Very often an early childhood educator is confused with a caregiver or a babysitter. A lot of people as well as some professionals consider teachers forking with small children to be less proficient as the educators. Yet it is not true, it is not even close to be correct. Being an early childhood teacher is a complex task that requires constant professional development, precise attentiveness to the students, emphasis on the individual work with children, and particular patience. Besides that, professionals in this field contribute their efforts to research and professional growth. While there is a lot of clichés surrounding the work of an early childhood teacher, I know for sure that this job is particularly demanding. Whether you are a novice educator or an experienced teacher, it is essential to have concise career goals not only due to ambitions, but also in the reason of the provision of high-quality services to the community.
As a novice specialist in this area, I have a list of career goals that have to improve me as a specialist and benefit my future students. Consequently, I plan to create safe and welcoming environment for the children in order to foster their intellectual and emotional development. I want to put emphasis on the effective communication between children to develop social skills, which are essential in the modern society. I plan to promote collaboration and fast decision of the conflicts if they emerge. To my point of view, every pre-school educator has to refine her/his abilities in developing certain atmosphere in the classroom considering that small children perceive any information quite fast. Early childhood is a period when kids are sensitive to the information, actions, and environment in general, which requires a teacher to be particularly attentive to the approach to the students. It is also the time when children’s behavioral patterns and emotional reactions are molded. Therefore, my professional goal is to show and explain a wide variety of the acceptable behavior as well as the range of emotional reactions in order to make children more versatile in their life experience.
My professional goals have to be directed towards the development of my personal skills. I plan to attend conferences, courses, and trainings created for the pre-school teachers to increase my abilities as the professional. This work requires a lot of emotional and psychological strength, which I plan to attain with the improvement of my emotional intelligence and knowledge in psychology. I consider that a pre-school teacher must be aware about the mental state of children as well as the personal emotions in order to sustain the stressors and avoid negative reactions especially in the classroom. Pre-school educators do not have a luxury to be irritable, aggressive, or unstable, as we have to take care about the children and evolve their social and intellectual skills.
However, there are certain ethical goals to attain for every early childhood educator. I know that I will have to collaborate not only with children, but also with their parents, which makes me accountable for the changes in students’ experiences and knowledge. One of the ethical rules is to acknowledge the right of the family to make decisions about their children, yet there is a need to engage the parents into the educational process (NAEYC 4). It is quite difficult to find a balance between these principles, as it is quite easy to cross the line and impose your personal beliefs, which you think is “right” for children. Yet, it is essential to take into account the wishes of parents before working with their children. Even if the family’s ideas do not comply with your point of view, it is essential to maintain productive communication for the sake of students and for the preservation of the professional integrity.
I have to admit that while being an international student, I gained a lot of new experiences and knowledge I will be able to implement into the framework of Saudi pre-school education. In my country, the future of children is valued the most, as we try to give all possible valuable resources for every child. Mental, spiritual and intellectual development of individual is essential in my country, where the professionals have to pay attention to all students (Al Shaer 5). While Saudi framework of education differs from the Western concept in terms of the importance of religion and faith in my country, my professional goals will have to synthesize the experience received during the education in the U.S. and the aims of the Saudi pre-school education. I plan to cooperate with the other professionals in my field in order to refine my skills and broaden my intellectual horizons. I want to create a personal network of contacts all over the world being able to extract the most valuable practical experience which will help me in my career path.
I believe that practical experience is the most valuable basis a pre-school educator might have. Consequently, I want to apply my theoretical knowledge in child development in the classroom by approaching every child individually, customize the educational experience for the students according to their need. Pre-school educators form a fundament of knowledge and behavioral patterns that children will use during their academic experience and daily life. Therefore, I plan to develop lessons in the form that will be interesting and engaging for the small children and incorporate maximum useful information they can get. Also, I will design the list of recommendations for the parents to retain the knowledge in the practical experience at home. I believe that the environment in the family plays crucial part in the ability of a child to develop both intellectually and emotionally. Thus, as a pre-school educator I will monitor the emotional state of a child and if it is possible and appropriate, I will collaborate with the parents to resolve a problem at once. I believe that my professional and personal skills will help me to do my job more effectively.
Works Cited
Al Shaer, Abdulrahman I. “Education for all programs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”. UNESCO. 2007. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment. Apr. 2005. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
