Tuesday, December 17, 2013

A Note of Thanks and Support



To all my fellow classmates, this course has been very influential and, honestly, I have enjoyed it. I want to thank you all for the support. I hope I was supportive and I wish I could have done more. Please keep in contact with me by my Walden email nakita.tellis@waldenu.edu or my regular email nkita7@live.com. I know that we will all meet again, so please stay in touch. If you can please put your information on this week’s blog. I hope that we can continue to support one another throughout the program.  Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and many more!!!

This is our last week but I know not our last contact :)

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

IDEALS FROM NAEYC AND DEC CODE OF ETHICS



NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct offers “guidelines for responsible behavior and sets forth a common basis for resolving the principal ethical dilemmas encountered in early childhood care and education” (NAEYC, 2005, 1). I saw two that stuck out to me:

1. “To work through education, research and advocacy toward an environmentally safe world in which all children receive health care, food and shelter; are nurtured; and live free from violence in their home and communities” (NAEYC, 2005, 7).
----This one is great because anyone would become distracted if they feel unsafe, hungry and homeless or feels no one cares for them.

2. “To work through education, research and advocacy toward a society in which all young children have access to a high-quality early care and education program” (NAEYC, 2005, 7).
----Of course, We –as educators must provide the best we can to give each child a fighting chance to survive after school. I would love to have all schools, especially the poor ones, have new books, comfortable desks, chairs, and computers that are up-to-date. Many schools do not have the access or the supporters, as well-funded schools.

The Division of Early Childhood is “based on sound ethical reasoning related to professional practice with young children with disabilities and their families and with interdisciplinary colleagues” (DEC, 2009, 1). There are two that I really liked:

1. “To demonstrate our respect and concern for children, families, colleagues and others with whom we work, honoring their beliefs, values, customs, languages and cultures” (DEC, 2009, 3).
----We all must respect all aspects of a child and their families lives. We do have snobbish and unconcerned individuals, which is such a sad issue.

2. “To recognize our responsibility to improve the developmental outcomes of children and to provide services and support in a fair and equitable manner to all families and their children” (DEC, 2009, 3).
----When we decided to get into the field, I would hope that we –as educators would want to provide fair education to all.

References


The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.dec-sped.org/

Some other information that I want to remember:
Dr. Janet Kien suggestions:

Professional Development Ideas:
  1. Coaching
  2. Examining your craft
  3. Taking professional development classes to improve skills
  4. Reading in your field
  5. Talking with peers
  6. Trying new things
  7. Keep questioning your craft: tweaking, trying new different ways
  8. Constant learning
  9. Become a learning community in the school
Visit other classes. Watch videos of teaching.
  1. Participating in learning communities
There is always something new to learn.
  1. Going to workshops and conferences
Go for different purposes

Exemplary Teachers:
  1. Students score well over a long period.
  2. Teachers use varied structures and strategies.
  3. Teachers differentiate instruction in small groups.
  4. Teachers hold high expectations.
  5. Teachers provide constructive feedback.
  6. Teachers are honest and kind.
  7. Teachers have excellent organization and management.
Students know what to do and when. Materials are well organized.
  1. Teachers provide literacy-rich environments.
  2. Teachers hold advanced degrees.
  3. Teachers engage in continual professional development.
JUST A SOURCE:
· NAEYC. (2004). NAEYC advocacy toolkit. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/policy/toolkit.pdf  Chapter 1: Introduction (pp. 3-4) and Chapter 3: Engaging the Members in Public Policy (pp. 14-16)

Friday, December 6, 2013

Greetings to my Fellow Student

We are over half way finished for this semester. Just sending a little encouragement that everything will be okay and we will make it.



HERE ARE SOME QUOTES THAT I LIKE AND WANTED TO SHARE:

"We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing".
                                                                                        -George Bernard Shaw


"Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just does not taste good" (Avery, www.planningwithkids.com).