The Center of the Master's of Science in Early Childhood Studies Program-Sherida Richards-Malcolm

  Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels The organizations and communities of practice that I would like to explore. The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) The Mission of the ECC speaks to the integration and coordination of high-quality early childhood programs and services to ensure equity and access for children aged 0 to 8 years in healthy, safe and nurturing environments. The Early Children Commission (ECC) was founded by the Early Childhood Commission Act (2003), in line with the Government of Jamaica's strategic goal of improving the quality of early childhood care, education, and development. The ECC is in charge of monitoring and assessing how early childhood development strategies and programs are implemented. All early childhood development initiatives are coordinated. Early childcare centres are regulated and supervised. Job Opportunities: RESEARCH MANAGER (SOG/ST 7) The Research Manager is responsible for establishing and coordinating the implementa...

These past eight weeks have been amazing. My interest was aroused by the stimulating learning resources that I encountered along the way, which allowed me to persevere and develop a  growth mindset as I traverse this professional journey and explore essential skills, components of communication processing. In addition, the myriad of communication competencies, approaches and techniques, and verbal and nonverbal cues along with listening, gestures and expressions have enhanced the way I communicate and will be beneficial as I interact with my students and their families, colleagues, relatives and organisations and agencies. Besides, understanding how my schema and perception of others can influence how I communicate was eye-opening. The self-assessment brought mind-blowing results to the fore that will help me improve or reexamine my communication skills. In addition, the complexities of intercultural communication have highlighted the significance of culture during interaction and ...

The above quote sums up, in a nutshell, some of the attributes of a great team or group. When individuals are mindful of these characteristics, it will be challenging to say goodbye. My Farewell Experience "High-performance teams add tremendous value to organisations. Nurturing and developing them aids efficiency and maximises the effectiveness and flexibility of individuals and the organisation" (Crowe Associates (n.d.).  A few years back, I can recall that the institution where I worked previously was visited by a team of volunteers from Great Shape Inc. These individuals were teachers on an internship program. As a result, they came to share best practices and to learn from us. The duration with us was about a month. The experience of intercultural exchanges was terrific. Besides, being culturally aware teaches you valuable skills, but it is also a lot of fun! You make new friends, But no sooner than you know, it will all come to an end.  The closing ritual and adjournmen...

Think about any disagreements or conflicts you have recently experienced or are currently experiencing at work with a supervisor, colleague, or someone in your personal life.  Scenario: At my institution, there was a female security guard who was sent on retirement. As a result, a replacement was needed. We decided to use another female as a replacement for this position because this individual would only be on duty during the day when children are present. A member of the school's board was aware of the vacancy and told her husband, who applied for the position. However, the Board of Governors was hesitant based on the decision taken before for a female replacement. The gentleman attended the interview and found favour with the panel, but after working for few months, he decided to move on to another more lucrative job. One day he approached me and informed me of the decision to seek out this job before resigning. Being the people-oriented person I am, I told him that I support hi...

How I Evaluated Myself as a Communicator I think of myself as an effective communicator because I am good at bringing a message across. Also, I think about what I am about to say before I say it. In fact, I prefer to make notes before I speak, and I like to think about what I am about to say to ensure the message is clear and concise. I do not wish to convey an ambiguous message, and I do not always want my point to be taken. Instead, I just want to be heard and do not think I am always right. I believe in transparency and accountability in communication processing. Therefore, I think repeatedly about the message I am about to communicate to ensure that it will not intentionally hurt anyone. I think my voice can sometimes send the wrong message, so I ensure that my tone is appropriate and my eye contact is direct.  I must be honest that there are few times where anxiety and my emotions get in the way of my communication with others, but for the most part, I can communicate what I n...

Thinking about the cultural diversity that exists in my colleagues at school, neighbourhood, workplace, and by extension, my family. Considering all the aspects that makeup culture, including race, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, varying abilities, and so on. I do find myself communicating with each unique group differently. At its core, cultural diversity is about accepting and respecting people’s differences and understanding that everyone is unique in his own rite. The same can be said for communication. To do it well, I need to understand my audience irrespective of the group in which they fall. Then, I craft my message in such a way that will make the most sense to them. When that audience is culturally diverse, the challenge is understanding their differences and being sensitive to how your message will be received. Ways I communicate differently: I use clear language. When communicating with a culturally diverse audience, I keep my language clear, concise an...

The Yard, Season 1, Episode 1 on Netflix is the movie that I have selected to view both nonverbal and verbal communication skills. Watching and recording this episode without sound was very intriguing. It aroused my curiosity, and I just wanted to discover what would happen next based on the nonverbal communication and gestures displayed."Nonverbal communication encompasses various actions, such as gestures, tone of voice, eye behaviour, and all aspects of physical appearance" (O'Hair et al., 2018). The relationships of characters based on how they are communicating can be classified as one that is tumultuous. For example, a young lady was sitting on a bed, moving back and forth with her hands covering her ears. The assumption is that she cannot take it anymore, and she was not prepared for what will happen. It is just too much to handle. Also, I have detected abuse based on the different actions. The first thing that came to mind was sexual abuse since the young lady was...