adults is number one as that's my concentration. But here are other jobs that I am interested in as well.

Preschool Teacher in a Public School- This is a job that I have actually been inquiring about. Even though I am a preschool teacher currently for a local Head Start program, I do not have a degree with teacher certification. This prevents me from being an actual teacher (not paraprofessional) within the public school system. This is a position that still serves the age group that I love, but the pay is better. My current issue is my own full-time job. I am unable to conduct a student teaching session because of the timing of the student teaching and the timing of my job. Luckily, if I choose to go down this road, there is a way that I can still be certified. The GA TAPP is a program that was created because of the decline of up and coming teachers being produced. The program allows those in other fields with Bachelors degrees to become a teacher. The first step is to pass a series of test. After these tests are all passed, the next step is to find a job that hires TAPP representatives. If the school chooses to hire the candidate they will then be hired provisionally under a specific salary grade. During their provisional status they must complete a specific number of classes which can last about a year or two depending upon which plan the candidate chooses. The student will also receive a certain amount of monitoring from appropriate sources. This journey is rigorous; but if it's something that I'm serious about I feel that I can get the job done!

Parent Educator/Home Visitor- This is another area that's totally different. This arena of ECE focuses on providing help to parents who are in need of getting their lives back on track in the best interest of their young child.  This type of job is usually found in independent sectors who have received grants from the government for this type of care and service. I already have the necessary education to get a job with this title. But of course, like many jobs, it requires training as well as a few classes before beginning.

Teaching adults and Head Start are my two main passions as this is why I have sought degrees within this field. The jobs listed above are just ones that were of interest to me in case those mentioned disappear or fall through!

Last post

I must that this class has really taught me how to communicate with others on a professional level. Through the ongoing communication we experience in this class I have found out a lot of pertinent information about my colleagues work life as well as personal life! I wish you all the best on your educational journey!! Thanks for the guidance Dr. Parrish!!

Adjourning

When speaking on the adjourning level/step, the group that first comes to mind would be my Rasmussen school as well as colleageus and instructors. I loved the fact that I graduated with my Bachelors degree, but I hated the fact that I would no longer be a part of that community. We all formed bonds both personal as well as intellectual/educational. Teachers and colleagues were so willing to help one another through our journey of obtaining a higher degree. When I actually attended graduation, I was able to meet some of these awesome people!
After graduating , I knew that I wanted to obtain a Masters but Rasmussen did not have Masters programs available! I was stuck and scared about attending a new institution. After searching, several friends as well as internet reviews pointed me in the direction of Walden. Upon first entering the Blackboard everything was soooooo different!! I was so accustomed to Rasmussen that this new school had almost intimidated me! After about the first week of class I felt right at home! Instructors were sweet and helpful and so were my colleagues!
Even though the adjourning of my Rasmussen school was hard, Walden made it quite comfortable for me to feel right at home again! I feel this is because trust was set up from the get go. Just like Rasmussen, my financial aid and class selection went well in the very beginning. These measures helped me gain trust in my future with both schools because they seemed to know what they were doing and I was willing to place my educational future in their hands!! Adjourning was sad but my entrance to this new school was awesome!

Respectfulness, Reciprocality, and Responsiveness are the 3 rs that lead to better communication between partners, whether it be professional or personal. I'm the kind that pretty much minds my own business and deal with not too many people besides family and close friends. Because of this I feel that it truly keeps me grounded and out of others "mess". So there have been very few times when I have had arguments with others besides the occasional fall out/argument that my husband and I seldom have!!! During these times I must say that neither one of us took the time to follow the 3rs of communication. We often said things in a not so nice way because of our tempers being hot at that particular moment!! But I'm almost positive that if we had taken the time to actually HEAR and RESPECT what the other was thinking, as well as RESPOND in a non-argumentative way, then the conversation would not have been as heated because both parties would have been respected! This is definitely a method that I have not used but could definitely benefit from professionally as well as personally on a day to day basis!!

This weeks blog relates to the assignment/application for week 4. In this assignment, I had to conduct two surveys on my own as well as get two people to conduct the same surveys. On the first I received a score of 27 and on the second survey I received a score of 60. Both of my testers scored very similar to myself as well as with each other. After looking at things that we differed on opinions of would be feeling disappointed when I spoke publicly, as well as showing others that I dislike them. When I scored myself I felt as if I was always confident before and after public speaking; but after reviewing the feedback from my coworker and husband they informed me that I appear less confident because I am always asking how I did afterwards, as well as consistently asking if my presentation was appropriate beforehand! When I think about it I guess it does seem that I am less confident when speaking publicly! The second issue that differed was showing dislike! I always try to get along with others regardless but its hard sometimes! My coworker and husband informed me that I need to work on my facial expressions/demeanor! When I think about it that's so true! My mouth could be saying one thing but my body language.....which is often very believable.....needs to be in sync!!! I truly enjoyed this assignment and it will definitely help me in my professional and personal life!!

For this weeks blog assignment we are asked if we communicate differently for people that may be on different levels within our daily circle. For me, I must say that I am more comfortable around the people that I deal with on a daily basis! So for them, I may not always use appropriate language, etc. But when it comes to people like those in my area office , who I don't deal with on a daily basis, I find I use language that is more appropriate, my listening skills are better, and my eye contact is better. Not that I don't do these things on a daily level, but I think we are more aware of these things when we are trying to make a impression on someone that we view as important. One thing that I have learned this week is to pay attention to how others communicate. By doing this I can become a better communicator with various people. Number two would be to realize that everyone is not like me, so I can't expect them to communicate as I would! And last, taking the me out of the equation and just focusing on how another person feels in a conversation will get me well on my way to becoming a better communicator! I must say that I learned a lot this week!!

Communication Skills and Styles

For this assignment I used a Lifetime movie called 'The Perfect Boyfriend' instead of a TV show because I don't have anyway of recording one. So basically I cut the TV on mute when the show came on at 2pm, watched it for a while on mute, and then finished the movie out with regular volume. The important characters in the movie appeared to be one adult male and one child male. The female characters were three main characters; one that seemed to be a teenaged daughter and the other two seemed to be the wife and mistress. Without sound it appears that the adult male is having an affair on his wife. He is very affectionate with both females and this is what lead me to my conclusion, because of his body languages with both (hugs, kisses, etc). The young boy seemed to be the child of the husband and wife, even though he seemed to be more affectionate with the mother. As for the teenager, the mother appears to be pretty young , but its apparent that she must be a child of hers considering she lives in the household. The union seemed more loving between the mistress and husband because when he hugs the wife, his eyes seem a bit suspicious! Now when I'm about to turn the volume up......a mysterious man has entered the picture and he's hugging the young boy and the boy is spending the night with him!!! Ughhhhh!! Lol! 😁 Just when I thought I had it all figured out!!
Volume up: Boy was I wrong!!! Totally different scenario with a little sound!!! The two females were a wife and fake girlfriend. The adult male lived with the fake girlfriend because him and the wife were plotting to get millions from her!!  So this is where the suspicious look came from when I thought he was hugging the "wife" who in actuality was the fake girlfriend! The one whom I thought was the mistress was actually the wife!! Confusing, I know! The little was actually not the son of the boyfriend, so this explains why he wasn't as affectionate as the mother. The teenager was actually the live in babysitter who was basically like a member of the family.
Basically, this assignment has taught me that a lot can be gained from body language, facial expressions, which are all forms of nonverbal communication. Sometimes it tells on you, as in the words you speak may not be the same as the language your body is speaking; and during other times, nonverbal language can be misleading. This is why its important to speak up, and voice your opinion through ongoing communication! This assignment was quite fun and has taught me a lot!