The biggest lesson I learned throughout the course of this Masters
program was how to continue to be persistent in my approach to learning. My
first attempt at grad school nearly 10 years ago resulted in me taking a
semester off to have my first child. I never returned. This time around,
despite getting pregnant once again with my third, I continued to persevere and
didn’t take a single week off. I was even in the hospital with my baby, only a
few hours old, finishing a last-minute assignment to submit before the
deadline. I know that my children will look at my experience as an example to
be persistent and continue to persevere in their own learning pursuits. The
next lesson I learned was the importance of self-assessment and reflection in leadership.
If I intend to call myself a leader and earn the respect of those working with
me, I must be willing to analyze my own practices and continue to strive for
improvement and increased professional development. Finally, I learned that there
are so many different approaches to early childhood development and that my own
Western way of thinking is not always best. This program has taught me to
welcome new approaches and schools of thought and implement them in my work
with young children and their families.
One long term goal is to continue to advocate for the
professionalization of the early childhood field. As an educator of adults, I
want to help as many early childhood professionals meet their fullest potential
as they seek additional education and advance professionally. I am advocating
to increase the minimum qualification for early childhood educators in my state
to an Associates degree. My current staff is working towards that goal and I
hope to see this become the norm across the entire state.
To my colleagues, I know that I joined most of you towards
the end of this cohort and did not have the privilege of learning with you
throughout the duration of the program. However, what little time I spent in
discussion with each of you has greatly enhanced my knowledge and inspired me as
I continue my professional pursuits in early childhood education. To Dr. E and
the rest of the instructors throughout this program, thank you for your
encouragement and support. Your feedback has inspired me to, not only continue
to pursue my goals, but to create new goals to aspire to.
If you ever find yourself at a conference or event and
Georgia please don’t hesitate to look me up. You can email me at Kristen.ware@gmail.com
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