Personal Growth and Development 1

Personal Growth and Development Paper

Janise Wright
Northampton community College
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I choose early childhood education as my field of study because I love children and I

want to be able to help them develop and learn. One of my strengths in this role is knowing

how to work with diverse individuals. Everyone is different and I will teach the children how

to embrace individuality and how to appreciate their classmates culture and traditions. One

of my challenges in this role is having a partnership with each parent. A lot of parents today

are not involved in their childrens education because of busy schedules and careers but I will

do everything I can to work with them so they can be involved in their childs education.

Growing up my parents were an important part of my education and I know my students will

need their parents support as well. My future goal is to be able to shape the minds of all my

students and inspire them to follow their dreams. I plan to achieve this goal by believing,

motivating and teaching my students everything they need to be successful.

The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct is a guideline for the expected moral and ethical

behavior of educators. The code helps educators resolve ethical dilemmas encountered in

early childhood care and education. I have used this document to get a better understanding

of my responsibility to the children, their families, my colleagues and the community and

society. It aligns with my beliefs because I know that the family and community have an

effect on children.

Some of the regulations I learned this semester are that Pennsylvania mandates a ratio of

1:4 for children from birth to 1 year of age, with a maximum group size of 8. Required ratios

for 1 to 2-year-olds are 1:5 and 2:10, with a cap at 10. For 2- to 3-year-olds, the required ratio

is 1:6, with a maximum of 12. Groups of preschool-aged children (age 3 to their entry into

kindergarten) should never exceed 20, and one caregiver may care for 10 children at most. In

centers accommodating children of mixed ages, the ratio and maximum group size are
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dictated by the youngest child present. Regulations are important because they are for the

safety and benefit of the child. I am following the regulations by getting the mandatory

education I need to be able to educate children.

Ive used Early Learning Standards to create developmentally appropriate lessons for

children. One challenge in using this these standards is that not every child is at the same

level of learning which can make the lesson more difficult (but not impossible) to

accommodate each child. My future goal is to get every student to the development level

needed to move on with their education.

During this semester I worked with peers to create a debate focused lesson for primary

grade children. One challenge I had with this assignment was communication. Because it is

an online class it is a little harder to communicate with my partners to create the lesson. My

future goal is to work on communicating better with my peers and collogues.

Bowlbys attachment theory influenced me because I know it to be true. I was very

attached to my father as a child and would cry when he would go somewhere without me.

B.F. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning also influenced me, especially the positive

reinforcement. While in the preschool classroom my host teacher had a system where the

children would get a pom pom to put in a cup for their good choices. When they filled the

cup with pom poms they would get a surprise. This really encouraged the children to make

good choices.

Young children learn by doing and by example. Its important to use the standards that

each state provides to education children. These standards are made to be developmentally

appreciate for children but also fun for them to learn. Its up to use as educators to use the

standards to create lessons that are engaging for children. We as educators also have to model
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good behavior so children can follow and understand why its important to always use good

behavior with others.

My prior knowledge of Early Childhood is that it is the beginning stages of a childs

development and education. A students childhood is very important because it shapes who

they will grow up to be. The most interesting thing I learned is that children in Head Start

Programs learn though play. What surprised me the most was that the children dont have

tests or worksheets but the teachers still create lessons and follow standards and the children

can still be assessed. The most useful thing I learned from my work with children and

families is that we are a team working to educate the child. I work with the child in school

and the families work with them at home. I will listen to the parents to understand what

works for their child and what doesnt and use this information while teaching.

My goal as a teacher is to educate the minds of children, inspire and motivate them to

grow up to be whoever and whatever they want to be. I will encourage children to believing

in themselves and know they can do anything they put their minds to. No matter what

culture, ethnicity or environment they come from all children have the right to a proper and

fair education.
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Resources:

https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

http://www.dhs.pa.gov/provider/earlylearning/childcareregulations/

https://www.slideshare.net/6770luhrig/child-development-14487267

Trawick-Smith, Jeffrey W.Early childhood development : a multicultural perspective /

Jeffrey Trawick-Smith.

6th ed.p. cm.