Korea
This week in my correspondence with Jo Theis, my international contact from Korea, she told me that her professional goals are to continue doing what she loves, working with children. She enjoys working with children who have challenging behaviors, who can't sit still, and who think outside of the box. She uses Art as her "vehicle" for doing this. Ms. Theis holds four Teaching Licenses and always feels like she can continue to learn more, to her it is not about a "title" but rather about enjoying what she does.
The school that Ms. Theis works at provides each staff member with $1200 a year for professional development which they can use as they choose. This is how she was able to attend the conference in Malaysia, she is able to choose her own professional development. She also attends any required or requested conferences, workshops, and/or seminars requested by the school. These requested conferences, workshops, and/or seminars do not come out of her $1200.00 yearly budget.
She believes that the International schools maintain a high level of professional development in order to keep their clientele. Families pay a lot of money to attend these schools and expect staff to be knowledgeable, competent, and the best in their field.
Ms. Theis hopes that one day the schools in the United States will also take professional development of staff as a priority and that we are able to find the funding to make our schools comparable to those around the world.
Costa Rica
My correspondence with my other contact, Mrs. Tapiaaguilar, from Costa Rica stated that her professional goals were always to provide the best services to her families and the children that she worked with. She still continues to stay current on issues and trends in the education system in Costa Rica and Mentors new teachers when needed.
During the time that Mrs. Tapiaaguilar taught she stated that Professional Development was done at the Teacher's expense. This shows how committed teachers truly had to be within the profession. Now that Costa Rica has improved so much on their education system Professional Development is on going once you become a teacher. You have yearly trainings, workshops, and conferences that you are required to attend. These are paid for by the government.
Mrs. Tapiaaguilar stated that her professional hopes and dreams include seeing all children throughout the world receiving high-quality education services. She believes every country has their own challenges to work through but that with commitment of professionals, parents, and governments these challenges can be overcome.
This week in my correspondence with Jo Theis, my international contact from Korea, she told me that her professional goals are to continue doing what she loves, working with children. She enjoys working with children who have challenging behaviors, who can't sit still, and who think outside of the box. She uses Art as her "vehicle" for doing this. Ms. Theis holds four Teaching Licenses and always feels like she can continue to learn more, to her it is not about a "title" but rather about enjoying what she does.
The school that Ms. Theis works at provides each staff member with $1200 a year for professional development which they can use as they choose. This is how she was able to attend the conference in Malaysia, she is able to choose her own professional development. She also attends any required or requested conferences, workshops, and/or seminars requested by the school. These requested conferences, workshops, and/or seminars do not come out of her $1200.00 yearly budget.
She believes that the International schools maintain a high level of professional development in order to keep their clientele. Families pay a lot of money to attend these schools and expect staff to be knowledgeable, competent, and the best in their field.
Ms. Theis hopes that one day the schools in the United States will also take professional development of staff as a priority and that we are able to find the funding to make our schools comparable to those around the world.
Costa Rica
My correspondence with my other contact, Mrs. Tapiaaguilar, from Costa Rica stated that her professional goals were always to provide the best services to her families and the children that she worked with. She still continues to stay current on issues and trends in the education system in Costa Rica and Mentors new teachers when needed.
During the time that Mrs. Tapiaaguilar taught she stated that Professional Development was done at the Teacher's expense. This shows how committed teachers truly had to be within the profession. Now that Costa Rica has improved so much on their education system Professional Development is on going once you become a teacher. You have yearly trainings, workshops, and conferences that you are required to attend. These are paid for by the government.
Mrs. Tapiaaguilar stated that her professional hopes and dreams include seeing all children throughout the world receiving high-quality education services. She believes every country has their own challenges to work through but that with commitment of professionals, parents, and governments these challenges can be overcome.
Wow!! It doesn't seem like $1200.00 is a lot of money...more like a $100.00 per month to supplement professional development. But I guess it depends on what one is accustom to. I think that we as Americans are so spoil, we would say $1200.00 is not enough for one month. It's amazing how far one can stretch a little. We all can learn from Ms. Theis and think outside of the box. I think that here in the U.S. professional development are on the rise of the priorty list, however, we still have a ways to go.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that you were able to maintain your connection with your international contact throughout this course. Thanks for sharing.
Toney,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to see that someone in my group was able to connect with outside resources and learn from them. I dont' feel that 1200.00 will go that far in the United States, due to the way Americans waste money.
To me it shows the dedication that these individuals have for early childhood programs and their professional development.
Thanks for sharing!
I actually thought $1200 in additional to the institution sending them to other conferences and workshops was amazing. I guess because I have never heard of a school providing such funding. I think there are a lot of ways in which professionals can continue professional development, but it is nice to see organizations supporting professional development for staff.
ReplyDeleteThe agency in which I work for provides 1500 a year for professional development and as Lori mentioned, it does not go very far. However, some money is better than no money. This little amount of money assist some staff in paying for community college classes that keep them updated with current trends along with taking other classes towards a degree. It was cool to hear how what others are doing in countries outside of the USA and that their are people all over the world passionate about the welfare of young children. Thanks for sharing!
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