After reading the afterword chapter
of this book, I feel a little bit overwhelmed because there are a lot of things
that I still need to learn and gain from early childhood program in order to
contribute and become a strong foundation for our children. Even though I have
learned a lot from working with children for 4 years, but once I started taking
classes, I learned there was so much more to working with children than what I
had previously thought. There are so many behind the scene details that no one
even thinks about but are such important parts of creating a quality program
for our future generation. The projects that are talked about in the afterword
section provide valuable information such as NAEYC accreditation, leadership
development, director credential programs, & continuous training for
teachers as well as leading efforts to ensure developmentally and culturally
appropriate practices, and create quality rating systems tied to financing
quality child care and improved compensation. This book has inspired me and
given me some awesome ideas when working in the field of early childhood
education, especially as a director's point of view as well as the relationship
between teacher, children and family. At the end I would like to thank all of my
classmates and our Professor who have spent time reading my blogs and posting
all the incredible, inspiring and educational questions and information through
out this semester. It was a pleasure to read and see things from everyone’s
perspective. Thank you very much and have a great winter break everyone. ~Som~
Hi Yhardsom,
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to simplify all the ideas in the text (as well as those shared in our blogs) to a very simple hope (and one you suggest) -- building relationships? How often does our work take us to classrooms where a checklist of skills dominate over building relationships? How can a commitment to building relationships help to articulate the role of the director? the role of the teacher? the role of the child? the role of the family? Have our visions become cloudy by other people's and agencies ideas of what early childhood is in terms of structures, paperwork, and traditional expectations? How can you inspire others to see beyond these limitations to all that can be possible in early childhood?
Jeanne
Hey Som,
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that we can become better early childhood education professionals by reading everyone's blog assignments for this class. These blogs open us up to different perspectives, views, and stories that can help us become better teachers and directors. Everyone has their own story, but it is what you make of it. Do you decide to take these beautifully written blogs and gain useful insights to better you or do you just forget about what you have learned from this course? The choice is up to you. I choose to use all the insights and useful information I gained from this course to better me as a teacher and a professional.