Profile of a Volunteer

  I have been very fortunate to have had extremely helpful volunteers.  Having a volunteer makes working with children a little stressful.  One volunteer that sticks out in my mind is a parent I had my third year of teaching.  This parent was well known around the school, was always volunteering for the school and was a board member on the PTA.  She not only helped in her children's classrooms, but did various events and worked with other teachers as well.  This parent supported all of the children and the children felt comfortable enough to work with her and talk to her.  

 

 Since this parent was able to work with the school staff, children, and families so well she did man things.  Children would run up to her and giver her hugs and show excitement, staff would be relieved when they saw this parent in charge of certain activities knowing it would be well ran.  Families would bring concerns to her because they knew she was understanding and had a good relationship with the school.  The school was a better place because of this parent.  It was because of this parent that teachers wanted to go above and beyond to help the children in the school.  This parent did not make teaching feel like work, but rather a service you did for the betterment of the children and families.

  After several experiences similar to this one, I have realized that partnering with volunteers is a crucial part of working in advocacy.  Volunteers are just as dedicated to the work in advocacy as I am, but may not be able to make it a full time career.  Volunteers are also not limited to certain rules and can sometimes form bonds that advocates cannot.  Volunteers can also spend the time building relationships than worrying about the politics of the issues.  Volunteers are part of the glue that holds relationships together to form strong bonds.  

Using Social Media to Get Connected

Social media can be a blessing and a curse.  Issues that may have not seen the eyes of many people (i.e. dog abuse. child abuse) are able to be seen in  a close and personal way.  On the other hand social media also gives people ways to attack others and become bullies saying things that they would not normally say because they are behind the safety of their computers.  If used positively social media can reach thousands of people in hours.  It is a great tool to have on your side and to utilize if done so positively.  

  Personally I have had both positive and negative experiences with social media.  I work in dog rescue which has shed some light on the true nature of some people including my friends.  Many of my friends like to share and see the positive things in life, real or not.  I could share something stupid or funny and my friends will all like it or comment.  However as I share the needs and realistic issues in dog rescue and children, I seldom get likes or comments.  To them ignorance is bliss.  

  Another negative experience I had more recently was on Facebook.  I am part of several animal rescue pages and I had take in two stray pit bull mixes that were found on my school campus one morning.  I have worked a lot with pit bulls and know what will happen to them if they make their way to county.  I took these two dogs to my house and kept them there until a foster or rescue could be found.  Long story short I had been posting about the male dog on several pages because an organization took the female.  I already have 7 dogs and not a ton of space.  Well I had had this dog for about two weeks and he was playing with my girls and he got too rough with one of mine and she ended needing stitches (it is a pack thing).  She is totally fine but I was unable to keep this boy dog any more.  I then posted on a page if he didn't find a place he would have to go to the shelter because I could not jeopardize the safety of my dogs.  Some lady started ripping me apart on fb about how terrible I was and constantly bashed me.  I spoke to her through private messaging and she proceeded to be disgusting and negative.  I would almost guarantee that she would not have said a fraction of those things.  All that the post was for was to find this dog a home.  In the end the dog got adopted by a great family :)  

  I do not know a lot about all the social media avenues.  I utilize facebook, but that is about it.  I feel that other social media can be beneficial to advocacy efforts.  Facebook can be used to share articles and pictures of children in the early childcare realm.  Instagram may also be a helpful tool to get messages across through pictures.  Pictures are worth a thousand words and sharing pictures can gather attention quickly. 

  I would definitely use both of these social media tools to help share messages of early childhood.  I would be able to show the world how important the need for change is.  I would use these social media tools to increase my knowledge and understanding of areas affected by poverty.  I already follow several organizations and pages on facebook.  These have already greatly impacted why I chose the path of advocacy.  

  

Since  I don't know a lot about social media, I am open to suggestions of other positive networking ideas. 

Advocacy Messages

https://allourkin.wordpress.com/

  Investing in children is the greatest investment that can be made; yet no one will take a chance on this for sure investment.



http://mn.gov/mnddc/parallels2/posters/index.html

Not only is it important to create investments in education for young children, but for their health as well.  Health is a key factor in dictating long term medical issues for children and special needs situations.



http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/morning-edition/2012/07/advocate-launches-1-million-ad.html

Along with health and education, homelessness has a tremendous impact on children and families.  No child should have to suffer or feel this feeling.  Children are impacted greatly by factors like homelessness.

Considering Your Capacity

  When it comes to watching children suffer there is no tolerance.  A large part of why I decided to start advocating was because of poverty and the effects it has on children and the family.  Therefore I want to make poverty the main focus of my advocacy efforts.  It drives me insane that there are so many programs and efforts being done to help these families, yet there are children and families suffering.  Also, the fact that there is not enough funding for these programs is another issue.  

  Another issue impacting young children is the lack of wages and benefits for professionals in the early childhood field.  The lack of wages and benefits the longevity of staff and the high turnover rate.  This provides a unstable environment for children and their families.  This unstable situation does not show the children and families the care that they deserve.  

I hope to become more knowledgeable with issues and policies that affect low income families directly.  I want to show families that I am in advocating for them.  I want to become more aware of what is happening in the communities around me, but also the world.  I also want to research other countries that have implemented better working environments for their staff and their children.  

Luckily I have many professional connections to help me begin and continue my advocacy efforts.  I have enlisted the help of many friends who are already advocates, teachers, or work in the early childhood field.  There are many people who know people that can help spread knowledge of the children and issues as they arise. 

My Role as an Advocate

  When I reflect on what motivated me to become an advocate it was during my early childhood courses before this program.  I am not sure what class it was exactly, but at some point I realized how much change is needed before children enter school or pre school.  There is not enough help, programs, or funding to support the adequate growth and development of children and families.  It was then my thoughts started gravitating towards how I can affect more children and families and advocating is a way.  I have been teaching for seven years and I have often wondered what lives would be like for some of the children had they had different opportunities.  I did not know there were so many programs and opportunities available for children and families.  I want to make a difference so more children are not going through the hardships that I see daily with some of the children I teach.  

Acknowledging and fostering advocacy efforts at the micro and macro level is important because there many details and efforts that go into a larger picture.  There are many professionals that can focus on different aspects of an advocacy issue and come together to help fight for the children.  

  

  To become a leader on early childhood issues is to have a relationship with the community and its members.  Once the community trusts its leader, the more followers and support the leader will gain.  Having strong communication skills, being optimistic, and relationship skills that help to maintain trust.

  To become a state leader on early childhood issues takes the same characteristics as a community leader, but also being aware of what state laws and regulations are necessary for all programs and centers.  As a state leader it is also necessary to be able to communicate and have relationships with other state and national organizations and law makers.  Knowing what works in other states and being well versed with different programs will help make influenced decisions in the state. Also, I feel that being knowledgeable of the issues in the state are essential because as a leader I would have to know what I am advocating for and how I propose to solve the issues.  There needs to be goals in place and solutions proposed.  

  Being personable and well liked and trusted are key character traits to building a successful following of people who will support the leader.  Building key relationships within the community and then networking for ideas and resources are essential.  Rallying other advocates for similar reasons will help network your voice and create a cohesive group of supporters. 
  Being confident, personable, well spoken, goal orientated, and aware create a strong leader that many people will follow and support.  Raising awareness starts by getting supporters to support the programs and regulations that are being advocated for.  

Personal Advocacy Story

Growing up there was never anything that I wanted to do more than to become a teacher.  Even at a young age, I never looked at teaching as a job; instead I was teaching, educating the future lives and minds of America.  It was fun and interesting because each day would be different. I never truly looked at it as advocating until I started my reflection in these courses.  I always looked at the advocating aspect as being part of my duties as a teacher.
  One story that stands out to me comes from my fiance.  Growing up, he was not a typical child.  He had a lot of anger issues and problems coping with anger in school.  He was awkward in the sense that he was big; mostly because he was tall, but he did have some weight on him.  He would vent his frustrations in negative ways and part of that was due to his parenting.  Sadly the school felt the end of his anger.  Needless to say by the time he entered middle school he was placed into an alternative school where there were adults who could help him.  He always tells me the story of how the teachers at the alternative school were his best teachers.  Those teachers there genuinely cared for him and worked with him in developing ways to handle his anger and deal with it in a positive manner.  This was not an easy task, but over the years these teachers did not give up.  They did not give up when he threw chairs, shoved or cursed at them.  They resisted the urge to take it personally and kept saying it was my fiance who they were there for.  Over the course of four years these teachers were able to provide a stable foundation in his schooling to put him on the right track.  He developed appropriate coping strategies that he still uses today.  Personally, I am grateful for these teachers because they gave me the man I have today.  His face still lights up when he talks about these teachers.  I want to be the teacher or advocate that puts that smile on those children's faces.

Reflection on my Collegial, Professional Learning Community

After completing this course it has reinforced:

1)  There are many professionals and adults going to school to become advocates for children.  It is great to see that there are so many adults that genuinely care about the future of so many children.  I appreciate all of the insightful feedback as I continue my journey along with them.  

2) I have gained new insight and perspective to the EC community.  I have always taken education classes, so it was nice to gain perspective from professionals who have been in the EC field.  I did not realize how much goes into the programs and facilities that help support families and children.

3) Being a part of the EC community is a rewarding experience.  Teaching has been extremely rewarding, but there seems to be a different level of reward and joy when working with families and infants.  I cannot imagine the joy that I will see and feel when working with families and watching their children get opportunities so they don't go through the hardships that I see children facing today.

One goal that I have for working with children and families going forward is that I prevent as many children from ending up in abusive homes or poor situations and are given every opportunity possible to become the best they can be. I sadly see many kids in horrible situations that cannot be changed.  I am sad for these children because they don't know any different and don't care to know any different.