My Commitment to the Field of Early Childhood Care and Education

Throughout my early childhood professional career, I have used the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and statement of commitment as my foundation when establishing relationships with children and families.  ‘’The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct offers guidelines for responsible behavior and sets forth a common bases for resolving the principle ethical dilemmas encountered in early childhood care and education.  The statement of commitment is not part of the Code what is a person acknowledgement of an individual’s willingness to embrace the distinctive values and moral obligations of the field of early childhood care and education’’ (NAEYC, 2005).    The standards of ethical behavior in early childhood care and education are committed to the core values that have been established throughout the history of early childhood development.  I share the same commitment to the field early childhood care and education as the NAEYC.  We are committed to

·         Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle

·         Base our work on knowledge of how child develop and learn

·         Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family

·         Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society

·         Respect the dignity, worth and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleagues)

·         Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues

·         Recognize that and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect

One of my favorite commitments is ‘’ Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle’’ because accepting childhood development as a separate entity in the human life cycle is vital to being able to understand children as a whole throughout their various stages of development as well as allows us to better create environments to maximize their development.  My commitment to  ‘’ Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society’’ has contributed to my passion for early childhood because I strongly believe as early childhood professionals we need to understand the foundation of each child.  The foundation of a child is deeply rooted in their relationships with their family and community. Understanding these various relationships in children’s lives allows us as early childhood educators to create a learning environment that reflects the needs of the family and community.  In conclusion, I think it is crucial to ‘’Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues’’ because we all our unique and can learn from each other’s individual learning experiences.  In addition, when working with children and families it is important to remember that your way may not always be the best solution for children and families, but you should always be presented to the group with the children and families’ best interest in mind. 

Reference

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf