Section 1Ethical Responsibilities to Children
Ideal 1-1.1: To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.
Education is always evolving, new research is constantly being revealed, and the pendulum is always swinging in the opposite direction.Though it may seem overwhelming, staying informed will not only increase our ability to effectively ensure the positive development and growth of young children, but it will also help us to advocate with purpose.
Section 1
Ethical Responsibilities to Children
Ideal 1-1.11: To provide all children with experiences in a language that they know, as well as support children in maintaining the use of their home language and in learning English.
Before reading this article and after making the commitment to reimmerse myself in the Spanish language, I had a discussion with my Hispanic students. I read a few sentences from an instruction manual to them and asked them what it said. They smiled, because I was speaking Spanish, but only knew a few of the words. When I asked them why they didn't know, they mentioned that they haven't learned them yet. As I remembered that they were only in the Third Grade, I asked them how they learned to speak Spanish and both girls stated that their mothers taught them. From this conversation, I realized that these girls were first generation Americans, meaning that they were the first of their family to be born in the United States. They were the first in their families to be raised in the United States, attend American, English speaking schools, and be immersed in the English language. To me, this also meant that they would not hear or learn as much Spanish as their parents did in Mexico because they are constantly immersed in English and their parents speak little to no English at all, often requiring a translator or interpreter for every contact. Much like Standard English and Language is being taught to children all across our nation, would it not be ideal to give our Hispanic students the opportunity to connect with their culture and learn their own language as in-depth as we make them learn ours? These opportunities are provided to them through Spanish Speaking schools, but are they able to take advantage of them? Isn't it our responsibility to ensure that they don't lose touch of who they are? Section 1
Ethical Responsibilities to Children
Principle P-1.6: We shall strive to ensure that decisions such as those related to enrollment, retention, or assignment to special education services, will be based on multiple sources of information and will never be based on a single assessment, such as a test score or a single observation.
In my opinion, this principle is much needed in today's classrooms and schools. As an EIP Self-Contained Teacher, I am supposed to receive students who are "middle of the road" and who could benefit from a smaller classroom. You know, those students who just need an extra boost. Unfortunately, especially since the state no longer formally tests first and second graders, students\' second grade mock test scores (which are not equivalent to the state test) are used when placing students. Students who appear to be average on paper, are not "average" in concept of skill or content knowledge. These students lack basic skills to attempt new grade level material in addition to an understanding and internalization of previously taught concepts.
When submitting paperwork for a student's RTI (Response to Intervention), classroom performance is taken into consideration, but when students pass the Special Educaton screening or the yearly state mandated test, it seems as though every piece of data goes flying out the window.
With many states adopting the Common Core standards, hopefully things will change. Hopefully, standardized testing will give students the opportunity to show what they've internalized and require them to apply their understanding without being prompted by well though out answer choices. Then will we be able to effectively determine a student's progress and make better decisions about placement, retention, and Special Education services.
References
NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf.
The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of Ethics. Retrieved May 25, 2010, from http://www.dec-sped.org/
Congratulations on the way in which you have set out this blog. I like your use of color to make it easier to read.
ReplyDeleteI identified strongly with the second code you posted, as we have similar issues here in Doha, only the children come from Arabic backgrounds. Sadly though, they don't have a good grounding in their mother tongue or in English, as many children communicate mostly with nannies who come from as far a field as Nepal, India and the Philippines. These nannies often do not have a good command of English or Arabic, so combine the two languages and throw in a words from their own languages. To try to better support language as a whole in our school, every teacher has had to participate in a course called "English in the Mainstream". It has proved invaluable in promoting language acquisition. Parents are being encouraged to speak their mother tongue properly and often with their children in order to give the children a point of reference. The school will work on developing English as a spoken and written language. All children need to learn Arabic at our school, regardless of their background but are placed according to their level of communication. There has also been a huge drive for Japanese, Urdu, German, Spanish and Hindi speaking families to get together at school and have story time and educational activities after hours to support their children's mother-tongue learning. In the early childhood classrooms we have incorporated traditional and familiar objects from each country to support the children's play. It is our responsibility to provide opportunities for and to encourage mother tongue development.
Karla, as I read many of the blogs from our group, I see that many of us chose the NAEYC ideal that reflects on furthering continuing education and training. I really believe this ideal is significant due to the fact that we are all enrolled in a continuing education ECE program!
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