Blog #2 Personalizing My Blog

"Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation" by John F. Kennedy. 

  

"In teaching other we teach ourselves" by Proverb. This quote speaks volume.

 

 

What inspires and excites me about the work I do is that I get to work with families and their children. I want to make a difference in every child's life who I come in contact with. The reason I chose to become a teacher is because I wanted to make a difference in someone's life and I have been doing that for the past 10 years. I have been trying for the past 2 years to help my colleagues establish positive relationships with their parents. What excites me is that I can make a difference and help someone else because at some point someone had to help me get to where I am today. Not only am I helping my colleagues but they are helping me as well. I want my colleagues to understand the importance of getting the parents involved and how it would benefit them and how smoothly their classroom would function. I have to just stay focused and believe in myself that I can accomplish this goal. Growing up there was one teacher that stood out and was a good role model for young girls. My second grade teacher is the one who guided me in the choice of becoming a teacher. She was very caring but it was the simple hug every morning that gave me that extra push to do better and I knew she cared about us. I give hugs every morning because it put a smile on my face and the children faces and I wanted to do the same for another child as Ms.Tate did for me. She never put any of us down and she always encouraged us to do our best and that's exactly what I did. I want to be the best teacher I can be and I hope I will be able to make a difference in their lives.
  

 

 

Welcome

       My name is Nakia Davis. I am a single parent with a 18 year old son who is a senior in high school. I have graduated from Kendall in June 2013 with my bachelor's degree. I am currently enrolled in the Master's Program at Walden University. I am a first time student here and I am looking forward to a new start in life and looking forward to working with each one of you this semester. I have been teaching for ten years. I love working with children and their families. I am a full-time student, and a full-time mommy who job never ends. My plans are to either open my own child care facility in the next two years or work with families and their child/children with disabilities. I have devoted most of my time to my schooling and my son's education and all of his after school activities. I am also involved with our youth department at church. I look forward to working with each one of you this semester and to learn more about how I can better myself as a teacher.

Thank You EDU 455 B2 Class

I would like to thank my classmates and also Professor McDevitt for an amazing semester. I have learned so much from my discussions and blogging. This course have made me come out a shell and do well as a public speaker. I was nervous but excited at the same time when I had to present my Advocacy Action Plan. I really got some good feedback and responses from the parents and the staff. I want to just thank Professor McDevitt for allowing us this opportunity. I learned a lot about myself and what my strengths are and my weaknesses. I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned here at Kendall with my other colleagues. This was an life learning experience that I wouldn't change for one minute. Some of us will be graduating on June 22nd and I just hope this experience and what we have learned will shine through all of us as teachers. Thank You All Again and Good Luck !!!!!

Module 4 Blog

Questions you have with which your colleagues may be able to provide help and support

The only thing is, I would like input on what do they believe parent involvement is, what would they like to see take place or change to better this program.

Resources and information you are seeking

The information and resources I am seeking is learning how important parent involvement is and what are the benefits of parent involvement.

Resources and/or information you have found helpful and insightful

There are many reputable sites that I have found to be very useful and I also found some journals and periodicals that was useful in developing my action plan. When I searched my topic I received a long list of sites that could help but I only used the sites that I knew were the most reputable by looking at their web address. I also have first-hand source from representatives of Head Start that has also been of great assistance to me. These are the sites that I found that help with advocacy action plans:

http://www.nsba.org/Advocacy/Resources/Summer-Advocacy-Brief, www.asha.org, http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1206.aspx, and http://www.naeyc.org

I have not just limited my research to just these websites but they have truly helped and guided me with my action plan and how to develop it.

Welcome Back

I am excited to be completing my last semester here at Kendall College and I will be graduating in June as most of you all will. I'm wishing success for everyone this semester and I look forward to working with each one of you again.

Thank You!!!!!

I would like to thank my entire class and professor for an amazing semester. I have learned a lot about myself and who I am by taking this course. I didn't realize how important advocating for something you believe in was so important until we actually had to do our research paper. I am nervous about having to turn in my research paper tonight but I feel I did a good job. I would like to thank all my colleagues who offered good advice and gave suggestions on how to approach different things. Thank you all for posting to all my blogs and my discussions. Good Luck and hope to work with you all again.

Module 4 Blog

     I interacted with parents and teachers in the last two weeks. The parents were transitioning their children to a different classroom which meant a different setting and teacher for their children. The parents were asking different questions like what will their child learn and also telling the teachers what they are expecting their child to learn. What was new to me was how they transitioned kids during the middle of the year. The kids that were transitioned over to the Pre-K 2 classroom are ready to be over there but I just never knew that they would transition kids like that.  Most of the children will be going to Kindergarten so the main concern of the parents was would their child be ready for Kindergarten when they left that classroom. So on this particular morning Ms. Jan and Anndrella Lee (Director) held a brief morning meeting with the parents of the children who are going to kindergarten. Ms. Jan explained to her parents what are some of the things the kids will be learning in kindergarten and what type of work they will be doing. She also talked about other things the teacher would be looking for.
    Ms. Jan explained that kindergarten is much more academically challenging than what kindergarten use to be.Ms. Jan explained to the parents the children will be learning a lot more than what they are learning at the center but this is why she is preparing them for the type of work they will be doing and this is why she push the children so hard. In her class this is why the children are working on sight words, she is working on their reading skills, and she is also working on math skills that may seem challenging to them. Ms. Jan then gave the parents a survey to complete at home and she also had the same survey to complete herself for how the children are at school. The survey included some questions like this, does your child have the oral communication skills to make his/ her needs/wants clearly understood or met, can your child separate from you for hours at a time,   Is your child able to follow one- and two-step directions and follow rules, can your child sit and pay attention for at least 10-15 minutes at a time, does your child get along well with other children, Is your child able to complete personal needs independently, does your child know how to use crayons, a pencil, and scissors, and can your child state his full name, address and phone number?  
     They had a good turn out for this meeting and the parents were asking a lot of questions about kindergarten and asked what could they do at home to help their child/children in this transition. Some parents even said, "Ms. Jan what can we do to help you in this process because we know that it is a lot  of work and you can't do it by yourself." As an observer it made me feel good that they were moving in the right direction and that they were all on the same page. This is what parent involvement is all about.

Blog #3

     I met with the Director Anndrella Lee and we spoke about how she feels about the lack of parent involvement in her center. But before I met with her in her office I sat back and observed the parents as they entered into the building to sign their child/children in and take them to their classrooms, how their was know one to greet the parents as they entered into the building. The parents were greeted by the teachers when they entered the classroom but not greeted by anyone else. I feel as a director she should have been the one greeting her parents as they entered into the building. For someone who stated she was very passionate about working with her teachers to increase and promote parent involvement within her center. But what I couldn't understand is if she was so concerned about getting to know her parents better why is most of her time spent in her office? I explained to Ms. Lee my main focus right now is understanding why is their such a lack of parent involvement in her center and I want to work with them to see if we could make some changes together. Ms. Lee is willing and is working with her teachers to figure out what can they do to build positive relationships with their parents and how can they motivate them to get more involved.

     I asked Ms. Lee, what have they done to promote parent involvement? She stated the only time they really get to talk with the parents is during parent-teacher conferences and home visits which are done twice a year. The parent-teacher conferences are basically to inform parents about what their child/children are learning and give ideas to help them support their childs/children learning in the home environment. Home visits are basically to see the child in their natural environment and she how he/she interacts at home with mom and dad and their siblings. So my next question to Ms. Lee was during parent-teacher conferences where are you normally? Truthfully I am sitting in my office unless one of the parents want to talk with me. So my suggestion to her was that she need to make her self known to her parents and accessible to them. I also stated that she shoould be the one greeting her parents in the morning as they enter into the building. This will set a different tone in her center when it comes to her parents.

     Ms. Lee agrees that they have a lot of changes that need to be made and she doesn't put all the responsibility on the teachers she really wants her center to go back to how it was at first with her parents volunteering and having family night and parents attending parent meetings. Because now she may have about 10% of her parents who attend parent meeting once a month. In observing and talking with Ms. Lee in these last two weeks I believe that her parents want to do more but if the parents feel like they don't care then why should they care or do anything. The motivation of wanting change has to start within the school from the staff and the administartors and then the parents will see and then would probably want to do more.

Blog Post #2

     I interviewed the two teachers in the Pre-K 2 classroom about their perspective on advocacy. What I found was astounding to me. I found that we were passionate about some of the same issues. There were many instances where they had to advocate for their parents. These instances involved childcare financial issues, children that were suspected or diagnosed with disabilities and not receiving services, and also parents that needed services or skills where the center could be of help with the equipment that they already possess. I found this interesting. But the main topic I wanted to focus on was why are they having such a hard time getting the parents involved. Ms. Janice and Ms. Shari feels that they wish they had a better relationship with their parents and they really want to know what can they do to show their parents that they want to build positive relationships with them.
    
     The Headstart program requires that parents volunteer throughout the year but Ms. Janice stated that it really isn't enforced that the parents come in to volunteer. The only time she really gets to talk with the parents is during parent-teacher conferences and home visits which are done twice a year. The parent-teacher conferences are basically to inform parents about what their child/children are learning and give ideas to help them support their childs/children learning in the home environment. Home visits are basically to see the child in their natural environment and she how he/she interacts at home with mom and dad and their siblings. One of my suggestions I gave them was to schedule conferences with the parents throughout the day, in the mornings or in the evenings. I also stated that it's important to let your parents know that you will be available to them at any time when it's concerning their child's education other then when it's time for parent-teacher conferences. Even sending weekly notes home to the parents may encourage them to get involved.

     Ms. Janice made many suggestions about having family night twice a month so they can get the parents involved and she basically said her idea got shot down because they feel that the parents are not going to coroporate. So I suggested that she don't give up, to keep trying. One way to know if the parents would be interested is to have the parents take a survey and see what their responses would be. So she made up a survey and asked the parents to fill it out and return it back to her on the next day. Ms. Janice was so surprised at the response she got back from the parents and how they would love to participate in a family night and some parents were evening asking why did they wait so long to do something like this. She took all the surveys to the director and sat down with her to figure out what could they do so they can start getting the parents involved. The director Ms. Lee agreed to start having family night which will include food, someone to come out and read to the children, do activities, and have someone to come out to talk with the parents about different topics. They will start out having family night once a month to see what the outcome will be as far as how many families will show up.

     As a teacher it is very frustarting trying to get the parents involved especially when you don't have the coroporation of the staff and the administrators. I explained how important it is for teachers to keep the lines of communication open with their parents. Communication is not just when you're sending newsletters and notes home to the parents its also when you can call a parent and talk with them not just about the negative but a parent would love to get a phone call about the positive things their child is doing and how well they are developing. Ms. Janice wants to make positive changes within the center with starting with parent involvement. In order for this to be successful the center as a whole needs to jump on board and is fully dedicated and committed to making this work. I have learned a lot from observing Ms. Janice and Ms. Shari in these last two weeks and I hope my suggestions and ideas will help their program in the area of parent involvement.
 

Module 1 Blog Parent Involvement

     I struggled with deciding on which topic I was going to choose. But I chose Parent Involvement as my topic of choice because this is something I struggled with for a long time in my center. In talking with other teachers and some of my colleagues this was one of the biggest issues that they struggled with in their own centers is a lack of parent involvement and support. The person I interviewed was the Education Coordinator and the Pre-K Headstart teacher at the center I am doing my internship at.

     Parent Involvement is an area in education that is important to me. Being a parent volunteer is how I got started in the Early Childhood field. I volunteered at my son school for everything. I was the parent that attended every school program, volunteered on every fieldtrip, attended parent meetings, and volunteered in his classroom 2-3 times a week until they offered me a job as a paid parent volunteer. I always wanted to be a voice when it came to my son's education. I want every parent to feel that they have a voice and explain how important parent involvement is in their child's education and the program.

     I chose my advocacy topic of Parent Involvement because currently where I am doing my internship and in my own center parent involvement is not happening at all. Parent Involvement is a requirement by the Headstart program. I am looking forward to working with the Education Coordinator and the Pre-K teacher on how we can increase their parental involvement in and out of the school. The one insight I gained during my interview was that they believe one of the reasons they have a lack of parent involvement is because the parents are just not encouraged to participate in anything and their lack of not knowing how important parent involvement is when it comes to their child's education. I believe that the reason they don't have a lot of parent involvement is because most of the parents do work but another reason is the parents are very young. I am excited about helping the center improve on getting their parents involved.

Introduction

 My name is Nakia Davis. I am a single parent with a 17 year old son who is a senior in high school. I have been a student here at Kendall since the fall of 2010. I am currently enrolled in the B.A. Program pursuing my degree in Early Childhood. I have been teaching for ten years. I love working with children and their families. I am a full-time student, and a full-time mommy who job never ends. My plans are to open my own child care facility in the next two years. I have devoted most of my time to my schooling and my son's education and all of his after school activities. I am also involved with our youth department at church. I look forward to working with each one of you this semester and to learn more about how I can better myself as a teacher.