Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

"For your blog this week, consider one system element that is a foundational strength of Head Start: Parent and Family Involvement. Review and reflect on the life stories you discovered among Parent and Family Stories on the website of the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC), part of the Office of Head Start.http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/family/For%20Parents/pfs."

(1) What is the value that hearing such stories has for early childhood professionals, for the public, and for policymakers and government officials? 

These stories provide hope and encouragement for early childhood professionals, the public, and for policy makers/government officials. It restores faith in the program through true tales of success. Many of the stories were so inspirational  they warmed my heart. One lady went from having nothing to being the director of her local program and going on to get her Master's degree. Her children went through the Head Start program and went on to attain higher education as well. It is valuable for everyone to hear these stories so that they can see the real people affected for the better by the Head Start program. 

(2) Your opinion regarding why or why not parent/family involvement is an essential system element for all strands of service in the early childhood field...

Parent/family involvement is indeed an essential system for all strands of service in the early childhood field. For me personally, I want to know exactly what my child is learning and how he is learning it. Parents know their children and who better to make polices and lay out procedures than parents? When my son is finally old enough to enroll in the education system, you better believe I will be as involved as I possibly can be. As parents, we must take an active role in our children's education and stop blaming "the system" for everything. 

Quality Programs for All Children

I truly believe that the public opinion on quality early care and education programs is ever-improving over the last 60 years. Yes, there are always the funding issues and those that want the programs cut out completely  but they are not the ones looking at the data. I feel that ensuring funding for programs such as Head Start is more of an investment than an expense. An impoverished child who has access to quality care and education may be more likely to break the cycle of poverty when they become an adult. An quality education is priceless and no child should ever be denied access to obtaining one. I feel that if data showing the success rate of these programs were made more public (which is where the advocates come in!), more and more people would see the value in them. We need to spread the word as early childhood professionals and advocate for these quality programs so that we can continue to raise public opinion.

Introdution to Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy

Part 1: Why did you choose this specialization? Share what resonates with you about this specialization. Consider the relationship between your passion and aspirations related to public policy and advocacy and what you hope to accomplish with regard to promoting the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field.

Team Building and Collaboration, Part 1

Adjourning is essentially the ending of a group. For some, it is a relief and for others it is a sad thing. There are only a handful of groups I have ever been a part of that I can honestly say I was sad to see adjourn. One of my favorite groups was my introduction course here at Walden. We became a fairly tight-knit group and some of us even stayed in touch via phone and Facebook. It is nice to make such close bonds and be able to see how life turns out for one another. It does sadden me to see this group adjourn as well because I have been with some of you from the beginning. Unfortunately, just as every group has a beginning, it has an ending. It is best to adjourn on a positive note and when possible maybe even a celebration. It is certainly most difficult to say goodbye to high-perming groups because the level of success is likely equal to how much time and effort each individual put into the group. When you get to know the members on a personal level it is even harder to say goodbye because you have emotions invested into the group as well. The best way I have ever experienced a closing of a group was with a party. That way, at our last group meeting, we were not saying our final goodbyes. It was easier to say goodbye to the other group members when we were in a non-formal setting than had we been in the office. It made the memory of the adjourning group much more pleasant and happy. When it is time to adjourn from my colleagues here at Walden, I imagine that I will send some them a letter of thanks via E-Mail and ask them to stay in touch. I have only made a few close connections and would like to cherish those by maintaining a friendship outside of the University. Saying goodbye is never easy!

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

I tend to use violent-communication tactics when it comes to my husband. We have been conflicting for two-and-a-half years now over the fact that he does not work. I work two jobs and go to school and it infuriates me when I come home and find him in the same place he was when I left. He sits around and plays videogames all day and all night. He only takes a break to eat and sleep! It has put a huge strain on our relationship and it has become increasingly hard not to use violence in my communication methods. There are some days that I come home and just start yelling at him for being lazy. I have resorted to name calling and everything in between. I am not proud of my behavior and know that I should try another method of communication. This website: http://www.cnvc.org/Training/NVC-Concepts has been very beneficial to me for this particular situation with my husband. To quote the website:

 "NVC offers practical, concrete skills for manifesting the purpose of creating connections of compassionate giving and receiving based in a consciousness of interdependence and power with others. These skills include:

1. Differentiating observation from evaluation, being able to carefully observe what is happening free of evaluation, and to specify behaviors and conditions that are affecting us;

2. Differentiating feeling from thinking, being able to identify and express internal feeling states in a way that does not imply judgment, criticism, or blame/punishment;

3. Connecting with the universal human needs/values (e.g. sustenance, trust, understanding) in us that are being met or not met in relation to what is happening and how we are feeling; and

4. Requesting what we would like in a way that clearly and specifically states what we do want (rather than what we don’t want), and that is truly a request and not a demand (i.e. attempting to motivate, however subtly, out of fear, guilt, shame, obligation, etc. rather than out of willingness and compassionate giving)."

I think that these tactics have been a huge help. I have even asked my husband if he has seen a change in me and he whole-heartedly agrees. Just this past week he went to a job interview and said he was motivated from my kindness rather than my aggression. Sometimes I just get so overwhelmed that I take all of my stress out on him. Yes, he is in the wrong but no, he does not deserve to be treated in such an awful way. Non-violent communication tactics work much better and you feel better about yourself for using them. I highly recommend any and everyone to re-evaluate their communication style and make the necessary changes.

Who Am I as a Communicator?

My personal evaluations were somewhat different than when others evaluated me. On the Communication Anxiety Inventory, I rated myself as having high levels of communication anxiety whereas my friend and supervisor rated them as moderate. On the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale, I scored in a moderate range but was evaluated at a lower level by my friend and supervisor. For the Listening Styles profile, we all three evaluated me as the same thing. At lease we agreed on something! It is amazing how you can portray yourself as one way and really be another way.

After the evaluations, I was most surprised that I did not score higher on the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale. Too often I catch myself being quite aggressive when communicating with certain people (aka: my husband!)  and always end up apologizing.

The insight that I gained this week was to pay more attention to my level of aggression when communicating and to not be so anxious when communicating. Since my professional life involves a high volume of verbal communication, I could benefit from not being so anxious when speaking. I tend to get ahead of myself and speak entirely too quickly. It will greatly benefit my personal life to tone down my aggressiveness when communicating because I think others will be more receptive to what I am trying to say. I know my husband will be thankful!

Communication and Culture

*Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures? If yes, explain. 

To be perfetly honest, yes I do indeed communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. This is mainly to avoid any miscommunication caused by a potential language barrier.The more familiar I am with someone's group or culture, the more confident I am in communicating with them.

*Based on what you have learned this week, share at least three strategies you could use to help you communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified:
(1) Do not start the conversation with any biases or preconceived notions about the person

(2) Be mindful of your body language and tune into theirs as well

(3) Listen intently to the other person and make eye contact