Saturday, March 15, 2014

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

 Teaching in the early childhood field is the position I have always wanted. There are more numbers of children now attending school and for this reason programs in the U.S., are listing more early childhood education jobs. Early childhood educational organizations have made it aware of the necessity of educating children beginning with infancy, toddler and the preschool years. For this reason, it has caused growth in the number of employment positions within the work of early childhood education.
Three local or state organizations or communities of practice I would choose; one would be a special education teacher who works with children who have learning, mental, emotional or physical disabilities. This teaches children with disability various subjects, such as reading, writing, and math, to children with mild and moderate disabilities. I believe all of these would be very rewarding to help special needs or any child develop their potential (aacte.org).
 The second organization or communities of practice that appeals to me is a nonprofit organization such as the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) an advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for 40 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. They create the policies and programs that lift children out of poverty; protect them from abuse and neglect; and ensure they access to health care, quality education and a moral and spiritual foundation (aacte.org).
The last would be The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) which is an international membership organization who works with or on behalf of young children with disabilities and other special needs. Their purpose is to promote policies to support the finest development of young children with special needs. Most of these types of jobs require five years experience and a master’s degree or above (aacte.org).


http://aacte.org/programs/early-childhood/early-childhood-organizations 

4 comments:

  1. Kathleen,

    You did a great job on your post. I am going to look into your job search to learn important information about working to accomplish goals for young children and their families. As we go down this journey, we can use all the learning available to us. Thank you for your insights; I am sure I will benefit from them. Good Luck!!

    Ida,

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  2. Kathleen,
    Great organizations and communities of practice members. Special needs children and teachers are great programs that would truly educate and build knowledge for you in your capstone project. I have worked with a lot of early intervention specialists and they are full of ideas and activities to incorporate into the classroom. Melissa

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  3. Dear Kathleen,
    I really enjoyed your post, and was just wondering would your ideal teaching position be working with children that have special needs? And if so do you have prior experience?

    I was just wondering because I see many educators that work with special needs children and some are excellent, but there are a select few that do not have the required patience and love for the children. I wondered if I was something I should explore professionally.

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  4. I am glad we share a passion for special needs children. There is a growing demand for trained teachers to serve children with special needs. I intend to get more specialized training after this program. The more informed we are as educators, the easier it is for us to reach out to children and their families. As we get trained we are also able to train other educators in this regard.

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