This has been an
amazing journey with a bitter sweet ending! There have been many days that I
wanted to give up but I knew that my mission was too important to quit. I am
dedicated to making a difference even if it is a small difference I want to
make some difference in the lives of children and their families.
I
had many deeply felt learning experiences from this journey but if I had
to narrow it down and only select three deeply felt learning experiences I would say:
1.) I
have learned that you must lean on your community of practice and do not think
that you can make all the difference alone. You need the support, expertise,
knowledge of others to help you along the way. Many times things can get
overwhelming but you must take a step back and allow your support system to
step up and give you the support and guidance that you need. It takes a
village to raise a child and you cannot make it alone.
2.) I
have discovered how important it is to build a comfortable trusting relationship
with the parents and families of the children. The families need our help and
support as much as the children in many cases. We can never help make a
difference in the lives of the children if we cannot reach out to and give the
proper guidance to the child’s caretaker. I have tried so many times to ignore this fact but it
never works. You must build a satisfying relationship with the families and it
really does make a true difference.
3.) Building
a high quality learning environment is so important. I feel that if you do not
build your learning environment on quality you need not build an early learning environment at all.
I have made a true conscious effort to educate every parent that I encounter
how to recognize a high quality learning environment. It is so important for
them to understand what high quality means and why this should be important to
them. After this is brought up and explained to the parents they love the
knowledge and they can understand what their child needs and how they can give
it to them.
Narrowing down my goals and selecting one long-term goal
I would have to say that would be to really start my own literacy program for
adults and children. I think literacy is one of the most important areas of
life and yet we have many people that are coming out of school and still not
conquering this skill. I would want to start my own literacy program within the
city of Philadelphia that can help the children to have a great time while
learning to read. I want to give the children something to be proud.
I would like to end this journey by saying Thank You
to everyone that has come this far also. I have learned so much from every
friend at Walden. I could not have done it without the great insight and
information from every person I have come across. My instructors have made my
journey enriching, informative, insightful and better than I could have ever
imagined. I really feel that I can go out into the world of early learning and
find my way with ease. Thanks again to everyone and I wish you all the best!
