Cora Wright

12/ 01/ 2014

CD 258
Becoming a Teacher in the Field of Early Care and Education
In this paper I will talk about becoming a teacher in the field of early care and education
and how it has ensured my knowledge to be successful in the field. I came in this field with just
the knowledge of being a parent and an on looker. As a parent I volunteer at my children school
and I watch as the teachers were teaching, I said to myself, I got a lot to learn. I look back from
then to now, I have learned so much, for example, Ive learn to do curriculum plans and also
lesson plans which will be useful in child development 259 and in my classroom as an future
teacher . I also learned how to observe and assess a child. As well as learning how to do
activities and also how to make them age appropriate. I learned how to put together an eportfolio that reflects on who I am and me working children. I have learned to focus more on the
child than on the actual curriculum. Yes, I know that Curriculum is important for a child, but if
you are not focused on the child then how can you implement the proper curriculum for that
child.
When I took my first course at Harold Washington it was child development 109 I
didnt know anything about the course, but I had to learn fast about Language and Development
for the young. I wrote lots of papers and also had to make a book. Right there I knew that this
field was about to be very interest and I had no knowledge of what I would and could learn in
this course. For example, I took for granted that children would develop cognitive, language and
commutation skills when they reach certain stages in their life. That brings to the theory I learned
nature versus nurture. For example, some believe that genes play a role in the way we behave

such as in personality and intelligence and others believe its due to our environment. If you
would have ask me about this theory before my child development courses I wouldnt had a clue
of what you were talking about. In my Human Growth & Development class I learned the
conception to early adolescence, including the study of physical, social, emotional, cognitive,
and language development, also children's play. This prepared me for my next course, because I
had some observation hours. My next course was child development 120, In this course I
learned about the role of the early childhood professional and relationship to expectations of the
field. For example, I did research on daycares and I did field hours. My 107 course taught me
health safety and nutrition of infant, toddlers, preschoolers, and school age children. In this
course I learned how to child proof and make healthy meals for children. Course 143 Science
and Math taught me how to plan a variety of developmentally appropriate curriculum and
experiences in math and science as well as writing assignment on what math and science mean to
me. In course 149 creative activities for the young I have learned and plan creative experiences
that allow children to play with music, movement, and art. Ive been able to implement these
activities with children 2 through 8. In course 201 observation, Assessment, and documentation
to support young children & families I learned how to observation, assess and document
development of young children in order to make appropriate curriculum plan for young children.
course 205 Development of exceptional child, I learned about children whose development is
not of the normal patterns. An example of that would be children that are vision or hearing
impaired, which can be a child who wears glass or a hearing aid. Course 262 Child Family and
Community Relations help with the importance of building positive relationships between
children, families, and community, and the ability diversity.

Course 258 principles & practices of preschool education, has prepared me for organization,
procedures, and the role of a teacher. During my pre practicum course I have learned to provide
developmentally appropriate play based activities that support all developmental domains, such
as cognitive, language, physical, social, and emotional to address the needs of all children. This
course along with other course emphasize on becoming and implementing the NAECY
standards. For instance, I did 45 hours of observing children in the classroom setting and also
planned and implemented age and developmentally appropriate activities as well as oral
presentations and written assignments. During my course I have taking several workshops and
received certificates and credit through the Gateways program for begin a member. To name a
few of the workshops I will begin the Ready Set Move, this workshop was geared towards a
healthy lifestyle in young children which is critical for brain development for all children. Next
there was Executive Functions Deficits & Coexisting Conditions in preschool (EFD) this was
focused on ADHD, learning disabilities, and Autism, which has an impact on language
development, learning and behavior. Also I attended, Transitioning from Early Intervention:
What Every Parent Should Know, this workshop talked about preschool inclusion benefits for
children with and without disabilities, resources, IEPs, and ODLSS, but this workshop was
focused mostly on helping children with special needs. Last but not least I attended the
Unpacking the New Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards this workshop focus on
revised (IELDS) for preschool in this workshop we learned to describe what the IELDS are and
how to using them focus on developmentally appropriate practices for preschool children,
identifying and determining how the IEDLS were developed and how they fit into the Birth 12
continuum and ways the preschool benchmarks can be incorporated in every aspect of the
preschool program. This workshop also, addressed ISBE Teaching Standard: # 6 The teacher

understands and use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students development of

critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills. CDA #2: To advance physical and
intellectual competence As a future teacher these workshops are very related and useful to me in
my career, as I observe, assess and transition children in their education, and involve families in
understanding the connection of the preschool benchmarks and play based curriculum in the
growth, development, and learning. I can take the information I gained and use it as a references
to ensure the best quality and support for children and their families .
My child development journey over the past few years not only help me come to
understanding of what to expect, but has prepared me to be a good teacher as well as being open
minded to new things to make my teaching skills stay updated. I will continue to go to
workshops and any required classes to keep inform on anything that I can use to make my
classroom an ongoing learning environment. I plan to be successful with my career and use what
I have learned in Child Development to prepare futures leaders of tomorrow.