Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources – Week 1

Part 1 - Establishing Professional Contacts
Goal for this course is to establish contact with two early childhood professionals outside the United States, to grow in our understanding of their perspectives on some of the issues and trends explored in this course.

As part of the search, my initial plan was to go into website with links to podcasts of conversations of EC professionals, thinking it might be easier for me to get information. However, I was pretty occupied in moving house. Having disconnected the internet to apply for connection in the new place, I did not have the access or opportunity to internet for the past 4 days. I had only one option in front of me to be able to submit this assignment by the due date – Walden University. Thanks to Walden, I was able to get connected to EC professionals across the globe during my course. I have contacted two professionals, from Germany and Indonesia and am awaiting their reply.

 Part 2 - Expanding Resources 

The field of early childhood education includes an abundant of resources that are rich in information for any early childhood professionals. They include not only the written articles and journals but also nationally and internationally relevant early childhood organizations that support the professional development of early childhood teachers, help them to stay current on early childhood issues, and participate in group efforts to promote improvement in services to young children.

While reviewing some of the websites listed under the resource list, the website of NAEYC National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development http://www.naeyc.org/ interested me. It is not the layout or the design of the webpage alone that is impressive but the amount of information that it showcases that captures ones attention. This website is a storehouse of information for Early Childhood Education. NAEYC is dedicated to improving the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age 8. The Association administers a voluntary, national accreditation system for high-quality early childhood programs, sponsors a variety of initiatives to improve professional preparation of early childhood educators, and produces a wide array of early childhood resources, which includes books, videos, journals and other publications, links to recorded sessions of annual conferences, which can assist in the teaching of young children.

NAEYC offers a national, voluntary accreditation system that helps early childhood programs meet high professional standards and helps families identify high-quality programs. The Right Choice for Kids (http://www.rightchoiceforkids.org/) is one such program that was created by NAEYC to inform families about the importance of high-quality early childhood education programs for young children. The Right Choice for Kids regularly updated Resources offers families and teachers tips, links, and general information about young children and early childhood education. For example they have an article on Understanding and Responding to Children Who Bite. This article will help one to understand the reasons young children bite and give ideas and strategies for responding appropriately. This was interesting to me as I face this situation in my class and wanted to know how to deal with it effectively. (http://www.rightchoiceforkids.org/families/biting).

Developmentally appropriate practice is the foundation for all of NAEYC's work—publications and conferences, professional development/training, policy/advocacy, and accreditation of both college-level preparation and child care programs. The principles and guidelines outline practice that promotes young children's optimal learning and development to which I also agree with and hence this site was meaningful to me.

My Supports

To be upheld and supported is the greatest assurance one can have. We cannot walk this world alone. We need the support in the form of help, encouragement and guidance from our family, our friends, our faith, our colleagues, our neighbors, our society. Looking into my life, I know I need and receive supports of various kinds, be it in the form of physical support, or emotional support or practical support, on a daily basis. All the supports I receive are so very vital to me. I could not manage a day with these supports. My husband who supports me by his understanding when I sit to do my assignments, with his physical support like when he drives me to my place of work , with his emotional support by standing by me when I am feeling down, My mother who is not only a great physical and emotional support in taking care of my 13 year old mentally challenged son but also a source of encouragement and inspiration to me with her words of wisdom and expression of confidence in me, My principal by mentoring to me and my colleagues who have been very understanding and patient with me giving me their time when I needed to interview them as part of my assignment, My church members who not only helped lay the foundation on which I stand but still supports me with their prayer especially in relation to my son. Above all, my God who has promised to never forsake me nor leave me but support me by being my refuge and strength, assisting me, directing me and managing the outcomes so faithfully in my journey are just a few examples of the personal supports I receive. Were I to name each and every support I receive from them it would outnumber the pages and I would not be able to recall each of them as we surround ourselves with the supports that can only come in numbers. Besides these supports there are the supports I receive from inanimate objects like technology, a grocery list or to do list. I am a very list oriented person like most women. I cannot schedule a day without a ‘to do list’. Without these supports I would feel lost, the road ahead would seem foggy, twisted and scary.  

One possible challenge I can imagine in my future is trying to advocate for the cause of young children, implementing a child centered curriculum and supporting the child’s home language. I would not be able to do this by myself. I would need the support of my principal and colleagues. I would definitely require the support of the parents. From my previous experience, I know how some non English parents feel about teaching their children their home language. They send their children to school hoping their children would immediately start speaking fluent English to be able to stay in par with the society. As a staff myself, I think we would need the administration’s support by facilitating teacher’s growth through carefully planned professional development, and by advocating for the possibilities and benefits of multilingualism. Research suggests that bilingual children may develop more flexibility in their thinking, can promote literacy and knowledge, and increase their self esteem. Without the understanding and the cooperation from the people involved these adaptations would not be possible and education would not be meaningful and accessible to all children.