Saturday 14 December 2013

Ideals That are Meaningful to Me

Listed below are three ideals that are contained in NAEYC and DEC Code of Ethics that are meaningful to me.

I-2.2- To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve. I chose this ideal as I feel that family involvement is the key to a child's success in our programs, but before you can build a partnership or have families participate in your programs, you must have mutual trust. Parents must feel that genuine trust before they will open up about their child and their family. We want to build a positive bridge between home and school as the link between educators and parents is the foundation for success. Families are the first and most powerful influence on children's early learning and development, therefore we want to make sure that we are in fact creating partnerships with them. (NAEYC 1-2.4 Code of Ethics)

I-1.3- To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child. I shouldn't assume, but I feel that if you are going to work with children and help educate them to your best ability then it should be a common practice to keep knowledgeable regarding child development, staying informed and continuing with education and training. Why I chose this ideal is that I have seen too many time educators who "paint" children with same paint brush as they don't take into account or respect the unique qualities, abilities and potential of each child. Some tend to group children together as they don't know how to support a child's unique way of thinking or learning. Some educators have a difficult time adapting their teaching styles to a variety of abilities or strengths of a child. It is key to a child's success not only to be respectful but aware of each child's individuality. (NAEYC 1-1.3 Code of Ethics)

RESPONSIVE FAMILY CENTERED PRACTICES

1. We shall demonstrate our respect and appreciation for all families' beliefs, values, customs, languages, and culture relative to their nurturance and support of their children toward achieving meaningful and relevant priorities and outcomes families' desire for themselves and their children. I chose this ideal form the Division of Early Childhood's Code of Ethics as once again I feel so strongly about family involvement, but it is disheartening how each week I have been finding resources that say how educators need more training with how to involve families who are culturally or linguistically diverse. How are we going to demonstrate respect for all families' beliefs, values, customs etc. if we don't know how to effectively embrace this diversity. This is why this ideal is so meaningful to me as we continuously open our programs to diverse families, but in reality don't know how to successfully incorporate everyone's rich differences. This ideal is stating that with diversity comes different beliefs, culture or language which may in fact alter their understanding of our programs therefore, this reinforces that we have to try harder to truly respect ALL families.

It was a pleasure sharing three ideals that I find meaningful which keep me inspired, focused and passionate.