It is exciting to think about the prospect of corresponding with international colleagues in our field. It has been a slow process making contacts, but I am looking forward to hearing from a couple of inquiries.
I attempted to make contact with Germany through the Global Alliance of NAEYC. I received a prompt and very kind reply informing me that the same request was made from students last year and no one was able to find time to e mail weekly.
I have an e mail out through the UNICEF website trying to reach a Vietnamese contact. We have had quite a few Vietnamese families at our preschool and I would like to familiarize myself more with their culture. Hopefully, I will get a positive response.
I also tried to make contact through personal connections. A friend who is the director of the early childhood program at the community college gave me the email address of a colleague in Germany. I haven't heard back yet, but it sounds promising. Another connection is through one of the parents of a preschool parent who is Swiss. She is trying to connect me with an early elementary psychologist she knows in Switzerland.
If none of these work out (but, I so hope they do) I am going to contact Children's International here in the Kansas City area to see if they can help.
Hopefully, this time next week I will have some positive responses!
I thought this was a good opportunity to join NAEYC. I have been intending to do that since January. Their website is http://www.naeyc.org/ I received a student discount as a Walden student and the membership includes a subscription to YC: Young Children. If you are not already a member I would encourage you to look at the website and consider joining. The membership connects you with other e.c. professionals, keeps you informed on NAEYC conferences, and gives you access to articles from Teaching Young Children, and keeps you informed on current trends and issues in the field.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
Daily Supports
When I think of my supports I think first of my faith in God. His Word calms me, guides me, and encourages me. And through my faith I have connected with friends who pray for me for whatever needs or concerns I might share with them. My faith is my life compass so without that I would be lost.
My husband supports me in prayer, also; but, he is also my daily sounding board and encourager. Through him I have someone who loves me and is my companion on life's journey. The journey would be much harder and lonely without him. Without his support, I also would need a better paying job and would move because I would not be able to take care of our home by myself. He travels a lot but we talk everyday so we stay involved in each other's lives, therefore another support I have would be my phone.
My dog, Abby, supports me with her unconditional love and companionship. My days would be quite empty without her.
We live in the country so my car is a support I need since there is nothing in walking distance. It gets me to work, shopping, visiting.
Currently, my computer is a support. It connects me with Walden, my studies, classmates, and support team. On site studies was not an option I considered so I wouldn't be pursuing my Master's if I could not do it on line.
Physically, I am grateful for my health so that I can get around without assistance. I do need glasses, however, and would not be able to see a foot in front of me if I didn't have my contacts in or glasses on!
I imagined the challenge of being deaf and how that would affect me. I don't need to hear physically to "hear" from God so my prayer life would not be affected - actually, probably more focused since I would not be distracted by noise. I would want to learn to sign so I could communicate - my husband would have to learn to sign, too. A big change would be our daily phone calls. I would have to get a special system phone for hearing impaired. I would use my computer even more to e mail and would text. Technology would definitely be a lifeline. I would use closed captioning on t.v. I would not be able to teach where I do since most of our children do not sign. My network of social support would probably change to include others who sign as their primary means of communication. If I continued working, I would want to work with children who are hearing impaired. My network of support would then change as I entered a new job environment.
Clearly, as someone's physical status changes their daily supports change drastically.
My husband supports me in prayer, also; but, he is also my daily sounding board and encourager. Through him I have someone who loves me and is my companion on life's journey. The journey would be much harder and lonely without him. Without his support, I also would need a better paying job and would move because I would not be able to take care of our home by myself. He travels a lot but we talk everyday so we stay involved in each other's lives, therefore another support I have would be my phone.
My dog, Abby, supports me with her unconditional love and companionship. My days would be quite empty without her.
We live in the country so my car is a support I need since there is nothing in walking distance. It gets me to work, shopping, visiting.
Currently, my computer is a support. It connects me with Walden, my studies, classmates, and support team. On site studies was not an option I considered so I wouldn't be pursuing my Master's if I could not do it on line.
Physically, I am grateful for my health so that I can get around without assistance. I do need glasses, however, and would not be able to see a foot in front of me if I didn't have my contacts in or glasses on!
I imagined the challenge of being deaf and how that would affect me. I don't need to hear physically to "hear" from God so my prayer life would not be affected - actually, probably more focused since I would not be distracted by noise. I would want to learn to sign so I could communicate - my husband would have to learn to sign, too. A big change would be our daily phone calls. I would have to get a special system phone for hearing impaired. I would use my computer even more to e mail and would text. Technology would definitely be a lifeline. I would use closed captioning on t.v. I would not be able to teach where I do since most of our children do not sign. My network of social support would probably change to include others who sign as their primary means of communication. If I continued working, I would want to work with children who are hearing impaired. My network of support would then change as I entered a new job environment.
Clearly, as someone's physical status changes their daily supports change drastically.
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