A Farewell to All!!!

I can't believe that I have finally finished this journey to receiving my master's I have learned so much with each and every course that I have taken. I have learned the importance of setting goals and actually reaching them. I have learned that with a little hard work and determination no dream is to big. The third thing that I have learned is that our children depend on us to help guide their way and make a difference for their future. I want to thank Dr. Teri for not giving up on me through all the mistakes that I have made through this course and helping me realize the importance of reaching out to my community. I hope with this accomplishment that new doors within the education system will open you for me so I can continue to grow as an educator. I want to wish each and everyone one of you a bright and successful future!!

Week 6 Blog-6990

The first organization that I feel serves a great purpose is UNICEF. This organization works with poverty stricken children who are in need of basic survival resources such as food, clothing, shelter, protection, education, and medical needs. This organization works with the government and other financial institutions to help meet the needs of these children and provide them with a brighter outlook on life. I would love to work for such a wonderful organization that gives back in so many ways. The position that was appealing to me was the fundraising specialist that is based out of Switzerland. Unfortunately the link was not working and I was unable to get any further details.

The second organization that I chose was Save the Children. This organization helps to meet the basic needs of children that have been affected by a natural disaster. They will work on a long time recovery basis to make sure that children are receiving food, clothing, shelter, and an education. They work with other organizations, governments, non-profits and a variety of local partners to make this organization a success. This organization would also be an awesome place to work for. I did not find an actual employment link for this website, but it would be a great opportunity to volunteer to be an advocate for this organization and help raise awareness.

The third organization that serves a great cause is International Step by Step Association. This group promotes equal access to quality education and care for all children, especially in the early years of their lives. This organization focuses on providing young children with a high quality education regardless of their skin color, financial status, or religion. They want to make sure that children start kindergarten with the skills that they need to perform successfully. I would love to see an organization like this in my area because a lot of these children haven't had any exposure to education before they enter kindergarten and they are unable to perform. I did not see any job opportunities on this site only ways to become a member of the ISSA.

Appealing Organizations

The first organization that I chose was the Healthy Schools Program for the state of Mississippi. This organization has partnered with schools to help foster healthy eating and promote physical education within the school system. This is due to the fact that Mississippi is one of the leading states in obesity. The second organization is the local food pantries that are run by the churches within our community. These individuals do an awesome job at reaching out to families and children within the school systems to make sure they have a food supply. The third organization is Foodcorp of America. This organization is always giving back to the local schools and teaching the students the importance of nutritional meals and the best way to go about getting these resources. I would also enjoy volunteering or working at any of these corporations because they make such a huge difference within the community. If any jobs were available I would have the credentials, but I could use more experience when it comes to the FoodCorp corporation. I would also love to go around to the different school and work with them on ways to ensure that the children and families are eating a balanced meal.

Community Involvement.

The first community practice group that I would like to recognize would be the individuals from our Home Depot Store (Team Depot). We live in a small low income community and these individuals have donated their time and money in order to make our school systems a better place. They have worked to install new playground equipment, plant a garden with fresh vegetables for the local families, and helped to clean up our classrooms. Their services have had a huge impact on our little town and it has provided families with a food supply. The second organization that I chose was the Food Corp. they work to make sure that the children within our community have healthy meals during breakfast and lunch. They also came to help educate the children and families about the importance of nutrition and how to grow their own garden with fresh fruits and vegetables. The third group is the PTA at our school. These parents have teamed up to raise money for our school and provide our children with things such as helmets for all the children, extra hands on resources for the teachers to use for students that are struggling, and they work in the community to help get the parents involved in their child's education. They do a fantastic job at our school!!!

If I could have any job it would be to volunteer my time and services to work different preschool directors on ways to upgrade their preschool program and provide better resources for the students. I want them to understand what HUGE impact preschool programs make children before they enter kindergarten. I feel with a little more experience and achieving my masters degree I could be a good candidate for the position.

Hope and Goals

After this course I hope to be able to take the knowledge that I have gained and successfully represent it within my classroom as well as society. My goal is to represent diverse families and help raise awareness within the school systems to make sure that every child is treated equally. I feel that by starting within the schools and working our way up we can help make a difference within this world.

I want to thank each and everyone of my colleagues for helping me along this journey. I have truly enjoyed reading your post and opinions throughout this course. I wish each and everyone one you success and happiness!

Welcome!!

I would choose a family from the country origin of China:

The first thing that I would do would be to try to learn how to communicate effectively with the family by learning some of the more important terms.

I would research to learn more about their culture and things that they like such as food, clothing, and special items.

I would speak with friends to see if they know anyone from China that might could give me some helpful tips or even come visit the family when they arrive.

I would refer back to my books to remind myself on how to make the family feel welcome and not questions that might be offensive or hurtful.

By taking these precaution steps I hope to be educated enough to actually communicate with this family, make them feel welcome, and help them with anything that they need. In return, I hope that the family feel comfortable in the new environment and grow to love America as much as I do. It will be a great positive learning experience for the both of us!

Judegment

My dad told me a story that has stuck with me since I was a child. My dad grew up in a low income household with nine brothers and sisters. He raised mainly by my grandmother who did everything in her will power to provide for him and his siblings. One tradition they did every Sunday was my grandmother would cook breakfast and then they would go straight to church. One particular Sunday at church the preacher felt like it was his duty to standup in front of the congregation and announce they were donating food and clothes to my grandmother in order to help her provide for her children. Don't get me wrong my grandmother was grateful for the help, but this was a little embarrassing to her as well as my dad. My dad and some of his siblings were also made fun of at church from some of the children just because they did not have access to all the material things in life. I have always found this story to be sad and it hurts that my dad had to experience this cruel behavior, especially at church. He did not ever let lack of resources or cruel behavior hold him back though, he worked very hard to provide for his own family and I am very proud of him!

Microaggression

My most recent microaggression encounter occurred when I was at my little girls ballet class on Wednesday. The class is made of about eight or nine little three year old girls who are loud and love to express themselves, who are all of the caucasion race. This past Wednesday a new little girl joined the class who was shy, timid, and of the African American race. While they were practicing I could see the other little girls talking to each other and having a good time, but they were leaving the new little girl out. I could tell she wanted to play and talk to the other girls, but was just to nervous. My thoughts came straight back to the lessons we had talked about this week and class and I knew I needed to do everything I could to try to make her feel welcome. When it was time for the girls to change into their tap shoes I called the new little girl over and asked her name and introduced her to my little girl. I told my little girl to introduce her to the other girls and to help her to feel welcome. I could see the little girls face light up and she began to open up and talk to the other girls. I want my child to grow up looking past ethnicity and to be open minded and never judge anyone.

Culture and Diversity

For this assignment I decided to ask a great friend of mine that I use to work with. She is an African American single mother and is older than me so I was anxious to hear her thoughts. Her definition of culture was the way that individuals live their everyday life such as the way they dress, how they worship, and the beliefs that were instilled in them. Her definition of diversity was defined as being able to physically see the differences of individuals such as the way they talk or the color of their skin.

Her definition of culture and diversity touched base on characteristics of these two words, such as culture having to deal with ones beliefs and diversity focusing on different languages. She could have went further into her definitions by adding that it is something that is taught to you as a infant and can be influenced depending on your age and location. While my friends definition was precise on culture and diversity this course has helped me be able to add further input to share with others.

A Major Catastrophe

This weeks assignment was to chose three small items that I would take with me in the event of a catastrophe. This was a tough decision at first because my first reaction is to want to take all of my belongings that we have worked so hard to enquire. As I thought further I realized that most of the stuff that I do have is just material things that can be replaced as long as I have my family with me.

I decided the first thing that I would want to bring would be my bible because in the event of a catastrophe I am going to need all the encouragement and strength I can find and the bible never lets me down. The second thing I would bring would be a small picture album that has a picture of my babies, my parents, and my sisters. I am so close to my family even though we live in different states and we are always there for each other no matter what the situation is. This family album would remind me how much I am loved and to be strong. This would also be an item I would want to pass on to my children one day. The third thing that I would bring would be the foot prints of my little girl and little boy that we lost shortly after birth. These babies remind me to never take one minute for granite because we are never promised tomorrow. These little footprints also remind me that I have two guardian angels watching over me and my family so when life gets overwhelming I need to stop and just breath because we are going to be ok.

This assignment has really made be realize once again how blessed that I am and it reminds me what is truly important in life. It was be heartbreaking to learn that I could only keep one of the three items that I had brought with, I honestly don't know which item I would chose because they all mean so much to me and my family culture.