Time Well Spent

Here we are, at the end of our journey, and all I can say is CONGRATULATIONS!

This journey has been one that has held ups and downs, positives and negatives, moments of frustration and success, yet through it all I felt more confident in my job and have been able to take many lessons learned through my coursework that have helped me to be a better director, educator and leader. 

I have had so many positive learning moments throughout the last 2 years. I've learned that being a leader doesn't mean having one definition of what leadership is. It means combining many different styles, and that success is defined by molding those leadership styles at a moments notice. I've also learned to believe in myself. There have been many moments where quitting has been part of my thought process, and as I move forward, I am so grateful that I pushed myself past the tough moments and made it out on the other side. 

And right now, at the end of this journey, the triumph is pretty darn glorious. 

So what now? Now, I use all of the knowledge that I've gained over the last 22 months, and continue to apply it to my current position. As the Director of a large center I find myself up agains moments that I can use my education every day. My capstone focused on increasing teacher wages for the teachers at my center, and that is a major goal over the next year. I have already set up time to meet with the board of directors, and with a positive Capstone Project behind me, I can take the information I gleaned from that to let them know the importance of valuing and compensating the teachers at the J. 

I couldn't have done this without the support and camaraderie of all of you! Dr. Embree, Dr. Dartt, Dr. Marsh, Dr. Parrish, and so many more, have helped me to push through the coursework and helped to showcase my success. Dr. Embrue, you were a significant support system over the last 8 weeks. After week 1, I was pretty sure I was doomed to fail, and would never make it to the end. I could not wrap my head around measurable goals, and a Capstone with clear ideas, through many emails, you helped me get to where I am today. Thank you so much for the time, energy, comments, and positivity you provided over the last 8 weeks. I would definitely not be here without you. THANK YOU!

THANK YOU to all of my colleagues throughout my courses. Your feedback on discussion posts and blogs helped me to critically analyze our challenges, and truly made me a better director. I have taken bits and pieces from each of your individual experiences and bettered myself because of them. You are each fighting the good fight for early childhood education, and I am so lucky to have known you!

As ready as I am for this to end, I'm sad to not have a learning community that I get to "meet" with each week. While I'll have more time outside of the classroom, I will not have educators all over the country there to be a sounding board, and I"m going to miss that. 

I'd love for you to add me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/machaela 

I hope that our paths cross each other at some point in the next phase of our journey!

THANK YOU!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

This week I explored the early childhood community from an international perspective. I looked for organizations that represented my personal and professional aspirations. This led me to several organizations, Free the children, the Association for Childhood Education International, and UNICEF.

First up is an organization called Free the Children. Free the Children is an international charity working to empower and enable youth to be agents of change. "Free the Children educates, engages, and empowers youth in North America, the UK and around the world with the tools, knowledge, confidence, and support network to be ambassadors for change and lead meaningful action" (Free the Children, 2015).

This organization has many jobs that relate to my interests, the one that stuck out to me the most is the Educational Programming Coordinator. "Are you a person who enjoys challenges and making a difference in the world" (Free the Children, 2015). This position requires dedication to the mission of Free the Children as well as initiative, organization, and people skills. I think I would excel in this position based on my experience in the world of early childhood education.

Next is the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), a non profit that "is interested in sharing new approaches to the education of children and ensuring that these approaches are delivered in ways that enhance children's individual skills and abilities and provide opportunities for success in life" (ACEI, 2015). ACEI is a global community that helps educators find and exchange information about early childhood, and connect with other educators to institute a world wide access to high quality education.

ACEI has summer institutes for students enrolled in early childhood graduate programs, which would be perfect for me. These 8-12 week internships focus on information and data gathering and allow students to see the early childhood community from a global perspective.

Finally, UNICEF "works for a more equitable world by fighting for the rights of its future: children" (UNICEF, 2015). UNICEF works in many different areas of early childhood education, advocacy, poverty relief, and education. I'm drawn to their mission and the wide variety of experiences and help they offer.

There are a wide variety of positions available at UNICEF all over the world. Everywhere from Afghanistan to Kenya to the US. Their Education Specialist builds partnerships, manages programs, and uses innovation to complete the UNICEF mission. I think that this position, no matter where in the world would be an engaging position. Working all over the world would certainly be a draw for working in this amazing organization.



Free the Children: http://www.freethechildren.com 

Association for Childhood Education International: http://acei.org

UNICEF: http://www.unicef.org