Saturday, February 23, 2013

Codes of Ethics and Professional Life


The Division of Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children Code of Ethics and the NAEYC Code of Ethics and my Professional Life

DEC:
  • We shall strive for the highest level of personal and professional competence by seeking and using new evidence based information to improve our practices while also responding openly to the suggestions of others.


  • We shall build relationships with individual children and families while individualizing the curricula and learning environments to facilitate young children’s development and learning.


NAEYC: 
  • To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the needs of children with and without disabilities.


I selected the following ideals from the (DEC) and (NAEYC) Codes of Ethics because I base my professional life on them.    
      The first ideal should be important in everyone’s professional life. It is essential to strive for the best and be a constant learner in your career and be open-minded to others that may have better ideas or strategies then yourself. 
     The second ideal is equally important, especially in education or child care. It is always important to build relationships with the families and children you are working with so that you as the educator can better educate the learner. You have to be able to connect with the learner and the learners “team” so that you can make his/her learning relevant. 
     Finally, the third ideal I selected is one of the main goals I want to build my child care facility on; allowing every child to play and learn in a welcoming and understanding environment that can be adapted to fit each child’s individual needs. I do create this type of atmosphere with my high school students currently, but most of them are stuck in their molded learning styles, the styles that maybe their elementary or middle school teachers instilled in them. If we allow young children to develop and understand their own unique learning style they will be undoubtedly smarter and more successful students.


Saturday, February 9, 2013

Additional Resources

I found this article on Child Development Theories at:  http://www.education.com/reference/article/child-development-changing-theories/This article discusses six different theories and approaches in child development. 
       Aldridge, J., & Goldman, R. (2007). Child Development Theories.Current Issues and Trends in Education, 96-99. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/child-development-changing-theories/


Another great resource for people involved in Early Childhood Development is PBS.org and PBS network.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a governmental funded network that focuses on educational programing for children and their families. My third additional resource is a website and magazine : Parents.com or PARENTS. This magazine offers parents info on different levels of development, discipline techniques, schedule planning, and much, muuuch more.http://www.parents.com/kids/development/


Parents Magazine is also i great resource for parents learning about child development. There issues include: parent techniques, discipline strategies, schedule planning, and much, much more.
http://www.parents.com/

Finally, i selected UNICEF as an awesome resource. This is a huge organization in the world, it serves all childrens' needs from food to medicine. http://www.unicef.org/




course resources at Walden University


There are numerous resources at my finger tips as a students at Walden University. This weeks resources include:


Saturday, February 2, 2013

Influential Quotes

The following are quotes from two influential people in Early Childhood: Janet Gonzalez-Mena and Former President Bill Clinton.


The moment I decided to follow instead 
of lead, I discovered the joys of becoming 
part of a small child’s world. 
—Janet Gonzalez-Mena, 
U.S. early childhood educator and author 

We should, all of us, be filled with gratitude and humility for our present progress and prosperity. We should be filled with awe and joy at what lies over the horizon. And we should be filled with absolute determination to make the most of it. President William “Bill” Clinton

I selected Ms. Gonzalez-Mena's quote because it reflects exactly how I feel in my life. You have to put yourself in the "shoes" of the person you are trying to guide. Allow yourself to understand and empathize with them, only then will you be able to lead and guide them to success.

The President Clinton quote was chosen for the same reasons. People have to be able to appreciate where, what, and who you are to understand where, what, and who you want to be. We have to have to goals and dreams and be humble enough to seek assistance, when needed, to get there. 

Both quotes exemplify the understanding and appreciation of others' feelings. This portrays the coming together of the "team" atmosphere, everyone working together for the success of one goal.


Two other influential contributor to the Early Childhood field Louise Derman-Sparks and Raymond Hernanadez understand that internal call and life-long passion for wanting a successful future.

Louise Derman-Sparks  Professor Emeritus Pacific Oaks College, CA
  “ I would play teacher, instead of house...” “ I had that built in passion for to make a a real contribution in the world, to fix all the injustices...”  “ It was a very joyful experience; I felt like everything in me was being called on to teach..., it made me feel whole.”

Raymond Hernandez MS Ed Executive Director School of Early Childhood Education University of Southern California
   “ My passion is intrinsic motivation, every day I go to work I look forward to it because I know the services I provide to children it’s to their benefit, it’s not really to my benefit”