Robin's Early Childhood Studies Blog: June 2012

Friday, June 29, 2012

WHAT RESONATES WITH YOU ABOUT EARLY CHILDHOOD PUBLIC POLICY AND ADVOCACY?

I would first like to say welcome to everyone as we begin this next part of reaching our goals. Graduation is getting closer and closer for each of us. I look forward to working/learning with everyone during the next eight weeks. For this week’s blog we were asked to reflect on wyt each of chose this specialization.

Part I: Why did you choose this specialization?

I have always tried to advocate for others when I could. One incident in particular reinforced the path I have chosen to pursue. This incident occurred with one of the children who were enrolled in my childcare. The basics of the situation are this little boy had been (allegedly) subjected to physical abuse from his mother’s new boyfriend. Because he was only three-years-old at the time and had been diagnosed with high functioning Autism, the investigative worker through DCF (Department of Children and Families) made the statement to me that this child had no voice. She did not see why she should keep the case open since the child’s mother recanted her corroboration of the event which took place. I explained that this little boy did have a voice and that she was getting really frustrated with the system. I reminded her that this was not a good thing since I would be calling her supervisor in order to discuss the situation. Suffice to say this investigator was taken off the case and a case was opened in order to make sure the children in the household were being taken care of and not being subjected to abuse by the mom’s boyfriend. I am happy to say that mom eventually left this guy and the children (from what I hear) are doing great. The little boy in question is now eight-years-old and has been mainstreamed into the regular classrooms at school.

Part II: Why are advocates essential in the early childhood field?

According to Kieff (2009), advocating is both a natural as well as a necessary extension to our responsibilities as an early childhood professional/educator. It is essential for us, as educators, to promote ideas and seek resolutions that will affect children and families in positive ways (Kieff, 2009).

Part III: What do you hope to learn about public policy and advocacy?

I was born with the voice to use in order to advocate for others who are in need of a voice. What I need, however, is the knowledge and skills in order to advocate effectively. The deeper I get into advocating, the more I realize I need to learn about public policy and how to go about effectively advocating under different circumstances.

Reference

Kieff, J. E. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education: Making a difference for young children and families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

END OF ANOTHER JOURNEY

As we each finish this last week in our course, it is time to say thank you to everyone for all of your advice and wisdom throughout the last eight weeks. It was a pleasure to work/learn with new individuals as well as those of you that I have worked/learned with in previous classes. I wish everyone the best of luck in whichever specialization you have chosen. If you would like to keep in touch, you can find me on Facebook (Robin Lemire, Massachusetts). I usually have some type of Winnie-the-Pooh clip-art as my profile picture. I look forward to working/learning with those of you who have chosen the specialization of advocacy.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

TEAM BUILDING AND COLLABORATION - PART I

For this week’s blog assignment we are asked to consider the adjourning phase of team development in connection to groups which we have been involved in. The first group that came to mind was when I was taking a required speech course while working on my undergrad degree. For whatever reason, we just all bonded as a group right from the beginning. I have to say this was probably the most fun as well as productive class I have ever attended. It was also very hard when we were at the adjourning stage. Following the Five Stages of Development (Abudi, 2010); this is how I perceive my experience with this particular class.

Stage 1 – Forming: During this stage we each introduced ourselves and the journey to discovering about each other began. We also discussed with the professor what was expected of us over the next fourteen weeks. Our professor was very clear on his expectations but was also very respectful of each of the students.

Stage 2 – Storming: During this stage we began to break up into smaller groups who would be working more closely together on specific assignments.

Stage 3 – Norming: At this stage we have now begun to really get to know each other and are more open (I believe) to hearing from all sides before decisions are made. The projects we have been assigned are progressing more smoothly because of following this process (even though at the time we did not realize it).

Stage 4 – Performing: At this point all of our hard work is being realized and we are closing in on the completion of our project.

Stage 5 – Adjourning: At this point there is happiness (because we have completed our assigned projects and have successfully worked together to have accomplished this). There is also sadness (since we know that we probably will not be seeing each other again). Our professor has a great idea in order to make this stage a little easier. We all chose to meet for dinner in a nearby restaurant after the last class in order for all of us to have the chance to say good-bye and to exchange phone numbers and email addresses (this was before Facebook).

References

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from

http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

PERSONAL CHILDHOOD WEB

When constructing my personal childhood web I needed to remember those who contributed to a feeling of being loved, left me feeling special in some way, and cared about. This was a difficult task as my memories of my childhood, especially from the years of ten and up, were more of surviving this time instead of enjoyment.

Those individuals who did leave a positive impression in some way during the course of my early childhood and middle childhood are: my maternal step-grandfather; my mother; my father; my sister; and my mother's long-term boyfriend and father figure in later years.

My maternal step-grandfather, Monty Crytzer, was the one person in my childhood that I could always count on the keep me laughing and see the fun part of childhood. Even though we are not biologically related, I attribute my sense of humor and how I look at life to him. When times get tough, I always remember how he taught me the importance of being a kid at heart. One specific memory is of him pushing my sister and me around K-Mart in a shopping cart telling us to yell for our mom and grandmother. We had fun, they were totally embarrassed. I have many wonderful memories of my time spent with him.

My mother, Sarah, had her ups and downs as a parent. Most of my memories are not of fun times but to give her credit she did the best she could under the circumstances she found herself in during my later early childhood and middle childhood years. She took care of the basics in order for us to be healthy. She made sure we ate, had clothes, got up for school, etc... It was in the department of showing love that she had a tough time in. I always assumed she loved us but just did not know how to show it.

My father, Eddie, was a great father when we were little whenever he was around (which was not often because of work). He was very interested in technology and I credit him with my interest in all types of gizmos, gadgets, and computers of any type. The times I remember the most fondly were spent in his workroom as a young child being instructed on how to use his Ham Radio setup. Unfortunately, he slowly disappeared out of my life when I was around ten or so.

My sister, Wendy, is older than I am but we always shared a room. We were close later in early childhood and in early middle childhood due to the environment we lived in. Specific memories are painful to remember, but it was and is important that she was there when times were tough. We went through a rough time in later childhood but are now as close as ever.

My mom's long-term boyfriend, Ralph, was and still is a father figure for me. Since the age of fifteen, he has been the person who pretty much took on that role in my life. We never lived in the same house but do live only two houses apart. Aside from taking on some of the roles as father figure, he is a great listener as well as full of information that he loves to share.

There were others who had an impact as I progressed into adulthood but these are the five that came to mind for my early childhood and middle childhood. I do believe we are a product of our environment in so many ways and even though three of the five mentioned are no longer alive, the impact they had on my life is still present today.

Robin's Early Childhood Studies Blog