Time Well Spent With No Regrets

 

This, as many seasons in life are, has been an amazing journey and time well spent. I am elated to have made the decision to commit to wanting to be a better asset to the field of early childhood education as the leader I aspire to be and a benefit to others around me. There have been many profound moments (those, “boy that really makes sense” connections) that I have experienced through both my article and peer posting readings. Of those, these are the three that stick out the most in my mind;

The shared difference between equity and equality. How could anyone expect to obtain and utilize reliable data from an imbalanced playing field??? This sparked the thought that prior to supplying equal opportunities, individualized equity must first be applied to ensure that everyone is given a chance to perform and progress exactly the same. This also ties to the continuous need to conduct research on the cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development of young children. It is through much of the data obtained that pre-existing developmental theories have been revised and in some cases, expanded to include innovative approaches for the betterment of education. Without the necessary (but ethical) testing and probing of new and old concepts and theories, education would become a stagnant one size fits all facilitation of learning. Last, but not least, recognizing that from the very beginning of this program, we were all participants in a community of practice with a shared purpose and goal. We, as a team, have assisted one another without thought that it was even occurring. I must admit, there were moments when I truly appreciated the honest feedback of both my colleagues and professors. Recognizing and validating the feelings possessed by others is one way of building trust and not resistance to the message being delivered. We all bring a level of expertise from what we have experienced on our path, sharing that empowers the  rest of us to apply that valuable knowledge gained respectfully.

One of my long term goals is to become an active participant of the Children’s Defense Fund. I was greatly touched by Marian Wright Edelman’s speech given at a symposium focused on the Cradle to Prison Pipeline awareness campaign. To actually know that projections exist on how many children (primarily minority children) are anticipated to drop out prior to finishing high school and go to prison in their lifetime was so disappointing. The answer was to prepare for more prison beds versus proactive measures to prevent such occurrences. Sooooo SAD!!!!! There is much work to be done in all areas of education, however, my passion and commitment is to the impoverished families that were not born into privilege and therefore need assistant in their struggle for opportunity.

I can’t sufficiently express the appropriate amount of gratitude and best wishes I have for all my colleagues and professors. Your contributions of encouraging words and knowledge added to my motivation of wanting to do my best in completing the challenging task that were given. Whether at 3pm or 3am, there was never a time I felt unsupported or alone, and for that I will always be eternally grateful. My goal is to also be that support to others on their journey.

                                                                                                Thank You:)