Module 4 - Observation and interaction with professionals, children, and families in your setting.

For this observation, I decided to observed Ms L., one of the infant and toddler teachers at my place of employment.  I choose to observe her, because she interactions with families on a daily basis. Unlike my third grade host teacher; who normally communicates with the families via phone or during parent teacher conferences.  

Throughout the week, during drop off time, I observed Ms L., discussing everything from  developmental goals, to eating and sleeping patterns. During one of my visit, I spoke with her in detail about advocacy and the strategies that she use when working with families. She uses many of the strategies that were listed by Kieff (2009), such as having an open door policy, ongoing assessments, parent conferences, respective and supportive relationships with families, as well as a clear understanding that children are supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society.

I observed Mrs. L. talking with a family about their son's speech and language development. The family was following up with her after a recent conference in which she expressed concerns about their child's language. The parents were in disagreement as to whether the child should be screened for speech and language delays. The father wanted the screening done, just to be safe, but the mother felt the child was fine. I was very impressed with the way Mrs. L. handled the situation. She did not take sides with either parent. She listened attentively to their concerns and then she presenting them with documentation on what she has observed since their recent conference. She also provided them with information on how to enhance language development as well as strategies that she has tried in the classroom. Before the end of their meeting, she gave the family information for a screening at early interventions and offered to provide assistance when they were ready.

What I learned from this experience is that teachers cannot successful educate and care for children without the support of the family, and since children spend most of their awakening hours with the teacher, families need teachers to communicate with them, regarding their child's development and any significant observations that are made throughout the day. 

It was also evident that Ms L.  had developed a supportive relationship with the family and they felt comfortable discussion this difficult issue with her. Throughout this observation, I was reminded of how important it is for educators to develop a partnership with families. When we create positive relationships with families, it makes it easier to communicate and work with the family if and when a problem arises that impacts their child's development.

References

Kieff, J. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Module 3 - Interacting with Professionals/Administrators about Improving Quality Care for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers.

Module 3 - Interacting with Professionals/Administrators about Improving Quality Care for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers.

For this assignment I meet with the Program Director at Busy Bee Learning Center and the Assistant Director at my place of employment.  In meeting with these professionals, they informed me of their goals on addressing the issue of improving quality care.  The Director at Busy Bee informed me that their program is in the process of submitting an application to the Quality Rating System(QRS), which is a program designed to improve the quality of care by looking at several quality indicators.

When speaking with the assistant director at my place of employment, she mentioned our goal for completing QRS was to improve the quality of care for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.  She also informed me of the changes that are being made to QRS in efforts to ensure that all children have access to quality care.

When I spoke with my host teacher, she mentioned that many professional are starting to look at how children are being educated.  She feels this is one reasons why the Illinois learning standards are  being revised to common core standards. She also mentioned Race for the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC). She said, RTT-ELC is a grant to help programs improve the quality of learning and development for all children.

Based on my conversations with these professionals, there seems to be an increase in the number of programs that are trying to improve the quality of care for young children. Programs are starting to address this issue in different ways.  Some programs are striving for NAEYC accreditation, while others are working towards QRS.  When researching RTT-ELC, I found that the goal of this program is to provide funding to help raise the bar and improve student achievement (IBSE, 2013).  

As I continue with my advocacy efforts, I think it is going to be extremely important that I network and stay connected with other professionals who are working towards the goal of improving quality care for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.  As cited by (Kieff,  2009, p. 139), networking is an important tool for advocacy because it enables professionals to connect with people who have ideas, information, or power.  Through networking, I can find people who can help me develop and implement my advocacy agenda.  

When address my advocacy issues in my setting, I think it's important to respect the fact that many of my co-workers may not be as excited about improving quality care, because it requires work.  I feel many of my coworkers have become comfortable, especially those who have been teaching for many years. But for me, I am excited about finding a more efficient way to teach young children.  I am passionate about improving quality care, because I know that it truly makes a difference in the lives of children and families.

As an Early Childhood Professional, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my work with young children. I have started to become more involved by taking part in an advisory committee.  This committee meets monthly and we discuss changes that are needed to assist programs in improving the quality of care for all children.  We talk to other programs and child care providers to find out what their needs are and how we can help them improve care for young children.  The issues that I here most often relates to training and funding.

I my setting I would like to see more staff members eager and excited about improving the work that they do with children.  In my community, I would like for state and local officials to understand that providing quality care cost money and they need to help programs and teachers find ways to pay for the training and changes that need to be made in order to improve the quality of care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. 

References

Illinois State Board of Education (2013). Illinois Race to the top. Retrieved from http://www.isbe.state.il.us/racetothetop/default.htm

Kieff, J. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.