Systems and Policies

Taking a class dealing with policies and systems is daunting to me. It is true. I have little knowledge of policies that shape early childhood. I have some, but not enough to feel confident in this class right now. If I am totally honest, I could not wrap my head around systems. I read and reread our assigned reading. I could not determine if a system was simply the early childhood education programs or vision as a whole or if or if they were the Early Learning, Health, Family Nutrition, or Special Needs layed in fig. 2.1 in the text. I examined the layout of the text to help me make sense out of systems and subsystems. I am on this journey to learn as much as can about early childhood education, so I may have to work harder in grasping these concepts. Three goals that I would have for myself in this class would be 1) to become familiar with ECE policies and how to get involved with policy making  2) Have more clarity about Systems and how to assess/evaluate one 3) learn ways to ensure professional development for teachers.

I look forward to delving into this topic that I am so unfamiliar with. When I was several years younger, I actually wanted to start my own program and I had no idea where to begin. I think this class will give  a lot of clarity on this. A look at the history of policies will be interesting. I hope that I learn more about budgeting and equality. Why is there never enough money in education? Aren't we doing one of the most important jobs in the world???

Wow!!! I have gained so much insight from this class. Accepting the biases that I have and learning how to be more aware and not let those biases effect my teaching. That is probably the biggest thing that I am taking away from this experience. I did not realize the I had biases until I was force to take a long hard look inside of myself. Reading "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" was an incredible story that followed the life of a little girl and her family. It told of the ways that biases from all, had an impact on the care that she received. That story, along with Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, has helped me realize that we all have biases. The resources gave me strategies to deal with these challenges.

It was especially informative to discuss issues and challenges with others in the class. Being able to get points of views other than your own helped me see differences and grow as a scholar practitioner. I definitely feel as though I am a different educator than when I began this journey.

I have enjoyed this course and I am very thankful to Dr. B. for her positive, constructive criticism. This has been one of my favorite classes!!!