Examining Codes of Ethics

The three ideals that are meaningful to me from NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct are:
P-3C.3 - We shall develop and maintain comprehensive written personnel policies that define program standards.  These policies shall be given to new staff members and shall be available and easily accessible for review by all staff members. 

This is meaningful to me because although we do have policies and procedures, and they are written, they are not easily accessible.  This is something I want to change in our program.  With a past employer, I always knew where to look and I could easily find what I was looking for, I struggle with that and so do many other employees. 

P-1.1 - Above all, we shall not harm children.  We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children.

This is the most important thing to remember when working with our little ones.  In my former role of support teacher, I saw too many times when I saw how staff talked to children.  I made sure I also followed another standard of conduct and talked to the staff member and their supervisor about what I witnessed.  We should always treat the children in our care with respect and dignity. 

I-2.3 - To welcome all family members and encourage them to participate in the program.

I want parents and family members to feel welcome to stay and participate with their child whenever they have a free moment.  This year I am fortunate to have a couple of parents that are staying to play with their child.  That is how I got started down this path and I would love to see others do the same. 

From DEC's Code of Ethics the ideals that are most meaningful to me are:

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. 

I think this is an important part of all aspects of our lives and I do strive do be truthful and honest and to form relationships of trust and respect with the families I work with and with my co-workers.  I want to be able to be open and honest with my co-workers so that we can be on the same page and be a great team!

2.  We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.

I remember being new to the early childhood profession and needing guidance and having a lot of questions.  As I further my career, I want to reach out to the new professionals and share my knowledge and guide them and answer their questions.

3.  We shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers of services for their children.

We want our families to be able to be an advocate for their children.  We have to provide them with the right information so that they know their rights and how to be a voice for their own children.  Our program provides supports for families as they attend IEP's and let's them know what kinds of questions to ask and how to make sure their child is receiving the services they need.  We also give them information about other resources in the community as well.

Growing My Collection of Resources

Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary.  from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al.  (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42–53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title. 

Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
   
• Websites:
  • World Forum Foundation http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage 
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education http://www.omep-usnc.org/
    Read about OMEP’s mission. 
  • Association for Childhood Education Internationalhttp://acei.org/about/ Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Childrenhttp://www.naeyc.org/
• The Division for Early Childhoodhttp://www.dec-sped.org/
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Familieshttp://www.zerotothree.org/
• WESTEDhttp://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
• Harvard Education Letterhttp://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
• FPG Child Development Institutehttp://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conferencehttp://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
• HighScope http://www.highscope.org/
• Children’s Defense Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org/
• Center for Child Care Workforce http://www.ccw.org/
• Council for Exceptional Children http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
• Institute for Women’s Policy Research http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
• National Child Care Association http://www.nccanet.org/
• National Institute for Early Education Research http://nieer.org/
• Pre[K]Now http://www.preknow.org/
• Voices for America’s Children http://www.voices.org/
• The Erikson Institute http://www.erikson.edu/
     

Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education

Additional Resources:

• Hall, N.S. (1999).  Creative resources for the anti-bias classroom.  Albany, NY:  Delmar Publishers. 
• A wonderful website full of ideas and printables – www.makinglearningfun.com
• Shelley Lovett’s website www.childcareland.com
• http://preschoolteachingaidsbycarolyn.com/

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

' If formal instruction is introduced too early, too intensely and too abstractly, the children may indeed learn the instructed knowledge and skills, but they may do so at the expense of the disposition to use them'

Lilian Katz

Experts generally agree that taking all opportunities to read books and other material aloud to children is the best preparation for their learning to read. The pleasures of being read to are far more likely to strengthen a child's desire to learn to read than are repetitions of sounds, alphabet drills, and deciphering uninteresting words.

Lilian Katz

Of course children benefit from positive feedback. But praise and rewards are not the only methods of reinforcement. More emphasis should be place on appreciation—reinforcement related explicitly and directly to the content of the child's interest and efforts.

Lilian Katz

Access to many different playmates promotes young children to develop an interest in their peers and affords them many opportunities to develop play skills that are more advanced, more complex, and more coordinated with those of their peers.
Virginia Buysse

Louise Derman-Sparks talks about her passion being just as great today "because children are still trying to figure out all their different identities..."

Louise Derman-Sparks

"It's not all about you, you've got to take your ego out of it and think about what's best for this child"

Renatta M. Cooper

My Personal Childhood Web

There are many people who influenced my early childhood.  The most important person in my early years was and still is my mom, Diana.  She was only 16 when she had me, but she did her best along with my dad to instill strong values and to teach me right from wrong.  We have always been very close and I have always been able to talk to her about anything and everything.  She has supported all of my decisions and I know that she is proud of who I have become. 

My dad is another big influence in my life.  As a young child he was the one who played outside with me and pointed out all that nature provides.  He worked hard so that my mom could stay home with me and to provide us with all of our necessities.  He also made sure that we took vacations every summer.  Because I am an only child, my parents made sure I had other children to play with and allowed me to have friends over.

My grandparents also played a role in my early years.  We visited them often when I was growing up and I would spend time with my grandma when they would let me spend the night.  I remember telling my parents that we slept in the "closet".  It was actually a third bedroom that my grandma used for storage with a pullout couch that we slept on.  But in my way of thinking it was a closet!  My grandma was always nice and never yelled at us kids.  We knew the rules at grandma's house and followed them because we wanted to please her.  Grandpa liked to tickle us, but it usually hurt because he would grab too hard.  But I loved him anyway and when we would visit, I would put the teddy bear in his bed to keep him company if I was staying the night and would take grandma away.  He remembered that many years later and I now have that bear. 

Some other people that influenced my early childhood were my great grandparents and my great aunt Ruby.  Aunt Ruby taught me how to tie my shoes when I was little and also taught me how to play several card games.  My great grandparents listened to my stories and made me feel special when I was around.  My great grandpa always saved pennies in an aerosal can lid and when I would visit with my grandma he would give them to me.  We also had a neighbor that I would visit when I was little.  He lived across the street from us and I would carry my stuffed animals and dolls over there and sit on his porch and play.  He always listened and never asked me to leave.  He would often have to help me carry my things home, but he always had a smile on his face.  Looking back, I'm not sure if I enjoyed his company more or if he enjoyed mine! 

I grew up in a small community and all my aunts and uncles lived close and were an influence on my development and so were many of my teachers through the years.  I also was involved in girl scouts when I was young and participated in a youth group at church.  I was and still am a very lucky person to have so many people be a part of my life!  I guess I wouldn't be who I am today without each one of the people that have been in my life.

A children's book I love and what I love about it!

Again, this was very difficult to narrow down to just one!  I have many favorites, but I think my most favorite is Green Egggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.  I love this book because it is fun to read and it keeps the children's attention when I read it.  I think that because I love this book, the kids are more interested because I read it with so much enthusiasm.  I also like how the story talks about trying new things and that in the end he decides that he does like green eggs and ham and is glad that Sam got him to try them.  There are also many other Dr. Seuss books that are fun to read and also have a good message, like, What Was I Scared Of. 
          

a meaningful quote about early childhood

I was supposed to pick just one quote, but I just couldn't do it...so I choose 3 that I felt had a lot of meaning to me.
1.  "If a child does not learn the way we teach her, let us teach her the way she learns" (sorry, don't know who said this). 
2.  "People don't stop playing because they grow old; they grow old because they stop playing." I believe it is so important to take time to play each day and a lot of us in the early childhood field get paid to play!
3.  "Use what talents you possess.  The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang the best" ~ Henry Van Dyke  The children don't care if we can sing perfectly or how we dance, they just want us to sing and dance!