Sharing Web Resources

I am researching the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.  I feel that everything on the site is particularly relevant to my current professional development because I am trying to realize my dream of teaching at the community college level and this website is devoted to working with those who teach early childhood educators.

One thing that I do not like about the website is that a lot of the information is geared towards working with early childhood educators who work in public schools and this leaves out a lot of early childhood educators who work outside the public school system.  I sent a question to one of the contact people to find out about why so much information is focused on public school educators but no one has responded.

One of the areas of the site highlights grants and awards that are available for early childhood educators.  Most of these grants are focused towards funding research projects that support high quality early childhood education and the link to a more positive future if early childhood is supported.  I think this is very much an indication of just how "hot" early childhood education has become.

I didn't really glean any other insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field.  I did however, find the Early Childhood Teacher Certification Toolkit on the site and it is awesome.  The toolkit has a lot of information on early childhood best practices, why early childhood educators need to  have specialized training, and how early childhood professionals need to talk to those outside of our field.  It is definitely worth your time to read this toolkit!


Resources:

National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators
http://www.naecte.org/
(Newsletter: http://www.naecte.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=29

Getting to Know My International Contacts

I have been very disappointed at the lack of response from international contacts.  I contacted over 20 people and only 1 person responded back....to say that she can't help me out.  In light of this I reverted to option 2 of our blog assignments.  I am visiting the World Forum Foundation and listening to podcasts of other early childhood professionals.  Interestingly enough, most of these podcasts are from people in the United States but they are very informative and I am enjoying the podcasts.

This week I listened to a podcast featuring Barbara Jones.  She founded the Pine Grove Center in Falmouth, Maine 25 years ago and it is a modified Montessori school.  I enjoyed learning about the different schools she worked in before opening Pine Grove Center and how she actually found and renovated the 1917 building where the center is located.  I identified with her greatly because, like me, she had dreamed of opening her school for many years before she actually found the site and turned her dream into reality.

I also visited the school's website (the web address is below) and I enjoyed reading about a typical day at the center, meeting the staff, and learning about their enrollment process.  I would love to travel to Maine and visit her center and learn more about a Montessori environment.  I have emailed the school and hope to learn more about their work with young children.  I will keep you updated!

Resources:

www.worldforumfoundation.org

www.pinegrovecenter.com

Sharing Web Resources

Hello All!

I selected the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE).  Since I aspire to be an early childhood teacher educator some day I think this site will offer some valuable information.

A lot of the information on this website is for members only.  I checked to see how to become a member and since I am a student I can join for $45.  Although I am not going to join now, I may join in the future.

With that being said, I browsed the site for the free information and found several position statements written by the NAECTE.  One of them that piqued my interest was the position statement on early childhood certification for teachers of children 8 years old and younger in state funded pre-k programs.   In summary, this statement is asking that these educators be highly qualified by having BK certification or pre-school add on license, that the programs give priority in hiring to the teachers that hold this certification, and that the certification be obtained in teacher preparation programs that meet the standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). 

I agree wholeheartedly with this position statement.  I believe that the teachers that work with young children need the specialized education that is offered through high quality teacher preparation programs.  In my state, North Carolina, all NC Pre-K teachers are required to either hold a BK certification or pre-school add on license or be working towards that certification.  I am glad that this organization sees the value in teacher education and how it is closely related to high quality childcare.

What do YOU think?

References:

www.naecte.org/

Early Childhood Around the Globe

I am very excited about my new class, Issues and Trends in Early Childhood.  I am amazed at all of the information that is available about early childhood around the globe.  I can't wait to hear from other early childhood educators and learn about the issues and trends in their areas. 

I have contacted early childhood professionals in El Salvador, the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany and I hope to hear from some of them very soon.  I am excited about the potential learning opportunities that may occur through networking with these professionals around the world. 

In addition, I am researching the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.  Since I aspire to be an early childhood teacher at the community college level upon completion of my studies, I thought this was the perfect fit.  So far I have read their mission statement (Our Purpose), read about their officers, and learned about their annual conferences.  I look forward to learning about all of the resources that they have available.