I do believe that staff hiring and turnover rate is affected by personal experiences. It is especially prevalent when working in a small center. I have noticed just working in a small school setting that if a staff member doesn’t gel with the rest of the staff, it won’t work out. The same goes with hiring, I find myself contemplating on three major points when hiring a new staff member; education background, classroom management, and personality style. What really makes a team is having everyone on the same page and everyone just clicking. For hiring and the longevity of a staff member it does come down to personality and we tend to make decisions based on personal experiences. It’s hard to break and get away from previous mindsets but I am constantly trying to remind myself in order for us to grow we have to step away from our comfort zone.

This week we are talking about advocacy and as I think about advocacy in ECE, we don’t have a strong voice. I wonder why our voice isn’t as strong especially in the political arena because many politicians have had a child and know how important ECE is on a child. Is it because we don’t have a union? I know that unions play a big role in standing up for the workers. Can preschool teachers’ have a union especially if we are all hired by different companies? Sumison’s suggest becoming closer alliance with “think tank” institutions to enable us to work jointly towards a unifying vision of the common good (Sumison, 2006). The only thing I wonder is that ECE program, as a whole isn’t united in itself. I don’t believe we have a teamed together to even have a presence against the other institutions. First and foremost, we need to come together as a group. I feel that we want what’s best for our programs but we are all individuals. For example, I work in Wahiawa and I don’t even know what the other preschools in Wahiawa looks like or even know the other directors. How can we become activities and our voices heard if we aren’t a team? I would love to team up with the other preschools and work with them just even as a community. I do understand that preschools are a business and we essentially are all competitors with each other. I think that is our problem. Majority of ECE programs are competing with each other and bottom line, it’s business. How can we be teaming up together when we are competing with each other?

I feel the biggest way I am contributing to the profession is by helping others find a place in the profession. Our book states that this is a form of advocacy because it gives me an opportunity to support incomers as they prepare for a career in ECE (Decker, 2005). Being a director, I have come across a lot of different people and some who have questioned if this is the career for them. I find myself sharing my experiences and knowledge about the situation. I have also become more knowledgeable about resources available. I look forward to becoming a mentor toward students and new teachers. I have such a strong passion for mentors because I have been blessed with amazing mentors. Since my years in college and having an amazing lead teacher during student teaching to my previous director at Rainbow School, these people have really made all my ECE experiences positive.