I've come to the end of my first graduate course and it has been a wonderful beginning to the journey. I have learned from resources and classmates a wealth of information that I would have never accessed if not for this program. I can feel the unrest in me and it is a good thing. It means that I am not content to continue the day to day operations, but that I am being pushed and pushing myself to do and be more. I am looking forward to the next course and, while I know that there is a lot of work ahead of me, I know that I am on the right path and haven't been this excited about anything for a long time!
Good luck to all of my fellow classmates! I hope to cross paths with you again and wish all of you the best of luck in finding your place in the field of early childhood. We have much work to do!
Sincerely,
Katie
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Ethics and Ideals
In the field of education, there are several codes of conduct that govern the professionals who work with children and families. This week, we reviewed two documents that outline some of those rules. They both served as a reminder of the importance of professionalism, advocacy, and leadership.
In the Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) for the Council for Exceptional Children, the one that resonates with me is "we shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers of services for their children" (DEC, 2009). Parents of children with special needs are faced with so many obstacles when they are navigating the education system. It has recently become clear to me that we are not only responsible for the present care and education of the young children in our program, but we must also support families and prepare them for their future in education and provide them the tools to access all of the necessary resources to help them be successful. This might be public school services, PCA services, or evaluations that will allow them to access that support.
In NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment, there are two ideals that are significant to me and my professional role. The first outlines my responsibility to the employees of the program. It states that we are "to encourage and support continual development of employees in becoming more skilled and knowledgeable practitioners" (NAEYC, 2005). As a supervisor of teachers and support staff, it is important that I be able to recognize the strengths of each employee and identify areas of growth. I believe that we have much to learn from each other and I encourage my team to share knowledge with one another, while evaluating areas in which to provide additional training. Some of the areas we have begun to focus on is how to best incorporate curriculum standards, creating a responsive classroom, and working with challenging behaviors in an inclusive environment.
The second ideal that resonates with me is the one that states that we are "to work through education, research, and advocacy toward an environmentally safe world in which all children receive health care, food, and shelter; are nurtured; and live free from violence in their home and communities" (NAEYC, 2005). this is a comprehensive summary of why I chose to enter this masters program. I am passionate about working in a field that does everything it can to educate not only children and families, but the surrounding community about the importance of investing in young children. It is my hope that I can have a broader scope of influence in the field of early education.
References:
The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.dec-sped.org/
NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf
In the Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) for the Council for Exceptional Children, the one that resonates with me is "we shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers of services for their children" (DEC, 2009). Parents of children with special needs are faced with so many obstacles when they are navigating the education system. It has recently become clear to me that we are not only responsible for the present care and education of the young children in our program, but we must also support families and prepare them for their future in education and provide them the tools to access all of the necessary resources to help them be successful. This might be public school services, PCA services, or evaluations that will allow them to access that support.
In NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment, there are two ideals that are significant to me and my professional role. The first outlines my responsibility to the employees of the program. It states that we are "to encourage and support continual development of employees in becoming more skilled and knowledgeable practitioners" (NAEYC, 2005). As a supervisor of teachers and support staff, it is important that I be able to recognize the strengths of each employee and identify areas of growth. I believe that we have much to learn from each other and I encourage my team to share knowledge with one another, while evaluating areas in which to provide additional training. Some of the areas we have begun to focus on is how to best incorporate curriculum standards, creating a responsive classroom, and working with challenging behaviors in an inclusive environment.
The second ideal that resonates with me is the one that states that we are "to work through education, research, and advocacy toward an environmentally safe world in which all children receive health care, food, and shelter; are nurtured; and live free from violence in their home and communities" (NAEYC, 2005). this is a comprehensive summary of why I chose to enter this masters program. I am passionate about working in a field that does everything it can to educate not only children and families, but the surrounding community about the importance of investing in young children. It is my hope that I can have a broader scope of influence in the field of early education.
References:
The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.dec-sped.org/
NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Resources for the Early Childhood Educator
This week, we have been exploring the variety of resources that are available to educator and professionals in the field. Here is a list of some of them:
NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/56607/CRS-CW-4744594/educ6005_readings/naeyc_dap_position_statement.pdf
NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf
National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/
The Division for Early Childhood
http://www.dec-sped.org/
Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/
WESTED
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
Harvard Education Letter
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
FPG Child Development Institute
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
HighScope
http://www.highscope.org/
Children’s Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/
Center for Child Care Workforce
http://www.ccw.org/
Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
National Child Care Association
http://www.nccanet.org/
National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/
Pre[K]Now
http://www.preknow.org/
Voices for America’s Children
http://www.voices.org/
The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.edu/
There are local resources that I have depended on for information. The Minnesota Child Care Resource and Referral Network has provided trainings for the programs I have worked in, as well as the Eager to Learn program (http://www.eagertolearn.org/). In my work in inclusion, I have referenced the Center for Inclusive Child Care for information and training (http://www.inclusivechildcare.org/).
http://www.naeyc.org/
http://www.dec-sped.org/
http://www.zerotothree.org/
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
http://www.highscope.org/
http://www.childrensdefense.org/
http://www.ccw.org/
http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
http://www.nccanet.org/
http://nieer.org/
http://www.preknow.org/
http://www.voices.org/
http://www.erikson.edu/
There are local resources that I have depended on for information. The Minnesota Child Care Resource and Referral Network has provided trainings for the programs I have worked in, as well as the Eager to Learn program (http://www.eagertolearn.org/). In my work in inclusion, I have referenced the Center for Inclusive Child Care for information and training (http://www.inclusivechildcare.org/).
In addition, there are resources that are not necessarily published or tangible. These include mentors and colleagues and your owned shared experiences.
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