Time Well Spent - Hallelujah!
As I contemplate the achievement of this degree the words of an old-time gospel song rings through in my mind. “For every mountain, you’ve brought me over, for every valley you’ve seen me through. For every blessing, Hallelujah, for this I give you praise” (Carr, 1999). So right now I just want to shout, “Hallelujah”!
One of the things I have learned in this program was the importance of effective communication. There may be times when you have to be the presenter of bad news so the method of delivery is very important. Also if you want others to ‘buy in’ to your vision and mission you must be adept at communicating it in a way that others will be eager to join in. Another deeply felt learning for me was the recognition and utilization of resources. I had considered resources to consist of things available to be used, but I now realized that the greatest resources are usually the people around you. These people should be recognized and rewarded for the integral part they play in your professional life regardless for how small that part may seem. The final deeply felt learning that I will share at this time is the style of leadership and the pros and cons of them all. It is important for me to know what type of leadership skills I possess so that I can best collaborate with the people who will be working with me. I have also learned that it is important to be flexible in my style of leadership and willing to adjust as the situation dictates.
My greatest long term goal is to open up an early childhood center of my own in the next five to ten years. I am so thankful for Walden University for helping me with this huge step towards making this goal a reality. I am hoping to transfer to the early childhood division of my school this September, where I will be able to achieve hands on experience on the day-to-day running of an early childhood center.
I am so excited to post this final blog. I’m already wondering what I will be doing with all of the extra time I’ll have this summer with no more discussions to post and papers to write. I’d like to say thank you for all of my fellow students who have made this journey easier. Trevor, thanks for your discussions which were usually short, to the point, and devoid of ramblings. Heidi, thanks for your sense of humor, and your quirky way with words you always made me smile. Thank you for those of you who asked questions that I wanted to ask and thus helped me get the necessary answers. I would like to say a special thank you to my professors for their assistance as I completed this journey. I would like to say a special thank you, Dr. Embree, the professor for foundations of Early Childhood education, for your patience and words of encouragement. I wanted to give up as I felt overwhelmed with the amount of work required but now I can look back and say I have made it thanks in part to you. I would also like to say a final thank you Dr. Johnna Darragh-Ernst for challenging me to step up my writing skills and to give my best.
I pray for God’s richest blessing on all of you as we move on to achieving our goals and making a difference in the field of early childhood in our communities and around the world.
P.S.
I am leaving my contact information if any of you plan to visit the beautiful Bahama islands, feel free to contact me if you would like to get the local feel of the island.
