Week 8

I can not believe we are at the end of our first class. This journey has been a wonderful experience. I feel like I have grown as a professional and can not wait to see where this journey has planned for me next. I want to thank everyone who has stopped by my blog and posted comments of support. I really enjoyed reading not only your comment on here but also reading your blogs. Good luck to everyone and hopefully we will see each other on the next journey!

NAEYC's and DEC's Code of Ethics

This assignment was very difficult for me to complete. I say that only because both codes of ethics were wonderfully written and I could relate to almost all of them. I can relate to both codes of ethics to the Early Head Start Program that I work for and also they relate strongly to my passions and beliefs about working with children and families.

NAEYC Code of Ethics

Section I: Ethical Responsibilities to children:

As a home visitor we had to take into consideration the individual child and that each child has different abilities and qualities. This ideal really reinforces that we need to always remember each child is unique and is not like any other child. This is the  reason I picked this ideal is because, it is significant to my job. 

I-1.3 – to recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.

Section II: Ethical Responsibilities to Families:

I chose a couple of the ideals in this section because they are about families. I feel that the families we serve have the right and responsibility to be informed and have the chance to be involved in their child’s education. All the ideals that I chose really reinforced my beliefs.

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

I-2.3 – to welcome all family members and encourage them to participate in the program,

I-2.4 – to listen to families, acknowledge and build upon their strengths and competencies, and learn from families as we support them in their task of nurturing children.

I-2.7 – to share information about each child’s education and development with families and to help them understand and appreciate the current knowledge base of the early childhood profession.

I-2.8 – to help family members enhance their understanding of their children and support the continuing development of their skills as parents.

I-2.9 – to participate in building support networks for families by providing them with opportunities to interact with program staff, other families, community resources, and professional services.

Section IV: Ethical Responsibilities to Community and Society

The last two ideals are about the community and how it is important to provide high-quality programs in the communities.  I feel that the program I work for provides a high-quality program and we are always striving to do more. We are always trying to be involved and collaborate with different agencies in the community to help support the families and to provide better services for the families.

I-4.1 – to provide the community with high-quality early childhood care and education programs and services.

I-4.2 – to promote cooperation among professionals and agencies and interdisciplinary collaboration among professionals concerned with addressing issues in the health, education, and well-being of young children, their families, and their early childhood educators.

DEC – Code of Ethics

I chose four ideals from the DEC code of ethics because I felt that they are the ones that I can really relate to in my profession. We encourage all family members to be involved and participate in home visits in Early Head Start. We are always building on relationships not only with the children but also with the families whom we are serving. We know that making the opportunity for all family members to be involved will better the chances for the child to get the services and support they need.

I. Professional and Interpersonal Behavior:

4. We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the professionals who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that enhance the quality of their lives.

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

III. Responsive Family Centered Practices

3. 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.

IV. Ethical and Evidence Based Practice

2. We shall use every resource, including referral when appropriate, to ensure high quality services are accessible and are provided to children and families.

References

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved October 20, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC). (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved October 20, 2010, from http://www.dec-sped.org/

My Growing Collection of Resources

I have added a list of resources on the right-hand side of the page. Most are from the resources from this week, but I have added four new resources that I use in my job.
I felt that I needed to share these because they are a wonderful source for information and ideas for anyone in the early childhood field. I have also listed them below for easier access to them:

Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center - ECLKC

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc

ECLKC is a wonderful website. It is not only for early childhood professionals but for parents also. I use this website almost everyday. It is where I can find news about Early Head Start and what is going on in the field. Currently I am using it to get ready for the Federal Review that my agency is getting ready for.

Early Childhood Today

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/ect/

One of my home visitors gave me this website. It is has ideas for professionals, articles and news that are relative for the early childhood field. It is a wealth of information.

Stanley Greenspan

http://stanleygreenspan.com/

I included the website for Stanley Greenspan. This site gives you information about him and his research.

The Floortime Center

http://www.dirss.com/

This website is in connection with Stanley Greenspan. His son Jake Greenspan and Tim Bleecker are Co-Directors of this center. They are implementing Stanley Greenspan's DIR model.

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

Stanley Greenspan, the author of "The Challenging Child" (1995) has an insightful analogy to help us understand what people experience when they can not effectively process, or interpret, sensory input. He describes it this way:

"Imagine driving a car that isn't working well. When you step on the gas the car sometimes lurches forward and sometimes doesn't respond. When you blow the horn it sounds blaring. The brakes sometimes slow the car, but not always. The blinkers work occasionally, the steering is erratic, and the speedometer is inaccurate. You are engaged in a constant struggle to keep the car on the road, and it is difficult to concentrate on anything else. Needless to say, you would probably be irritable! That's how some challenging children feel much of the time. Because their bodies may no work the way they're supposed to, they are constantly striving to keep their "car" on the road. They may feel out of control, frustrated." (p. 4)

President Lyndon B. Johnson's Remarks at the University of Michigan May 22, 1964:

“The Great Society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom and restlessness. It is a place where the city of man serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community.”(Johnson, 1964)

After reviewing the multimedia presentation "The Passion for Early Childhood" (Walden,2010). I have chosen a couple of quotes to share.

Raymond Hernandez, MSEd stated:

“My passion comes from – a lot of it is intrinsic motivation that I have for the work that I do. Everyday I go to work and look forward to it because I know the services that I’m providing for children, it’s to their benefit. It’s not anything that’s going to benefit me.” (Walden,2010)

“I think my passion comes from wanting to make a difference. I think, like I’ve said before, and I truly believe, that I’m not here to save the world. I’m here just to make a difference in the community that I’m working.” (Walden, 2010)

Renatta M. Cooper, MA stated:

“…I learned it’s not all about you. You got to take your ego out of it and think about what’s best for this child.” (Walden,2010)

References

Greenspan, S.I., Salmon, J. (1995) The Challenging Child. United States of America: Da Capo Press.

Johnson, L.B. (1964, May 22). [Commencement address]. Speech presented at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Walden University (2010). “The Passion for Early Childhood” (Laureate Education Inc., CD-ROM, 2010 release).