The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

 

As I am learning more about the political parts and the advocates of early childhood education, the best strategy I’m witnessing so far  is the unity of former teachers who are now on the front line of organizations, writing books  and official committees as resources such as: , Help Me Grow, Unity Way,  The South Region of Infant mental health and more. Educators with community support are moving mountains to be heard. 

 

In this week’s learning the most appealing part I came across was the website

  http://www.clasp.org/issues/child-care-and-early-education

This site is highly recommended for the support and resources that is provides. In my week 4 discussion I talked about how we need more doctors to offer the developmental screening and how parents can participate in sharing the information about their child.  When both really work together, I would hope to see more doctors supporting the unity of early education  by speaking up to Congress  and parenting with child care centers. The link I enjoyed reading was:

 First Steps for Early Success: State Strategies to Support Developmental Screening in Early Childhood Settings - See more at: http://www.clasp.org/issues/child-care-and-early-education#sthash.y9CBHBYB.dpuf

Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

I watched a video of Head Start families interviewed about the impact that the program has had on their families.

Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC), part of the Office of Head Start.

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/about/stories/pfs.

I have a couple of questions to answer from this video;

Q:Why involvement opportunities for parents and family members benefit young children, families, and the early childhood field?

A: Eugene Neal is a single dad to a little girl. It seems HS helped him bond with his child in a way that otherwise may not have been taught the significates. Mr. Neal stated that he reads to his daughter and have her read to him. They cook together and  he volunteers in the school. Can you imagine the positive self-esteem that this young child has developed knowing her support system is strong, flexible and approachable?   Not only has  HS been  there for the child but when the  dad lost his job,  the community and agencies helped him get back on his feet….. now he is on the Policy Council and learning new age technology to stay current in his child’s journey of growth. More of the benefits are;  word of mouth,  when families  are happy they recommend  other families to the HS program, they grow as parents and the child benefits from the teacher and parent  relationship,  working together on the child’s behave, AWESOME!

Q: The professional and personal significance you drew from these stories?

The amazing discoveries from the video are; families are learning from their children, They are amazed at how and who their small citizens are developing into and the knowledge they exhibit.  Almeta Richards Keys former parent conformed to early education. She obviously was touched by the system in order to have moved forward from a stay at home mom,  to an educated , Master’s degree member of the policy council community action agency. …. “Go Ms., Almeta Keys!”  The professional significance of this story is that “she gets it” We now connected on a professional level that will pull me in to listen more about her own journey to help children and families.  The personal take away  of this story her own children lead her  on this road!  Ms. Keys wanted more for her children which meant understanding their development. So not only did she love her children she loves the stages of their growth; cognitive, social/emotional, fine motor, language& literacy and approach towards learning. Her children gave her a gift “ teaching”.

 

“The nationally-representative Head Start Impact Study found Head Start children scored better than a control group of children in all measured domains of cognitive and social-emotional development at the end of their Head Start experience (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). https://www.nhsa.org/facts-and-impacts

Quality Programs for All Children

My hope is that the dominate culture will understand that change is needed to support the early education field with respect in providing the children the best care yet.

The system, in which we use to support children in their development, is crucial for the community to not just understand but to implement as well. The services of what we offer should be mandatory for parents to take advantage of, for the sake of their child’s self-esteem.  The policies must be in place, YET, the policy makers should be in the centers at least twice in a year to stay connected with reality.   Advocating is having the passion for the needs of something worth fighting for, my hope is that in the next five years, we are ready to serve every child, special needs and economic level.  The implication is  that child care providers are respected as professionals, teachers advocate for themselves as professionals and that the field grows in a direction that latches on to elementary schools so parents can see the true process of child development.    

 

One of my favorite schools that I would like to recognize for their passion and professionalism is Goddard Child Care. They offer so many diverse opportunities to help children grow.  Advocating comes from the heart! 

http://campaign.goddardschool.com/dma/landingpage.aspx?dm=10&program=childcare&gclid=Cj0KEQjw_YKtBRC7zZjFp8bF_foBEiQAfyigc2GAwS_FaH7Cyj5Qmm0ud2AdAL2l3r0jdfMfaWGSR3saAnJG8P8HAQ

My Specialization

 Now that I am in my specialization classes I am quite nervous and excited at the same time. I chose this class because in most organization there are state regulations and company polices that we must adhere to. I really feel empowered to know more about the decisions behind the scenes and the logistics of the process. I guess what resonates with me is the thinking behind the decisions makers while we the people (in the field)  live out the experience each day. The Code of Ethics of ECE Administrators maintaining quality programs through professional development plans, I live this every week and having it  spelled out in a policy is very interesting, because getting the trainings hours required  for teachers  in a child acre setting isn’t as easy as the policy makes it out to be, yet, I feel knowledgeable about what is expected. With the passion and aspiration of advocating and understanding policies in terms of helping families and children I think it’s all about confidence and knowing your product well to influence change.

Advocates are essential to the early childhood field because of the passion, education and the willingness to share something that others are not experts in, in order to help children reach their highest potential in learning.  This is crucial because we have children getting pregnant  and abusing their babies, if the babies live, than  most likely they will become aggressive adults, we need skilled professionals who will educated the parents and help the children develop in a healthy manor.

 I hope I learn some “wow” moments about public policy and advocating. I’m not sure what I want to learn until something comes up that I can say “ I never knew that” It’s like saying to the teacher what are the right questions to ask?  My three goals are narrowing my force to studying the policies first; comparing, analyzing and breaking down the logistics. The next step would be , comparing activity advocates walking in their path and discovering how advocacy worked for one person but not the other. I want to know what could go wrong in advocating. Last,  the goal is a satisfactory outcome that brings me to a place of discovery in myself as I stand up for a person or a group of people Hopefully I will discover new strengths  in executing, relationship building, influencing and critical thinking,