Robin's Early Childhood Studies Blog: June 2011

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Examining Codes of Ethics

NAEYC Position Statement

Ideals contained in the NAEYC Position Statement that are meaningful to me in my professional life consist of the following:

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

This ideal is very important as each child and family are unique individuals and these unique qualities and abilities need to be respected. Without this respect it would be impossible for each child in my daycare to be offered the tools necessary to reach their full potential regardless of their abilities/special needs.

I-1.5 – To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.

This ideal is very important as it changes (with the exception of the safe, healthy environment, respect dignity, and their contributions) as the children and their needs change. At any time the emotional, cognitive, and physical needs of the children in my care can change. Thus it is up to me as the owner/daycare provider to make sure changes are made to the environment and/or curriculum when the need arises.

I-1.9 – To advocate for and ensure that all children, including those with special needs, have access to the support services needed to be successful.

This ideal is very important, as I have learned during the past twenty-one years, because there are times when the families are afraid to speak up and rock the boat with the various systems in place that are supposed to help their children. Many of the systems and their employees are overbooked, overworked, and underpaid. I consider it my job to keep my eyes open, learn all I can about the various systems, and help when I am needed. There are times when it takes a lot of research before I will add my voice, but once I know I am right there is no stopping me for the most part.

DEC Code of Ethics

I.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.

This section of the DEC Code of Ethics is very important to me to keep in mind as I will be learning the public policy aspect of advocacy during this part of my educational journey. I have no problem speaking up for the children and their families, but I also need to learn the public policy aspect of advocacy. Without all the pieces to the puzzle, I may inadvertently do an injustice to a child or family I am advocating for. Lack of knowledge is not an acceptable reason in my mind.

References

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved June 14, 2011, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved June 14, 2011, from http://www.dec-sped.org/

PERSONAL CHILDHOOD WEB

When constructing my personal childhood web I needed to remember those who contributed to a feeling of being loved, left me feeling special in some way, and cared about. This was a difficult task as my memories of my childhood, especially from the years of ten and up, were more of surviving this time instead of enjoyment.

Those individuals who did leave a positive impression in some way during the course of my early childhood and middle childhood are: my maternal step-grandfather; my mother; my father; my sister; and my mother's long-term boyfriend and father figure in later years.

My maternal step-grandfather, Monty Crytzer, was the one person in my childhood that I could always count on the keep me laughing and see the fun part of childhood. Even though we are not biologically related, I attribute my sense of humor and how I look at life to him. When times get tough, I always remember how he taught me the importance of being a kid at heart. One specific memory is of him pushing my sister and me around K-Mart in a shopping cart telling us to yell for our mom and grandmother. We had fun, they were totally embarrassed. I have many wonderful memories of my time spent with him.

My mother, Sarah, had her ups and downs as a parent. Most of my memories are not of fun times but to give her credit she did the best she could under the circumstances she found herself in during my later early childhood and middle childhood years. She took care of the basics in order for us to be healthy. She made sure we ate, had clothes, got up for school, etc... It was in the department of showing love that she had a tough time in. I always assumed she loved us but just did not know how to show it.

My father, Eddie, was a great father when we were little whenever he was around (which was not often because of work). He was very interested in technology and I credit him with my interest in all types of gizmos, gadgets, and computers of any type. The times I remember the most fondly were spent in his workroom as a young child being instructed on how to use his Ham Radio setup. Unfortunately, he slowly disappeared out of my life when I was around ten or so.

My sister, Wendy, is older than I am but we always shared a room. We were close later in early childhood and in early middle childhood due to the environment we lived in. Specific memories are painful to remember, but it was and is important that she was there when times were tough. We went through a rough time in later childhood but are now as close as ever.

My mom's long-term boyfriend, Ralph, was and still is a father figure for me. Since the age of fifteen, he has been the person who pretty much took on that role in my life. We never lived in the same house but do live only two houses apart. Aside from taking on some of the roles as father figure, he is a great listener as well as full of information that he loves to share.

There were others who had an impact as I progressed into adulthood but these are the five that came to mind for my early childhood and middle childhood. I do believe we are a product of our environment in so many ways and even though three of the five mentioned are no longer alive, the impact they had on my life is still present today.

Robin's Early Childhood Studies Blog

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Examining Codes of Ethics

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