Saturday, March 30, 2013

National and Internation Jobs in the Early CHildhood Field


UNICEF

UNICEF is a wonderful organization that fights for the rights of impoverished children and families in countries across the world.  I would be very interested in working for UNICEF.  Currently there are short term positions available in the education field in many countries.  Unfortunately the websites says that they receive many more applications than they have availability for placement.  Skills for this job would depend on the place and issue that you are working towards resolving.   For me that might include a degree in education as well as experience working with families of different cultures

International Child Resource Institute

A program I found interesting on a national level is the International Child Resource Institute.  This program helps to promote a world where all communities have the resources to reduce poverty (International Child Resource Institute, 2013).  They work in grass roots community efforts to alleviate the effects of poverty on families.  There is currently a marketing internship available. A person needs to have a commitment to world issues and a desire to better the lives of children and families, which I have.  You also have to be interested in building your experience to include consulting work in many developing countries.

National Head Start

Working for National Head Start would be a terrific job for me.  Currently there are positions available in the Education State Center for National Head Start.  To be successful in this position, I would need a back ground education in earlychildhood education as well as a master’s degree or doctorate in the field.  I would also need much experience working with diverse populations and have an understanding of how Head Start functions and their mission in this field.


References

International Child Resource Institute. (2013). our vision. Retrieved from http://www.icrichild.org/our-vision/

National Head Start. (2013). Job board. Retrieved from http://www.nhsa.org/?e=jobBoard.detail&job_board_id=1342

UNICEF. (2013). Employment. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_internship.html

 

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Communities of Practice


The first community of practice that I would like to join would be the Shasta County Local Child Care Planning Council.  This group meets monthly to discuss the issues that are facing our local preschools and childcare programs (Shasta County Local Child Care Planning Council,2013).  I was a member of the Trinity County Local Child Care Planning Council before I moved.  In order to be part of this community, I would need to be nominated for an available space by someone from my agency.  The skills necessary are an interest in children’s issues in the county.

The second community of practice I would like to be a part of is the Berkley Media Studies group.  This group works together to bring issues that affect children in poverty to the fore front of media attention(.  That attempt to influence policies and work to promote public health through issues such as violence prevention, health equity, and children’s issues (Berkeley Media Studies Group, 2013). The people in this group are paid employees, with the exception of the intern positions.  This could be an area that I might consider employment after I complete my degree.

Another Community of Practice group that I currently belong to is the online Mind in the Making group.  We use this group to discuss issues that face educators when helping children reach their full potential (Galinsky, 2012).. The group is based on the book by Ellen Galinsky.  Currently, as with the most early childhood programs, the focus is on how high quality preschool benefits children and how we are going to ensure that all children have access to it .

A job in early childhood that I would be interested in, is the early childhood specialist for Region  IX, Head Start.  Although this job is located in San Francisco, it involves travel throughout Northern California.  This position provides support and training assistance to Head Start in Northern California.

Another job I would be interested in (if it were available) would be the assistant director of Shasta Head Start.  I feel that with my 20 plus years of experience, I have a lot to offer the agency.  Add to that the knowledge of systems and management techniques I have learned at Walden, and I feel I could help see our agency into the next challenges that face us.

I would also be interested in the Shasta County Office of Education Early Childhood Services director.  This position oversees all of the State P-Ks in Shasta County.  This is another position I feel my experience and education have prepared me for.
References

Berkeley Media Studies Group. (2013). About us.

Galinsky, E. (2012). Mind in the making. Retrieved from http://mindinthemaking.org/

Shasta County Local Child Care Planning Council. (2013). Local child care planning council. Retrieved from http://www.shastacoe.org/page.cfm?p=3147&pback=2642