Time Well Spent

Throughout the many courses I have taken at Walden University, there have been struggles, challenges, triumphs, and success. Even though times got tough I would not be the individual and early childhood professional I am now without the bumps in the road and the knowledge and strengths I have gained along the way. I feel the most powerful lesson I learned is the crucial nature of self-reflection and what it can do in respect of the work and continued success in early childhood education. Without the chance to reflect on my own biases and prejudices during my courses I don’t feel I would have effectively taken responsibility for my own thoughts and opinions and been able to successfully reflect on and understand how I came to take hold and believe in these certain thoughts. I believe that I have now become more aware of the prejudices that exist in our classrooms and within families and my passion in anti-bias education has grown. I have also learned the true power in advocating for young children. Never realizing that my voice can make a difference in early education as a whole, I am now more confident in myself and the knowledge I have gained and accessed in order to improve the education of our young children and making sure they lead successful and fulfilling lives in a discriminatory free environment. I have become aware of the skill, passion, commitment, and knowledge needed in order to successfully meet the needs of children and be an effective advocate.  I have also learned the power of collaboration in the field of early childhood and how an effective leader can make all the difference in reaching goals and communicating properly. With many different opinions, working styles, and cultures had in the many individuals we work with, it is important that an effective leader changes leadership styles when necessary to achieve optimal results. I have learned a lot about my own leadership style and the characteristics I hope to take hold of in order to become an even better leader. Having had the opportunity to build a community of practice has affirmed for me the need to collaborate with others and the work that can be done when you have more heads than one.

My goals for the future are to continue to advocate for anti-bias education in today’s classrooms and the importance for family involvement in education. I would love to make my capstone project become a reality and build workshops not just for parents, but for teachers and staff in educating them on anti-bias education and the importance for positive adult guidance in the early years. The diverseness of our world is increasing as well as the need to provide children with a safe school environment without the fear of discrimination and bullying. I hope to encourage parents to become more involved as well as accepting of the cultures and traditions that may exist in their child’s classrooms. I can only hope that my work in the future can make a difference in the lives of children and their families, as well as give educators the drive to continue making strides in providing the best education possible for all their students.

I can’t thank my colleagues and professors enough for the guidance, opinions, and constructive criticism given to me through my Master’s. I value other’s opinions and thoughts knowing I can only grow from the mistakes and lessons learned. Knowing I wasn’t alone in some of my questions and challenges was comforting and pushed me to do my best. I have learned so much from our discussions, blogs, and responses and know that I have worked with amazing individuals that are going to do great work and make great improvements in the field of early childhood education.  I would have never thought I would have made it to this moment, but here we all are and I thank you all for your support! Here’s our chance to make even more of a difference in the lives of our young children and I know you will all have great success!