Well, it is
funny because before I chose this specialization in Early Childhood Education
MS program, I did not know that there was such a specialization. I was actually
looking – even at a tender age of 58 -- to begin a new professional career as a
classroom teacher. I was told that I would need to be a teacher currently in a
classroom, which I was not. I was sorely disappointed, and started to look at
other options. This specialization came up, and I thought that it was right up
my alley.
Ever since, when
I mentioned my graduate studies in Early Childhood Education with a
specialization in Public Policy and Advocacy, my friends would exclaim how a
perfect an option it is. I feel very blessed to be studying something that I
have been doing all my life. My mother is my role model; she was a fighter
before there is the “advocate” label. As a four-generation deaf family, we are
accustomed to asking and advocating for our own communication needs. As a
mother of two deaf children who attended public schools without any specialized
programs, I advocated for their access issues and was, if I may add, pretty
successful at what I did to ensure that both of my children received top-notch
education through sign language interpreting services. Through my personal
experiences, I realize that I could contribute to the field with a more
professional base of knowledge. I really need to learn how to become more
engaged in public policy that impacts deaf children and their families.
Louise
Sparks-Derman (Laureate Education, 2011) defined advocate as someone who speaks
for the voiceless. That resonates so much for me. I wrote the following during
the second week of my first class, Foundations of Early Childhood:
It was a
thrill to watch the video, The Passion
for Early Childhood, in this week’s Resources and listen to how each of the
five speakers discuss their love for the field that we all are engaged in
now. Each one of them said some buzz
phrases that resonate so much with my professional and personal goals.
“Self-identities.” “More just
world.” “Opportunity to give back.” “Civil rights issue.” Louise Derman-Sparks, Professor Emeritus at
Pacific Oaks College, (Laureate Education, Inc. 2010) ultimately outlined the
essence of early childhood education, “…that the preschool years are critical;
they are the first, most fundamental period where children are in fact noticing
who they are and are noticing the attitudes of the stereotypes and the
discomforts…that the teachers have a tremendous influence on their
self-identities.” She (Laureate
Education, Inc. 2010) also believes that we need “to fix the injustices that
existed in the world.” Renatta M. Cooper
(Laureate Education, Inc. 2010) commented, “I see early childhood education,
all education, really, as a civil rights issue.”
The civil right issue is keenly highlighted in
Deaf education. Deaf preschoolers are
“noticing the attitudes of the stereotypes and the discomforts” when their
teachers try to make them into something that they essentially are not. In most American preschools for Deaf
children, the focus is on learning to talk when it would be more beneficial to
learn American Sign Language and focus on being Kindergarten-ready.
Those reasons
outlined above are why advocates are essentially important in the early
childhood field.
I have learned
some great stuff – such as cultural diversity, communication &
collaboration, and equality & equity -- about being an effective advocate
from some of my previous classes. I am particularly interested in the public
policy aspect where I hope to learn how to become a part of the both state and
federal public policy. By that, I mean, how can I influence public policy that
would change the landscape of early childhood education of young deaf children?
Can I become a staffer within the public policy system? How do I influence
public policy to ensure that it benefits the infants and toddlers and their
families? Public policy about deaf children is entrenched in an ideological
belief that deaf children must hear to acquire language and in their
intentional ignorance of what deaf children can achieve through a visual
language.
Is that a good
reason to become an advocate? I think so. I will tell you another reason: I
love what I do as a volunteer advocate.
References
Laureate
Education, Inc. (2010) The passion for early childhood. Baltimore: Author