12/21/2022 0 Comments My Future Vision![]() Everyone has a sense of self that is developed and cultivated throughout their life and their experiences. Life has taught me time and time again that our inner selves tend to provide more grace, flexibility, and support to not just myself but others. I have experienced and seen first-hand the hardships that children especially within education face. This has forever changed and inspired me to fight for the right for an education for all children. Education is the key to success, and we cannot tolerate our children being defeated without lending them the proper resources or policies may it be conventional or not. One of my favorite quotes, "A candle loses nothing my lighting another one," I want to leave my mark within the ECE community. We all share wonderful gifts and experiences that we need to teach our communities. Let me have the opportunity to share mine with you. I grew up in a tight-knit family and HUGE extended family. My summers were flying to DR to see my extended family that continuously and till this day grows and expand. Not everyone’s childhood is fairy tales and rainbows but mine had the good, the bad and the ugly. Within my childhood experiences, I began really wanting to advocate for children, since no one really advocated for me in certain situations. I remember my family members, who had children, would be ecstatic when they knew. They knew their children would most likely be with me safe and out of their hands. My mami used to call me the “baby whisperer.” At times, I resented it, I was a young teenager who wanted to be with her friends and already had to babysit two younger siblings (brother and sister) for free. Then, my interest really peaked fully in the spring before my High School graduation. Our former principal created a 5-week volunteer program for students who excelled in their studies. The program overrode taking any finals or attending the remaining school year. I chose to work with a 3rd grade classroom with Mr. Weaver, at the same school where I worked in the After-School Program. I was a teacher’s aide to his class, primarily, and other classes that needed assistance. That is where I met Ms. Caruso a special needs pre-school teacher. Working with her classroom and my overall joy was mutually beneficial. That is when I decided that I wanted to work with Early Childhood specifically. The turning point in my life was when I was able to teach a child myself and watch the light bulb turn on and understand how and why we reached that conclusion or result. During the winter break of my undergraduate career, I had the privilege to take a 3-week journey to Egypt and work with a Sudanese Refugee childcare center. I created daily lesson plans teaching them necessary requirements as well as learning and understanding the English language. This trip has forever changed and inspired me to fight for the right for an education for children. Since then, I have had the pleasure of working in different states and countries, within them seen different childcare center, staff, parents, and children. I want to be part of creating meaningful necessary changes for our children to be the purest, truest, most imaginative self. I want to be a better member of my ECE community. I demonstrate compassion, warmth, and unconditional positive regard. I enjoy collaboration, and hope my enthusiasm inspires others to engage at a deeper level. My future vision is to provide a form of mental health curriculum/support/guide to adults just as much as we do for children within an inclusive, multi-language and equitable centers. One of the things I have experienced within my cases is that the adults do not themselves now how to use some of the self-regulation strategies we provide for the children. Or even see the benefits of practicing with the child and modeling. I felt as though I needed to prove to the adults how these strategies can benefit them first and how it in turn can be used to support their children. Simple strategy as just calm breathing can be both mutually beneficial to adults and children. I want to be able to work with a teacher and leave them feeling supported and not just by the child reducing their challenging behavior. But by being able to know their own toolbox for their sanity so their pitchers can be full before pouring into a child’s. During the pandemic, mental health of adults/caregivers was at an all-time high. It became evident that that mental health and self-care was not priority for adults as much as children; it still is not at the level that it should be. The word Mental Health holds a lot of different meaning and at times I found it both an anchor and a weight. I am not looking for a temporary “fix,” I am looking for a long-term solution. We can partner to retain the teachers, reduce compassion fatigue, and support promotion and prevention. About the Author: My name is Lourdes Karina Johnson Pena. I am an immigrant, US Citizen now, from Dominican Republic (DR). I moved to the USA when I was 5 years old, to Washington Heights, by Inwood Park now called Little Dominican Republic. Dominican Pride is something that runs deep and strong! I have obtained my Master’s in Early Childhood Education and my Bachelor’s in Psychology. I have had many roles within the ECE field such as IECMH consultant, director, home-based visitor, teacher, after school youth worker, and specialist for Early Head Start (EHS) and Head Start (HS) programs and non-profit organizations. I have always wanted to be a voice for the little ones. I am about being authentically myself, self-reflective, providing and spreading awareness, and being a team player. My contact information is [email protected].
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