My Own Capacity

All the issues I’ve found impacting young children and their families fuel my passion, but the one that I decided to choose for this blog assignment is high quality education.in early childhood. Several decades of research clearly demonstrate that high-quality; developmentally appropriate early childhood programs produce short- and long-term positive effects on children's cognitive and social development (NAEYC, n.d). We need to invest in our children’s lives in order to save money in future and for our children to be more productive and resourceful.

The experience I have as a professional in this field and the knowledge I have in my master’s program will definitely benefit my advocacy work. In order to incorporate the skills I’ve been able to gain in my program, I would have to work with children and their families with the mindset that I’m there for them to make changes. This would be done by raising issues that affect the children and families and find solution to them.

Mobilizing a group of friends that are also passionate and knowledgeable about the issues relates to children and families. Another thing is to talk to my community leaders about the issue to be able to have their support.

One of the ways I hope to grow in order to be a more effective advocate is to be more involved in the issues and policies that relate with children and their families. Also to be more committed patient and ready to work with other stakeholders for effective advocacy.

Reference:

http://www.naeyc.org/policy/excellence

Motivations, Strategies, Resources, Leadership, and Advice

Advocacy for an individual child or family often starts because a teacher or other childhood professionals recognizes a child or family is in crisis and seek support for them (Kieff, 2009). Having young children of my own and becoming very aware of my children's needs heightened my awareness of the needs of other children.

Advocacy at the micro level is important for the teachers working with children to be able to enhance their relationship with children and their families and be aware of their needs and look for ways they could help to meet their needs. In the process of advocating for children and their families under their care, it’s possible for them to include children that they don’t know.

I think in order to be a community leader on early childhood issues one would need to be partner with the people in the community perhaps to know what is going on and what their needs are as related to children and families in the community. Also one needs to have respect for the members of the community and be able to communicate effectively with them for mobilization.

It is very important to have passion for children and families to be a state leader. One needs to be ready to work with other organizations for collaboration in order to be able to serve the people very well. It is also important to have a partnership with individual at the local level.

I see information as power, knowledge and security that is very important in mobilizing others. This could be done through website, newsletter, and workshop and so on in order to let the people know one’s mind and be well informed about the issue at hand.

As a leader advocating for children and their families one needs to have passion for children and their families, develop a good relation with teachers, the individual in state advisory board which is comprised of representatives from various state and local agencies that work on early childhood issues.

Reference:

Kieff, (2009) Informed Advocacy in Early Childhood Care and Education: Making a Difference for Young Children and Families. Pearson. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Columbus, Ohio.

Personal Advocacy Reflection

Advocacy is a human undertaking and there is much to be gained by leaving the humanity of people in the equation. While there is, indeed, an element of calculation that should usefully be brought into how to pursue an advocacy agenda it cannot be allowed to overshadow the fundamental fact that it is the character of people themselves that advocacy rests on. When they are weak so will be their advocacy and when they are strong the reverse will normally be true. The quality of advocacy naturally flows from the capacity of those involved to do what is asked of them .If people are inexperienced then one could well expect a novice-like performance. Similarly, if they have successfully faced and managed many fractious and divisive incidents in the past they can be expected to show a measure of calm and balance in the face of new provocations. We humans are not such a fixed commodity that we are beyond influence. In fact we are very capable of altering our performance on advocacy for the better if we are properly prepared and supported in the process. This is so irrespective of the fact that we all bring considerable variation to the table as to our natural and supplemented endowments vis a vis the advocacy role.

There was a day a friend was telling me about how she decided to quit her job in order to be going to volunteer in her children’s school. She said she advised some of her friends if they could be taking some time off their work in order to come and see how their children are at school. She said she discovered that her children are struggling to go along well with the other children because of their accent. She was able to get two of her friends that joined her in one of the PTA meetings and raised the issue and since then she said things have improved that her children has made many friends. She said when she shared her experience with her one of her neighbors that’s how she too decided to be volunteering in her children school once a week while the her husband does the same. I think this is what advocacy stands for to perceive that somebody is in need and you stand in gap for that person to meet his need which brings changes in the life of the person at the end. I was really encouraged and impressed with the action of my friend which has made me more interested in advocacy.       

Reference:

http://www.socialrolevalorization.com/articles/kendrick/reducing-fears-and-inhibitions-concerning-personal-advocacy.pdf

Advocacy Action Overview

My name is Adebisi (Bisi) Kofoworade. I’m presently volunteering in an international school inside the camp where we live as an assistant teacher. The school is owned by Shell Gabon. I’ve had the opportunity to work with infants, toddlers and adolescents at one time or the other in my career. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with both able and children with disabilities. Choosing this carrier really means a lot to me to be able to stand in the gap for children and families from different background.

Wherever change needs to occur, advocacy has a role to play. Whether you want more funding for a family planning clinic, new programs to address child malnutrition, laws to make primary schooling accessible or increased attention to a health program within your organization, inclusion for children with disabilities advocacy can help you accomplish your goals.

I will really like to learn from all of you to add to my knowledge in this field.

Reference:

https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201520_02/MS_MECS/EDUC_6766/Week%201/Resources/Resources/embedded/Sharma_Module1.pdf