My Own Capacity!

To answer the first question of what fuels my passion, I have to say it is the way early childhood teachers are viewed by others, and the income we earn usually shows how much we are valued. At the same time, I really want early childhood education accessible to all children in the same fashion as grades K-12. To realize that the pay we earn in general is no more than a babysitter earns is highly insulting. We are teachers, nurturers, and continuous learners. Each child that I meet whose parent(s) cannot afford childcare touches my heart. This one parent came in with two children and the four-year-old had the saddest eyes I have ever seen, I wanted to see her smile, run and play, I cannot explain how her sad demeanor made me ache to pay for her care out of pocket. Although I know passion is not enough, and according to Sharma(n.d.),: ”Advocates who attempt to fix everything run the risk of changing nothing….”.

The first thing to come to my mind that I can contribute to the advocacy efforts is my passion. My desire that others understand and embrace the cause, leaving all indifference at our concerns. The research skills that I have developed as a student here at Walden University could be useful. I believe in the power of research in an issue, and in finding resources who can be of help in furthering our resolutions. As Kieff (2009) called the resources “target”, the ones of influence who can help our advocacy obtain our objective(p.105).

When looking for answers, I am not opposed to looking at others in how they strategized. I know I do not have all the answers and being open to listening to others with different, or better methods is important. Working with children we all need and have to use patience, and patience is a skill needed for all advocates.  My patience could be of value, knowing that things have not changed and continuing to try is a positive force. Whatever skills I possess must be supportable with interested people (Sharma, n.d.). Although, I must be realistic and research if the goal if achievable (Sharma, n.d.)