Post three ideals contained in the NAEYC and DEC codes of ethics that are meaningful to you, and explain their significance to your professional life
NAEYC Ideals:
1.) To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.
This ideal speaks to me because I have to follow it on a daily basis in my professional career. I work at an NAEYC accredited facility so I have to follow both the NAEYC regulations and the Air Force Regulations. I find it extremely important that the staff that I work with and for (including myself) obtain the appropriate and relative knowledge regarding the early childhood field. I am always looking for ways to increase my knowledge and training and I think it makes a huge difference in my professional and personal life.
2.) To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the
needs of children with and without disabilities.
This ideal is crucial in my facility and I feel that it should be everywhere. While I don’t get many children with severe disabilities in my program, we have several children with Autism and Asperger’s. Not only are these children in the same safe environments as the other children, but they are treated with respect and equality.
3.) 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.
Have safe environments is very important. It is also important that all aspects are covered. In my program, we have several different environments that meet the needs of the children. We have an art room, a computer lab, a science lab, a game room, a gymnasium, a kitchen, and I lobby and snack area.
DEC Code of Ethics:
1.) We shall demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, and honesty in all
our professional activities in order to inspire the trust and confidence of the children and families
and of those with whom we work.
This ideal speaks for itself. Integrity is a life skill that I am continuously preaching to myself and my staff. The families and children that we work with appreciate this and in turn display it as well.
2.) 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.
Being actively involved in policy making is a new and important part of my job. I am learning a lot and I am finding great pride in knowing that I am helping make a difference.
3.) We shall build relationships with individual children and families while individualizing the curricula and learning environments to facilitate young children’s development and learning.
Family interaction and relationships are very important to me. I put in a great deal of effort on a day to day basis insuring that I am paying the outmost attention to the children and their families that I come across. It is comforting knowing that the parents are aware of what kind of program we run and that their children are in a safe place where they are learning life skills and building relationships that will impact them for an entire lifetime.
Amanda-
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading the ideals that you posted! I agreed with them all! This was a difficult assignment because when I read the codes of ethics, I wanted to post all of them. :) They are all important, and it's reassuring to see that the code covers all areas in our field.
I especially liked the first ideal that you posted under the DEC Code of Ethics. I completely agree with you that integrity is very important, and I especially liked how you worded it, "it is a life skill." Integrity is like leadership; it is something that we work towards throughout our personal and professional lives.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on these ideals! :)
I agree that our job is to creat "safe environments" as you said, and sometimes integrating children with disabilities and typical peers often can become unsafe. Unfortunately, many children with Autism and Aspergers have a very hard time integrating, and sometimes in order to maintain a safe environment, you need to remove them from other children when they are having a tantrum. Autistic tantrums can become very dangerous, however, after the child has calmed down it is important to teach them how to return to the group. Part of the challenge is finding a reward system. One thing that really helped my son during PE, they set a timer for 5 minutes, and after 5 minutes he can use his words to "ask for a break."
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you would be very sensitive to a child with special needs, and I think it is very important to have people like you who are aware of the challenges of integration, but also strive to create a safe inclusive environment.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteYou are so fortunate to have all those useable spaces in your program! Though I love where I teach, I could use some of the spaces you describe!
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your comment on my blog post Great Minds think alike!
I do find it interesting that even though we are in different locations despite the AFI's and Military guidelines our thoughts personally in the field of early childhood are similar. For example when you stated Under NAEYC-“To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the needs of children with and without disabilities.
“I feel that it should be everywhere… treated with respect and equality.” I agree and in respects should be part of a foundational concept for professionals that maybe thinking about building their own private or public child care facility.”
Good post
Jay