Personal Advocacy Reflection

 

My youngest son is currently in third grade with a diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder/ Autism Spectrum.  When my youngest son participated in the infants and toddlers program, he attended Head Start.  During the IEP development meeting, one person on the team helped me understand that it was not the end of the world if my son needed the services special education had to offer in order for him to reach his full potential.  The person made sure I was comfortable with the services he would receive in order to reach his full potential.  The person was able to sympathize with me due to the fact that they also raised a son with unique needs.  The person ensured my voice was heard during the meeting concerning the educational needs for my son.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Reflecting on My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

I really enjoyed the valuable suggestions to make me more well-rounded early childhood professional in order to better advocate for young children and their families.

 

I appreciate learning from my colleagues' experiences.  Different state have strengths in various areas of the early childhood system.  I used the best aspects of the different states to create an early childhood system which can serve the young children and their families.  I have learned that the state I reside in is not the only state finding ways to successfully met the unique needs of young children and their families.

 

History is essential for developing a comprehensive early childhood system.  I have learned that understanding the history allows me to become more intimate with my community.  A comprehensive early childhood system can be as effective as what is needed in the community.  I can learned what worked in the past to modify them for the future.

 

 

I plan to continue to find ways to engage families of all backgrounds to participate in their young child's education.  Early childhood education needs to be deemed as a respected profession by society.  I would like to continue to identify more ways to educate our society of the importance of investing in early childhood education to ensure our future.

 

 

I would like to thank Dr. Thomason for all of your encouraging words.  I would like to thank my colleagues for sharing your experiences with me.  Good fortune in all of your endeavors!





"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

My Hypothetical Family Situation

The Jyzlan's are expecting fraternal twins which are a boy and a girl to add to the four children they have currently.  Mr. Jyzlan is serving in the military.  They travel most of the time and they do not have family close.  Mr. Jyzlan is scheduled to deploy two weeks after the birth of the babies.  Their four other children are two boys and two girls which are the ages 10, 8, 6 and 4.  Mr. Jyzlan is an officer in the military.  They have a modest income and Mrs. Jyzlan does not work outside the home. Last week, they had a doctor's appointment to discuss the results of the amniocentesis.  They found out the girl has Downs Syndrome.  The couple informed the doctor that since Mr. Jyzlan is serving in the military, they travel most of the time and do not have family close.  As an overwhelmed look came over their faces, they asked the doctor what services are available since they do not have family close by?

 

 

Does the Jyzlan family seem like a real family?

 

 

Do I need more information on the Jyzlan family to paint a better picture of their situation?



"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

The Politcal Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

Communication requires both sides.  Parents are encouraged to listen during the meeting to gain as much information as possible about their child's educational program.  If parents have issues with their child's program, parents need to clearly communicate their concerns honestly.  A parent should not feel intimidated.  They need to be confident and ask the necessary questions to make sure they agree with their child's education programs (PACER Center, 2002).

www.pacer.org/parent/php/php-082.pdf

Professional development is changing due to the new common core standards.  Since common core places new demands on educators, professional development needs o reflect the changes.  Common core presents additional concerns in meeting the unique needs of students with disabilities.  The educational system is currently looking into techniques and strategies to offer educators teaching children with disabilities and common core standards.

www.blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2012/04examining_the

In my county, there have been trainings to help educators understand the unique needs of children with disabilities.  Different disabilities cause certain behavioral concerns as well as developmental delays.  The trainings help educators recognize issues in order to put interventions in place which will benefit the entire class.  The educators participated in a book club which was a fictional depiction of a child on the autism spectrum.  During the book club, teachers opened up about the unique needs of their families.  They began to understand some of the challenges parents go through.

Our society is very diverse.  Educators are learning how essential it is to inquire about different cultures.  The families must see the importance of early childhood education where politicians will view the parental commitment by investing their time.  Families must feel respected and understood in order consider committing their time to early childhood education.






"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

Opportunities for parents are essential in order for the appropriate ways citizens behave in society can be modeled.  Young children are predominantly with their parents during their childhood.  In my experience, young children observe their parents behavior.  Their parents are their first teachers.  Early childhood professionals need their parents to reinforce the skills being taught at school.  We,as early childhood professionals, require parents to invest in their child's education for our work to be successful.

 

 



These stories help society and policy makers realize how essential it is to develop a relationship with schools in order for their child to become thinkers.  Parents want their children to go to college and reach their full potential.  Those parents which did not take a more active part in their children lives regret that decision encourage parents to participate in their child's life.  Parents, that were not active in their child's life, realize how important they are to the success of their child's future.

 

 

Family involvement is essential for the early childhood field to be successful.  The parents are children's first teachers.  They have the ability to advocate for programs which benefit their children.  Their voice can help policy makers understand the importance of early childhood programs in preparing their children for the future.  We need to encourage our families to advocate for the early childhood programs which assist their young children reach their full potential no matter their ability.  Family involvement proves to policymakers that the families believe that early childhood programs are beneficial for their children due to the time families invest in early childhood programs.

 

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/family/For%20Parents/pfs

 



"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Quality Programs for All Children

 

I hope in the next five years that society lifts the label off special education.  Society tends to see the label instead of the child.  I would like to see society refer to the unique needs or the label the child was given as an "attribute".  Children with unique needs view the world in a different light.  I hope society learns to embrace the way children with unique needs view the world.

 

 

I hope when the view of society changes, policies will reflect how children with unique needs should not be put in a box though allowed to express their ideas  For years, society have tried to force children with unique needs to think a certain way.  Their ideas were not appreciated or encouraged.  I hope when society changes their view of children with unique needs that they will be encouraged to express their ideas in order to feel good about who they are.  I believe more funding will be provided for early childhood professionals to meet the needs for all children no matter their ability.  I hope policies will reflect investing in curricula which allows children of all abilities to reach their full potential without pointing out children's unique needs.  I hope that preschool and early intervention educators work together to develop techniques to incorporate more inclusion opportunities.

 

 

I hope more families will become more involved in their child's education which have unique needs.  Before I entered the profession of early childhood education, I was a parent of a young child with unique needs.  I felt that even though my child had an IEP, they did not understand my child nor did they want to deal with him.  I hope parents feel they are truly heard instead of feeling their child is misunderstood.  More families would feel empowered to help early childhood professionals by re-enforcing what is taught in school.  I believe more parents would feel early childhood professionals want what is best for their child no matter their need or ability.  I also believe more parents would insist that their early childhood professionals have the training needed to ensure their child with unique needs has the proper expectations to reach their full potential.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

What Resonates with Me about Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy?

When Justin was eight or nine months old, his pediatrician noticed he had low muscle tone and recommended I become involved with the infants and toddlers program.  I thought once Justin learned how to walk, he would no longer need their services.  I did not want my baby labeled due to the fact I felt the teachers would automatically judge him.  The team working with Justin did not explain to me the level of need Justin would require once he made it to school.  They used the term "global delay" which I did not understand as delayed in all areas meaning he would require special education services in order to reach his full potential.  After going through this experience with my son, I became very passionate about helping families with young children understand special education does not mean the end of the world, just requires a unique way of looking at the world.

 

 

Unfortunately, the government can take the beauty out of education.  Advocates can bring the beauty back into education.  Sometimes education can forget our mission to help all children reach their full potential while helping their families.  When the government makes it difficult for us to fulfill our mission by enforcing challenging policies, advocates can be there to remind educators of the beautiful gift we possess with the great responsibility we, as educators, have to encourage children to become productive members of society to ensure our future.

 

I hope to learn how to become a responsible risk taker to provide better opportunities for children and families.  I would like to establish techniques in order to communicate effectively with individuals from various backgrounds and cultures.  I need to learn how to set goals which are realistic.  I would like to also build stamina in order to overcome obstacles which seem impossible to tackle (Kieff, 2009).

 

Reference

 

Kieff, J. (2009).  Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education:  Making a difference for young children and families.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Pearson Education, Inc.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-