Thank you!

Thank you all for your support, insight, and knowledge throughout this course! It has been a pleasure and I hope to meet again!

The child is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.

A hundred.

Always a hundred
ways of listening
of marveling, of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.

The child has
a hundred languages
(and a hundred hundred hundred more)
but they steal ninety-nine.
The school and the culture
separate the head from the body.
They tell the child:
to think without hands
to do without head
to listen and not to speak
to understand without joy
to love and to marvel
only at Easter and at Christmas.

They tell the child:
to discover the world already there
and of the hundred
they steal ninety-nine.

They tell the child:
that work and play
reality and fantasy
science and imagination
sky and earth
reason and dream
are things
that do not belong together.

And thus they tell the child
that the hundred is not there.
The child says:
No way. The hundred is there.

-Loris Malaguzzi
Founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach

Ethical Ideals from NAEYC and DEC

Ideals from the NAEYC and DEC codes of Ethics that is meaningful to me…

It was very hard to commit to just 3 ehtical ideals! All are important and relevant... so here goes! 

NAEYC:

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.

This ideal is meaningful to me because I believe all children need a safe and stable environment when outside of the home.  Providing a child with safety and love while balancing their social, emotional, cognitive, and physical needs is essential.  A child learns the most when they thrive in an environment where they feel safe, secure, and accepted.  Each child should always feel valued!  Professionally I strive to provide this for each and every student I have taught over the last 6 years and will continue to do for the rest of my career. 

I-1.8

—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.

 Having taught both general education preschool and a blended special/general preschool class, inclusion is so important!  I have found that it is great for ALL students in the class as they learn different things from each other.  Students learn tolerance, differences, similarities, how to be a leader, some learn what is acceptable behavior, how to play, move, and communicate… and so much more!  Professionally, growth is important to me as a teacher.  I grew more in one year of teaching the special/general preschool blend than I did in 4 years of teaching a regular preschool class.  I feel the reason I grew so much that year was because of the differences in my students and all that they taught me – I strive to continue this growth throughout my career. 

 NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

DEC

Responsive Family Centered Practices

5. We shall collaborate with families and colleague s in setting meaningful and relevant goals and priorities throughout the intervention process including the full disclosure of the nature, risk, and potential outcomes of any interventions.

Having been a part of hundreds of ARC meetings over the years, so many parents are unsure of their rights and the process of referral thru special education.  Most are afraid of the label and don’t understand that their child can eventually be dismissed from a program when assessed and reaching grade level.  After the referral process and an IEP is drafted, input from the parent is crucial.  Teachers and support staff are not the only people that can work on IEP goals – parents and family members can too!! By involving them in the process and supporting their child’s learning goals, they can make a huge impact on education for their child.  Having open communication between families, staff, and involved colleagues is the first step to this process and is a professional goal for myself over the years. 

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

Early Childhood Resources

I have posted 2 new pages on the resources of early childhood education. These pages are located on the right side of my blog----------------------------------------------->>>>>>>

One page is the list of resources from class and one is dedicated to local resources in my home state of Michigan.

Thank you for viewing!