Time Well Spent

It is difficult to limit the wealth of information that I have learned during this course to just three learning's. It seemed like each week I was able to learn at least two things that I applied to my personal or professional life. The information that I learned about an authentic and reflective leader allowed me to see the benefit of combining the qualities from each to become an Authentic reflective leader. An authentic leader is thought to be created over time from experiences while a reflective leader is able to use their positive interpersonal skills to unite people for a common goal (Mind Tools, 2011). As a mother, teacher, and community activist I believe  each  of the characteristics from the authentic and reflective leader can be used to show a genuine, competent, and dedicated leader. As I began to put together my ideal community organization group I learned how many different organizations in the community of Richmond could be used to help schools deal with social issues such as hangar, homelessness, abuse, and disabilities. It was amazing to learn about the benefits  that the community could gain when organizations work together. Putting together a group of community organizations allowed me to see the vision of a brighter future for our community.  Connecting the historical context of the relationship between poverty and education allowed me to see how society is still repeating the mistakes of the past with our education system. There is a direct influence between the economy and our education system. When the economy suffers so does the education system on all levels. This information allowed me to see the importance of implementing programs that helps families receive the resources that they need to for survival.

The long term goal that I have for myself is to help advocate a program where families in each level of the education system are able to gain access to the basic level of survival such as food, shelter, and medical care. I truly believe that is impossible to learn if your body is battling with the basic needs of survival and as result I feel it is only  fair to make sure that everyone is given an equal opportunity to learn by having the basic resources of life. I also would like to become a professor where I can show other adults not only the importance of education in the early childhood field but how to be competent, effective, and passionate teachers or early childhood professionals.

I am both sadden and happy to bid farewell to my professor and colleagues.  I am saddened because this journey of growth and exploration that we have taken together is now over but I am happy because this means that we will be able to use the information that we have learned from each other to help other people in our field. So this ends one chapter but begins a bright chapter for us all.
Dr. Hampshire's  newsletters kept me going through each of the weeks. Honestly I dreaded this class and thought that it was going to be very difficult but your newsletters kept me focus and encouraged. Thank you so much for all of your support, knowledge, and encouragement throughout this course. I definitely will admit our time together has been well spent.

Mind Tools, Ltd. (2011). Leadership styles: Using the right ones for the situation. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm