Time Well Spent

What I have learned over the last 20 months that true dedication and hard work can in fact get you to that end goal of yours.  I wanted my MS in Early Childhood Studies because I wanted to help student’s transition from early childhood programs to school aged programs. I felt like there was a disconnect that left parents very confused.  I learned that there were so many more goals that I had, such as educating other people about inclusion and how it can be done appropriately and learning about how to integrate and be an anti-biased teacher.  The first deeply felt learning I had through out this program was that it is not just me that wants to make a difference in the lives of young children and their families.  Second, I learned that my capstone project could in fact be reality.  I often feel so overwhelmed about how you start to complete a project that I was unsure of what to do, but now I have learned (through the guidance of this course) how you go about starting an idea.  Lastly,  I learned how important it is to collaborate and support each other.  I do not think that it can be reiterated enough that we must work together; whether it be at work or online we have to support each other.

My long-term goal is to put my capstone project into action.  There are many aspects of my job that already apply to my project, but I have yet to create a formal community of practice.  Once that has been created then we will be able to work together to help general education teachers and paraprofessionals with inclusion. 

Farewell message:

It has certainly been a journey over the past months.  At times it felt stressful and overwhelming, but here we are, we made it!  I am so proud to be apart of a learning community that has such dedication to the field.  It is not everyday that people from all around the country and even the world get to come together for a purpose, a purpose to learn and grow.  Together we have pinpointed a variety of different projects that we all hope to complete, how amazing is that?  We are the difference in the lives of young children and their families. I cannot wait to hear about what people have accomplished. I wish you all the best and please keep in touch!

My favorite quote:

"Have courage enough to accept what you can 

not change, but yet courageous enough to stand 

up and fight for what you can." 

- Robert M. Hensel

Contact information:

abbyjliedtke@gmail.com

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Gates Foundation

The first organization that I knew I wanted to research was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation because of their philanthropic work all over the world and their particular interest in education.  Their four core values also resonate with me, they are optimism, rigor, innovation and collaboration.

They have so many job posted on their site. I chose to look at Policy and Advocacy in Education.  There are several Program Officer positions both in Seattle and Beijing. This job works with teachers and students to make sure they are working together to get all students to graduate high school.  Qualifications for this position is a Bachelor's degree and 5-10 years of professional leadership or classroom experiences directly supporting, managing and implementing education programs. You also need to be able to travel 30% of the time.

Another position that looked interesting was the Director of Family Planning and the Educational Effectiveness positions.  Both require extensive experience as an employee of an NGO and graduate level schooling. Also, it would like to see a progression of leadership responsibilities with prior work. 


UNICEF 

I then chose UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund) because I believe in the work that they do for our world.  I like that they not only focus on education but hunger, equal rights, basic human rights, protections and emergency help.  

I looked at their Junior Professional program, which is for young professional women and men who are seeking to gain skills in international development. 

I also looked that their New and Emerging Talent Initiative, this is an entry point for professionals looking to work with UNICEF. Some of the requirements for the program are a university masters degree, know another languages, have relevant work experience (another country or work with diversity) and preference is given to candidates under 35 years of age. 

UNESCO

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization I have always enjoyed their work to bring people and cultures together through shared values. 

Like the UNICEF they have a young professionals program which is for young professionals who have recently graduated.  You may be able to apply for a professional position with an advanced university degree, known either English or French and be knowledgeable of Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Spanish.  You also need anywhere from 2-15 years of experience depending on the positions.

What I found interesting is that both UNICEF and UNESCO have junior professional programs and that often you need to go through this to get higher level positions.  All three would be great organizations to work for.

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