Time Well Spent

The first deeply felt lesson that I have taken to heart during my matriculation at Walden University’s Early Childhood program is to be aware of my own internal biases. Even without knowing it, we are raised and learn some types of bias that we may not even realize. We have to make ourselves aware of this so that it will not affect our decision making or the way we treat others who are different.   A second deeply felt lesson that I have learned is about diverse culture. It is so important to know and understand the cultures, family structures, religion and beliefs of the children and families that we teach and care for. This will help us to understand what is important to them and how we can better assist them. A third deeply felt lesson I have learned is to not limit partnerships when looking at a Community of Practice. When in a field of helping others, there should not be any lengths to far to go in order for us to help other people.  If we have to advocate and lobby to the President of the United States, then that is how far we should be willing to go.

My long term goal is to complete the doctoral program in Early Childhood Education.  I want to be able to make a difference and be an advocate for children that need a voice.  I want to be the person that the children can trust and depend on and someone that they will see as a great inspiration, motivator, and role model.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues for the support, advice and experience that have been shared throughout this program.  It was a great learning experience being able to draw from the knowledge of those that are already educators in the early childhood field. I pray for your continued success and professional growth for in the early childhood field.  My quote to you is to” keep the passion fire lit in the early childhood field”.

I would also like to thank Dr. Embree for her guidance and corrective criticism in this course and throughout this program. You have given me valuable information that I can apply to my teaching practices in my classroom in the future.  Because of your guidance I believe that I am now more confident that I can become an effective early childhood educator.

My favorite quotes are:

“No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure." – Emma Goldman

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." – Nelson Mandela