Division for Early Childhood (DEC)
III. Responsive Family Centered Practices
Enhancement of Children’s and
Families’ Quality of Lives
4. We shall advocate for equal
access to high quality services and supports for all children and families to
enhance their quality of lives.
It is quite scary how some students
never receive the services they need for a broad range of reasons. As
educators, we need to make sure that we are advocating for all of our children
since their families may not be able to do so. So many supports and services
are available but they have to be pushed for as they never seem to be easy to
get.
National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC)
I. Ethical Responsibilities to
Children
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.
It is so important that children
not only feel welcome in a classroom but that they feel safe. In some cases,
school may be the only place that a child feels safe and receives affection. As
educators, we are trying to help children develop in all areas, not just in
academics and we need to make sure that we are paying attention to doing so in
a safe and healthy way.
III. Ethical Responsibilities to
Colleagues
I-3A.2. To share resources with
co-workers, collaborating to ensure that the best possible early childhood care
and education program is provided.
Being a team-player is the best
thing for working with colleagues. Working together to find strategies and
resources for children will benefit them immensely. Our co-workers are
resources and they have their own strengths that can be used when collaborating
to make sure that our children are receiving the best care possible.
Hi Robin,
ReplyDeleteIt is sad but true that many children are not in safe and healthy environments when they are away from school. In most cases it is because the parents are unable to provide this for them not because they are being purposely neglected. I was talking to a colleague the other day about a little girl who had attended our preschool (back when I was a teacher) who would sleep until all hours if we didn’t physically wake her up. I used to make sure that children woke up naturally from the sounds in the classroom. This colleague of mine left that school to work in a homeless shelter for battered women and come to find out the child was living there with her mother and younger sibling. My colleague described the noise and chaos that were ongoing at the shelter at all hours of the night. The girl was getting no sleep at home and it put the whole thing into a different perspective.
Teachers like you who want to make sure children are cared for and educated in safe, healthy, loving environments will make all the difference in the lives of many children.
Wendy
Thank you for sharing that experience Wendy. So many children face hardships that we never even know about and the fact that you allowed this young child to get some much needed rest in your classroom shows that you understood her actual needs and not just academics! Thank you!
DeleteHi Robin,
ReplyDeleteFamilies need to understand that their children need to be developed in all areas, not only academics and our job is to prepare the safety and healthy environments for those children.
Robin,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your support throughout this course. Your prompt responses are much appreciated since I'm trying to find the balance between parenthood, work, and now school. Your insight is much appreciated week after week. Thank you!