Amanda and I had a lengthy Facebook chat about our career goals earlier this week.
She and I had the same goal common in the beginning of our careers- to teach primary (elementary) school. We both ended up in early childhood- she as a nursery assistant working with infants and me as a resource and coach to early childhood professionals. She confided in me that she no longer wants to pursue a classroom position, but that she instead would like to stay in the early years profession.
Amanda shared with me the fact that she would like to go to university to earn her foundation degree (2-year degree) in Children's Services or Early Years, but that she just doesn't have the time. She has her own three-year-old son and works as many hours as possible to support him. She does believe that it will happen someday, just not now while he's young. Meanwhile, she enjoys regular trainings with the other staff members at the center and learns a lot from her partner teacher while on the job. Her favorite topic is brain research and she is very interested in pursuing special needs training.
I know just how Amanda feels! I, too, found my career in early childhood and am pursuing my professional goals as time allows, depending on the stages and needs of my own family. It is wonderful to have made a connection with someone so far away who shares the same passion, dreams, and challenges as I do. It is also great to discuss things with someone working in the field and in a setting very different from my community.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Exploring NAEYC.org Further
Wow- trying to find a link anywhere on the NAEYC website that leads to an external source is really difficult! NAEYC is a leader and authority in early childhood development and education. NAEYC's own research and publication library must be sufficient to support all topics and areas of resource offered on the website, it all circles around NAEYC materials and sources.
I took the opportunity this week to explore the "For Families" section of the NAEYC website. What a excellent resource for parents and professionals! The sections include Families Today, Topics, Find Child Care/ Preschool, Blog, and Music. There is an e-newsletter available for parents. The home page has a tab in margin where parents can access info about quality programs. The content is colorful, easy to navigate, and extremely parent-friendly. Aside from directing parents to the web page, the information here would be perfect for including in parent newsletters, Facebook pages, blogs, etc. as professionals communicate and share info with parents.
The NAEYC website includes an article titled, "A Call for Excellence in Early Childhood Education." The article outlines the importance of high quality experiences in early care and education. It goes on to detail why all children deserve a high quality of care, the issue of making all programs accessible to all families, and the importance of professional development and appropriate compensation for teachers and caregivers. The article makes a call to all states to develop systems that support the work of providing high quality care and education to all children.
I find no end to the wealth of information contained with the NAEYC website. This week I gained further understanding within the topic of professional development as I read about the ways NAEYC supports development of the early care and education workforce.
I took the opportunity this week to explore the "For Families" section of the NAEYC website. What a excellent resource for parents and professionals! The sections include Families Today, Topics, Find Child Care/ Preschool, Blog, and Music. There is an e-newsletter available for parents. The home page has a tab in margin where parents can access info about quality programs. The content is colorful, easy to navigate, and extremely parent-friendly. Aside from directing parents to the web page, the information here would be perfect for including in parent newsletters, Facebook pages, blogs, etc. as professionals communicate and share info with parents.
The NAEYC website includes an article titled, "A Call for Excellence in Early Childhood Education." The article outlines the importance of high quality experiences in early care and education. It goes on to detail why all children deserve a high quality of care, the issue of making all programs accessible to all families, and the importance of professional development and appropriate compensation for teachers and caregivers. The article makes a call to all states to develop systems that support the work of providing high quality care and education to all children.
I find no end to the wealth of information contained with the NAEYC website. This week I gained further understanding within the topic of professional development as I read about the ways NAEYC supports development of the early care and education workforce.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Extremes in Perspective Regarding British Early Years Standards
My conversations with professionals and parents in the UK have been polar experiences of late.
Amanda, a nursery assistant who works with infants and young toddlers, discussed with me the focus on continued education for early years care providers. Amanda explained that workforce development, or continual professional development, as she also referred to it, is a focus in the UK's quality improvement efforts.
Amanda is required to attend regular trainings along with the other staff at the nursery. She keeps a learning journal. Her professional interests have included infant/toddler curriculum and how it supports the learning and development requirements included in the Early Years Foundation Stage standards. The EYFS focuses on skill acquisition and school readiness. It sounds as if the nursery Amanda works in is very focused on the education and academic skills of both the children and the staff, which has both positive/negative and intended/unintended consequences.
I also had a recent conversation with a British mother and home educator. She stated that she and probably many of her fellow home-ed'ers think the standardized early years field is corporate and misguided. She went on to state that she and her group tend to think there shouldn't even be a early childhood profession; parents should not "farm" their babies out to childminders before they are even done nursing but should instead keep them home and educate them themselves from the start. While I don't believe this opinion represents any form of majority, her perspective was interesting, especially when taken in contrast to the other conversations and readings I've been exposed to lately.
Amanda, a nursery assistant who works with infants and young toddlers, discussed with me the focus on continued education for early years care providers. Amanda explained that workforce development, or continual professional development, as she also referred to it, is a focus in the UK's quality improvement efforts.
Amanda is required to attend regular trainings along with the other staff at the nursery. She keeps a learning journal. Her professional interests have included infant/toddler curriculum and how it supports the learning and development requirements included in the Early Years Foundation Stage standards. The EYFS focuses on skill acquisition and school readiness. It sounds as if the nursery Amanda works in is very focused on the education and academic skills of both the children and the staff, which has both positive/negative and intended/unintended consequences.
I also had a recent conversation with a British mother and home educator. She stated that she and probably many of her fellow home-ed'ers think the standardized early years field is corporate and misguided. She went on to state that she and her group tend to think there shouldn't even be a early childhood profession; parents should not "farm" their babies out to childminders before they are even done nursing but should instead keep them home and educate them themselves from the start. While I don't believe this opinion represents any form of majority, her perspective was interesting, especially when taken in contrast to the other conversations and readings I've been exposed to lately.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
NAEYC.org as a Professional Resource
www.naeyc.org
In my reading of the NAEYC website, I have identified the Position Statements tab as a section particularly relevant to my current professional development.
Reading through position statements summaries is an excellent way to build a frame of reference around current trends and issues.
I read a position statement this week on a topic I still consider to be controversial: Technology and Young Children. While I understand and agree with the overall concept that, when used appropriately, technology can be an enriching tool for enhancing learning and discovery, I am still not convinced that technology is necessary as a early learning tool. I am not an fan of iPads in Kindergarten. However, I continue to read about this topic and am still forming my position.
http://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-and-young-children
Regarding information that adds to my understanding of how economists support the early childhood field, I found an excerpt from a Q&A session with William Gilliam on the book The Pre-K Debates: Current Controversies and Debates. The excerpt provides an early childhood professional with excellent information to be used in speaking with members of the community, and outlines three economic reasons that early childhood education is important, along with three non-economic reasons. I like this balanced position. http://www.naeyc.org/content/event/pre-k-debates/highlights
The most interesting resource area I've found on the NAEYC website is State Trends area. I have enjoyed reading about what other states are doing in the areas of professional development systems, TQRIS, etc. as compared to my state.
http://www.naeyc.org/policy/statetrends#qris
In my reading of the NAEYC website, I have identified the Position Statements tab as a section particularly relevant to my current professional development.
Reading through position statements summaries is an excellent way to build a frame of reference around current trends and issues.
I read a position statement this week on a topic I still consider to be controversial: Technology and Young Children. While I understand and agree with the overall concept that, when used appropriately, technology can be an enriching tool for enhancing learning and discovery, I am still not convinced that technology is necessary as a early learning tool. I am not an fan of iPads in Kindergarten. However, I continue to read about this topic and am still forming my position.
http://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-and-young-children
Regarding information that adds to my understanding of how economists support the early childhood field, I found an excerpt from a Q&A session with William Gilliam on the book The Pre-K Debates: Current Controversies and Debates. The excerpt provides an early childhood professional with excellent information to be used in speaking with members of the community, and outlines three economic reasons that early childhood education is important, along with three non-economic reasons. I like this balanced position. http://www.naeyc.org/content/event/pre-k-debates/highlights
The most interesting resource area I've found on the NAEYC website is State Trends area. I have enjoyed reading about what other states are doing in the areas of professional development systems, TQRIS, etc. as compared to my state.
http://www.naeyc.org/policy/statetrends#qris
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