Friday, April 25, 2014

Time Well Spent

 


 1.  What is one important thing you have learned from these 8 weeks in the Capstone Course?
 Throughout the past 8 weeks I have learned many valuable things from the assignments, Dr. Teri, but most importantly my colleagues. I learned the importance of networking and building relationships with people who have a similar passion as me. If I say I made it through these 8 weeks I would be lying. My classmates have supported me tremendously each week. I learned from them and I hope they were able to learn from me.

2.  If you could change one thing about this course, what would it be?
One thing I would like to change about this course is for us to have an actual internship where we can begin implementing our Capstone Project. Although, I know that I can begin implementing on my own, it would be great to share our progress and success with our classmates. A section of the Capstone Project could be the beginning stages of our challenge/solution and if we are able to achieve any of the goals.  

3.  What is some advice you would like to pass on to future Capstone students that will help them be successful in this course?
I would advise future students to read, read, and read. Everything you need to know is in the announcements, emails, and newsletters. If you have any questions do not be afraid to ask Dr. Teri. Also, make sure to be active in the discussion groups and check back on a regular basis. Your colleagues help you answer the questions you might have. Do not wait until the last minute to do assignments. Do them in advance so if you have any questions you will receive feedback in time. Lastly, when thinking about your challenge, choose a topic in an area you are passionate about.

4.  Something I'd like Dr. Teri to know:
Dr. Teri, I want to thank you for your support and for making this course easy and comfortable for me. I’m sure I felt nervous just like most of my classmates when this course began, but after the first two weeks I was no longer nervous. Your videos and announcements were very detailed and I can tell that you truly want us all to succeed. Thanks for being a kind, caring, and encouraging professor. It has been great ending this journey with you!


Wow! I cannot believe I have come to an end on this journey towards receiving my Master’s degree. Looking back over the course of this program, I smile because I feel accomplished. I remember how excited I was in the beginning, yet anxious and nervous. This would be my first online program and I worried that I would not do well. When I began this program I was planning my wedding and a year later I became pregnant. I almost thought of taking a break, but I wanted to challenge myself and I am glad I did. I met great people and had a great support team. This program was not difficult due to the help and support of all my awesome colleagues and professors.

I have learned so much throughout this program, but there are three learning's that meant the most to me.
1. Building Relationships. I have learned that I cannot do everything on my own. It is important to share and learn with others. Building relationships with colleagues is important and beneficial. From the beginning to the end, I felt a connection with all my classmates. You have all inspired me in a way and reminded me why I chose to take on this journey. The relationships that I made through this program, I would love to continue. This lesson has also helped me in my career to work at making better relationships with my colleagues and any one I meet with similar interests as me.

2. Never stop learning. Every week I learned something new in this program. I not only learned more about the early childhood field, but I also learned more about myself. There is something new that comes up in this field and it is important to stay on top of the changes. I learned to read and engage myself on current issues and trends in the field.

3. Passion. From our Foundations course to our Capstone Project, passion is one thing that has remained constant. It is important to be passionate about the field you are in. Having passion will motivate you to do the best in what you. Passion will also push you when it seems to be challenging and frustrating.

Long Term Goal
One long term goal I have is to travel to Nigeria and work on setting up a school for special needs children.

Dr. Teri, Thank you for being such a great professor. You have made this course go by smoothly. Your thoughtful announcements, newsletters, emails, and advice on every assignment have been very helpful. Thank you for always responding to emails on time and explaining any confusion I had. I appreciate it very much!

To my colleagues,
I am very grateful for each and every one of you for helping me complete this journey. There is absolutely no way that I could have done this one my own. I have learned so much from each of you. You all have been so kind, encouraging and supportive. Your kind words inspired me and encouraged me to not give up. I wish you all much joy and success as you continue on this journey in the early childhood field. I know that you all will be great in all your future endeavors. Once again, thank you so much for everything!








Please keep in touch:
My personal email is Dorcas.adekola@gmail.com
I also have a personal blog, which I haven’t had time to keep up with, but now I have time to resume blogging. The link is www.kemichronicles.blogspot.com 

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally


This week I explored international early childhood organizations. I enjoyed looking at what others are doing outside of the United States of America to make a positive change in the lives of young children.

The first organization I looked at is the World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP). I was interested in OMEP because I have heard about them before and the projects they do are geared towards improving early childhood education worldwide, but also improving the overall well-being of children worldwide. OMEP was established to improve the interests and well-being of children all over the world. They also aim to advance early childhood education and care. OMEP has national committees in over 60 countries. Some of the projects they partake is supporting a preschool in Jamaica by sending books and materials, creating journal books for children in different countries, contributing to a library in Jamaica, and collaborating with UNICEF in the development of OMEP’s water, sanitation, and hygiene initiative in early childhood settings. There are currently no job opportunities, but there are opportunities to become a member.

Another international organization I am interested in is UNICEF. I always knew about UNICEF because as a child I used to collect money to help children all over the world. I did not know what they did exactly, but I knew that they were an organization that helped children. UNICEF believes in nurturing and care of all children. Their purpose is to work with other people to overcome obstacles of poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination in children. They promote girls education, and advocate for all children to be immunized. One job that interested me is the position for Child Protection Specialist. The Child Protection Specialist is responsible for for the planning, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the UNICEF MENARO Justice for Children component. Some of the skills I would need are fluency in Arabic and eight years experience in national and international levels in child protection. The position is for placement in Jordan and is a full time and long-term position.

The third international early childhood organization I am interested in is the Early Childhood Development Institute (ECDI). ECDI is a nonprofit organization that aims to promote optimal child development for children in Nigeria. This program interests me because their work is focused in Nigeria which is my home country. Some of their goals are to promote public awareness of early childhood development, provide pre professional development training for teachers, promote parent capacity to support their child’s development, and develop community resources to support early childhood.

Working internationally would be a great opportunity and learning experience for me. I have always wanted to help children on an international level. Working internationally would also allow me to learn what others are doing to make a difference in the lives of children outside the United States. 

Website Links
http://www.omep-usnc.org/
http://www.unicef.org/
http://ecdinitiative.org/