NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct

Phase 1:

The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct is a set of clear-cut guidelines that identify the issues we should care about as educators and people in the profession of education. It is designed to help protect the children, families of the children, and the professionals that work with the children. The code is also a way of communicating what to expect of people in this profession. The guidelines in the code help professionals to resolve moral dilemmas they encounter at work. Educators and other people in the profession of education can refer to the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct in order to negotiate professional problems; to decipher the difference between right and wrong while upholding professional responsibilities and duties. The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct is not only a set of guidelines for professionals to follow but also a reflection of morals and values that we as professionals should believe in.

Phase 2:

As a teacher I have witnessed certain incidents that have taken place between other coworkers and the families or the students that they work with. Sometimes these situations have put me in awkward positions. In hindsight, I can now see how some things can be defined as a responsibility on my part or a dilemma in which I was placed and did not know how to react.

One incident in particular that was the most recent involved my classroom assistant. I work with students that have severe and profound disabilities – most of which have special toileting needs and require that they wear diapers throughout the school day. I ask that my students’ diapers are changed three times per school day. The toileting schedule happens at the same time each day and is also posted on the daily classroom schedule for me and my assistant to see. Sometimes I help with the toileting routine, but most time I am occupied with a lesson or activity with the students that are waiting for their turn in the bathroom. Several times I noticed that some of the students’ diapers were not changed after they had just come out from the changing room with my assistant. When I questioned my assistant she insisted that she just changed their diapers. Finally I checked the diapers in front of her after she just claimed she changed them. The diapers were very obviously soiled and had been soiled for long periods of time during the school day. I had to talk to her about the importance of changing the students’ diapers and reminded her that NOT changing their diapers was a form of neglect on her part. I posted more toileting schedules, gave her a copy, and posted one near the changing area as well. However, my assistant continued to take the students to the changing room and lie about changing their diapers. She would go as far as unstraping the diapers to make it sound like she was changing it while I was in the background, but would continue to neglect changing the students. At this point I brought it to my principal’s attention and it became an administrative decision to talk to my assistant and remind her of her duties as a special education classroom assistant.

Another incident I encountered involved my cooperating teacher and a comment I overheard her make to a young child. I overheard the teacher tell a child to “get away from her” and call her a “spoiled little brat that thinks she can always get her way because Mommy and Daddy will do whatever she tells them to do.” The little girl had been trying to get the teacher’s attention while the teacher was looking for art supplies in a cabinet in the classroom. The little girl walked away with tears in her eyes after the teacher spoke to her this way. I felt really badly for the child and wanted to intervene, but as a guest in the classroom I refrained from saying anything.

The first situation was definitely a moral responsibility on my part to make sure my students were receiving proper care. It’s really unfortunate that an adult I was supposed to be trusting was not only lying on the job and neglecting to fulfill her duties as a paraprofessional, but she was also neglecting the needs of very vulnerable children. This was in violation of Section I, P-1.1 (Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children), and Section III, I-3C.2 (to create and maintain a climate of trust and candor that will enable staff to speak and act in the best interests of children, families, and the field of early childhood care and education). By not changing the children’s diapers my assistant was harming the children and by lying to me she was creating a sense of mistrust in the workplace.

The second situation I discussed placed me in a dilemma. I felt that the teacher was speaking in such a way that was disrespectful to the child, degraded the child, and was emotionally harmful to the child. This was also in violation of Section I, P-1.1 of the Code. Even though I knew better, being a guest in the teacher’s classroom created a dilemma for me because I didn’t feel it was my place to say anything.

Phase 3:

The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct will be very helpful to me as an early childhood practitioner. It will provide guidance when it comes to passing professional judgements and making decisions. The Code will continue to act as a set of beliefs to teach by and a reminder of the importance of respecting children, their families, and the families’ communities in which they live. The Code will also come in handy when it comes to dealing with coworkers and any dilemmas I may experience with them. As an early childhood practitioner, the Code sets a tone of common ground of responsibilities and morals to uphold in the classroom and all education settings.

Naturally Motherese!

After completing my clinicals with infants, I was thinking about how talking to babies comes naturally for most of us. The term "motherese" refers to how we talk to the babies in a certain high-pitched and comforting tone of voice, usually with words that the baby might not even understand quiet yet. I was also thinking about how ridiculous we sound when we do this!!! Sometimes I wanted to stop and laugh at myself when I was talking to some of the infants in the daycare setting I was in. I found myself saying things in such a way that I've never heard myself speak before! But it never mattered because the infants were always eager to look at me or listen to what I was saying. I even talked some of them to sleep while they were fussing in my arms because they were tired but fighting having to take a nap. Even though the infants might not have always understood what I was talking about, I was happy to talk to them because I am aware of the importance of exposure to language. Infants and toddlers go through critical periods in their lives in which it is so important to expose them to language in order to help them develop it. So, talk to those babies - no matter how ridiculous you sound!!!

Check out another blogger's post from years past on how he feels about "motherese" as well:
http://www.slcd.org/blog/index.php/tag/motherese-language-development-early-childhood-conver/

Silence for Infants!

The placement I was at for my clinical hours with infants kind of disturbed me. For the majority of the time that I spent there, I found that the adults did very little to no verbal interacting with the infants. There were a total of five adults in the room besides me with only 6-8 infants to care for on a daily basis. The only conversations that were had were mainly geared towards the adults and their day-to-day lives. Basically, they talked to each other but rarely to the infants. Some of the more calm infants were left in bouncy-chairs for the majority of the day because they were so quiet and easy to care for. The less tolerant infants seemed to be the ones that got most of the attention, because they were crying for it. It really bothered me that there wasn't even music playing in the background to provide for some auditory/sensory/language development. These babies are left in this day care setting for up to ten hours per day and they are barely getting exposed to language. Again, I was only a guest, so I did what I could to talk to the babies while I was in their presence. But if it were my own classroom, I would be doing things a lot differently.

Here is a site about the importance of communicating with infants and why it helps to develop language:
http://www.talkingpage.org/artic002.html

A Student-Teacher's Dilemma!

Recently at one of my clinical sights I was put in an uncomfortable position. The classroom teacher wanted to talk to me about one of her assistants. She complained about her in almost every aspect you could think of! No matter what, it seemed that the teacher simply did not like this particular assistant. Most of all, it seemed to me that it was simply a matter of personality conflict more so than anything else. Then, the other classroom assistant began complaining about this same person to me, as well. Eventually, both the teacher and one of the assistants would pull me aside to "gossip" about the other assistant. This made me feel so uncomfortable, but I felt like all they wanted was someone to listen to their gripes. I always listened, but still felt really badly for the other assistant. At times it was almost obvious that she was the person being talked about! Not only did this seem really unprofessional, but I lost a little bit of respect for my cooperating teacher. I wanted to tell them both to get over it and do their jobs! But I was a guest in their classroom, so I just listened...

Here's a good site for professionalism on the job:
http://www.helium.com/items/695254-student-teachers-tips-for-maintaining-your-professionalism

Creative Curriculum website for reference!

I forgot to post a website for my last blog post. I found this website about creative curriculum to be most helpful when I was doing a little research on it for myself:

http://www.teachingstrategies.com/page/CCPS_Overview.cfm

Enjoy!

Clincals with Pre-K

I completed my fifty clock hours working in a pre-k room that followed the "creative curriculum" guidelines. I found this interesting because the teacher essentially guided the student's learning experiences while the students sort of lead the way. There was a daily routine that the teacher followed, but when it came to teaching activities, the students helped to guide the lesson. During most lessons, the teacher would pose questions in order to prompt the students' thinking. Then the teacher would write the students' responses on a large poster board. Afterwards, the teacher woud ask the students where they would like their poster board to be posted in the classroom? This was left entirely up to the students, and it gave complete control to the students. I found it funny to see some posters were up in the bathroom, on the radiators, hanging from the ceiling, etc!

Buzzing about Blogging!

As of today, I am officially a first-time blogger!

I have yet to begin my practicum experience as I have only just ended the school year this past Friday. I am expected to complete 35 clock hours working with infants and 50 clock hours working with toddlers. This coming Thursday I will be getting a tour of my placement and I am really looking forward to checking it out. Hopefully by next week I will have a schedule of times and dates to report to my placement.

Be back soon!