Note of Thanks

The end of this module is finally here! It has been an insightful and interesting journey so far. I may not be able to thank everyone of you for your support and contribution to my growth so far but this is a good avenue as any. Thank you to you, you and you; to everyone I say thank you for: reading my posts,being kind to me with words, supporting me beyond my expectation and making this academic and self enriching journey an experience worth having.

Oluwatosin Akinsola.

Codes of Ethics in the Early Childhood Field

It has been a great journey so far and I have learned a great deal from Dr Todd and my colleagues. The resources so far have laid a foundation for the future knowledge that will be acquired. This week, Professionalism, Advocacy and Leadership have been discussed at length and this has exposed codes and ethics that should be considered by Educator in the field of Early Childhood.
I realized by reading the prescribed resources that codes of conduct and ethics are in place to guide, help improve the quality of service rendered and remind Educators of the important behavioral expectations around children and families.
There are several ideals of interest and meaning to me but here are a few:

1. "Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family
2. Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle
3. Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect
4. 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."

They are of interest to me because they center around children and the need to appreciate every connection to children and do everything within our profession to make early childhood experience interesting, of impact and comfortable for children and their families. Early years are sensitive and create the opportunity to instill the right values, every child is important and every child deserves to be treated right or given the opportunity to reach a full potential.

References

•  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 

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

The Value of Resources

Resources as we have learned are valuable and go a long way to increase our worth as educator. Resources add to our knowledge. The following are the resources that were provided this week: Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap

• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf

• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf

• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf

• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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). Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf

• 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.

• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Part 2: 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. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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 media segment on this webpage

• World Organization for Early Childhood Education

• http://www.omep-usnc.org/

• Read about OMEP's mission.

• Association for Childhood Education International

• http://acei.org/

• Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children

• http://www.naeyc.org/

• The Division for Early Childhood

• http://www.dec-sped.org/

• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families

• http://www.zerotothree.org/

• WESTED

• http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

• Harvard Education Letter

• http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85

• FPG Child Development Institute

• http://www.fpg.unc.edu/

• Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference

• http://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/

• Institute for Women's Policy Research

• http://www.iwpr.org/

• 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.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067

• Voices for America's Children

• http://www.voices.org/

• The Erikson Institute

• http://www.erikson.edu/

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden LibraryTip: Use the Journal option under Search & Find on the library website to find journals by title.

• 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

The new resources which are of interest to me are as follows:A book by Robert Fulghum titled: "All I really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten". I picked it up at a book shop a few hours ago and it is about the importance of the foundation of learning. It is about how the things we learned at Pre-school helped shape the individuals we are and how it is more than enough to help navigate our way through life. I am learning that the elementary things are paramount.
Here is an excerpt from the book:“These are the things I learned (in Kindergarten):1. Share everything.2. Play fair.3. Don't hit people.4. Put things back where you found them.5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.6. Don't take things that aren't yours.7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.8. Wash your hands before you eat.9. Flush.10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.12. Take a nap every afternoon.13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first worked you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.” 
References

• Fulghum, R. (1988). All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten: Uncommon thoughts on common things.  New York: Villard Books.

• All the links above are retrieved from: https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_11212737_1&content_id=_28860852_1

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