MY OWN CAPACITY

For this week’s blog assignment we were asked to respond to three of the assigned questions.  I chose the following:

Which issues impacting young children and their families and/or the field of early childhood fuel your passion? 

Two of the issues that fuel my passion is diversity in the classroom as well as access to affordable, high-quality programs.  As a licensed child care educator since June, 1990, I have seen many changes in both the licensing standards/regulations as well as what is expected of the child care field professionally.  I have also learned how important it is to view situations from a variety of viewpoints as well as being a neutral third-party when it is needed.  It is very important to keep our minds open in order to learn a greater variety of tools which can be used personally, professionally, and in a local context. 
 

Further understanding of tools such as awareness viewpoints are beneficial in many situations, including but not limited to, situations working with families, when conducting research, and when advocating.  Becoming aware of factors such as the importance of respecting that each student and their family have a culture that is to be valued and affirmed; allowing students and families to fully participate in the educational process – keep communication open in both directions; reflection periodically on our own definition of diversity and educating ourselves in any areas in which we, as educators, need more information in, are also very important (Salend, 2008).

 

What resources do you have at your disposal that can benefit your advocacy work?

I am very fortunate to have access to many resources.  I am very fortunate to have worked in the field of early childhood education since June, 1990 so I have made some great acquaintances through the years.  I have also worked with foreign exchange students from all over the world.  Many of these students still keep in touch with me so if I have a cultural question all I have to do is email them.  I am also a member of the South County Community Partnership in my area.  I also am privileged to have worked with a large amount of individuals when I was a regional manager for six states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire) while working with the exchange students.  These individuals range from educators, community advocates, newspaper employees, those who hold political offices, etc.). 

In what ways do you hope to grow in order to be a more effective advocate?

One of the most important focuses in the early childhood field, is the need of a system designed to assess, improve and communicate the level of quality of early and school-age care programs (Neugebauer, 2009, p. 66), as well as finding quality and affordable child care.  Individuals have diverse abilities and these abilities account for a substantial portion of the variation across individuals in socioeconomic success.  These gaps across children from different socioeconomic groups emerge before their formal education begins (Heckman, 2008, p. 307).  As an early childhood educator, it is imperative that I understand this and more in order to be an effective advocate/educator.

References

Heckman, J. J. (2008). Role of income and family influence on child outcomes. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, pp. 307-323. doi:10.1196/annals.1425.031

Neugebauer, R. (2009). Quality rating and improvement systems. Exchange (01648527), (188), 66-68.

 

Salend, S. J. (2008). Creating inclusive classrooms: effective and reflective practices. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.