Saturday, March 14, 2015

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The first organization that I chose is the Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children (Illinois AEYC); it is an affiliate of the NAEYC.  Its mission is “to facilitate the optimal development of young children by advocating for the rights, needs, and well-being of young children and educating, supporting, and collaborating with individuals and organizations working in direct or indirect service to young children” (http://illinoisaeyc.org/about).  This organization appealed to me the most because it meets the NAEYC standards including promoting positive relationships, using effective teaching approaches, promoting the health and nutrition of children, building positive relationships with families and the community, and providing quality education for children.  The Illinois AEYC advocates for young children and educates the community about the importance of the early childhood years and the value of early childhood professions.  Advocating is a great way to mobilize the community for the benefit of young children; it would give children a better chance to have access to quality education, and therefore secure a better future. 
The second organization that I chose is the Illinois Education Association (IEA).  Its mission is to “effect excellence and equity in public education and to be THE advocacy organization for all public education employees” (http://www.ieanea.org/about/history/).  This organization appealed to me because I believe all children, regardless of their background and economic status, deserve to have access to quality education.  The IEA also supports the education of teachers and advocates for public school employees.
The third organization that I chose is the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development (OECD).  Its mission is “to create an integrated system of quality, early learning and development programs to help give all Illinois children a strong educational foundation before they begin kindergarten” (http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/OECD/Pages/AboutUs.aspx).  Early childhood education is essential to give young children a foundation before preschool.  Providing early care to all children will help them succeed in kindergarten and school, and therefore have a successful adult life, which would greatly benefit the community. 
The job opportunities that are available at these organizations are intern positions and two director positions.  The intern position would allow me to grow and develop my knowledge of the organization.  It would also allow me to gain skills in advocating for young children.  For the director positions, I would need to gain more experience in leadership and get more involved with educators and organizations in my community. 


2 comments:

  1. Hi Ghinah,
    I like the three organisations you have chosen because they obviously have the interests of children at heart. The most appealing to me is AEYC as they work alongside families. Families are part of the microsystem for children's support and will be of great benefits when families are given utmost attention when working with their kids.

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  2. Hello Ghinah,

    One of my communities of practice was the, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). This organization was one of the first organizations I learned about as being a reliable, and informational resource back when I first received my associate degree in early childhood education in Wisconsin. This is a well know organization that will accept only other accredited affiliations. Therefore I find this to be beneficial for all early childhood professional, and all children, and families we work with, if providers and early childcare centers find it noteworthy of making sure that their individual center or private home childcare are accredited through the, NAEYC. Then when you are accredited through this organization you know for sure that you are serving quality care for all children.

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