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Professional Goals, Hopes, and Dreams

Early childhood is in an interesting state where I live. There are many quality programs in the community I live and work in but, they all differ greatly. Colorado has struggled to set a standard of quality because there are so many different private programs. I think the conversation regarding quality and early childhood professionals in my area is centered around what qualifications they should have to teach our youngest population. This has been a constant discussion and has only increased in importance over the past year.

In Colorado, one must have a bachelor degree in a specific area (child development, early childhood, or human development and family studies), completed specific early childhood courses, have a specific certification, or hold a teacher's license. The challenge with this has been, the fact that this requirement just allows staff to be alone with children, it's not necessarily used to define qualified staff. Our licensing does include ongoing personal development each year and the courses must meet the different areas of development. 

My professional goals are still developing right now. It seems like one day I know exactly what I want to do but then the next I am back to the drawing board. I am hoping to move towards working with the low income population while also bringing mental health and early childhood together. I believe ALL children deserve the same quality early childhood education and I want to be apart of the movement to do this in Colorado.

My hope is to bring my mental health experience from my residential treatment experiences to early interventions. It's so important that we intervene while children are young so we can have the most impact on their life. I believe the challenge with this will be funding and education for early childhood professionals. How do we get everyone on the same page across the state?

The podcast this week had so much I connected with, I believe this statement said by Ms Vasquez is extremely important for our field:

"We need to look at our profession holistically, just like we look at the children coming into the classroom as part of the family and part of society and a community. We need to look at our profession and our professional growth in the same way. We need to get educated and get informed about working with young children" (Laureate Education, 2011).

References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Issues and trends in the early childhood Field: excellence and equity of care and education for children and families-part 3. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Comments

  1. Rachel,
    The information you shared about qualifications for teachers is quite interesting. It is fascinating to see the differences between the states as well as between different countries. I also believe that your fluctuating views on your professional development is a step in the right direction. We must go back and forth and think thoroughly about what it is that we would like to achieve. Be encouraged!

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