1. The resume
2. The initial call
3. The application
4. The interview
5. Thank you

1. Miscellaneous
   • You might be asked what position you are applying for. 
   • Indicate if you are looking for full time or part time work.
   • If the center operates non-standard hours it is very important to be specific about the days and times you are available.
   • This also may be the place it is asked what type of salary you desire.
2. Personal Information
   • All applications should include the applicants basic contact information such as full legal name, address and phone number and an email address.
   • Other personal information may be requested as needed.
3. Work Requirements
   • Typically you must have a CPR, and First Aid certification of some type, a TB test, and some type of criminal history check.  There is typically a section on the application that asks if you have these items and an expiration date if applicable.
   • You may also have to sign a statement that as a contingency of being hired you must complete and receive a criminal history clearance for the state in which you are working.
4. Education and Employment History
   • A section is typically available for the applicant to list their education.
   • The application typically includes the name of the college or college attended.
   • When asking about employment history, the dates of employment as well as the name, address and phone number of past work places are typically desired.
   • Space will be available to list your duties and reason for leaving.
   • Volunteer work is also an important part in the employment piece of the application.  Volunteer work can give the employer an idea of how dedicated this person is to the field of Early Education.  Volunteer work shows that you have taken the time to go above and beyond the “job” and volunteer in the community.
5. Personal and Professional References
   • If it is not designated separately on the application, assure that you state whether your reference is personal or professional.
   • Be prepared to give the name, address and phone number of the reference.  This gives the employer the option of calling or sending a questionnaire to your reference.

 

 

A professional:

• has specialized knowledge and skills
• pursues a specific expertise
• exhibits curteous, ethical behavior in the workplace
• acts with integrity
• seeks and shares knowledge

 

There are several ways to build your knowledge base:

• Reading more

  • Reading Professional journals such as Young Children, Teaching Exceptional Children, Early Childhood Bulletin etc. help you stay up to date on the latest research on the development of young children, as well as teaching strategies for young children.  The Journal of Young Children comes Free with your subscription to your local National Association for the Education of Young Children.  There are also many other journals available on-line at no or minimal cost. 

    Licensing Requirements

    Reading and becoming familiar with your licensing requirements is a critical part of doing your best to assure that your classroom is, at a minimum, meeting those regulations.  However, a good teacher is always striving to go higher than the minimum regulations.

    Don’t stop by reading articles in professional journals and your state licensing requirements, follow through and implement what you have learned.  Ask questions, and reflect on what you have learned.  

• Developing interpersonal skills

  • Participating in peer feedback

    Part of growing as a professional is to observe and listen to what your peers are doing.  Listen when constructive feedback is given to you by a peer, supervisors or parents.  This will assist you in finding out what works well, where people see your strengths, as well as determining in what areas you need to continue improving.

    Motivating others

    As a new teacher or an experienced teacher it is your job to keep others around you motivated.  Teachers need to show consideration of co-workers, as well as the children.  Teachers need to learn when to be a leader and when to be a follower, they need to be sociable but most of all they need to have a sense of humor.  Teachers need to have a vision.  Ask yourself, ask your co-workers, what do you want to see five years from now for the children you are caring for today?  What steps can you take as an educator to assist these children and their families?

    Learning about attitudes and dispositions

    Teachers need to be enthusiastic, self- confident, and show courage.  However, they must also be humble, and take risks in order to work with the many different children and adults they will interact with throughout their teaching career.  Learning how to interact with each individual's personality is a constant challenge.

    When analyzing a new group of people ask yourself - What values do you share with these people?  What specific shared goals can you accomplish by focusing on these shared values.  “The challenge for new leaders is to unlearn old mind-sets and concentrate on the potential and creativity diversity brings.” (Sullivan).  Sharing values between leader and followers enhances two-way communication and facilitates a stronger working environment and stronger commitment to the children and families with whom you work.

• Analyzing your skills to identify areas to strengthen

  • What are your special interests and skills?

    As a teacher you work to understand how young children grow, develop and learn, and how to meet each of their diverse needs.  But what about yourself?  It is important that you work to understand your own gifts and talents, and how you developed each of those. Many of the characteristics and strengths that come naturally to you now were those developed in your childhood.

  • Think about your own family, what were the traditions and culture in which you  grew up?
  • What were you like as a child and young adult? Were you a leader or a follower? Were you reserved and quiet or social and outgoing?
  • What actions, behaviors, and beliefs, from growing up did you carry with you into adulthood?

Survival 

During the first several months of teaching or when teaching in a new program the teacher spends most of their time learning about the routines of the children and the program.  During this time the focus is on your immediate needs, learning where you fit into this program.  This is the time where you observe, listen and nurture yourself.

 

Consolidation

 

Confident/organized. 

They are seeking new ways to accomplish every day routines.  They are beginning a transformation from having a job to becoming a professional.  During this stage teachers need to analyze each day in the classroom and ask themselves what actions and behaviors they have observed that can assist them in making the transformation from having a job to having a career.

When a teacher begins the transformation they need to analyze not only what is happening in the classroom, but what is happening with themselves.  Who am I as a teacher?  What am I good at?  What do I believe in?  What do others think of me?  What do I believe about what they think?  This transformation assists you in unlearning old mind-sets and concentrating on your potential and creativity.  Take some time during this stage to imagine what your goals are as an Early Childhood Professional.

 

 

Renewal 

 

After a few years on the job, one's enthusiasm begins to fall.  This is the time to find something that will renew your interest in your career.  Burn-out is very high in Early Childhood Professionals. This is why you need to take the time to renew and nurture yourself.  Begin to set goals that take you above and beyond “just the classroom.”

Moving beyond “just the classroom” does not necessarily mean that you need to discontinue working in the classroom with the children, it just means you need to imagine ways to renew your interest in the classroom and the children’s.  Most states require Early Childhood Professionals to take continuing education classes, however it is your job to search out the classes that best fit your needs.

Take time to analyze what your strengths are and what areas you need to improve.  If you are strong in literacy take workshops that challenge your skills in this area.  Look for new ways to build literacy in your classroom.  If you are weak in science, seek out workshops that center on how to do basic science in the classroom. Follow through with your passions and dreams, and remember, by renewing the children’s interests you often renew your own desire to be with the children.

 

 

Maturity 

Congratulations!!!

You have reached maturity.  You have made the decision, the commitment, to be an Early Childhood Educator.  You have reached a level where you need to set aside 'professional' time.  This means something different for each person.

For some, this may mean it’s time to stand up and advocate for a cause.  Although the common cause is young children, each professional has their own passion.  For some the passion may be children with special needs, for others it may mean abused children, and yet for others it may mean moving into more of a management position.  Whatever your passion, you need to find a way to develop your skills and to begin being part of the leadership and mentoring team.

If you are struggling to determine how you are going to accomplish this, a good starting point is to gain a membership in a professional development organization. This will help you learn how to exemplify child care as a profession.  The most common professional organization among Early Childhood Educators is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Each state and most cities have local chapters.

 

Let's think back on the four stages that teachers go through and ask yourself the following questions.

1. What stage are you in?
2. What action, behaviors or beliefs do you see in yourself that help you determine what stage you are in?
3. What are some specific events that have happened in the past week that help you determine what stage you are in?  How have they assisted you?
4. Think back on a problem that resulted in a change in your center within the last couple of weeks.  In what way has the change created a new set ofproblems or what success came as a result of the change.  How did this problem assist you in determining what stage you are currently in?

Early Learning Guidelines.  "In 1929 NAEYC published Minimum Essentials for Nursery Education – a description of what we might call 'standards' today." ( Hyson, 2003)  The field of Early Childhood Education has come a long way since that time.  In the last several years there has been an increase in national awareness of the critical importance of the early childhood years.

 

Individual states, the Head Start Bureau, along with others have engaged in developing standards for children in early childhood programs.  In July of 2000 NAEYC’s Governing Board also decided to give greater attention to standards in early childhood and, after much discussion, dialogue, and conference sessions, NAEYC developed a position statement to identify principles or criteria for developing, adopting, and using early learning standards. (Hyson, 2003)

In order to strengthen the position statement’s impact, NAEYC partnered with the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in the states' departments of education; and in November of 2002 the final version was approved.  These standards, sometimes known as “shared expectations” for young children’s learning and development can be an important part of an effective early education system.  If children are to benefit from early learning, you as the teacher need to become very familiar with the essential characteristics of the standards.   

 

Effective early learning standards:

• emphasize significant developmentally appropriate content and outcomes.
• are developed and reviewed through informed, inclusive processes.
• gain their effectiveness through implementation and assessment practices that support all children's development in ethical, appropriate ways.
• require a foundation of support for early childhood programs, professionals, and families.

 

From NAEYC's Joint Position Statement:

1. Effective early learning standards emphasize significant developmentally appropriate content and outcomes.

• emphasizing all developmental domains
• incorporating proven meaningful content and desired outcomes
• based on relevant 'early learning and development' research
• creating appropriate age-specific expectations
• accommodating and supporting variations - community, cultural, linguistic and individual

 

Emphasizing all developmental domains

It is important that content and desired outcomes take into account all domains (physical, cognitive, social, language and self help), address motivation, consider how children learn, and include all disciplines (arts, math, science, etc).  Only a consistent, comprehensive approach can best ensure the best outcome for our children.

Incorporating proven meaningful content and desired outcomes

It is important to consider whether or not content and desired outcomes have any true meaningfulness to the child, either currently or in the future.  Trying to play a particularly tedious game, one young child looked up and frustratingly said, "What's the meaning of this?"  We do well to consider the "So what?" of what we teach and do with our children.

Based on relevant 'early learning and development' research

It is important to develop our standards based upon age-appropriate research rather than simplifying standards for older children.  The needs at each developmental stage are unique and specific.  Properly addressed the child will be appropriately prepared for the next stage of development.

Creating appropriate age-specific expectations

It is important that our expectations match our research findings and that we recognize the range encompassed by a standard. Failure to recognize variability among children can lead to frustration for both the child and the teacher.  It is good to view the standards as a continuum with flexibility that can be adapted for each child.

Accommodating and supporting variations - community, cultural,linguistic and individual

It is important to embrace these variations in the content and desired outcomes.  A child's unique culture, experiences and abilities are intimately connected to how they will learn.  By recognizing these unique situations and adapting our curriculum to them, we promote each child's changes of successful learning.

2. Effective early learning standards are developed and reviewed through informed, inclusive processes.

• relying on valid sources of expertise
• involving multiple and varied stakeholders
• sharing widely and creating multiple opportunities for comment
• using a systematic and interactive process for regular review and revision

 

Relying on valid sources of expertise

It is important that content and desired outcomes utilize the sound knowledge base of developmental and educational research that exists.  As standards are utilized, there is an ongoing validation that must go on to substantiate their continued inclusion.

Involving multiple and varied stakeholders

It is important to engage many varied participants in the development and review of standards.  All cultures, communities, positions and disciplines need to be involved:  families, educators, providers, community members, etc.  Every participant brings a unique and valuable insight to the process.

Sharing widely and creating multiple opportunities for comment

It is important that the standards be widely and clearly shared and used.  Opportunities for discussion and comment should be many and varied.  If we value diversity of persons, we must ensure adequacy of opportunity for all persons interested and willing to be involved.

Using a systematic and interactive process for regular review and revision

It is important to continually review and revise standards as our knowledge and understanding of early learning and child development grows and as changes are made to upper level standards.  The goal is to continue to develop a professional set of standards across all age and grade spectrums that are comprehensive and well-integrated, yet individually meaningful.  

 

3. Effective early learning standards gain their effectiveness through implementation and assessment practices that support all children's development in ethical, appropriate ways.

• requiring supportive curriculum, classroom practices and teaching strategies
• involving assessment tools that are valid and yield useful information
• being used to benefit children

 

Requiring supportive curriculum, classroom practices and teaching strategies

It is important that the curriculum, classroom practices and teaching strategies accurately and effectively implement the standards so as to connect with children and promote positive learning.  While the standards provide the 'what' of learning, the 'how' of learning must necessarily be diverse and creative, seeking to challenge each child.

Involving assessment tools that are valid and yield useful information

It is important that the tools used for assessing children not only be technically adequate, but practically valid.  In other words they must be able to provide useful information to teachers and families that actually help them to adequately assess each child.

Being used to benefit children

It is important that we don't lose sight of the end of the whole process - to benefit the child.  Ultimately, our standards and assessments are for the purpose of improving our curriculum and practices, creating better learning outcomes, better engaging children in learning and improving support for each child in order to maximize their ability to learn.

 

4. Effective early learning standards require a foundation of support for early childhood programs, professionals, and families.

• promoting high-quality programs
• improving professional development
• involving families

 

Promoting high-quality programs

It is important that we provide the kind of environments and relationships for children that are most conducive to learning.  The development and implementation of program standards are an essential first step toward maximizing the child's opportunity to learn.

Improving professional development

It is important that effective and accessible professional development be available.  This development includes training, mentoring, coaching, professional associations, etc. and relates to curriculum, strategies, relationships, etc.  Teachers armed with knowledge and motivated by genuine concern for the children provide the key to successful outcomes for children.

Involving families

It is important that providers view the family as a critical component to the challenge of educating children.  Family involvement should be encouraged at every level and communication with families is key.  It must be remembered that we exist to support the family and not that they exist to support us.  It is our privilege to be entrusted with this child.

NAEYC recognizes that those who work with young children face many daily decisions that have moral and ethical implications. The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct offers guidelines for responsible behavior and sets forth a common basis for resolving the principal ethical dilemmas encountered in early childhood care and education. The Statement of Commitment is not part of the Code but is a personal acknowledgement of an individual's willingness to embrace the distinctive values and moral obligations of the field of early childhood care and education.

The primary focus of the Code is on daily practice with children and their families in programs for children from birth through 8 years of age, such as infant/toddler programs, preschool and prekindergarten programs, child care centers, hospital and child life settings, family child care homes, kindergartens, and primary classrooms. When the issues involve young children, then these provisions also apply to specialists who do not work directly with children, including program administrators, parent educators, early childhood adult educators, and officials with responsibility for program monitoring and licensing.

Core Values

Standards of ethical behavior in early childhood care and education are based on commitment to the following core values that are deeply rooted in the history of the field of early childhood care and education. We have made a commitment to

• Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle
• Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn
• Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family
• Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society
• Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague)
• Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues
• Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect

Conceptual Framework

The Code sets forth a framework of professional responsibilities in four sections. Each section addresses an area of professional relationships: (1) with children, (2) with families, (3) among colleagues, and (4) with the community and society. Each section includes an introduction to the primary responsibilities of the early childhood practitioner in that context. The introduction is followed by a set of ideals that reflect exemplary professional practice and a set of principles describing practices that are required, prohibited, or permitted. The ideals reflect the aspirations of practitioners. The principles guide conduct and assist practitioners in resolving ethical dilemmas. Both ideals and principles are intended to direct practitioners to those questions which, when responsibly answered, can provide the basis for conscientious decision making.

 

NAEYC Code of Ethics

Please read this before going further (https://www.naeyc.org/store/node/450)

Now that you are somewhat familiar with the NAEYC Code of Ethics it is important to determine if your own personal philosophy is reflective of this.  In order to accomplish this ask yourself a series of questions:

• Do you know the philosophy of your center?
• Do you understand the philosophy?
• Do you actively participate in informal peer and self evaluations?
  • Do you accept comments and criticisms from colleagues, supervisors, and parents in a constructive way?
  • Do you work cooperatively with staff members, accepts supervision and helps promote positive atmosphere in the center?
• Do you take advantage of opportunities for professional and personal development?
  • Have you joined professional organizations?
  • Are you attending meetings and conferences to gain new and additional knowledge?
• Are you making yourself aware of new laws and regulations that affect knew Early Childhood laws?