Time well spent

The last few years have been an exciting ride full of both personal and professional insights.  I am looking forward to putting the knowledge I’ve gained into play but feel a little sad to be leaving this phase of my life and learning.  I have gained a greater understanding of what adults need to be successful learners, a renewed passion for hands on work with children and a very well defined direction for where I want to go in my life.  All of these things have come about from my study and interactions with the professors and colleagues and I thank you all for your insights. 

My goal is to put into place all the things I learned.  I would like to continue to work with the toddler classroom that I am in but also add a part time on-line teaching position where I could teach and hopefully inspire other ECE professionals.  I feel that this would create the ideal situation for me where I can work hands on with children and give back to the profession by helping to train the next generation of ECE professionals.   

I wish each of you the best of luck in all your endeavors and hope to be able to cross paths as we all head down our own roads of professional development.  I have gained a great deal from knowing each of you and thank you for your unique perspectives and how they have colored my life. 

As you move ahead to change the world and achieve your own goals remember, “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”

Thanks again

-Denise

International Organizations

Among the international organizations that I would be interested in working with are…

Save the Children:  This group provides help to many throughout the world wherever it is most needed.  When a disaster strikes Save the Children is always there to lend a hand to help rebuild what has been lost.  One of the things that struck me was that this group works with a myriad of other organizations and governments while staying independent and without political agenda.  That is a rarity these days and a big draw for me to become more involved with them.   There are a number of ways to become involved from sponsoring a child to actually going out into the field in different areas of the world and working with the people.  At this stage in my life, I have three little boys at home so field work, while to most intriguing to me, is not too practical at this time.  I will however be much more interested as my boys start out on their own lives in a few years. 

UNESCO:  The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization was one that I had not previously heard of.  While I was familiar with the United Nations, this specific organization was new for me.  The thing that drew me to this group was there mission statement.  They believe in both a holistic and humanistic vision of education for the whole world.  This statement really resonated with me because of my strong belief in both education as well as the rights of each person to receive an education. 

 ACEI:  The Association for Childhood Education International was also a new find for me.  The thing tht I really liked about their mission statement was the idea of coming together to share information, perspective and experiences.  This kind of collaboration is greatly needed and when done correctly can bring about many great changes.  I would be very interested in working with groups that not only see the beauty of children but the value is other teachers as well.  As with the other organizations, I would prefer to be right in the middle of working with the children and families.