Final Preparations

I have a few questions such as where do I begin and how to get my audience to listen and take me seriously. I guess these are just my points of nervousness right now. The director and the owner of the school are very supportive of me and have been helping me along my journey, but I’m still nervous about motivating and encouraging the other staff members to engage in my plan. Part of my plan relays on the staff members to work with parents and provide parents with guidance for implementing literacy activities at home (which might actually add some additional workload for them). If I cannot get the other staff members on board, I’m a little worried I will not have the support to complete my long term goal of developing a parent board to help maintain a literacy program at the school.

I’m trying to gather more information about presenting an AAP. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I’m sure there’s no right or wrong way to present information and the AAP, but I’m just curious about other’s ideas. Should I use a powerpoint or should I simply provide handouts? Should I show documented research results or simply summarize all my findings?

I have used several resources to gather my data to supply to my audience. One source that I have found extremely useful is:

National Center for Family Literacy. (2006). The effect of family literacy interventions on children’s acquisition of reading. Retrieved from http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/lit_interventions.pdf

Another source that I have used quite extensively is http://www.read20.org/parents.html. This website offers helpful sites to educators and families regarding supporting literacy. This is such an important website for me because it allows me to gather additional data, help parents find information, and help other educators find additional information/resources. 

There are two quotes that really speak to me when it comes to advocacy. The first one is

“We must become the change we wish to create”- Gandhi

And the second one is

“It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act” – Tenzin Gyatso

What inspires and excites you most about your advocacy plan and being an advocate?

I think the thing that inspires me most is the prospect of change. For so long I have said that children need more literacy involvement and I always wanted to figure out a way to get my parents to be more involved in their children’s educations in the early childhood years. But that’s all I’ve done. I’m excited to actually be taking steps to try and make a difference.

What challenges and/or anxieties do you feel related to engaging in the advocacy efforts you have targeted?

I have so many anxieties going into this. I am a shy person and I do not do well with talking to people I’m not comfortable with. I’m afraid that I won’t get the parents attention and will not get the feedback or involvement that I’m hoping for.

What do you believe will be most effective in helping you overcome any challenging emotions you may be feeling with regard to presenting and implementing your Advocacy Action Plan?

I think the best thing and most important thing I can do is be prepared. If I have all my ducks in a row, I shouldn’t have any issues presenting to the families or the employees of my internship site. Also, I believe that if I practice what I want to say and have my handouts ready, I should be fine.

How can you encourage others in their advocacy efforts, and how can others encourage you?

I can encourage others by reminding that that we’re doing this for a bigger cause. I can also encourage them by offering any assistance or guidance that I might be able to provide. I would hope that others would do the same for me to help encourage me. I also would hope for honest feedback and guidance if someone feels that I’m off track or am missing something