My Own Capacity

Which issues impacting young children and their families and/or the field of early childhood fuel your passion?

Childhood poverty is a social issue that impacts young children, their families, and the early childhood field and fuels my passion. My advocacy objective would be to reduce childhood poverty and improve optimal development of the child and family by offering parent programs in ALL early care and education facilities that assist in helping families achieve educational/employment goals by offering support and resources. This issue is so significant to me because of my personal experience with childhood poverty and low-income families and I fully understand the detrimental impact it has on the child, the family, the community, and society as a whole.

What special skills do you have that will contribute to your advocacy efforts? How will you incorporate these skills into your work?

The skill of experiencing life as a low-income family but also the education and knowledge of an early childhood professional is the greatest resource I have to contribute to my advocacy efforts. I fully understand the physical, mental, social, and emotional toll this circumstance has on the child and its family. I will incorporate this understanding into my work by sharing my story and my success and being the resource needed for families to have positive, life-changing outcomes.

In what ways do you hope to grow in order to be a more effective advocate?

To be a more effective advocate, I hope to become a more informed, organized, well-researched resource for children and their families. I want to become deeply absorbed in finding solutions to issues that affect children, their families, and everyone connected. I want to discover the leader in me and to obtain an understanding of social issues that affect these individuals so that I can help change lives and make an impact (even on a micro level) in the early childhood field.

My Role as an Advocate

My journey in the early childhood field began in 2004 as a receptionist for the Boys & Girls Club of the Big Bend. Attached to our organization, we had an early learning center and being the greeter for the entire building, I began to form relationships with the children and their families. I enjoyed seeing and interacting with the children and their families and began to spend more time in the classrooms helping out than answering the phone! At the time, I thought it would be impossible to become a teacher but 4 years later, I received my opportunity!

It is essential to acknowledge and foster advocacy efforts the micro as well as the macro level because there are significant issues that affect the optimal development of children and their families at each level. To be a community leader, it takes dedication and passion to the purpose, communication with stakeholders, organizations, and policymakers. One must be willing and able to connect with those who are directly affected by issues and confident enough in their ability to speak on the behalf of children and families. A community leader must be a believer and participant in life-long learning. Continuously learning about the issues, learning about the field, and learning about oneself as a professional and individual. It takes the resources of the people...meaning partnering with early childhood organizations such as NAEYC, local organizations, governmental agencies such as Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education.

The advice I would give to someone who was interested in taking a leadership role in advocating for young children and their families would be "to be the grain of sand that forms the core of the pearl, you must learn the gentle art of using disagreement about educational practice to your advantage…and you must choose when to stand firm and when not to. Not every issue is worth fighting; not every battle can be won. As an ethical professional, you may have hard choices to make. We urge you stand up for children and to make their well-being your primary concern; to say no when asked to do what is wrong; to insist on speaking what you know to be true; to risk making yourself unpopular; and to give others the courage to do the same. It’s a lot to ask. But it’s the right thing to do, and children need you to do it (Morrison, 2009; Feeney, 2010)"

As an early childhood professional, our goal is to teach young learners life skills that they can build a solid foundation on. It is essential for early childhood professionals to “stand up” for children and their families because “You are influential with your family and friends. They know and trust you and what you tell them about early childhood education and care may be more powerful for them than what they read in the newspaper or see on television. You are influential in your community. The people on your street, in your neighborhood, in your town know you. You are their expert on early childhood education and care, they trust you. You are influential in your local government. You know the friends, families, and associates of the members of your school board, your municipal council, and your state legislature. You represent the opinions and votes of those who elected them. You are as important, or more important, to them than any expert (Feeney, 2010)”.

Personal Advocacy Reflection

I would like to tell the story of my mother and how her selfless actions have encouraged me to be selfless in my dedication as an early childhood professional. Throughout my life, my mother has not only been an advocate on my behalf but so many others that have come into her life. Being a severe asthmatic since I was 14 months old (being hospitalized 46 times before my 17th birthday and on life-support four times), I KNOW the only reason why I am alive is because of my mother advocating on my behalf. But, one particular story that comes to mind of my mother advocating for others...is of a man who worked for my mother as her transportation specialist for her company. When he was hired for his position, he was a little overweight but reasonably able bodied and seemed as if he could do his job. But, after a while, she started receiving complaints from clients saying that he would fall asleep at red lights or at stop signs or in the car within 5 minutes of sitting. She investigated the complaints and questioned him about it. He admitted to it and began telling her other symptoms that he was experiencing. She researched his symptoms and suggested he see a doctor. He had no insurance. She took him to apply for medicaid and walked him through the whole process (including sitting with him during his medicaid eligibility interview). Once he received health insurance, she made him an appointment, attended the appointment with him, and he was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. He had no idea. I still remember her telling me that the doctor told him during his appointment that his condition was so bad...he was surprised he was still alive. After receiving his diagnosis, she helped him get his CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) device and now 20+ years later he is still thanking my mother for saving his life!

This is just one example of how my mother advocates for those who cannot help themselves. And by her life-long example, I found that when became an early childhood professional (and in life), it was my purpose to help beyond the classroom as many children and families that I connected with. I realized from my mother's examples that people are brought into your life for you to encourage and empower them to make positive life-changing decisions. This will always be part of what fuels my passion and work as an early childhood professional.