Thanks to All

I have really enjoyed the blogs and feedback of my colleagues.  I appreciate the wisdom and experience you bring to early childhood education.  Our children and families need and deserve dedicated professionals like yourselves.  Thank you and good luck in your future studies.

Ethics Review

DEC Code of Ethics

(Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children)

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

As early childhood educators, we must always remember our job is to teach to each child’s ability and style of learning.  IDEA mandates we do this for children with diagnosed disabilities; however, it can be difficult to achieve this for all our students.  We must find methods that allow for us to know and effectively plan for all our children.  All of my beloved school teachers that I still remember after all these years shared this gift of individualization.  I want to honor their efforts by developing my ability to recognize that all children can learn.  It is up to me to find the key to help them succeed.

We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.

I did not get to where I am at today without the kindness and patience of more experienced staff.  I have had the opportunity to be mentored by some of the best supervisors and co-workers in the field of early childhood education.  They always made time for my questions and mistakes.  I did not gain my expertise in a vacuum.  I was the beneficiary of many selfless acts by other professionals.

We shall respect, value, promote, and encourage the active participation of ALL families by engaging families in meaningful ways in the assessment and intervention processes.

I must always be mindful that I am only an equal partner with my parents.  I am not the authority in the decisions in their child’s development.  I serve to provide information and help to facilitate their choices.  In matters of assessment, evaluation and treatment, I am there to help them navigate systems and feel confident with the decisions they have made for their child’s future.  One of my best supervisors used the analogy of wealthy customers at Neiman Marcus.  Head Start parents are the customers and Head Start employees are the sales assistants.   We are here to offer choices and provide exemplary customer service and at the end of the day, our customers determine what “services” they will invest in.

References

The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved December 14, 2011,

      from http://www.dec-sped.org/

Fatherhood: The Forgotton Ingredient in Early Childhood

It is important to remember just how important a strong male role model is in the lives of our young children.  We automatically think how much our boys need that fatherhood presence but we must also understand the positive impact of father figures in our little girls' lives.

www.fatherhood.org

Equal Time for Opposing Viewpoints

This article from Time magazine caused quite a firestorm of opinions in and around Head Start.

www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2081778,00.html

All the News That's Fit to Print....

I found this resouce concerning the effectiveness of the Head Start Program in a recent New York Times article.  Let me know if you agree.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/opinion/occupy-the-classroom.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&smid=fb-share&src=tp&adxnnlx=1319122842-0ovyzWva+O61AlPklyeRuw

Course Resource Section/EDUC 6005/Walden University Project

Part 1: 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://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/74759/CRS-CW-6060771/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://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. 

Part 2: 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.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week’s Application assignment.

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/
  
• 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/
     

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library
Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,” and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.)

• 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