Time Well Spent

For me, the most significant insights that I gained from this program were how culture influences culture, the importance of autonomy, and the importance of quality.  The first significant insight that I gained from this program is that how we communicate with others is influenced by culture.  We all realize that people come from different cultures and speak different language but I was surprised to learn that culture affects communication.  For instance, we learned about low-context and high-context cultures.  This had an impact on me because my mother-in-law is from a high-context and she uses “non-verbal cues” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, p. 95), when communicating.  Since learning this, I have learned to focus more on these cues which has made it much easier to understand her.  This knowledge helps me professionally because I am now more aware of these differences when communicating with children and families from different cultures.

The next significant insight that I gained from this program was from one of by specialization courses: “Developing & Leading Teams”.  This insight was that autonomy is extremely important in the workplace.  Autonomy positively influences productivity, job satisfaction, attitude, creativity, well-being, and trust (Fernet, Guay, & Senecal, 2004; Gagne & Deci, 2005; Pink, 2009).

The last significant insight that I gained from this program was the importance of quality in early childhood programs.  This issue made such an impact on me that I chose it as the topic for my Capstone project.

Thank you to all of my instructors.  I had some excellent instructors that provided me with very helpful feedback and inspired me to do my best.

To my colleagues, thank you for all of your comments, encouragement, and kindness.  I hope that these quotes inspire you:

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

–Albert Einstein

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

–Maya Angelou

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

–Confucius

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Fernet, C., Guay, F., & Senecal, C. (2004). Adjusting to job demands: The role of work self-determination and job control in predicting burnout. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65(1), 39-56. doi: 10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00098-8

Gagne, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331-362. doi: 10.1002/job.322

Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.