A. You adhere to NAEYC code of conduct. B. You adhere to professional workplace behaviors (i.e. attire, preparedness, confidentiality). C. You advocate for the early childhood profession. D. You advocate for all children and families. E. You collaborate with others. F. You use reflective practices.
Reflection
One of the most important ways to demonstrate professionalism is to understand and apply the NAEYC code of conduct as an Early Childhood educator. During my second practicum, the class discussed our interpretation of this code and how we felt it was or wasn't being addressed at our practicum site. I believe the discussion I recorded clearly shows my understanding of the code and why it is important to me to follow these guidelines.
I believe professionalism is extremely important in the workplace. Being confident, appropriately dress, knowledgeable and prepared shows you take your job as an educator seriously. Professionalism shows in your communication, collaboration with others, personal appearance and how knowledgeable you are as an early childhood teacher. During my practicums, I believe I met this expectation and it shows through my evaluations.
I have always been an advocate for children with differing abilities and the importance of inclusion in the classroom. My research and my experience has provided me with a vast knowledge of the benefits of inclusion. My paper on inclusion in the classroom defines my understanding and why I believe it is important to advocate for this.
While taking the Family and Community Relationships course, we learned about the importance of advocacy for the early childhood profession. Prior to this class, I was unaware of the importance of doing this. After researching and getting more involved through an advocacy project, I learned what my role as an early childhood educator must be in order to see the changes I want to see for early childhood education. This project lead me to learning more about how I can become more involved and how to educate the public on some serious issues that are currently taking place.
Throughout my education and my professional development as an educator, I have learned the importance of collaboration with others. The knowledge gained from other colleagues is invaluable. There are many ways to collaborate in education. A paper I wrote on my Professional Development Plan shows my understanding of collaboration and how it will benefit me as an early childhood professional.
Self-reflection is an important part of being a successful educator. It is important to consider how one feels about how well or not so well they are as a teacher. I believe writing reflections about my experiences has helped remind me of how to be the best I can be. It shows me how I might improve, or how well I did so that I can repeat it in the future. During the Family and Community Relationships course I completed many reflective journals. I feel these documents show my capability to reflect on how I can continue to be a successful teacher.