NAEYC Code
of Ethical Conduct & Statement of Commitment
If every early childhood professional
followed this code and made this commitment, our children would be ahead of the
game. I think these are important, powerful, inclusive documents. These are some
areas that hold the greatest impact to me… I have combined two together,
because I believe they are inseparable…
"We shall inform families of
program philosophy, policies, curriculum, assessment system, and personnel
qualifications, and explain why we teach as we do." AND... "We shall
not use our relationship with a family for private advantage or personal gain,
or enter into relationships with family members that might impair our effectiveness
working with their children."
The word "explain" is a key
concept. Parents may, or may not, read school manuals. They may, or may not,
understand what they have read. Often, parents receive manuals after they have
enrolled their child and paid tuition. Parents must understand the philosophy
of the school prior to enrolling their child.
It is critical for parents to understand the school's philosophy on
discipline, meals, curriculum, illness, and everything that happens in the
classroom. The director has a responsibility to make certain there is a meeting
of the minds before enrolling the child. What irritates me the most is when a
parent states, "I haven't read a school manual. Does our school have one?”
or when questioned about school discipline policy, a parent responds "I
don't have a clue what the teacher does for discipline."
The second principle mentioned above
has come to my attention during recent school consultations. I have witnessed, "Professionals"
giving added attention to the children of mom's who volunteer or send in
supplies. In addition, I know first-hand of a director who told a teacher NOT
to report suspected child abuse because the mother was president of her school
organization. And, yes, I did report this situation. I think that early childhood educators need
to take a required class reflecting on the importance of treating every child
equally. Most importantly, why does a director need to know that a teacher is
calling the abuse and neglect hotline? If we are advocating in the best
interest of children, none of this makes sense to me.
“We shall communicate openly and
truthfully about the nature and extent of services that we provide.”
Until I began consulting in various
schools, I never would have given this principle any thought. I believed this was just the reality
already. However, I think we need to
take this a step further. In this principle,
we need to include informing parents of the services provided up-front,
honestly, and professionally. Hiding
something to get a parent to enroll his/her child is unethical. It almost scares me. Isn’t this our ethical obligation?
While observing a teacher, a mother
asked her if she was working with her son on toilet training. The teacher, without hesitation, said, “oh
yes, every day.” So, I followed through
by specifically asking the teacher (after the mom left) what she does to assist
with toilet training. Her comment to me
was “he’s not ready. I’ll work with him
after the holidays.” Did she, or did she
not, just tell a different story to the child’s mom? If we are not truthful with our parents, how
can expect them to be truthful with us.
DEC CODE OF ETHICS
Although a code for young children with
disabilities and their families, most of what is shared has relevance for all
children. In a way, each child is a special need. I was drawn to the following three goals... "to improve
the lives of young children with disabilities and their families," "to
respect and appreciate the unique value and human potential of each child,"
and “to respect families’ rights to choose or refuse early childhood special
education or related services.”
This requires additional education and teaching. Whenever I
think of the word "disability," Ethan comes to my mind. Ethan was an
amazing boy who needed a wheelchair to get around. Ethan was enrolled in our
school when he was 4. Mom wanted to prepare him for Kindergarten. Ethan had a
"spotter" with him. The "spotter" was a nurse who was hired
to "help" Ethan throughout his day. The "spotter" finished
Ethan's artwork, fed him lunch, stacked blocks for him, and finished his
sentences. The challenge was that Ethan did not need this help; he had a
challenge getting around, but he could do everything else by himself. Actually, he had fun maneuvering the wheel
chair by himself. Ethan had a cheerful
personality, and yet, he became frustrated when his "spotter" took
away his independence. We agreed to learn how to help Ethan get in and out of
the chair to use the bathroom if mom would let the "spotter" go. Mom
flipped out. Eventually, the "spotter" began telling me how to run my
class, accusing me of giving Ethan too much responsibility. When it was Ethan's
turn to be the line leader, the "spotter" went crazy. Ethan ended up
leaving our school, because mom said that Ethan needs more individualized
instruction from the “spotter.” It broke
my heart.
In a way, all of the three goals mentioned above are
reflected through Ethan. My students and
I tried to respect Ethan for his unique contributions to our classroom. He was a friend of all of the students; they
did not care if he was in a wheelchair or not.
He played and learned with them.
Ethan was a part of our classroom family. In the end, we had to respect the decision of
Ethan’s family, although we did not agree with it, and we did not believe it
was in the best interest of Ethan.
Each code of ethics statement holds great value for professional early childhood educators. My concern is making certain that everyone in the field is following them... that would truely be the best scenerario for young children.
