I find this assignment to be a fantastically unsettling
experience. The reason is because I love my work of directing an early
childhood program, and only rarely wonder what else I would like to do. This assignment
encourages me to dig into my interests and expand my horizon. There are two
things that I feel I would enjoy doing and these are working at a university to
prepare educators for the management side of educating young children, and also
working with organizations whose efforts are to improve the lives of children
that are less privileged than most.
I only found one university in the city that I live in which
mentions early childhood education and it is mentioned as a specialty in the Bachelor’s
degree in Education. Zayed University follows American standards and offers National
Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) degrees in education.
They do not, however, have any vacancies where I could be a match for their
requirements. Regardless, because this has sparked a deep interest in me, I
intend to contact them and offer our nursery school as a practical site for
their students to visit and intern with us, under my supervision.
My fascination with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
has been there for a very long time, and probably before I started working with
children. On their main page, they list their priorities for children and they include:
survival and development, as well as education. I am passionate about healthy
development in childhood as well as the opportunity for education; so this
resonates with me. Looking at their job seeker’s link, they have internships
listed and they have job listings as well. So many of them were fascinating to
me, none of them were looking for someone with my exact experience or
qualifications, and none of them were in the country that I live in. So I could
see that this would be an organization that I could pursue, perhaps later in my
life when my children are out of the nest and I am ready for a global
adventure. Regardless, I will write to them with my interest in helping in some
of their regional projects as a volunteer because I can speak Arabic.
This inspired me to look up a local charity that reaches out
to global needs for children and education; named Dubai Cares. On their website
I could not find a lot of information regarding their needs and current projects,
nor did they have a job vacancy, but they have an inviting way of asking for
enthusiastic professionals to contact them. So this organization targets my
exact interests in philanthropy, is in the city that I currently live in, and
is open to volunteers; so now I find no reason not to contact them and look at
a potential role with them.
This assignment has opened my mind regarding expanding my
work beyond my daily responsibilities at our nursery school. In fact I am quite
excited about potentially taking on new responsibilities or new experiences,
for the benefit of childhood none the less.
http://www.zu.ac.ae/main/en/colleges/colleges/__college_of_education/index.aspx
Zeina,
ReplyDeleteI too had a hard time finding other jobs out there, as I love mine too! I help manage nine state-funded preschool programs in my area. I do this by coaching, monitoring, and observing. I am also responsible for aiding in creating professional development plans. That is not all though, as I wear two hats. My other role is a Parent Liaison. I meet with families in three counties and help them build leadership skills and learn more about young children. Working with educators and advocating for the families is a dream job for me.
I too enjoy helping to prepare potential and current professionals in the field. I cannot believe that I did not look for jobs at universities, as this is something that I thought about since I started this program. There is only a community college in my area. I would be interested in teaching their Introduction to Education class, as well as Childcare's Literature classes.
Just through your discussion and blog posts, I can feel your passion for children radiating off of you. I look forward to more of our discussions!
Zeina,
ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting that this assignment encouraged you to dig into your interest and expand your horizons. Like you, I currently cannot imagine securing a different job in the field of early childhood. I love what I am currently doing as well. I can honestly say that I have thought of opening a center based program instead of family childcare when my children are all grown. There are times though when I do not think I want to do that either as I love the small group that I work with and I also get to work with all ages at one time. The other thing that I would like to do, but, it would not necessarily mean that I need to change jobs is to educate parents on the importance of quality interactions with their children. I would love to hear what you learn from these organizations as you contact them about allowing their students to intern at your program and if you establish being able to volunteer with UNICEF and Dubai Cares.
Randee
Unicef is a amazing agency and their website offers a vast amount of information. I think the knowledge that you offer from working in Dubai would offer students a very global view of working with children and in differences in the cultural environment. I feel the need for classes to be more in "reality" to what we truly experience in a classroom versus just read in books. Many teachers are not truly prepared for what a classroom is suppose to look like and the demographics in each one can change throughout the year. I wish you well as you are completing this step in your journey and wish for great things in your next chapter.
ReplyDeleteZeina,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your blog and your post I know you are following your passion and touching many lives in a positive way, please continue we need many like you in our field. UNICEF is an organization I remember from my childhood! This is a great organization that has helped thousands of young children receive he care they need. I can remember when I was in elementary school being so excited when my teacher gave us the collection cards to collect money to help children in another country. It was my childhood experience with UNICEF that spark my desire to help young children.
Phyllis