The first three codes of ethics I chose are from the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council of Exceptional Children.
1. We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the professionals who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that enhance the quality of their lives.
- As a teacher of children with special needs, this code of ethics is particularly important to me. For most of this year, my job was supporting students in Head Start. My job was to advocate for these students to make sure their IEPs were being met and that their needs were being accommodated for.
- I chose this code because I feel that this can be an area that is lacking. When I was a first year teacher, I was actually forgotten about and did not go through the PA mentoring program. It was not until my second year of teaching that I went through the program. My mentor was also not doing the same teaching as I was, and was 45 minutes away from me. Needless to say, there was no actual "mentoring" going on. I think as first year teachers or teachers in a new field, it is especially important to have a positive mentor. It feels horrible to be left to your own devices, questioning if you are actually doing the right thing. I would really like to be a mentor of a young teacher because of the experience I had.
- As a teacher of children with special needs and an ESL teacher I feel that parents can rely too much on the teachers to make sure their children are receiving the right services. It is our jobs as teachers to empower parents to be advocates for their children because in the end they know their children the best and will be with them for the rest of their lives. The Chinese proverb "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" is a great way to view empowering parents.
4. To ensure that each child's culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and valued in the program.
- As a former ESL teacher this ideal is extremely important to me. Every child needs to feel that their culture/ethnicity is valued and an important part of who they are.
NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved June 16, 2013 fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf
The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved June 16, 2013 fromhttp://www.dec-sped.org/
Dear Emily,
ReplyDeleteI like the ideals you chose. The one about empowering families with information and resources is one I believe in as well. Care-givers should be as knowledgeable about child development as teachers are in order to be able to provide the best possible care for their children. Also, the partnership between parents and teachers is extremely important and something that is in the best interest of the child`s overall development.
Ana
Emily,
ReplyDeleteYou choose three great NAEYC code of ethics. I also like the ethic of we shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers of services for their children because I feel it very important to teach parents how to advocate for their children so when they leave our programs they will be able to advocate for services when they enter a school system.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI feel closely connected to your comments on the importance of mentoring professionals who are new to the field. As a public school teacher I was partnered with a mentor teacher who became a constant source of inspiration, guidance and knowledge during my first three years of teaching. Without her support I would have give in to the pressure of being a new educator. Unfortunately, I did not experience the same level of support when I left the public school system and began teaching at a local child care facility. At the facility I shadowed a teacher for a day, and then I was on my own. The plan was for the teacher that I was replacing to mentor me as she worked her remaining two weeks. Instead, she called in the day after I was hired and never came back. The remaining staff was left to scramble around and find time to support me as I learned to navigate my new environment. Though I am grateful for the support they gave me, it was not the full training that I needed to be successful in my role. Now that I have moved to my position at Smart Start, I try my best to seek out the new child care providers in my area and be that mentor that I so needed when I was starting out.
I am glad I am not the only one who has been left out of the mentoring proccess :) I am happy to hear that because of your negative experience as well, that you are trying to make sure other teachers do not have a negative mentoring experince too.
DeleteI like the third ideal you chose about empowering families and providing them with information that they can use to help their children. I agree with you that often time parents do rely on teachers and administration too much, so it is important for us to make sure that they know how much they can help their children as well! Great post!
ReplyDelete