Advocacy Messages

You didn't give up on sex. Don't give up on birth control either. There are more methods than you think.

This is inspiring because it is trying to prevent unplanned pregnancies. The slogan shows a dog interrupting a couple about to have sex. This is funny and it makes people laugh but also stop and think. Its important to convey message in a way that will be well received and humor is one way.

Give. Advocate. Volunteer.

I think this is inspiring because it is a simple statement. It is trying to engage people in the community. It is easy and clear for them to understand. There are many needs in the community and this is a simple way of saying how people can help. It basically shows them they can help with having to get super involved (such as donating money) or they can help by actively being involved (advocating and volunteering)

A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver.

This is effective because the slogan lets people know how dangerous it is to text and drive. The slogan also lets them know how much more likely they are to be in an accident if they text and drive. It gets their attention and hopefully they want to be more safe.

My Own Capacity

The things that fuel my passion that impact children and families int he field of early childhood are anything that disturbs the family. I believe that anything that endangers keeping a family intact is wrong. I think we all should be able to have some sort of family to care about young children. The family doesn't necessarily have to be biological either. Just as long as children know they are wanted and belong to someone is enough. If someone cares about them and loves them then blood line isn't important. The thing that fuels my passion is advocating for all things that build families.

The special skills that I think will contribute to my advocacy efforts are the fact that i know lots of people. I am a friendly person and very rarely meet a stranger. This will help me get to people from all different walks of life and build connections. My mother is always joking with me because she says everywhere we go I know somebody. I said well one day Mama that will pay off. Actually, a lot of days it may pay off.

The resources I have at my disposal are a network of Early Childhood professionals, and friends in policy making positions. These people can be helpful for me in several different ways depending on which entity they are involved with.

My talents and skills that I could use would probably be just as I said before. I have a talent of meeting new people and learning about their lives. This will give me a vast array of people to use for advice, expertise, and experience.

I hope to be able to learn more about researching and proper chain of command for advocacy to be a more effective advocate.

My Role as an Advocate

I was motivated to start advocating for young children when i began working for Head Start. I am often reminded of how I felt as a child when someone (an adult) would treat me unfairly and make me feel as if I didn't matter. When I was a child, you weren't important in society.

It is essential to acknowledge and foster advocacy efforts at the Micro level as well as the macro level because as the saying goes you must crawl before you can walk. If you start at the lower local levels you can inform and recruit more people for your issue or cause. The strength you build at the lower levels can help you add to your group and make it more powerful because there is strength in numbers.

To be a community leader on early childhood issues you need to be passionate about the issue. If you have a personal investment you will be committed to working on seeing the issue through.

To be a state leader on childhood issues, you need to be informed. Your resource should include research, money, and supporters of your cause/issue.

The tactics/strategies you need to use to mobilize others are to be able to inform. You need to be able to let others know the information. Get the information out to the target audience of your issue. The more they know then the better help I could recruit to help me advance my issue. Also, empowering people to advocate for themselves. If you can share enough information and encourage a person to advocate for themselves you can do a powerful thing.

The advice I would give to someone who is interested in taking a leadership role in advocating for young children and their families is to immerse themselves in information on the issue. Ask themselves if they believe in the issues/causes themselves? Do you care about young children and families? I would also tell them to make sure they can work with others. Make sure they are able to organize a group and being able to facilitate the group. Are they willing to listen to others and the information they bring to the group. It is important to be able to accept help, even if it isn't the way you planned to proceed.

Personal Advocacy Reflection

I can think of many times that people have gone to bat for me but if I had to choose one particular time that stands out, I would say it was in school. I had a teacher who stuck by my side in elementary school because I was extremely shy. I was in school in the late 70's for elementary school and at that time they pretty much did and said what ever they wanted to do or say to you. I remember some of my teachers being mean to me because I would not say much. They didn't want to take time to see why I was not talking or what was bothering me. They would just tell my mother that I didn't know anything. I remember one teacher coming and telling me she wanted to talk to me. We played and she was really nice to me. She said to one of my teachers she knows more than you think she knows. That teacher took time to find out what was wrong with me. I was in a whole new situation. I had been with my mother all the time and I wouldn't talk to those teachers because they were so mean. This teacher took time to care and give me testing that I wouldn't respond to them for. My mother was amazed when she found out that I knew just as much as most of my other classmates. I just was withdrawn because my mom had started working and I didn't get to see her that much anymore and here were these mean people I had to be with all day everyday. I later grew up and began as a teaching assistant in the same school that I attended, and that teacher who was nice to me was still there. (She has since retired but occasionally I run into her at a church she attends in Williamsburg)I remember her telling me when I worked there that it was time for her to retire if she had started working with her students! I was in second grade when she advocated for them to change their style of teaching me. I also serve on an alcohol and drug prevention coalition with one of those mean teachers. She needs to retire because she is still mean but she isn't teaching anymore, she is like a truancy officer now. I hope that I can be the type of person who will put in the extra time and effort to do whats right for all children and families even if no one else cares.

Initial Post EDUC-6766

I am excited about this class because I am enjoying learning about our field. I think I am even more excited because it is my next to the last class! WoooHooo! I also felt comfortable when searching the class site this week and seeing that some of my same classmates from the other classes are in this one with me as well. Even though I have never met any of them in person, I feel as if we know each other because we have been on this journey together. It makes it less uncomfortable when your with people you know in a new endeavor. Glad to be you guys!