Introduction
Education is a vital part of human life and no child should be deprived of this right in the world where attempts to build and sustain justice are being made. Child and family advocacy encompasses a variety of practices, of which early childhood education interests me the most. Thus, the following paper is devoted to Standard 5 of Initial Early Childhood Professional Preparation.
Standard 5
Standard 5 is concerned with creating and implementing learning programs that facilitate children’s development. Candidates working by this Standard should be able to operate research techniques and methods to expand their knowledge and use it to frame developmental curricula (NAEYC, 2011). Upon an in-depth exploration of Standard 5, I will develop in several aspects. Firstly, it will help me build my knowledge base on children’s education in general.
I will also acquire detailed knowledge of developmental education and its strategies, assess the efficiency of active learning and theme-based learning, understand the role of academic disciplines and what challenges such approach presents to the shareholders. It is stated that there are no unified academic requirements for early childhood teachers (Feeney, Galper, & Seefeldt, 2009). Having explored this Standard, I will be able to assess the need for such requirements and more conscientiously promote early childhood education.
Questions
Can you give some advice on how to establish a collaborative environment between children’s families and educational institutions when advocating for children’s right to education?
The rationale is that raising the voice of vulnerable children requires disputes that should be approached calmly. Also, there is a multitude of issues that parents are seldom capable of resolving on their own, which is where the advocate is needed.
There are many opinions on what makes an effective early childhood educator; what is yours?
Researchers enlist some characteristics including passion, perseverance, pragmatism, flexibility, etc. (Colker, 2008). It would be useful to get a first-hand opinion to assess my skills and ways of developing them.
Is there a single optimal way of teaching language, particularly grammar, to young children?
Children are sometimes unable to use abstract thinking which is why opinions on the ways of teaching grammar may vary (Schachter, Spear, Piasta, Justice, & Logan, 2016).
Do you think long-term projects present a more intellectually challenging activity than short-term ones within a developmental curriculum framework?
Challenging curriculum subsumes a process/activity to interest children. Whether long-term projects present more interest to children than short-term ones is questionable.
Do you think drilling (teaching reading and counting skills) is efficient as a preparative pre-school activity?
Whether it is useful to teach children reading and counting as skills, and not as part of active learning, is disputable.
Contact information and request
The professional’s answers will expand my knowledge on early childhood education advocacy in terms of the essentials of developmental curricula and content knowledge that I will be able to learn. The information will be of exceptional use to me since I will be able to implement the knowledge to become a better early childhood education advocate.
Conclusion
To conclude, my choice is Standard 5 due to its immense value as a means of a deeper understanding of children’s educational needs theoretically. My next steps will be assessing the needs of the children in my community and contact my local advocacy agency in search of their support in raising public awareness and engagement in the key issues of early childhood education on the local level.
References
Colker, L. J. (2008). Twelve Characteristics of Effective Early Childhood Teachers. Web.
Feeney, S., Galper, A., & Seefeldt, C. (2009). Continuing Issues in Early Childhood Education. New York, NY: Merrill/Pearson. Web.
NAEYC. (2011). 2010 Standards for Initial Early Childhood Professional Preparation. Web.
Schachter, R. E., Spear, C. F., Piasta, S. B., Justice, L. M., & Logan, J. A. R. (2016). Early childhood educators’ knowledge, beliefs, education, experiences, and children’s language- and literacy-learning opportunities: What is the connection? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36(3), 281-294. Web.