It almost feels surreal, to be here at the end of this Master's Program. Looking back, there are many things I would do differently, but ultimately I am grateful for how things turned out. In the past year, I have become a wiser and more knowledgeable teacher. One of the lessons I learned through this program is to work hard today, to set myself up for success tomorrow. When I was receiving my bachelor's, I often did work the day it was due or do work last-minute. Through this program, I learned how to budget my time so that I was not overwhelmed or unable to do my best work. I am incredibly grateful for this lesson, as it has benefitted me outside of a learning environment, and has positively impacted my work ethic. A second lesson I learned during this program is the importance of research. Being able to access so many rich and interesting articles has encouraged me to read research articles for subjects outside of the classroom that I am interested in. Research can provi...
As someone who travels between country borders regularly, I have the opportunity to see the differences in the jobs, roles, and expectations of educators in the early childhood community when I travel. When I was in Israel, I got to observe the educator's roles as protectors, as well as cultural educators as well. In the school I visited, the children asked if they could recite a chapter from Psalms to us from memory. This is a practice that has taken place amongst some Jewish groups for generations and is carried on by teachers. I visit Mexico mostly, and while there I observed a close tie between community and family care. The educators are well-respected, and the relationship between teachers and families can be very symbiotic. All across the globe, there are opportunities to grow and improve early childhood care, and build up communities. One of the easiest ways to make a global impact is to partner with an established organization. For examp...