Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Colleague Acknowledge

Throughout my first class as a graduate student, I have interacted with many of my colleagues. They have inspired me in a variety of ways. I am appreciative that they shared their professional early childhood journey and how their personal life has affected their journey through blogs. I hope I have inspired them as much as they have.

I want to acknowledge one of my colleagues, Niketa Grant, for her blog: http://successinteachingpreschool.blogspot.com
She inspired me because she had the courage to share her journey as a teen mom to an early childhood professional. She has a fighter spirit that showed because she did not let her circumstances stop her from reaching her goals. I was in a similar situation at 19 and it was one of the difficult experiences of my life. I commend her. Her blog is insightful and my knowledge of early childhood was expanded because she shared her experiences. I thank her for sharing her knowledge and I am sure that her gumption will take her far.

I want to acknowledge another colleague, Regina Dewberry, for her blog: http://familyties2higherlearning.wordpress.com/.
Regina's blog is easy to navigate and has an appealing layout. It has a wealth of information. She has first hand experience in the early childhood field through her career as a childcare provider. She is already an advocate and early childhood leader in her community. She works hard for the children and the families that she services. I know that Regina will continue to excel in the field of early childhood. I know that I will see her name soon as an early childhood professional that we should know.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Examining Codes of Ethics

Early Childhood professionals are governed by the code of ethics from NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children and DEC (the Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children).

The following are the ideals from the code of ethics that are the most significant to me as an early childhood professional:

The first topic that stands out to me in the NAEYC code of ethics is that early childhood professionals have an ethical responsibility to children. Ideal I-1.5 says
To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions. (NAEYC, 2005, p.2)

This ideal is significant to my professional life because the purpose of early childhood is to give children the foundation and the tools to succeed in society. In order for children to grow up to be successful individuals, they need to be well developed socially, emotionally, physically, and have thinking skills. In my professional life, I want to give all the children that I encounter these tools.

The second topic that stands out to me in the NAEYC code of ethics is that early childhood professionals have an ethical responsibility to the community and society. Collective Ideal I-4.4 says      
To work through education, research, and advocacy toward a society in which all young children have access to high-quality early care and education programs. (NAEYC, 2005, p. 7)

This ideal is important to my professional life because I believe that our communities need to work with families to provide all children with good early childhood programs regardless of color, religion, and economic status. I want to help provide children with those resources in the community so they can have the support they need.

The third principle that stands out to me comes from the DEC code of ethics is Responsive Family Centered Practices. Ideal 1 says
We shall demonstrate our respect and appreciation for all families' beliefs, values, customs, languages, and culture relative to their nurturance and support of their children toward achieving meaningful and relevant priorities and outcomes families' desire for themselves and their children. (DEC, 2009, p. 3)

This ideal is significant to my professional career because all families are different and have something valuable to add to the learning experience. Family values contribute to each child's being. If I show that I respect what the parents believe in, I show the child that he/she is important and what they believe is also important.
References

Division for Early Childhood. (2009, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201440_04/MS_MECS/EDUC_6005/Week%207/Resources/Resources/embedded/dec_codeofethics.pdf

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Course Resources


Resources that I have found to be helpful in early childhood:

NAEYC. (2003). Information books in early childhood. Retrieved April 5, 2014, from      https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200303/InformationBooks.pdf

I have always found the book, The Creative Curriculum for Preschool, to be helpful throughout school and as an early childhood professional. I used the fourth edition when I was in school. My school district has purchased the newest edition with resources and a direct correlation to our Pre-K assessment system, Teaching Strategies Gold.
Dodge, D., Colker, L., & Heroman, C. (2002). Creative Curriculum for Preschool (Edition 4).

Erikson Institute, which is located in Chicago has always been a great Early Childhood Education Resource. Many renowned early childhood professionals are a part of the research projects and/or are professors at Erikson.
Erikson Institute. (n.d.). Center for Children and Families. Retrieved from https://www.erikson.edu/center-children-families/


Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices
    Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
    Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Part 2: Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being
    Websites:
                      World Forum Foundation
http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage
                      World Organization for Early Childhood Education
http://www.omep-usnc.org/
Read about OMEP's mission.
                      Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/
Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.
Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations
    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/
    Harvard Education Letter
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
    FPG Child Development Institute
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/
    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/
    Institute for Women's Policy Research
http://www.iwpr.org/
    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/
    Voices for America's Children
http://www.voices.org/
    The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.edu/
Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library
Tip: Use the Journal option under Search & Find on the library website to find journals by title.
    YC Young Children
    Childhood
    Journal of Child & Family Studies
    Child Study Journal
    Multicultural Education
    Early Childhood Education Journal
    Journal of Early Childhood Research
    International Journal of Early Childhood
    Early Childhood Research Quarterly
    Developmental Psychology
    Social Studies
    Maternal & Child Health Journal
International Journal of Early Years Education

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Passion, Motivation, and Wisdom


“It was like the most joyful experience, where I felt that everything in me was being called on to teach. And also, it was very rewarding. It just made me feel whole. It made me feel whole. It made me feel creative. And so it became my lifelong work with early childhood education. And the passion to make sure that all children were taught in environments and in ways that truly nurtured their ability to grow and to develop to their fullest ability.”
-Louise Derman-Sparks, Professor Emeritus (Excerpt from video, The Passion for Early Childhood)

Reference


Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012). The passion for early childhood  [Video webcast].   Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%   webapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_474  872_1%26url%3D

Quotes from Art Rolnick


Art Rolnick has contributed to the field of early childhood education by becoming an economic advocate in the ECE sector of Public Early Childhood Education. The following excerpt is from his article written with Rob Grunewald, Early Childhood Development Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return.

"The quality of life for a child and the contributions the child makes to society as an adult can be traced back to the first few years of life. From birth until about 5 years old a child undergoes tremendous growth and change. If this period of life includes support for growth in cognition, language, motor skills, adaptive skills and social-emotional functioning, the child is more likely to succeed in school and later contribute to society. However, without support during these early years, a child is more likely to drop out of school, receive welfare benefits and commit crime."

Reference


Rolnick, A., & Grunewald, R. (2003, March 1). Early childhood development:   economic development with a high public return. Fedgazette. Retrieved from www.Minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/pub_display.cfm?id=3832