Time Well Spent

During my experience with Walden University, I have learned that I have more friends and colleagues in the early childhood field than I could have ever imagined. As educators, we all share the passion for working with children and improving their educational experience, no matter what we do to make this happen. My Walden colleagues have been extremely support and insightful, contributing to my understanding about the early childhood field. I am looking forward to continuing to collaborate with my colleagues from Walden in order to promote our shared understanding about advocating for quality early childhood education and partnering to make a positive change in society.

I have also learned that I possess a strong passion for play-based learning and am committed to ensuring that all young children in early childhood programs experience learning through play during their time in school. The change in educational standards have forced teachers to teach young children more rigorous material in a shorter amount of time, adding stress on teachers, leading them to resort to rote-style learning to ensure they meet their required deadlines. As a result, children are actually falling behind in essential development because the skills that develop through play are not established. My mission is to advocate for play-based learning in all early childhood settings in order to promote positive changes in children's developmental outcomes. Teachers will receive support from mentors as they work together to include play while they meet curricular requirements.

My knowledge about Head Start and the impact that it can have on children's lives has also grown drastically. When I began working on my Master's degree, I had just accepted a position working with a local Early Head Start program while having only two years of prior experience working in the early childhood field and no experience working with Head Start. As I progressed through my degree program, I used the discussions and application assignments to further explore what Head Start stands for and impact it has made on the community I serve. I can now proudly say that I confidently contribute to the writing of my program's grant and other governing documents, knowing that the knowledge and experience that I have gained throughout the course of my Master's program is being used. I am looking forward to what the future holds in terms of my early childhood career and being able to confidently contribute to improving the lives of young children through quality education.

As I progress in my career in the early childhood field, I see myself moving up into higher administrative positions in the Office of Head Start, whether that be at a regional or national level. While I enjoy currently serving my community, I believe that I should share my knowledge and experience with educators on a grander scale. I have already been monitoring regional positions, noting the qualifications and other requirements for application. I would like to help other grantees establish strong partnerships with community resources to help ensure that the children in their service area have access to essential services necessary to promote learning. I also want to advocate to improve the availability for quality education experiences for all young children, not just those that qualify for Head Start services or live in upper-class society. I know of several middle-class families, mine included, that cannot afford to send their children to quality educational programs and resort to having either family or private, less qualified babysitters care for their children. These children are missing out on essential experiences that can help foster development. Childcare and other early childhood programs need to be more affordable in order to maximize the chances to improve the future of society through today's children.

My experience with Walden University has truly been wonderful. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with my professors. The level of experience and professional connections is inspiring. I have attended two other well-known universities in my lifetime and I can honestly say that I never received the personal feedback and professional guidance as I received from my Walden professors. Thank you all for your support throughout this journey. I also want to thank my colleagues for the vast amount of information and insight that you have shared with my along this journey. I think it is truly amazing that I have had the opportunity to collaborate with such passionate educators that represent early childhood education from around the world. I hope that you all keep in touch. I would love to continue to collaborate with all of you as we continue to pursue our professional careers in the early childhood field.

Lastly, I have posted a Wordle that describes my Walden experience. I want thank everyone (family, friends, professional colleagues, etc.) who have supported me through this journey.

 

Contact Information

Tiffany Booze

Education Coordinator

Pickaway County Head Start & Early Head Start

465 E. Ohio Street, Circleville, OH 43113

boozet@piccaheadstart.info