This week I had the opportunity to
explore code of ethics statements which offered insight as to goals I should strive
for as a professional within the early childhood field. It was difficult at
first to narrow my selections down to the three which are the most meaningful,
but after much reflection I was able to narrow them down.
The first insight I found meaningful
focused on the importance of play during early childhood. It stated, “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” (NAEYC, 2005, p.2). We
have learned throughout this course the importance play can have on the emotional,
social and cognitive domains for children. Play is truly a child’s work and we
must learn to become inclusive of play within our classrooms, which is why I chose
this insight.
The second ideal I have chosen stated, “We
shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the
unique value and human potential of each child” (The Division of Early
Childhood, 2000). I believe in order to gain a child and their family’s trust,
we must first display genuine levels of respect and appreciation for each individual
child. By fostering a respectful relationship, children learn to trust their educator,
allowing for them to open their hearts to learning. Parents will also feel more
welcomed to participate in their child’s academic career and open up to letting
us in on the lives of their child so we can best meet the needs of our young
students.
The final ideal I have chosen states, we
shall “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 incorporates my professional goals for becoming
a stronger advocate for young children, learning more strategies to help children
as I continue on with my education, and to learn more about diversity in order
to help all children within our society have access to quality early learning
programming. I feel it is important as an educator to stay current on research
affecting our profession, as well as using that research to apply to our own
teaching and education of not only students, but also our society in helping children
reach their full developmental potentials.
While it was difficult to finally narrow
my selection down to just three, reflecting upon the importance of play,
respect, education, advocacy and quality programming seemed to fit best into my
goals I have for the early childhood field. I look forward to continuing my research
into each code of ethics in order to help make a difference in the lives of
young children.
Reference
NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of
ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved
October 14, 2013, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf.
The Division for Early Childhood.
(2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved October
13, 2013,
from
http://www.dec-sped.org/.
Becca,
ReplyDeleteYou're correct it was difficult narrowing down the code of ethics because we live by so many of them in our practice. I enjoyed the three you chose because play is sometimes overlooked in our definition of early childhood education, but play is learning for children. I think getting that concept to be respected is going to take some time as many thing use the term negatively and don't understand the actual implications it has on children's learning. I'm sure you would agree that it's frustrating when people say "all kids do is play in childcare" but don't realize that play IS how children learn.
Becca,
ReplyDeleteI trully enjoyed reading all your discussions and blogs. I really would like to continue to network with you and share our early childhood experiences. You are trully an Educator!!!
Hi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteThese 8 weeks have gone by fast! It was really nice connecting with you through this course. Right away you stood out to me being that you live in Minnesota, as do I. I've learned a lot from reading your posts, especially as I read about some local resources for me to research. I know you're probably very busy, as you teach at a Charter school, yet you still make time to create very thorough posts. It sounds like this may be one of your last courses in your program but I would love if we had some more together. I know your specialty is Teaching Adults and mine is Administration, Management and Leadership. If we don't connect through future courses, I wish you luck! Thanks for all you have done to help me and your other colleagues grow along the way!