I intend to run for public office in the future. And when I do, I will use the research from other nations and early childhood education models as examples of how to provide high-quality programs for our country. I will present evidence and data that shows how expecting children to compete with other countries while refusing to meet their basic needs is not realistic. I will advocate for more programs and funding that helps all children receive a quality education as well as healthcare, mental health services, early interventions, and other crucial resources that are needed to help children succeed in school.
Consequences of International Early Childhood Field: Access
In 2015, most countries provided free access to early childhood education to all children for at least the last year before entering primary school, though that was not the case in the U.S., where that benefit is offered only in a handful of states. The United States is considered one of the most powerful countries in the world but fails to provide for the future generations to come. We are not doing our part to secure the future for our new leaders. We continue to deny what should be basic needs and opportunities to young children which continues to increase educational gaps for a large portion of children in our nation. We have a large percentage of children living in poverty and these children are denied access to high-quality early childhood programs. We must look at other countries and learn from their techniques, strategies, and models to make sure our children are not being denied valuable learning experiences.
Looking into the international early childhood programs in various countries proved to be challenging as we fall behind so many countries when it comes to providing opportunities to our children. My hope is that our politicians use the decades worth of evidence-based research that neuroscientists and economists have collected to enhance programs so that all children can reach their full potential.
Consequences of International Childhood Education Field: The U.S. Falls Short
Events and experiences in the first months and years of a child’s life can set a foundation for lifelong well-being or leave a legacy of poor physical and emotional health and developmental challenges. Though research shows how early childhood programs can positively affect children’s lives, policies and funding are not set in place to support all the children who desperately need early childhood programs.
Despite evidence of how much the early years contribute to the later health and educational attainment; there is, as yet, no clearly articulated U.S. policy on this most important period of life. There are a number of possible explanations, all of which conspire to limit progress on early childhood policy in the United States. Children’s well-being depends on their home life and the circumstances within the home and the government has not provided adequate interventions to address these issues like many other countries do. The government programs we do have do not have the local, state, and federal funding needed to help all those who require a high-quality education. High-quality care has yet to be defined which means that effective programs are not being developed and implemented. We must look at models of other countries that have successful interventions, strategies, and programs so that the United States does not continue to fall short of meeting the needs of or children.
Consequences of Learning about the International Early Childhood Field-A Lack of Resources
All children learn at different paces and have different learning styles. When learning of children and programs in other countries, I was disappointed to see the lack of resources we provide for our children in the United States. Our policymakers are forcing our children to compete with children in other countries by designing and implementing standards that are not appropriate for our children. Our policymakers are not taking additional factors into account when expecting educators to teach children what is not yet developmentally appropriate. We have a high poverty rate in the United States and children are not receiving the same support they are in other countries that are thriving. These countries have early childhood programs that thrive because they have access to healthcare, mental health services, and children’s basic needs are being met. However, in the United United States, standards are being implemented and children are expected to learn when they lack the same resources as other cournties. This is simply not acceptable and until policymakers understand additional circumstances that affect learning and development, our children will not be able to breach educational gaps.
Professional Hopes, Dreams, and Challenges
LEt me start by getting the negativity out of the way! I have many challenges that are getting in the way of my professional goals. I live in poverty and although I decided to continue my education for better opportunities I found my passion as a Head Start teacher working with children who grew up like I did. Though the pay is not enough to help me escape poverty, I love what I do and consider myself blessed to have found my calling. However, my low-income status is preventing me from continuing my master’s degree at this time. I also have two children ages 12 and 16 and my 16 year old is beginning to look at colleges and we are going to start SAT prep shortly so I will need to spend time with my children which would get in the way of continuing my educational journey at this time. I also have a father who was recently diagnosed with a fatal illness and would like to spend as much time with him as possible. Family is the most importnant aspect of my life and I want to be there when they need me. So though they may present as challenges to my professional goals, I am happy to take some time off and enjoy the company of my family while I still can!
My professional hope is to continue to help children and families in need and help them reach their full potential. I would like to continue to work in the Head Start program for the next five years. I would also like to have my master’s degree in cultural and linguistic diversity as well as public policy and advocacyacy so that I can venture into the political sector of early childhood education to envoke positive change int he field! I would also like to learn Spanish as a hobby and to advance my professional development as many young children in my area speak Spanish and I would like to be a someone that can bring their home language into the classroom.
My long-term goal remains the same and that is to one day open up a community center in my local area that provides a safe haven for all children. want to make sure children have a place to go to eat, learn, play, study, and use technology and other facilities they may not have access to at home or anywhere else.
Professional Goals
I have many passions but I love teaching and helping children reach their full potential. I love working with HEad Start children and making sure they have the same opportunities as those of higher classes. I also enjoy working with families and my current position as a HEad Start teacher allows me to do all the wonderful things I am passionate about. When I decided to continue my education, my main goal was to leave my assistant teaching job of three years to become a head teacher in Head Start and I did that this year! I have already reached my first goal and will not stop there.
I will obtain my bachelor degree shortly and have already taken four master classes as I plan to pursue my education further and focus on cultural and linguistic diversity as well as public policy and advocacy. Unfortunately, I will have to put these goals on hold as I am already in a tremendous amount of student loan debt. Hopefully, I can find some way to reach my goals of furthering my education but as I live in poverty, it will be a tremendous obstacle. However, I will find a way! The sky is the limit and I am incredibly resourceful. Where there is a will, there is a way and as a strong-willed person, I will find a way to reach my goals!
Opportunities for Professional Development
We have many opportunities for professional development at our center. We are required to have 25 hours of training per year on various topics. One of the best resources I use is Better Kid Care as I am often busy and cannot attend trainings that require travel. Better Kid Care is a website that offers free or low-cost trainings to professional on a wide range of topics in the early childhood field. This year I have taken many including health and safety, professionalism, reducing stress, observation and assessments, and childhood obsesity.
I am also provided with training opportunities at my center. We have many professional come in to talk about current issues and trends in the field. I recently took a training on adverse childhood experiences and brain development so I could better support children who may have had negative expereicnesealry in life. I also read articles placed in our teacher mailboxes on various issues in the field and share new insights I have gained with my colleagues. I meet with my team once a week to discuss the kiddos in our program and how we can best support their needs. We develop new strategies and activities to enhance development. I also meet twice a month with my center director to reflect on the classroom and come up with effective solutions and strategies to aid my professional development.
Click here to access Better Kid Care
PBIS: Current Professional Development at My Agency
I work at a non-profit children’s center and am a Head Start teacher. As a Head Start teacher, we focus on early learning standards and school readiness. We help children reach new developmental milestones in all domains. Though we focus on physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional development as well as social studies, science, math, and the arts, social and emotional support is heavily needed at such a crucial age of development.
Children between the ages of three-to-five are just learning how to share, take turns, compromise, negotiate, and solve social problems. We use PBIS or positive behavioral intervention support in the classroom to help children learn to manage feelings and emotions so that they can excel in all other areas of learning and development.
PBIS includes preventative and responsive approaches that may be effectively implemented with all students in a classroom and intensified to support small groups or a few individual students. Classroom PBIS strategies are important tools to decrease disruptions, increase instructional time, and improve student social behavior and academic outcomes, which is critical as schools are held to greater accountability for student outcomes and teacher effectiveness.
I believe implementing strategies that support social and emotional development can significantly increase the quality of care in my classroom as children will be able to manage their emotions and self-regulate allowing more learning to take place.
Click here to access strategies for PBIS in the classroom.
Expanding Knowledge of Excellence and Equity in Care and Education: NAEYC
After thoroughly searching the NAEYC website, I found a position statement that discusses developmentally appropriate practices for children ages birth to 8. The goal is to promote excellence in early childhood education by providing a framework for best practice. The article uses research on child development and learning and the knowledge base regarding educational effectiveness. The framework outlines practice that promotes young children’s optimal learning and development. I recommend reading this article to understand why developmentally appropriate practice is still needed when teaching young children. As we enter the post DAP world due to new standards, often we are not teaching children what is appropriate for them. We must be sure we are able to meet the needs of all children and families we work woth.
Click here to access NAEYC’s Position Statment.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: DLLs Tool Kit
Exploring the NAEYC website led me to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website after searching dual language learners (DLLs). I found a toolkit that provides resources that can be used to support young children who are learning their home languages and English. The toolkit focuses on three sections: administrators and managers, teachers and caregivers, and families. Resources are provided in each section. I explored the teachers, caregivers, and family service staff and found many wonderful resources that support DLLs. Topics vary and cover the importance of home language, science to practice, support learning English, specific strategies to DLLs when parents do not speak English, as well as professional development materials. I am providing some articles I found helpful in understanding how to support learning and development of children of immigrants and DLLS.
Click here to access Home Langauge for Success in School and Life.
Click here to access The Importance of Home Language Series.
Click here to access Hearing Langauge is Learning.
Click here to access How Caregivers and Teachers Support Background Knowledge.
Click here to access Creating Environments That Include Children’s Home Languages and Cultures.
Click here to access Ways to Use Cultural Backgrounders.
Early Childhood Education 