Kali Kent

Chapter 3
10/26/16
In the book Professionalism in early childhood education: Doing our best for
Young Children by Stephanie Feeney, chapter 3 Knowledge and Skills, is about
Characteristics of professional behavior in Early Childhood Education. The start of
the chapter is the research, and the philosophers that helped discover child
development. It then goes into knowledge and skills that are important in child
development and then says how to use these skills in the classroom.
There are many different philosophers that helped pave the way through
child development. Fredrich Frobel was the founder of Kindergarten, he knew that
younger children needed to be taught in a different way than older children, play
however was guided by a teacher. Next is John Dewey, believes that children
investigate the world around them, teachers roll was to guide and be an observer.
Maria Montessori focus in on children in poverty. She believed that childrens
intelligence is not fixed, but can be stimulated through the childs experience. She
also was the first one to say that child sized furniture is important, as well as
specific learning materials. Loris Malaguzzi believed in-depth projects that is specific
to childs interest. Children can express how they are feeling through creative art.
She was the first one that said the environment is the third teacher. These
Philosophers are caring and respectful of all children. These ideas have an impact
on programs that are running today.
The next part of the chapter revolves around low-income programs with
children. Head start which is a federally funded program. Head start focuses in on
child development, and the importance of family in the program, as well as the
community. It also gave the children services such as dental, medical and
nutritional. The next is the CDA, this was the first national attempt to say what a

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teacher needed to know, to work with children. It is a non-profit organization, that
supports child development. This program was awarded for the competency of
working with children.
The last part of the chapter is about the core knowledge in Early Childhood
Educators. The first aspect is child development; educators need to know and
understand children. Children are complex and it is constantly changing, you will
continue to learn throughout your work with children. Knowing the different types of
development are physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. Child
development includes the ages infancy through the age of eight. You need to know
the different theories, and theorists that involve child development. Some of the
most important aspect of child development are attachment, and the theory of
continuity of care.
The next is Observation, assessment, and documentation. Most of the
information, that people have gathered, are through observations. Therefore,
observations are very important. Documentation, is where teachers gather all the
work that the children have put together, such as drawings and paintings. This
provides a record of childrens learning. Assessment goes hand in hand with
observations. They use these to determine if there are any concerns when it comes
to the childs development, further investigations need to take place.
The chapter then talks about Health, safety, and nutrition. Educators should
know about all aspects of health, including basic nutrition requirements, special
feeding challenges, food allergies, food safety, containments, first aid, safety
procedures, hazards inside and out, preventing illness, and required immunizations.
You need to have a prepared environment for all the things listed above. You need

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to make sure you go through all the important practices, such as hand washing,
sanitizing and planning.
Next is relationships and guidance. Teachers are committed to learn, live and
learn through a group setting. You need to learn guidance principles, practices.
Teachers need to understand that children need positive relationships with adults
and peers. Guidance principles need to be used on childrens self-concept, selfregulate, and attitudes about school.
The next is learning environment. Teachers need to provide attractive,
functional learning environments. You need to understand the roll of the
environment, and the importance of the classroom. Be willing to modify the
surroundings.
Then it is curriculum and teaching strategies. This is defined as a planned
learning experience for children. It includes the content and the strategies, as well
as how it is structured. Teachers try their hardest to provide hands on learning,
learning through play, and the interest of the children. NAEYC is the one who
influenced the field of early childhood education. You need to take into
consideration the childs age and development, but as well as their learning styles.
You need to understand the characteristics of appropriate practice. You need to plan
every day with the children in mind. Some activities include, music, large/fine motor
skills, science, social studies and math. Teachers need to assess their program and
figure out what is working and what is not.
Then it is about Diversity. You can go to the NAEYC, code of ethical conduct to
look at the values of diversity, ad how to support it. Teachers need to be divers in

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their knowledge, and keep learning, to better relate to a child. Some things that you
need to learn about are culture, ethnicity, language, gender, and religious beliefs.
You need to first appreciate your own culture before you can appreciate someone
elses. You should try and learn the backgrounds from every child/family that you
work with. You should also look out for children that may have signs of delays, or
disabilities, and find ways that work best for that child. Work with the families as
much as possible, if the child as any disabilities, or in general.
Next is Partnership with families. It is important that you are constantly
involving the families into the classroom, since the childrens lives, are mainly at
home. You need to have a partnership with the families that you are working with,
one person is not more in control then the next. Educators need to understand the
bond the children have with their families and respect it as much as possible. Learn
the familys dynamics and characteristics, to better bond with the child as well as
the adults. Also, this will make them feel more comfortable in who they are leaving
with their children. You need appreciate every family as a whole and individually.
Learn and know each family as if they were your own.
Lastly it is about professionalism in the classroom. You need to serve families
in a professional manor, be a part of the community, behave ethically, and advocate
for children as well as early childhood development. To be professional, requires
you to understand the field in which you are working. This requires you to know the
history, policies, and programs.
This chapter relates to child development and our practices on many different
levels. It is important to know our history, to understand the importance of child
development. Knowing the philosophers, and what they believe, will allow you to

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understand what you believe in. Then it shows the different programs, that you can
go into, if you are wanting to become a teacher. You can decide what qualities you
want in your work, and see if youd like any of them. Then it talks about what the
educator should know, to be an excellent teacher. This is important to know, before
you become a teacher, which should be a requirement if you are a teacher. Then
talks about the knowledge and skills that come together to be a great teacher.
This reminds me of my classes that I took in High school. I remember that we
all had a philosopher to do a project on and mine was John Dewey, I loved learning
about all the different philosphers. I was lucky enough to be an aid in the classroom,
and could revisit that information. I also have learned a lot about the knowledge in
Early Childhood Educators, not just the textbook, but in the classes I am taking at
Chemeketa. I have also learned a lot about the different programs that I could go
into as a preschool teacher. I have decided to go into the Head start when I am
finished.