Goals

Learning about the programs through my international contact as inspired me to want to visit their country in Hong Kong and actually experience it for myself. This experience has allowed me to see childcare in a different way such as how much more they prepare their children for higher education and stern academic system. Their system does not allow too much play. But with their results the children are well advanced.

One of my goals is to actually teach overseas for a semester after getting more experience under my belt as an undergrad professor. My professional contact use to be my director for the public school district in MI and she invited me to teach over in Hong Kong. I am so excited about the offer and never thought about that opportunity. So I will definitely keep that in mind later on in my career.

Part 3

my mind to be open to new ideas and to broaden my horizons. Sometimes fresh ideas come from ideas heard from peers or their experiences. The professional I decided to ask questions about her professional goals was also a coworker in the same program but started a year before me.

Jasmine wants to become a district manager for a corporate center and then eventually own her own center. Right now she works for a company called tutor time and enjoys every bit of it but she feels she’s worth so much more than just a toddler teacher. She has her bachelors and now her Master’s degree in the early education field. I really admire her ambitions and commitment because she never complained about coming to work every day, the low pay grade, the challenging students and sometimes unorganized center. I guess when you have a passion for something, you continue on with it because you see that there is reward in the end.

Jasmine mentioned some of the opportunities that exist for professional development at her location:

1.   

    Partnerships with local colleges-opportunities for higher education and education assistance.

2.       National conferences

3.       Annual meetings for opportunities of growth

4.       Professional development trainings

Some of my professional hopes is to make an impact on children and families. Right now I feel as though I am doing that, but I feel I could be doing more. I hope to gain more and understand more of the core values in this field. I hope to be happy and successful. I dream of becoming a college professor teaching undergrad and my main challenge is not having enough confidence in myself to excel.

Sharing Web resources

So this week I decided to explore National black child development Institute. This organization has been around for 40 years and their goal is to provide resources to black children in need. These resources include education, healthcare, child welfare, literacy and family engagement. Their mission is to "improve and advance the quality of black children and their families through education and advocacy".

This organization supports children through the age of eight and their families through community based organizations, foundations and school systems, elected officials, government, head start, pre-k, partnerships and public schools.

I also noticed that the National Black child Development Institute has three priority areas at the state, local and federal level. The priorities are empowering parents, engaging communities, improving childcare and teacher quality, ensuring funding and resource equity.

I am glad I have checked out this web site because being an African american my self I find education very important in valuable in my race, community and culture. A long long time ago blacks were whipped for being able to read or write. They were punished for being educated and now today we have just as much opportunity as any other ethnicity.To have programs out there to support the black community say's a lot . now w have so many resources and support from policy makers.

Getting to know international contacts

So this week I learned more about the programs at the school my professional contact works at. The children learn a variety of programs through Language and interaction, mathematics, ethics and religion, environmental and natural studies, health physical and motor development.

I noticed that religion plays a major role in their education. The Bible studies curriculum teaches children everything about the bible and how it applies to their lives. The Bible studies curriculum covers the entire Bible, studying the Old Testament and New Testament. By the end of their studies, children should be well-equipped for local Christian and Catholic primary schooling.
While the students are developing their personal values they are learning to become more confident around them selves and their peers. Through activities and teaching of manners, the students will be guided towards good personal relationships and emotional health and to avoid use of violence.

I have also learned that families typically pay an average of $4,500 school in 12 month installments. School Uniforms are $85  and miscellaneous fees are about $1,800 per school term which is 6 months. The miscellaneous pays for curriculum material, books, wow cards, art crafts and so on.