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
I love your quotes, they appear represent how you operate in the field of Early Childhood Education.
ReplyDeleteI think that the advocacy courses are beneficial in directing our path to the changes that we would like to see as we work with young children and their families. The processs of advocacy allows us to become involved as little or as much as we want to be.
I understand your anxiety, however, I think that once you begin to see the good that you are doing, you will become emp[owered which will over shadow your shyness. I think the passion that you have for the field and young children will lead you out of your comfort zone.
I agree with and enjoyed reading your post. I too think that if a person is prepared the sky is the limit.
When you say you are presenting to the parents and to the employees, how many people are you presenting to? You know for the presentation for this course you only need to present to 5 people, right?
ReplyDeleteI am also inspired by actually taking action in this course. I feel that this has given me confidence to advocate for more causes in the future. I have learned a new skill and look forward to having more opportunities to use it. I think that the more we use it the less fear we will have doing our presentations.
ReplyDeleteWhat's crazy is that I can talk to people, especially wwhen it is about something that I love or children. The problem is that alot of parents still don't become involved in things that concern their children. I have heard that they don't have the time oor that it's not going to make a difference but if everyone believes that, then it will become true.In addition, being prepared and having all your ducks in a row is always great but you also have to be prepared for the unknown. Parent's may ask questions that you never thought of or have absolutely nothing to do with the subject. I am thankful for people like you who cares even when noo one else des so please keep taking steps in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI really find your quotes inspiring. I have always felt the need of more literacy involvement for children. I have always felt that no matter how much they get of it at school it is never enough especially for those children who are ESL and ELL students. I think by being introducing and encouraging reading literacy and getting into books makes that student more than willing to accomplish their goals. Some parents/families feel that since children are exposed to literacy at school there is no need for it home. Well I really think that home is the main place where literacy should always be encourage. Children depend on their parents for appropriate decision makings. When parents do not have any type of literacy at home for the children then they will grow to think that it is not as important since their parent never encouraged them to get into it. As a parent I have always had books around the house. My daughters first toys was those foam books with tow simple wordings and read it to her every day since she was born. Till now we read books and now we have drawers and drawers filled. Now since I have been reading books to my daughter, she is able to recognize words from her stories we read and points them out in other places other than her book. She even memorized some books and pretends that she read them to her brother. In addition to reading, children can also be able to use their imagination more as well. They will be able to think of the story and what is being taken place as well as how. The setting and characters. Some families may not have enough time to sit for hours at a time with their child to read, but that one 10 minute before bed time everyday will make a difference.
ReplyDeleteAs with your anxieties, I am the same. I hate talking to others that I am not comfortable with. But I tell myself that this is for child benefit and need to have them see the importance of literacy to families and no matter how I sound, I will make sure the families will understand that this isn’t for me, it is for their child now as well as their future. Good Luck!!!!