Sharing Web Resources

What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

           I checked out the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators and read through the E-letters and regional reports. The regional reports were from different states and what legislatures in these states and advocates for early childhood education are doing. It seems as though the main concern for early childhood education is to not let it become lax in licensing and accredidation. Licensing and teacher quality are important and needs to be kept in the forefront.

Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

I did not find anything controversial on the website. I felt that this website makes you think about how important our jobs are as early childhood educators or anyone involved with children to be strong advocates in this field. There are many conferences held throughout the  United States and the organization is linked with others to help decide the best practice for children and what is needed for quality preschool and early childhood programs. This organization is definitely about making sure we have the appropriate teachers in place and are of good quality.

What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

In the Regional reports of the newsletters, governors and other members of the state's political parties are very much a part of the organization and are interested in how early childhood and the educators are important. There is also a toolkit on the website that explains how to get in touch with those people so that you are able to voice concerns.

What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

I really liked the toolkit because of the information it contained. I printed it off for my own files and hope to locate someone from the Iowa affiliation of this organization to find out more about it here in my state.