NAEYC- Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment

Section 1: Ethical Responsibilities I-1.3 To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities and potential of each child. 

This has significant meaning to me, the saying goes "don't judge a book by its cover" and the same applies to children with disabilties.  Until you truly know a child, who has significat challenges, you do not know what they are capable of.  For example, in October I got a student from a neghboiring school distict who is on the severe end of the Autism specturm and is 100% blind.  They told me she could not to much and when I got her I thought she could do A LOT! She has limited language but is able to make choices, she explores our room, she dances and laughs, fully of energy and true delight to have in our classroom.  If I would have just taken the other schools word and thought she was not capable of anything then she wouldn't be doing anything.  Instead I thought let's see what we can do and from there we have opened up her world to new experiences and with that, she is becoming much more functional.  We must look at each child to see what they can do, not what they can't.


Section 2: Ethical Responsibilities to Families I-2.2 To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve. 

We must develop good rapport with families.  They need to trust us as educators and we NEED to trust them as parents.  Families know their children the best and we need to help support them.  We may not always agree with how families go about doing something but we need to be as supportive as we can. 

Section 5: Ethical Responsibilities to Community and Society I-4.3—To work through education, research, and advocacy toward an environmentally safe world in which all children receive health care, food, and shelter; are nurtured; and live free from violence in their home and their communities.

If we could we could master this code of ethics, I think our world would be in good standing.  However, I believe this is not the case, but this is something that we should be striving for each and everyday.  I think that we all want this for the children we work with, it would mean that each child would have the background to succeed in life and school.  This is significant for me because this is something that all professionals who work with children is trying to accomplish, but, indeed, it is a difficult one to achieve.

The Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC)

Professional Practice: Professional and Interpersonal Behavior 4. We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the professionals who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that
enhance the quality of their lives.

This is something that I practice everyday and has great meaning to me and my job. I work towards including children with signification needs into a general education classroom.  My life revolves around serving as an advocate for children with disabilities and their families. 

Professional Practice: Professional Collaboration 2. We shall honor and respect the rights, knowledge, and skills of the multidisciplinary colleagues with whom we work recognizing their unique contributions to children, families, and the field of early childhood special education.

Respecting the rights, knowledge and skill of my colleagues is something that is very important to me.  I have an amazing team of therapist that I work with for each of my students.  In order to make the most of each of our students time at school we need to all work together.  I have an occupational therapist and a speech language pathologist who come into my room to train me and my Para's on how to work on specific issues we are having with each student.  It takes a lot of their time but they are so willing to jump into my classroom and help, all for the benefit of our students.

Responsive Family Centered Practices: Enhancement of Children’s and Families’ Quality of Lives 4. We shall advocate for equal access to high quality services and supports for all children and families to enhance their quality of lives. 

Always WE MUST advocate for equal access to high quality services.  Having mediocre services it simply not enough.  I think that when we don't agree with something we must stand up and advocate. During this time of budget cuts there has been talks of increasing my case load for next year.  There were talks of having 22 high needs special education students.  I was outraged because that would decrease the quality of my program.  Luckily, this will not end up happening because myself and my psychologist at my school simple said no, this would not benefit our students.

Resources

My resources are posted to the right!

Inspiration

"I tell my students, whatever your favorite cause, if you do not intend to pursue that effort for 25 years, do yourself a favor — don't start. You have to be prepared to hang in there for the long run."- Edward Zigler

Perkins-Gough, D. (2007). Giving Intervention a Head Start: A Conversation with Edward Zigler. Educational Leadership, 65(2), 8-14. Retrieved March 21, 2011 from EBSCOhost.

"If teachers wish someone else would teach certain students, or if they express the belief that some students are incapable of succeeding in the class, what is the likelihood that they are continuing to problem solve to help these students succeed? The issue is not about caring- teacher truly care about their students. It is about setting expectations and working from a perspective of optimism and possibilities rather than one of pessimism and problems." -Marilyn Friend & Kimberly Pope

Friend, M., & Pope, K. L. (2005). Creating Schools in Which All Students Can Succeed. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 41(2), 56-61. Retrieved March 21, 2011, from EBSCOhost.

“I had a built in passion that it was important to make a real contribution to the world and to fix all the injustices that existed in the world... and I wanted to do that through teaching.” - Louise Derman-Sparks

The Passion for Early Childhood. [Video resources]. (2011, March 11). [Louise Derman-Sparks]. Laureate Education, INC. Retrieved from Walden University.

 

My Childhood Web

1.     My mother is the most influential person in my life.  I was the youngest of three and the only girl.  We have always had a very strong relationship and as I have gotten older I really see how much of her is in me.  My mother is a Preschool Coordinator in the county where I grew up. I spent my entire life at her preschool.  I grew up in her teachers’ classrooms, her secretary’s desk and in her office.  When I was younger I always thought that I would never be a teacher because I did not want to do student teaching and I did not want to do what my parents did.  My mom never proposed the idea of being a teacher; she just let me figure it out on my own.  This was possibly the best gift to me, she let me explore my options and before I graduated high school I knew that teaching special education was for me.  I wanted to teach preschool high needs special education, exactly what my mom did.  My mom is my guru. To me, she knows everything.  She seems to help me more now more than ever.  I continuously ask her for advice on how to handle behaviors, ideas for activities or even dealing with my staff.  She has the most knowledge about Early Childhood and is my most used resource.  I think that she is an incredible advocate for children and each day I hope that someday I will be as amazing as she is.  As I get older we are more alike and more in sync with each other.  I am beyond grateful for our strong relationship.

My Mama and Papa

2.     My Daddy is so fantastic.  My father was always the “yes” parent.  Being his only daughter I got to participate in everything that my dad did.  My dad was a special education teacher and then became an alternative high school principal.  On top of his teacher duties he also ran apartment buildings and “flipped” houses in our little town.  I grew up painting apartments and fixing up houses and because of him I turn into one handy gal.  He is passionate in several areas of his life and showed me that you can love more than one type of work.  My dad never sits down and I seemed to have inherited this from him, the busier I am the better I work. 

Brother and I in Sofia, Bulgaria

3.     My brother Kasey is my rock.  Kasey is three years older than me but only two grade levels apart. We went to high school together and went to the same university.  When we where in elementary school and high school we did not get along and after I graduated high school my parents sent me to the Czech Republic, where my brother was studying abroad. We spent several weeks traveling around Europe and bonding.  Ever since then we have had a great relationship.  My brother is the most intelligent person I have ever met.  He has an amazing memory and remembers everything he hears.  He served in the Peace Corp in Bulgaria and has just been accepted into graduate school at Tulane University. He has overcome great barriers in his life; he has dyslexia and is my inspiration.  He showed me that having a barrier, such as not being able to read or write, means that you just figure out a different way to do things. I think about him often when I work with my students.  If people did not see all of my brother’s abilities then he might not be where he is today.  I carefully look at each of my students to find out everything that they are capable of. 

This was taken our second summer.  It has always been my favorite picture. All the kids!

Our first summer!

Last summer!

4.     The College Campout Crew definitely in my microsystem.  My parents are STILL friends with ALL their friends from college.  Our crew consists of six families, 39 people and three generations.  We are like family but different, what connects all of us is our love for each other. We have been camping for the last 22 years and our gathering are called “The College Campout.” We have bonded over campfire, sunburns, bug bites, banana boats and s’mores. There is this care that each of us share with everyone.  There is this never-ending support we have for everyone in our group.  It is a hard thing to explain our relationship but it is a endless love that we have for one another. 

5.     “W” or Winston my dog.  Yes, sometimes people get too attached to their animals and yes, I am one of those people.  Life to me is a life with animals.  Before wanting to be a teacher I was determined to be a Veterinarian. Animals have always been a part of my life.  I got Winston when I was in college right before my family dog died.  I knew she was dying and I knew that I needed unconditional love.  He is the most perfect living creature to me, and I swear he has the most personality I have ever seen in a dog. I made a good choice with him as he provides the best unconditional love, he is lazy and his favorite activity is snuggling.  I feel lucky to be his Mama.

What's in a name?

When I was thinking about a title for my blog I kept thinking about my classroom.  Then this image popped into my head of all the visuals I use and the purpose they serve.  I have many students who have autism and I use visual schedules for their daily routine, visuals for circle time, snack time and picture exchanges to make requests. I thought about their daily routine and how important it is to pair an activity with visuals. I often try to imagine myself in their shoes and how thrown off I would be if I had people pulling me in every direction, wanting me to perform a given task and not understanding what they want of me.  Then I realized how important I value a routine and that I do get disrupted when I change it up.  It might be that I decide to see  a movie on school night and it throws me off.  I may not react in the same way as some of my students but indeed I have to adjust.  Just like my students very structured day which is all planned out, I realized my life is structured too. My students need to know what is happening in their day, just like I need it.  I need to anticipate a change and prepare myself for what's next!

Yes, Dr. Sesus you are celebrated all year!

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

- Dr. Seuss

Each classroom I have worked in I have always share this quote. I have always felt strongly connected to this quote and it continuously reminds me to stay true to myself.  It is so important for children to be reminded to stay true to themselves.