Examining Codes of Ethics

In any field you choose to work in whether if it's business, education, healthcare, counseling and etc.  There are Codes of Ethics that everyone have to follow to ensure professionalism as well as respect for clients, the company, as well as yourself.  In the field of Early Childhood there are two specific organizations I am going to share a few Codes of Ethics from Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children and the National Association for the Education of Young Children that I feel are meaningful to me.

Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC)

• We shall honor and respect the rights, knowledge, and skills of the multidisciplinary colleagues with whom we work recognizing their unique contributions to children, families, and the field of early childhood special education

This particular code is meaningful to me because when I do reach that ultimate goal of opening up my own private preschool. I want to be able to build a team of people who not only share a passion for making a difference in the lives of children and families. Also,  take their thoughts and ideas into consideration that could help strengthen different aspects of the school. By doing this as a professional you have to respect other individuals  rights, beliefs, and knowledge they have to contribute to the field of early childhood. Regardless if you agree with them or not.

• We shall demonstrate our respect and concern for children, families, colleagues and others with whom we work, honoring their beliefs, values, customs, languages and culture.

This code is meaningful to me because as an Early Childhood Professional you have to lead by example and demonstrate professional courtesy when interacting with children and families whose ethnicity, values, beliefs, and customs are different from your own. By demonstrating such practices this definitely creates an awareness to children and families of different cultural backgrounds that you respect them and what they believe in regardless if it does or doesn't align with your beliefs. Being able to lead by example and training your staff to follow in your footsteps would be beneficial in the long run.

• We shall demonstrate our respect and appreciation for all families, beliefs, values, customs, languages, and culture relative to their nuturance and support of their children toward achieving meaningful and relevant priorities and outcomes families, desire for themselves and their children.

This code is meaningful and yet very important to me because as an Early Chilhood Professional showing children and families that having respect for their values, beliefs, customs, languages and etc.  Allows children and families to be comfortable in our Early Childhood enviornment where they will feel even more comfortable developing long lasting relationships with the early childhood educators and being involved with their child's education.


National Association for the Education of Young Children (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 code is meaninful and important to me because I want to achieve my ultimate goal and create a learning institution where children feel safe and enjoy the environment as well as parents feeling like my learning institution is "top of the line" and extremely suitable for their child and believe that their child will receive the best education, as well as develop socially, cognitively, and physically.

• I-1.10 To ensure that each child's culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and valued in the program.

This code is meaninful to me because I am very diverse and I love learning about other cultures and languages. Being able to incorporate other cultures, and languages in the learning environments strengthens children in many ways and it shows parents that children are learning about cultures different from their own.

• I-3C.1 To promote safe and healthy working conditions and policies that foster mutual respect, cooperation, collaboration, competence, well being, confidentiality, and self-esteem in staff members.

This code is meaninful and very important to me because I have worked in Early Childhood Settings that completely knocked me out of my comfort zone and had an effect on my self-esteem as an Early Childhood Educator. From my previous experiences in Early Childhood settings I know what NOT to do as far as treating my staff as if they aren't important.  I want to be able to establish an environment where my staff feels comfortable, and are able to cooperate as well as collaborate as a team to be able to provide a great environment for their class as well as amongst themselves.

Resources

The best part of studying Early Childhood is that you can definitely reference a lot of resources such as articles, websites, and organizations that contribute to make an impact in the field of Early Childhood Education. Listed Below are some resources you would find useful for your own knowledge.

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, 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

FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf

UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

World Organization for Early Childhood Educationhttp://www.omep-usnc.org/

Asia Kids Society http://kids.asiasociety.org/explore/childrens-day-japan-kodomo-no-hi

National Holiday's in China http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/festival/national.htm#9

Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development http://www.support4change.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=108

 

Words of Motivation and Inspiration

What motivates you to get up and do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals? Do you have a quote that pushes you to continue to strive for the best? Here is the quote that motivates me to continue to reach my "ultimate goal".
"The best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." 
                  -Teddy Roosevelt
When reading this quote what does it say to you?

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

As an individual we have interests in on words or quotes that inspire and motivate us to continue on the path we are walking on to achieving our "ultimate goal". My ultimate goal is to continue to make an impact in the field of Early Childhood as well as make a difference in children and families lives.  Here are some quotes of inspiration and motivation from two pioneers whose legacy lives on in the field of Psychology and Early Childhood.

Lev Vygotsky, is known for the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Technique that is practiced today in Early Childhood settings.

"People with great passions, people who accomplish great deeds, people who possess strong feelings, even people with great minds and a strong personality, rarely come out of good little boys and girls" 

-Lev Vygotsky

"Learning is more than the acquisition of the ability to think; it is the acquisition of many specialised abilities for thinking about a variety of things" 

-Lev Vygotsky

Jean Piaget is known for many things including the "Three Educational Principles". These principles are used in Teacher trainings and classroom practices till this day.

"It is with children that we have the best chance of studying the development of logical knowledge, mathematical knowledge, physical knowledge, and so forth" 

-Jean Piaget

"The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done"

 -Jean Piaget

Personal Childhood Web

My Aunt Jacqueline

My aunt Jacqueline is my father’s younger sister. My aunt cared about me as a child because we shared a common interest in cheerleading and dance. When I was 8 years old living in Albany, Georgia I was the youngest and smallest cheerleader on my squad. The coaches didn’t have a uniform in my size either. My mom took me to Atlanta that weekend for her and my aunt Jacqueline to measure me and they made me a cheerleading uniform that was very pretty and I loved it.  When I cheered in the games my uniform was definitely one of a kind and I got a lot of compliments on it.

My Uncle Rick

My uncle Rick was married to my aunt on my mother’s side of the family.  My uncle Rick cared about me as a child because when we were living in Japan he helped my mother and father out with taking care of me and my sister. He would take us out and I remember that when we were little he took us to a park where there were a lot of airplanes and he took pictures of us there. Once we moved from Japan, we were living in Albany Ga. He would come eat lunch with me at school and talk to the kids in my class about the military.

My Grandmother Essie

My grandmother Essie is my father’s mother. My grandmother cared about me as a child because I was the best birthday present she could ever receive.  My grandmother and I share the same birthday August 11.  Every year for my birthday since I was a little girl when I woke up I would call my grandmother and we would sing “Happy Birthday” to each other, which really made me smile.  We actually still do that to this very day. As a child she would take me shopping (which is one of my favorite things to do) at unique stores in Downtown Atlanta.  She also was very religious and she taught me the importance of being a Christian and having a relationship with God.



I am in the center directly behind my Grandmother as we were celebrating her 80th Birthday. Amongst myself are my brother, sister, step sisters, and cousins all of the grandchildren.



My Mother Mildred

My mother cared and nurtured me as a child because I am here first born daughter.  I was also born with a birth defect that had an effect on me as a child and if it wasn’t for her doing whatever it took for me to have a normal life I wouldn’t be the Jasmyn Adwaters I am today.

My Kindergarten Teacher Mrs. Koy

My kindergarten teacher Mrs. Koy was a very caring teacher.  She always went above and beyond for us.  I felt that she cared for me because when I moved from Okinawa, Japan I moved to Quantico Virginia and I was pretty much the new girl. I had to make new friends all over again and she helped me get the “shyness” out and make friends in my class.  She always had a smile on her face and that really made me feel like she loves being my teacher.  It would have been great to have experienced Mrs. Koy the entire school year but unfortunately she died in the middle of the year which really broke my heart and made me sad. As I think of her now, I think of her as a great teacher who always smiled.

My Passion: Working with Children

In the pictures below are my pictures I took while working with kids in different preschool settings. Don't let the cuteness fool you!!! LOL!!!

Favorite Story as a Child: Walt Disney's Three Little Pigs

When I was a little girl for Christmas my mom got me and my little sister disney books with the cassette tapes to listen to the stories for each book. Of all the disney books we had my favorite was the "Three Little Pigs".  I loved this story so much because when I listened to the cassette the narrator was fun to listen to and I loved singing the song "Whose afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" I would listen to this story and read along and also act it out. I would try to play every character in the story including the big bad wolf and I would literally blow very hard to blow down the house like the wolf did in the story. This story is one of my all time favorites and someday when I have children I am going to read them this story as well.

Inspiring Quotes

"Children love and want to be loved and they very much prefer the joy of accomplishment to the triumph of hateful failure. Do not mistake a child for his symptom. "

                                                                                 -Erik Erikson

This is my favorite quote, by Erik Erikson which reminds me of my passion for working with children and wanting to make a difference. When reading this quote it makes me think of children and how important it is to make them feel inspired to do whatever they set their minds to.

When reading this quote, what does it say to you?

My passion

My passion is to strive to make a difference in the lives of children and families by contributing the necessary factors needed in the Early Childhood Education Field... Patience and Passion

What is your passion?