EDUC 8854, Module 1 Assignment: Blog - Course Goals

Good evening! When I discovered I was to take a policies and systems course, I was both excited and nervous. I was excited because I do not know much about policies and systems for Early Childhood and I am anxious to learn more; I was nervous because it is an area where I do not feel as comfortable. 

I am excited about this assignment because as I develop goals to enhance my knowledge that will assist me as an early childhood educator, I will also be learning more about early childhood policies and systems and how I can better assist the children and families in my community.

Goal #1: One area I would like to learn more about is the superordinate goal. As Kagan states in our text, "the vision states a superordinate ideal with the implicit purpose to motivate and energize stakeholders at all levels and within multiple bureaucracies towards a new path of change and coherence" (Kagan, 2012). This means all stakeholders are to collaborate to create structure and initiatives for programs throughout their organizations. I am interested in this concept/area so that I can assist with the programs in the district I work for as well as assist others as we collaborate with other organizations in my community. 

Goal #2: I am also interested in learning more about conjoint incrementalism. Conjoint incrementalism is the strategy to remedy disconnected policies. In addition, conjoint incrementalism ensures policies and their vision remain viable during political "swings,” as well as when policies are made separate and independent from one another (Kagan, 2012). I think it is very common for policies to be made apart from one another and I feel this is an important area to help our children and families because stringing different programs and policies together is often unsuccessful whereas conjoining programs and policies is successful. A great example of conjoint incrementalism is the My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge by President Obama. There are Six Milestones all stakeholders in a community are to work on by conjoining existing policies and programs instead of creating all new ones and/or stringing along various policies and programs. Communities who have conjoined policies and programs have had greater success (White House Secretary, 2014). The district I work in has just accepted this challenge and as we work with other community stakeholders and families, I am excited to know that learning about conjoint incrementalism can have a positive impact on our policies and programs, which can help our children and families.

Goal #3: A third area I am interested in learning more about is the developmental continuum. The developmental continuum is a model that provides family support from birth to age eight with developmental milestones for each age level. If implemented effectively, students have a higher success rate throughout school, they are less likely to drop-out, and they are more likely to attend college. This is also a strategy in the My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge: Cradle to Career. This means instead of focusing on one area, we look at all the areas of a child and help them to be successful. It is much more effective to help children from birth to age 8 be successful than it is to try and "fix" problems in middle and high school (White House Secretary, 2014). 

As an early childhood educator, I am excited for the future of early childhood education and by how policies can transcend politics and economics to help all young children. I look forward to this semester in learning how I can help the children of my community. Thank you, Cissy

Kagan, S. L., & Kauerz, K. (Eds.). (2012). Early childhood systems: Transforming early learning. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

White House Press Secretary. (2014 February 27). My brother’s keeper. White House website. Retrieved January 7, 2015 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/my-brothers-keeper

EDUC 8853, Module 8 Assignment: Final Thoughts

My overall experience with EDUC 8853: Influences of Family, Culture, and Society in Early Childhood, has been a wonderful learning journey both professionally and personally. I have had a wonderful professor who has motivated us to learn about ourselves and others and the relationships formed between our families, our students, and each other. I am part of an outstanding cohort of early childhood educators that I have learned so much from. They are a great support on this journey. 

Some of the course materials I connected with and enjoyed most are Anne Fadiman's book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, and one of our texts, Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. The Anne Fadiman book is an ethnography chronicling the story of an Hmong family's interactions with the health care system in California and the miscommunication and culture conflict that obstructs her treatment. The overall theme of cultural dissonance was a powerful learning tool for myself to remember to treat all my families with dignity and respect and not forget they are the primary caregivers as experts on their child. Louise Derman-Sparks' text on anti-bias education is a great resource and forced me to dig deeper and be reflective as an educator. Specifically, looking at biases and microaggressions. By applying the four anti-bias educational goals, I will be supporting a learning community for all children. 

In researching my challenge area, I also connected with articles and studies as well as with early childhood professionals I interviewed. My challenge area is prenatal risk factors with the subtopic of health. The research for my challenge area is most applicable to my work as an early childhood professional in that I hope to use my research and degree to help the women of my community receive quality prenatal health care and to help the children in my community from age zero to three so that they can have the best foundation for school and for life. In reading the articles and studies, research states cognitive and behavioral problems and school readiness are related to prenatal care and health (Reichman, 2005) and the health status of a child and their education are inextricably linked. A child must be physically and emotionally healthy in order to learn, and a child and the child’s family must be educated in order to stay healthy (Novello, 1992). I believe quality prenatal care and quality education from age zero to three is important for a child to be ready to be successful in school and in life and I hope to help the families of my community be healthy, safe, and successful. Thank you, Cissy

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J.O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. 

Fadiman, A. (2012). The spirit catches you and you fall down: A Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Novello, A. C., DeGraw, C., & Kleinman, D. V. (1992). Healthy children ready to learn: An essential collaboration between health and education. Public Health Reports, 107(1), 3. Retrieved December 7, 2014 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1403595/ 

Reichman, N.E. (2005). Low birth weight and school readiness. Future of Children, 15(1), 91-116. Retrieved from the Walden University Library databases at http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ795846

Matt Damon and Educators

Good evening. A friend of mine posted an article on Matt Damon giving a wonderful speech regarding teachers and his mother, an early childhood educator and author, and I wanted to share it. Here is the link to the article. Matt Damon's mother, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, is a founder of Defending the Early Years (DEY), a non-profit project whose purpose is to encourage educators to speak out about current policies that are affecting the education of young children. Enjoy! Thank you, Cissy

Women's Policy Forum

Good evening. Friday I attended the Women's Policy Forum's 2014 Inaugural Symposium on Emerging Issues in downtown Fort Worth. The Women's Policy Forum is an organization of women who investigate and support policies and initiatives that will effect positive change for Tarrant County. The keynote speaker was Ann Beeson, a social justice attorney, who launched a non-profit organization to initiate social change in Texas communities. There were also breakout sessions. It was a wonderful symposium and I thoroughly enjoyed both the keynote speaker and the breakout sessions and I enjoyed meeting women who were excited about making a positive, social change in Fort Worth. I look forward to learning more, attending more sessions, and helping out. 

EDUC 8853, Module 6 Assignment: The Interview Process

Good evening. I am posting tonight on my experiences with the interview process in relation to my semester course project. For my course project, I am researching prenatal risk factors with the subtopic of health. A piece of the course project is interviewing practitioners in the field to gain knowledge. I want to help the women in my community receive quality prenatal health care so that their child is healthy and a good foundation is laid for their development and education. By speaking with experts, I hope to gain knowledge of resources and learn from their expertise so that I can pass on that knowledge to the women in my community.

So far, my two interviews have gone well and I feel they have been successful. I have learned a lot from both women and I am anxious to share the resources with my community. One idea I connected with was the importance of establishing relationships with families and communities. I have always thought this and agreed with this, but to hear it from an expert backed up with success stories is another thing all together. The value of gaining trust from your families so that they and their children are successful and happy is so important. And then to be able to work with a parent that was your student and is now the parent is wonderful!

To date, I have researched and submitted three annotated bibliographies, I have submitted information on special interest groups to learn from them, and I have submitted information on interviewing two experts. One question I am still wondering on is why does Tarrant County have the highest infant mortality rate in the State of Texas and one of the highest in the country? I hope to learn enough and discover important resources to share with the women in my community to lower that number. Thank you, Cissy

Article: "Teacher Spends Two Days as a Student and is Shocked at What She Learns"

Good morning. I would like to share an article I read by Valerie Strauss. It is very interesting and eye-opening. I think every teacher and principal should do this experiment. Enjoy! Thank you, Cissy

"Teacher Spends Two Days as a Student and is Shocked at What She Learns" by Valerie Strauss

Council of the Great City Schools - Call For Change

This week at the Fall Conference of the Council of the Great City Schools, leaders are meeting to discuss how to improve the academic and social outcomes of boys and young men of color. This Council of Great City Schools call-to-action was made at a White House event featuring President Obama. School districts across the country, including Fort Worth ISD, attended a conference titled "United to Make a Difference" where leaders are learning effective strategies to end the the achievement gap and address the issues that urban districts face affecting males of color.

In 2010, the Council of the Great City Schools published a report indicating that young black males in America are in a state of crisis. The report, A Call For Change: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Black Males in Urban Schools, led to Council testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families and prompted the organization to release a comparison analysis of Hispanic students titled, Today's Promise, Tomorrow's Future: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Hispanics in Urban Schools.

The Call For Change study called for a White House initiative noting that the education, social, and employment outcomes of African American males are equivalent to a "national catastrophe" requiring coordinated national attention. Since the release of the reports, the Council established internal and external advisory committees to guide the urban school coalition on its work with males of color.

Here are links to the documents and webpages:

A Call For Change: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Black Males in Urban School

Today's Promise, Tomorrow's Future: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Hispanics in Urban Schools

"United to Make a Difference" preconference at the Council of the Great City Schools

Fort Worth ISD's Pledge 

Council of the Great City Schools' "My Brother's Keeper" Initiative