Code of Ethics

Professionals in all organizations are held accountable to certain practices and guidelines that are expected of all who work in the field. These guidelines are widely referred to code of ethics, and explain the expected ethical and moral responses and actions of all employees. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), has a list of expectations that are specific to all early childhood educators. Three that are particularly meaningful to me are:

Ethical Responsibilities to children

I-1.1—To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training

 Ms Sparks and Ms. Cooper reminded me in this weeks video that information is constantly change  and with that comes the way things are done. New and innovative ways of doing things are always being introduced and we owe it to our students to i,,part the best and most current knowledge that is available.

P-1.11—When we become aware of a practice or situation that endangers the health, safety, or

well-being of children, we have an ethical responsibility to protect children or

 inform parents and/or others who can.

 

In week 5, I read an article called, “Where do we stand on Child abuse.” It was quite disturbing to know how many children are abused each year and that that number continues to be on the rise. As a prospective educator, I realize that I have the responsibility to see to a child’s health and safety and overall well being. Until the number of child abuse cases starts to decline then perhaps we are not doing enough as educators; being sensitive to behavioral changes &warning signs and talking the necessary preventative measures.

Ethical Responsibilities to families

I-2.2—To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.

Among one of the many things I learned from the readings in this course is that once a trust relationship is established with parents, they become more receptive t advice concerning discipline and other childcare best practices. Once this happens then there is a lesser likelihood of children being abused by frustrated parents and they will receive the appropriate care and attention needed for successful development.

COURSE RESOURCES

 Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
  
  
• 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://main.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
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
  
  
• 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.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.

 Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being

Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf


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 video 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/about/
  Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

 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/
  
  
• 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/
  

 Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

• 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

Additional Resources

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/default.aspx
http://www.autism-society.org/

Beginnings & Beyond: Foundations in Early Childhood Education [Hardcover]

Ann Miles Gordon

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Podcast:

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/teacher_resources/ecnradio.aspx

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

"Our aim is not only to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his innermost core."- Maria Montessori

“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.” - Maria Montessori

“If you do a little bit of looking at books with your children and inspire them to be curious about the pictures and ... what the word means, but don't get into very structured systematic teaching at too early an age, ... and you also interact emotionally and have fun with pretend play ... then you have the best of both worlds.”

_ Stanley Greenspan

"Regardless of the history of IQ tests in the family, if I see nurturing, warm, interactive people who read emotional signals well and interact well, usually I see happy, competent and bright children,” - Stanley Greenspan

 “It’s not all about you, you have to take your ego out of it and think about what’s best for this child and you care about them enough to help them transition.” - Renatta Cooper (Week 2 Video}

"Whenever I get bogged down with all the paperwork that I have to do at times, I'm just like okay, take 20 minutes, go to go see the children s that you don't forget what you're doing all this for" - Raymond Hernandez (Week 2 video)

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-Personal Childhood Web-

These are five of the persons from my childhood web who helped to shape my character & personality and encouraged me to always be ambitious. They all believed in me and have had a positive influence n me at some point during my childhood.

  My Mother

Although I was raised in a household where both parents were present, my mother had the greatest impact on my overall childhood development. My mother was a teacher and had not only the training, but I had whatever tools and learning aides right at home. She always ensured that my homework was completed correctly and she helped me study for all exams. We were never a rich family, but she had a way to not let us feel as if we lacked anything while growing up. She took the time to do many things with us. We cooked together, did many craft activities, went to sporting events, played board games  and went to  the beach. She was also a great story teller. She found pleasure in reading many childhood stories to us but she also shared many of her own childhood stories which were equally as entertaining. Unlike many of my friends, I never had video games or fancy toys but you cannot put a price tag onthe experiences that I had with my mom and all I discovered and learned from those experiences helped shape who I am today.

My Father

My dad was also a teacher. So even if I wanted to become complacent about school, there was never a chance for that. He also helped with homework and with studying, whenever I had tests. He played a significant part in my childhood, but in a very different way than my mother. My dad taught me to climb trees, build kites and fly them and we played sports &exercised together. I remember when I got my puppy, Chip (Get it? Chip and Dale...), my dad and I built his kennel together using wood and cement. It seems as if the activities I did with my dad were more physical but I benefitted greatly and learned equally as much. I learnt the value of teamwork and synergy at an early age. That day I learned for the first time how 1+1 could equal 3.

My Brother

My brother, Kent and I were close in age so we shared many of the experiences together with both parents. Although he was only a few years older, He had an impact on me also. Kent was the one who taught me how to ride a bicycle. Once I mastered this art, we would ride out to the parks and in the neighborhood and explore the things in the environment. Kent also set the standard for me regarding school and education. He always excelled in school. As expected, there was much sibling rivalry but that pushed me to do equally as well as he did in school or even better. The value of hard work is a lesson that is useful to everyone. The rest of my time was spent chasing him around the house, unless it was 4 o’clock and the cartoons were on.

Ms. Weekes

Ms. Weekes was my favorite teacher in elementary school. She always told me how smart I was and that I would be very successful in life. Ms. Weekes was always happy to see me and always took the time to fully explain the things that I did not understand. I would always enjoy talking to her after school ended. She always listened to what I had to say. She made me a group leader in the classroom on many occasions and gave me certain responsibilities. When I participated in the spelling bee, it was her would coached me and although I was one of the youngest, her confidence in me boosted my self esteem and made me challenge myself to always do better.

Mr. Hutchinson

Mr. Hutchinson was my junior high school teacher. He was very instrumental in preparing me for high school and beyond. He was a very caring teacher but also a firm believer in punishing. Although I was a class monitor, this did not make me exempt from his punishments but pushed me to always be on my toes academically and otherwise. There was always a useful lesson to be learnt when he punished us. For example, if we made simple mistakes on quizzes, we would be given home work which exceeded the regular workload. To avoid this, I would learn to be careful, pay attention to detail and to always double check my work. Little did I know that later on, these skills would be beneficial to me when I worked in retail. I adopted this habit while at work and was rewarded with many promotions for being meticulous and always ensuring that the quality of my work exceeded expectations. I also develop much confidence and stood out as a leader among my coworkers.

I found this image of a child's artwork and I believe it truly embodies my future professional gal in the field of childhood education. I seek to held eradicate the stereutypes that exist among different races and social groups, and how this negatively impacts a child's learning experience. If each child is given equal opportunities and access to all available resources then he or she can "conquer the world."

A Favorite Childhood Story

There are actually a few different versions to this story, however, in most of the Chicken Little stories, Chicken LIttle gets the other animals captured and eaten by Foxy Loxy because he made them afraid and hysterical. The moral of this story is therefore "have a mind of your own" or "don't believe all you may hear."

http://fairytales4u.com/story/chicken.htm

Please click here to read the story

Me at about 3yrs old