early childhood issues to advocate for

One day, I arrived at school to be told by my distraught director that Flopsy had died in the night and she had removed his body. I also gathered up some childrens books about pet death from our library. . Almost every child wanted their words recorded. 1. All dancers think that maybe this one is just too hard and want to quit sometimes. Know your resources: find referral materials and trusted agencies within your community to help your families. The Magic of Conflict: Turning a Life of Work into a Work of Art. Head Start is a strong national model of family advocacy and leadership. Some of them hung their stories on the wall, and some asked them to be read aloud, or shared them themselves, at circle time. We read Saying Goodbye to Lulu and The Tenth Good Thing About Barney in small groups; and while these books were a little bit above the developmental level of some children in the class, many children wanted to hear and discuss the books. Enhance your career and improve your knowledge, skills, and practices with our in-person and online training. Remember, they represent you, so they want to hear from you. You may make sure that each family is supported in their home language and that multilingualism is valued in your program. Likely purpose of the opposition (e.g., to block intended change) Tactics that may be used by the opposition, including The 10 D's (i.e., deflect, delay, deny, discount, deceive, divide, dulcify or appease, discredit, destroy, and deal) Describe the evaluation of the advocacy effort. More can be accomplished together than alone. Jump to. Use ZERO TO THREEs. Every other state in the country has two governing houses, meaning twice as many people to get to know. . What did they do to adapt to the event? But all dancers also discover their own innate grace and their inborn ability to both learn and to change; our very muscles are made to stretch, our cells replace themselves, and we quite simply cannot stand still. Using your expertise and stories will allow you to advocate for children in one of the most compelling wayswith stories that correlate with data. The good news is, we have a strong body of support for early childhood education in our state, Elizabeth said. I also knew many parents were uncomfortable discussing death with young children and that it might be helpful to see the way we had done so. We would never see Flopsy again. Or in informal conversations? Stay up-to-date on issues in early childhood education and hear perspectives from a wide range of educators. Explore jobs in theCareer Center and findhigher education and professional development opportunities. Particularly striking, in recent years, is research addressing perceptions of the behavior of children of color and the numbers of children who are asked to leave programs. And then you can learn to improvise. Discover practical tips and innovative ideas for preschool teachers in our award-winning magazine. Week of the Young Child Celebrate young children and their families with hands-on activities encouraging movement and healthy lifestyles through music, food, and art. Lets consider what you can do: What is your sphere of influence? And so can you rise when you allow yourself to accept change and adapt to all the new possibility of growth that it opens up! Read about NAEYCs leadership, mission, values and beliefs, and strategic governance. Let me share a personal story with you: I had just become director of an established small center, and was working to sort out all the details that directing encompassed: scheduling, billing policies, and most of all, staffing frustrations about who got planning time, etc. Consider these topics: And there are more topics, of course. You are a leader, and change is happening, and you are making decisions about how to move forward, and how to adapt thoughtfully. NAEYC provides the highest-quality resources on a broad range of important topics in early childhood. To carry out their responsibilities, public officials require and welcome the advice that well-informed people (like you) provide. However, research shows that this gap has not closed. Examine the policies, structures, or systems that affect your program in light of this change. How so? Dr. Tammy Marino; Dr. Maidie Rosengarden; Dr. Sally Gunyon; and Taya Noland, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSkUHHH4nb8, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle, Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn, Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family, Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture,* community, and society, Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague), Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues. Ask them about their position and what led them into public service. Some states have adopted a version of the equity lens for use in their early learning systems. Engage with our policy agendas, advocacy resources, and current initiatives. The child in the center feels disoriented, exhilarated, surrounded by shifting color, sensation, and laughter. Our Policy Agenda. Put your thoughts down on paper. Objective 3: Identify the elements of culture, bias, and beliefs that need to be considered when creating an Advocacy Plan. Responses ranged from Goodbye bunny to imagined stories about Flopsys adventures, to a description of feelings of sadness and loss. Attend Early Childhood Iowa events at the capitol in Des Moines. As a leader, you can do work that will impact the system and undo these unjust practices or structures! Contact us with your questions-- we're here to help! In early childhood care and education, there are many elements that were built with middle class white children in mind. They also expressed concerns about the children being asked to sit for this amount of time. BOSTON - Jumpstart for Young Children (Jumpstart) announced today that Kate Warren Barnes will join the organization's leadership team as the new Vice President of Policy and Government Relations. When I became teary reading them, I didnt try to hide it, but just said Im feeling sad, and it makes me cry a little bit. In order to make sure your program values every child, you must make choices that ensure that each child, especially those who are part of groups that have not had as many resources, receive what they need in order to reach outcomes. Engaged early childhood professionals comprise large coalition that has the ability to mobilize in order to create positive change for the well-being of infants, toddlers, and their families. In the frame titled equity, each child stands on a stool just high enough so that they may all see over the fence. Maybe parents? You love children and you did what you believed was best for the children in your program. This would be an excellent time to bring out the equity lens and your other tools. Maybe now you can do even better by them! You are called to respond. Read Part 2 here. Anxious? Could these policies be unfair to certain groups? During my prep time that day, I wrote a letter to families, letting them know Flopsy had died and some basic information about how we had spoken to children about it, some resources about talking to children about death, and some titles of books about the death of pets. Quality early childhood education is a crucial element in our state's ongoing economic stability and growth. And thats okay. Our practices in the classroom and as leaders must constantly adapt to changes in our communities and our understanding of the world around us, which gives us the opportunity to continue to grow and develop. Lets say youre a teacher, and you can look back and see that over the years youve been at your center, a disproportionately high number of children of color have been excluded from the program. Try drawing your sphere of influence: Draw yourself in the middle of the page, and put another circle around yourself, another circle around that, and another around that. They are in a unique position to understand how effectively programs are being implemented and how policies impact their community information which is extremely valuable topolicymakers. Excited? Racism and other forms of injustice can be built into the systems we work withineven if each individual is working hard not to recognize and root out their individual biases. Search an ECE degree directory, explore professional standards, and join our community of practice. Dare to lead. With the election over, you may be ready to take on a cause near and dear to your heart: early childhood education. Tensions within and toward communities and individuals of color have been especially visible in the news because of the heightened impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, the highly visible police violence against black and brown men and women, and the subsequent demonstrations that took place in 2020. As a core component of early childhood development in concert with nutrition and protective, loving care, early learning is critical to a child's first 1,000 days when their brains are developing more rapidly than at any other time in life. You are a leader and an advocate, and a person whose action mirrors their values. Its possible to find joy and possibility in the disorientation, and the swirl of thoughts and feelings, and new ways of seeing and being that come from change. Stay up to date with research-based, teacher-focused articles on birth to age 8 in our award-winning, peer-reviewed journal. Questions that are part of an equity lens might include: You can use this lens for all kinds of decisions, in formal settings, like staff meetings, and you can also work to make them part of your everyday thinking. Use those tools! Make a plan, including a big vision and small steps, and start taking those small steps. The children would notice immediately that Flopsy was missing and would comment on it. Popular Searches:DAP;Coping with COVID-19;E-books;Anti-Bias Education;Online Store. And besidesthere are hands to hold if they lose their balanceor if you do! I realized that what educators were responding to werent questions of whether retelling a story was developmentally appropriate, or whether the critical thinking skills the children were being asked to display were developmentally appropriate, but rather whether the social scenario in which one child receives potentially negative feedback in front of their peers was developmentally appropriate, and that the responses were based in the different cultural ideas of self-esteem and individual vision versus collective success. But I was also called upon to substitute teach on an almost daily basis, so there was a lot of disruption to my carefully made daily plans to address the business end, or to work with teachers to seek collaborative solutions to long-standing conflict. I have a sticky note on my desk that asks Who am I leaving out? Look for ways to work collectively with others who are committed to equity. Ignite and fulfill your professional development goals! unlimited course access | $99/year Share: Print Editor's note: This text-based course is an edited transcript of the webinar, Teaching, Caring, and Advocating for Children and Families Living in Poverty, presented by Kenya Wolff, PhD. Or will it make those disparities better? Become a leader in your professional association. Objective 3: Create an informed response to a current issue as a professional in early childhood care and education. But the good news is that mud acts as a fertilizer so that we as educators and leaders in the field have the chance to learn and grow, to bloom into better educators for every child, and, lets face it, to become better human beings! Let me tell you a story about how professional development is still causing me to stare change in the face! He would not ever come back to life. Quality early childhood education is a crucial element in our states ongoing economic stability and growth. I didnt have time to do research. Objective 1: Describe role of an Advocate. Support our efforts to secure a bright future for young children, educators, and families. Therefore it is important to consider whether they adequately and fairly work for all of the children in your program community. Theyll want to know about you and what your job or life is like, too. When you consider the idea of change, how does it make you feel? First Five Nebraska is an advocacy organization focused on changing public policy by changing the public conversation about the importance of quality early childhood education. Maybe you havent had your mind blown with new information lately, but Ill bet theres something youve thought about that you havent quite acted on yetmaybe its about individualizing lesson plans for children with differing abilities. Parents and families promote their children's education and development. Then your plan might be sharing information, communicating enthusiasm about moving forward and making positive change, and clearly stating your thoughts on where change is needed! Support access to high-quality early childhood education programs and opportunities and resources for educators. Apr 6, 2017 Helping State and Local Officials Advocate for Child Care A CAP toolkit provides resources for state and local officials to create policies that increase access and affordability of. All educators second guess their career choices. This might include your friends, your partner, some or all of your coworkers, a former teacher of your own, a counselor, a pastor. 2445 M Street NW I had about 15 minutes before children would be arriving, and I had to figure out how to address Flopsys loss. You might not always walk yourself through a set of questionsbut using an intentional tool is like counting out dance stepstheres a lot of thinking it through at first, and maybe forgetting a step, and stumbling, and so forth. Your heart, your brain, and your antsy feet have led you to become a professional in early childhood care and education, and they will all demand that you jump into the uncertainty of leadership in times of change, and learn to dance for the sake of the children in your care. Early childhood professionals can provide valuable insight into key policy issues that they see affecting children and families on a daily basis, and thus, they are ideally suited to work with policymakers and researchers to produce the best outcomes for kids. Share your experience and knowledge with parents, colleagues and anyone willing to listen. ECI services support families as they learn how to help their children grow and learn. Read about NAEYCs leadership, mission, values and beliefs, and strategic governance. Support our mission and reach the NAEYC audience through your advertisement, conference exhibit booth, or sponsorship. DC:0-5 TM: Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (ZERO TO THREE, 2016) described and defined these disorders. You can influence policies, rules, choices about the tools you use, and ultimately, you can even challenge laws that are not fair to every child. New information may come to light through research that allows us to understand human development very differently, like the advancements in neuroscience that help us understand how trauma affects childrens brains, and how we as early educators can counteract those affects and build resilience. They were short but utterly important. A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive, Fostering a Child's Recovery: Family Placement for Traumatized Children, Multicultural Anti-Bias Approach in the Preschool Classroom. Crum, T. (1987). Stay current on all things related to your professional association, from book releases to policy updates. Discover the benefits of early childhood accreditation, learn about the four step process,find support and resources for your program or login to the accreditation portal. Wonderful. The following resources offer information and tools to advocate for issues that matter most to families and professionals in the field.. I wrote these sentences on a sticky note. You can be an advocate for quality early childhood within your program, your community, your region, your state, the nation, and even the world. Then I talked to the other teachers. But if keeping ourselves safe from discomfort means that we might not be keeping children safe from very real and life-impacting racial disparity, were not making a choice that is based in our values. According to a 2022 poll, nearly half of all preschool teachers admitted to experiencing high levels of stress and burnout over the past few years. Connect with professionals in your community at conferences, networking events, advocacy efforts, leadership opportunities and more! Meek, S. and Gilliam, W. (2016). I couldnt get comfortable with my new position, nor with the way my days were constantly shifting away from my plans. The first thing I did was text my husband. This would be a good set of steps to address an event like a hurricane, wildfires, or an earthquake as well. Find research-based resources, tips and ideas for familiesfrom child development to reading, writing, music, math, and more! What were your first thoughts when you sat back and FELT the reality of ever present change?

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