Parent and Family Stories

The professional significance that I drew from the stories is that parents appreciate when early childcare staff offers resources and recommendations to assist them and their children.  I also found that the parents all seemed inspired or motivated by the staff and the work that they did with the children.  The personal significance that I drew is that I felt that the parents are just like ourselves, they need encouragement and motivation to be the best they can be too.  I know there are days when I am discouraged, but after listening to the parents in the videos I see that sometimes the brief conversations and opportunities to share our own stories with parents can help them as well as ourselves to feel that we are all in this together.

Almeda Richard Keys was inspiring to me.  After listening to her story I thought about how I was feeling disconnected with Early Childcare in this class.  I have not been involved in Early Childcare in almost 7 years and as we have worked on our assignments I am feeling lost.  Debra is in touch with the field and seems to be so well informed.  Mrs. Key’s story offered me a solution to this problem, perhaps I need to seek out an opportunity to serve on a board or volunteer in some capacity in the Early Childhood field so that I can become more in touch with the current issues and policies that are affecting this field.  I am passionate about the early learning and the developmental years, but I have been away from this area of education for many years so it may be necessary for me to find a way to get the experience that I need before I can feel that I am a value to this area.

The involvement opportunities offer parents the opportunity to observe the teachers and staff in action with the children.  They also offer the parents the opportunity to see how teachers “teach” the children through play, and the effects of appropriate social opportunities have on children.  For children it is beneficial to see parents and teachers working together to help them, and for children to see their parents assisting and taking an interest in their learning experiences.  I think for everyone involved it offers them the opportunity to understand the others role and responsibility in the learning experience and it also offers teachers/staff and parents the opportunity to learn more about one another so that the relationship can be made stronger over time.  Teachers will not understand the situation of the family unless they speak with the parents, nor will they know how they can assist the families that are in need.  Parents will not know what the teachers can offer them if they never speak to one another.  In the end, I believe that we all offer each other support, inspiration and motivation to better ourselves and the children through our positive interactions with one another.

The value of hearing the parent’s stories for everyone is that we as professionals, policymakers, government officials or community members can see what the true benefit of the Head Start program is for every family involved.  I believe that every family will have a different story of how the program benefitted their child or family because we are all coming from different backgrounds and circumstances.  I feel the key theme that we will all hear through the testimonies is that the children were benefitted by programs that offered them resources when they were faced with problems or concerns, and that because of the program all of the children were/are better prepared for school and life in general.  The opportunities to develop mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically in a developmentally appropriate setting is the best gift we can give every child.

Parent involvement is an essential system element for all strands of service in the early childhood field because they are the first teachers that children encounter.  When the parent is involved in the learning of a child it demonstrates to the child and the teacher/staff that the experience is important to everyone.  When a parent supports a child in learning, they are more apt to be self motivated and strive to do their best.  The parents also learn valuable information both from observation and material provided that will assist them in providing learning experiences in the home setting as well.  It is so easy to find teachable moments within the home setting that will benefit the child with literacy, math, science, arts, and history.  Sometimes parents just need to see how simple providing teachable moment can be, to be motivated to find the opportunities themselves to be “teachers” at home.

The Value of Early Childhood Education

The value and importance of providing early care and education for young children and their families in the United States has become increasingly important over the last decade.  The reason for the importance can range from preparing the young child for school to it is necessary because parents are working and are relying on the care children receive in the child care setting to allow them to work without worrying about their children. 

I believe the value of the programs is dependent on the background and education of the parents.  Parents that have an understanding of how the young child develops may prefer the childcare service because they can see that the social, mental, and physical development skills that are learned during these important years are vital to the success of their child’s future.  However, those parents that have not had the opportunity to learn about the development of the young child may grasp that those children that attend a quality child care program have the opportunity to learn skills that they would not learn in their own home or while being taken care of by a family member.  Therefore they prefer the child care setting versus family care.  For other parents the value of the child care setting is simply that it provides a safe place for the child while they are working. 

As an educator, I believe the value and importance of early childcare is that it offers children from all families the opportunity to learn important social and development skills that foster their ability to learn in the future.   The child care setting teaches children how to play, talk and accept people that are different from themselves and that are not family members.  Children in child care also learn the social norms that allow them to be successful when they arrive into the school system.  Unfortunately all parents do not understand the true value of child care to children and in many situations they simply cannot afford the quality care they would prefer for their child.  In my opinion, this is where providing resources centers and opportunities to parents come in.  By providing parents with this information perhaps then they will view the child care programs with more value than when they think of it as just a place to send their children while they are at work.

Influencing my opinion are conversations that I have had with other parents and many articles that I have read on the early childcare field. Below I am listing several sites that discuss the value of early childhood education.

https://www.childcare.org/ccr/values.asp

http://www.ccsc-cssge.ca/english/aboutcw/children.cfm

https://www.brighthorizons.com/SolutionsAtWork/article.aspx?articleid=179

http://ww2.fredonia.edu/news/BrowseallNews/tabid/1101/ctl/ArticleView/mid/1878/articleId/1664/language/en-US/Facts_about_the_value_of_quality_child_care.aspx

Why Advocacy and Public Policy?

Part 1: Why did you choose this specialization?
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I chose the specialization of Advocacy and Policy because I am very passionate about children.  More importantly I am passionate about helping the less fortunate see that they can be successful, although their situation seems so bleak.  I was a child of poverty and a minority and I was able to succeed because my teachers saw the potential in me and pushed me to be all that I could be.  I was also fortunate enough to have two parents that found education to be of key importance.  They stood beside me and helped me to be the best that I could be. They expected that I would be a honor roll students and the responsibility of making that happen was mine.  No excuses.  What I hope to accomplish is to find a way to use the passion that I have for the success of children to help develop programs and resources that will allow those children without the family, community and economic support that school readiness requires, to have the same opportunity as those that do.  I hope to find a career that allows me to make a difference, not one child at a time but for a multitude of children. 

Why are advocates essential in the early childhood field?

Advocacy is essential in the early childhood field, without someone to fight for you or to speak on your behalf you may be left behind.  This is why I believe that becoming a skilled and confident advocate is important not only for me as a professional early childhood educator, but for the children that I can speak for.  When policies are formed and decisions are being made, with regard to early childhood programs and services, it is vital that skilled, confident and well informed professionals are present to defend the needs and rights of young children and their families.  Without the early childhood programs and resources, many children will find themselves left behind without the skills they need to enter school ready to learn.  It is so important that we focus more attention on the early development of young children if we are going to truly turn around the education system as we know it today.

What do you hope to learn about public policy and advocacy?

Three goals that I am setting for myself at this point in my coursework are to better understand policies that govern the early childhood field.  Although I have some knowledge, I am not confident at this point that I truly understand early childhood policies.  Secondly, I hope to complete more research on current issues that are occurring in the early childhood field.  Again, I have some knowledge of issues, but I am not confident that I could argue and support my arguments with the ability to recall supporting documentation.  And finally, I hope to develop a better understanding of how my skills, experiences, and knowledge can be best used to advocate for young children and to assist with public policy.