Time Well Spent

When I began my program at Walden I thought of myself as a good teacher. I had definite beliefs about education. I had a desire to be an advocate but did not have any idea how I could make that happen. My experience with Walden has helped me to grow into a person able to narrow down advocacy efforts into a manageable goal. I have a plan to put my belief system into action. I look forward to growing The Alliance for the Best Start of Young Learners into a collaborating group focused on providing access to high-quality early childhood education for all children.

When I began my program I also believed that I knew much about quality early childhood education. The amount of knowledge that I have gained in this area is extensive and invaluable. I have leaned about secure attachment, the importance of free play and self talk, the many advocacy agencies already in action, and the importance of equity in education. Through the assignments and resources, I was able to define my mission for advocacy and create a plan to put into action. I have become more prepared to run my own early learning center. I have learned how to design training materieals to present to my staff.

I take away from this experience many assets, the biggest being the valuable resources to which I have been exposed. I will use these resources continually to fuel my personal and professional growth. I will also use them to help my staff grow.

My major long-term goal is to implement my advocacy group with the mission of attaining access to high-quality early childhood education for all children. I am very passionate about this challenge and am determine to see it come to fruition. I also have the goal to grow my business into a model for many other learning centers across the nation. Keep on the look out for The Alliance for the Best Start of Young Learners and Best Start Playschool.

I am very grateful for the instructors who have guided and molded me into more of a professional. I have looked back on my writings at the beginning of the program and have determined that a big part of my growth has been the improvement in my writing skill. I owe this improvement to Dr. Davis who did not let me get away with mediocre work and helped me to find a way to view the comments that I had been missing all along. I want to say thank you to all of my colleagues that offered encouragement, advice and pushed me to answer hard questions that helped me to grow. I have appreciated the acceptance that I have felt with all people involved with my courses.
I would love to continue corresponding with and learning from colleagues and instructors. The best way to contact me would be by email: beststartplayschool@yahoo.com. I will also be developing a website under the best start playschool name.

Link to a Wordle describing my experience with Walden and my collegues: http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5927056/Patricia