Professional Goals, Hopes and Dreams

       Whether it be from parents, teachers or politicians early childhood centers and programs are up for discussion. It may be about the lack of access, the price of care or the quality in question. I have noticed that in my area and former line of work (military installation) it was the quality of the center that was the headline. Every center I have worked has been seen as "babysitters" and the quality was not viewed in high regard as those that were outside of the base and around the same price if not cheaper than what our higher paying customers were paying. Quality is more often than not, focused around what curriculum the child is receiving and concerned with academics. When a center is centered around child development and play, it is seen as lacking in quality because parents and politicians want children to be kindergarten ready. 

   The opportunity for professional development exists here for myself as well as colleagues in my past and future. I am currently in the process of continuing my education to learn more about the early childhood field and become a better educator. With this, I will be an advocate for this domain in education as well as teach the professionals that I lead, so that we can take more pride in our work and be more confident in what we do and how we do it when speaking to and teaching the families that we serve. This will help with my professional hope that the value of early childhood will increase and be viewed as important. I want to see an early childhood world where the minimum educational standard is and Associate's degree, and all educators are compensated more for their time and efforts placed into carrying out their duties. 

Where does "Save the Children" lead?

    As I continue to learn about the organization that I chose "Save the Children", I can share more with my bloggers. I have learned that many organizations partner with other companies in order to fund and carryout their missions. Save the Children is no exception to this, in fact once a viewer clicks on the "who we are" tab they can then scroll down to the subtab "Strategic Partners".  Once in this subtab a viewer can click on "Corporate Partners" then "Our partners" to learn more. It is here that you can see the global partners that the organization works with, the partners that are $5 million and above lifetime investors and the partners that are $1 million to $5 million lifetime investors. Under these tiers are the logos for all of these corporate partners in which a viewer can click on and then be taken to the site of the partner to learn more about their partnership and how they participate.

     As it pertains to the subject of equity, if typed into the search box on the site there are currently 278 articles that include the word equity from their site in some way. The most current and one that stuck out the most was the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy in which they set a framework to take place from 2019-2021. This framework and goal is to have institutionalized processes, systems, and culture to ensure a diverse workforce across all levels, an inclusive environment, and integration of equity in all aspects of the organization.

Savethechildren.org

Excellence and Equity in the Early Childhood Field

 

Save The Children

   Save the Children's website had a specific section entitled "Advocate for Children", this section relates to my professional development because it is the foundation of what we as educators must do for children. As a growing professional I know that it is a part of my position to speak on behalf of children that may not know how or are able to speak for themselves. It is in this section that readers can learn about how the organization fights for the rights of the world's 2.3 billion children and what anyone can do to be a part of this mission. 

   86% of money raised by STC is put directly into programs. In the year of 2019 they stated to have "changed the lives of 144 million children, including 328,000 in the US. I found the number in the US to be quite low in y opinion and it made me think. I wonder if this is due to the US being a country of development and democracy. Are the children who need help here more hidden and do they fall in between the cracks?

   Save the Children has a political arm called "Save the Children Action Network" or SCAN. SCAN was founded in 2014 and they are "building bipartisan will and voter support to make sure every child in the U.S. has access to high-quality early learning, that children arriving at the southern border are respected and cared for and that girls around the world are given opportunities to lead. Through research, partnership and advocacy, their Global Policy and Advocacy team educates and cultivates political leadership to adopt proven practices, policies and programs for the world’s most vulnerable children, families and communities" (STC,2020). This information shows the severity of what STC wants for all children that the political arm ensure to put political party and affiliation aside to champion for the rights of every child.

https://www.savethechildren.org/us/ways-to-help/advocate-for-children