Parent, Family, & Community Engagement

What I have learned from the Parent and Family Stories is that it helps them to feel like they are a part of a community. They also feel like it is a big help towards them because they have to work and not have to use money to pay a babysitter. A lot of the parents saw how well their children progressed in life in general. They were able to see their children learn their ABCs and numbers and to become social with other people. The Parent as Teacher role has an advantage on families because they are able to be at home and support their children in their education. The things that the children learn in school, they are able to comprehend more things at home and can tell their parents what they have learned and can re-track their progress. The children can use what they learn in the classroom and put it towards being at home. Parent and family involvement is highly important to the early childhood field because if families are excited about education, then the children with follow them in that excitement. 

Quality Programs for All Children

         When it comes to public opinion in the US, providing quality services is highly important due to having positive relationships with children and families, understanding and embracing various cultures, being up to date with issues in early childhood, and recording development assessments for children. Within the next five years I can see people advertising opinions and issues in video advertisements, social media, and also books and magazines. This can better spread the word about what is going on in the world of early childhood. We will be able to get better support from those who want to help. For children, families, and the early childhood field it means that we will attract those who care about the welfare of young children. Education has changed over the years but I believe that if we look into our past successes then we can better prepare children, families, and early childhood professionals for school.

Early Childhood Public Policy & Advocacy

I chose this specialization because of my love for policy and how I could possibly make a difference in the lives of children one day due to me advocating for them. I went to school and got a B.A in Political Science with a minor in Public Administration. I wanted to get my masters in something that represented my love for children and found this program. I hope to learn all I can to be an advocate for children. I have a high interest in helping children who have developmental delays or other issues dealing with the brain. I find that there are not a lot of people out there to help them and I want to be able to do just that. While I do not work in policy right now but in education, I hope to take what I learn in my job or future opportunities and learn to keep advocating for children in anything I do. 

Advocates are essential to the early childhood because they want to lay down the issues that are happening in children and family’s lives. Advocates recognize problems and issues that affects them in a negative way and try to do something positive about it. Becoming a skilled and confident advocate is crucial for early childhood professionals because they can make a huge difference in people’s lives by making children’s issues be heard.

What I hope to learn about public policy and advocacy are the different topics of issues that are affecting early childhood and how we as professionals can help those families. I want to know about some of the policies being formed for these issues as well. I want to know about how politics connects with early childhood issues and what they may or may not be doing to solve these problems.