Jobs/Roles in the
ECE Community: National & Federal
Level
Becoming a
member of an Early Education Organization provides an opportunity for you to
connect with people around the world who have some of the same values and philosophies
that you do when it comes to children and education. It also provides you will a chance to learn
and grow as a professional in the field of early childhood education. As I have been researching more and more
about early education and specifically the curriculum that is used in early
education centers and classrooms, I have found the following organizations very
interesting and related to my studies.
1. The National Children’s Defense Fund Organization
(2011)—this organization was founded by Marian Wright Edelman. I recently became a member of this
organization through a position in my church.
Our United Methodist Women’s group celebrates Children’s Sabbath each
year in the month of October. We utilize
program outlines and materials that are develop through the Children’s Defense
Organization. As I studied their
organization, I realized that becoming a member would enable me to connect with
other professionals and receive materials that would enhance my professional
career as a teacher in public education as well as a Sunday School teacher and
Mission Coordinator at my church. A part
of their mission is to inspire young children and youth while they help to
protect their needs for healthy development.
This concept is very important to me since I work and attend church in
an area that serves low income children and families.
2. The National Education Association (NEA)
(2002)—their motto is Great Public Schools for Every Student. This organization states that early childhood
education is one of the best investments for our country. Research has shown that providing a high
quality education for children five and younger has significant long-term
benefits. For years I have heard
administrators focus on the curriculum for students in grades 3 and higher
because of standardized testing. After
that the focus went down to primary grades like k-2nd because they
realized that children need a quality foundation in the primary grades to
succeed in the upper grades. However,
the focus was one sided because many school districts only look at the academic
side of a child’s development in primary grades. Organizations like the NEA have helped to
spread the knowledge that quality education means educating the ‘whole child’
through all domains (academic, social, emotional, physical). The website for this organization provides
excellent resources and links that professionals can utilize to support
children of all ages. I was specifically
interested in their connections with the National Scientific Council on The
Developing Child at Harvard University which has performed studies to determine
children’s emotional development and the affects that stress may have on the
brain of young children in school. The
area in which I would become a member of this organization would be as a
certified active professional which is opened to public school teachers and
others who are certified in education.
3. Voices for American’s Children (n.d.)—this
organization provides resources at the community, state, and federal level to
improve the lives of all children, especially those who are the most vulnerable
because of other influences. I was drawn
to this organization because of its focus policy goals which include developing
equity and promoting diversity, promoting school readiness, school success,
safety, and economic stability for children and families. Although my challenge for this course focuses
on the curriculum used in early education classrooms, I feel that becoming a
member of this organization would benefit me because of their philosophy on
doing what is best for the healthy development of the child and helping
children to succeed. The position I would be interested in would
be as a member of their network through e-mail/blog registrations to be able to
communicate with other advocates in the education field.
References:
Children's Defense Fund. (2011). Retrieved
from http://www.childrensdefense.org/
National Education Association (2002). Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/
Voices for America's Children. (n.d.).
Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.voices.org/
The work the National Scientific Council on the developing child at Harvard University sounds interesting. I never really gave much thought that children might experience stress like adults do. But the research that they are doing might prove beneficial to children who are living in toxic environments/homes. Children who live with drug addicts or parents that are disabled, etc. must experience high levels of stress.
ReplyDelete