My Role as an Advocate

•  What motivated you to start advocating for very young children?

I started working with children at first because it was an easy job to get into a daycare center since my sister was already working there and able to get me in. However, after my niece went through a lot of traumatic situations when she was five, I was shocked by how various family and children’s services handled things. I was unable to do much for my niece since we lived in different states; however, I continue to be inspired to do more for other families and children.

•  Why is it essential to acknowledge and foster advocacy efforts at the micro as well as the macro level?

Fostering advocacy efforts is important on all levels because it shows the desire to improve the lives and conditions for children and families all around the world.

•  What does it take to be a community leader on early childhood issues?

Being a community leader takes effective communication skills as well as the drive and passion to advocate for children and families. Collaboration skills are also important so a leader can work with and address issues among other community organizations which can further institute a louder voice of advocacy.

• What resources does it take to be a state leader on early childhood issues?

A state leader needs to also have communication skills as well as political knowledge and understanding to assist in advising and implementing policies. I believe state leaders also must have skills that enable them to gain an understanding of how policies and advocacy efforts affect children and families at a more personal level.

• What tactics or strategies do you use to mobilize others?

As an advocate for children and families I use my voice as a way to mobilize others. By talking with others and using my passion in advocating for children and families, I have been able to bring fellow early childhood professionals to join committees with me. Any chance I get to talk with people about children and families, I am always expressing how I interact with children and families and I what issues need to be change and have more awareness and advocacy.

• What advice would you give to someone who was interested in taking a leadership role in advocating for young children and their families?

My advice to others interested in being a leader in advocating for young children and families is to first and foremost gain an in depth understanding of how children and families are affected by issues and how changes will impact their lives. It is also important for leaders to use the passion they have as an opportunity to express issues for children and families and to utilize every moment as a chance to gain another voice in advocacy efforts.

Personal Advocacy Reflection

When I was in 5^th grade I remember my family going through a lot of family trouble.  My older brother was going through many struggles with the law and being sent to jail and other juvenile correctional centers. I looked up to my brother and was taking these situations very hard, especially because my mom, a single parent, was struggling to keep up with the everyday things like work and caring for my sister and me as well as handling all of the situations with my brother.

Given the emotional challenges going on, my mom wanted to communicate with my teacher about what was going on in the family so that she was aware of my absences from school as well as my withdrawn emotions. I will never forget when my teacher, Mrs. Kubisa, asked for her assistant to take over in the class and asked me to come to another room with her. She sat and talked to me for more than an hour about my thoughts and feelings on my family situation.  She reassured me that she understood how difficult it must be going through everything and that she truly cared for me as an individual.

Even though this moment was not anything that went into great detail or actions by any adults, it was one that will forever stay with me because I knew that I was not alone. As a young child, I did not understand everything that was going on and was very torn between my emotions. Having both my mom and my teacher take the time to communicate to each other and to ensure that I knew I had people that cared for me was a great way to advocate for my well-being. Thinking about this way of advocating for one child and family by one teacher greatly impacts my desire to work with children and their families every day. It only takes one person to advocate for one child or family to make an impact forever. This is something that I remind myself of each day that I am questioning my work. I have to continue to remind myself that it is often the small acts I do or things I say that may stick with a family.  

Advocacy for Children Families

I am excited to be taking this course so that I can learn the tools and practices in becoming a more effective advocate for children and families. I currently work as a parent educator with a home visiting program and have completely fallen in love with my work. I am lucky to work with a variety of diverse families where I get to educate them on child development and assist them in their family well-being. I cannot begin to explain how many stories I am inspired by.The experiences that the families share only increase my desire to advocate for their needs and desires for a safer, healthier, and more child friendly community. I hope this course will improve my abilities as an early childhood professional to help speak up and give voice to the issues and concerns for the children and families in my community.

Thank You!

This course has taught me so many things about how to communicate with others in both my personal and professional life. Most of all I have learned new perspectives and experiences from all of you! I appreciate everyone for sharing your knowledge and supporting me through your posts and responses.

I wish everyone the best of luck in your professional career!

Adjourning Phase

The hardest group for me to leave was when I worked at a pediatric office. I was so excited to move on to my current job which was a big move in my career. However, the pediatric group was there for me during a very difficult personal point in my life. With the stress of the office, they continuously supported me during the loss of my father. I had built a positive relationship with most of the office and many of them became a friend outside the office. One of the rituals to leaving that took place was a good-bye/congratulations party which gave everyone the chance to take a moment and reflect on our time together. I am glad that this party was held because it was the perfect opportunity to show my gratitude for everyone and to express my thoughts and feelings for our relationship in the future.

I imagine the adjourning phase from the master’s degree program will be a time to congratulate everyone and show gratitude for the shared experience. The adjourning phase is one that is important to acknowledging the accomplishments of the group. It is a moment which offers the sense of closure that can help any person’s ability to move on.

Conflict in Communication

In the past, I have had a disagreement with a cowroker during a staff meeting about a topic that affected the entire staff. While there was not much to the decision of the topic, for some reason, my coworker and I had a moment where our personalities clashed and was on display for the entire staff. Because of my personality, I essentially shut down because felt as though my opinion was being threatened yet I could not express my thoughts clearly. My coworker on the other hand has a stronger way with words and she continued to direct her words toward me through facing me while sitting and turning to me each time she spoke. The situation was very uncomfortable for everyone there and one other coworker even stepped in to try and help resolve the issue by asking us both specifically what we thought. This helped and allowed us to end the discussion however, the disagreement has never been addressed again by myself or my coworker.

From this experience as well as the information in our text this week, there are two strategies that may help me in the future if a conflict in communication arises again. First I would support the discussion by focusing on the issue. By allowing our personal opinions to overcome us, we were not making ground in the disagreement. There came a point where the disagreement too personal and was not focused on the topic which we were there for. The second strategy is to consider the importance of the outcome. This strategy may help to focus the discussion as well as to improve communication by following the philosophy that I tell parents all the time: "Pick your battles".

Communication Evaluations

For this assignment I asked my coworker and my sister to evaluate my communication. I was most shocked by how low my verbal aggressiveness scored by my sister. I guess I would have assumed that it might have been closer to the score when I did the evaluation myself. I would have thought that being my sister; she would have thought my verbal aggressiveness to be higher considering there are times that I can be brutally honest with her. My coworker actually placed the score for verbal aggressiveness into an even higher group which was also shocking. This insight makes me wonder if my tone in the office is offensive to others since I often joke and use humor to get through the day. I must be more conscious about my communication and find other ways to relive stress through the day.  Another insight I gained was that my listening style is consistent across all evaluations. This makes me feel more confident since this tends to one area that I take seriously. I hope to continue this communication skill considering my career is working with people and using empathy to support the families I work with as well as my colleagues and my own family.