“Exploring my Image of the Child”
As Dahlberg (1999) explains, understanding and defining the ideal child is a difficult task. In fact, each person has their own definition of the child based on their own worldviews, thus, perhaps making ‘the’ child an abstract concept. This paper is a personal reflection of my worldview, personal experiences, and understanding of a child. I also explore how my new perspective of early childhood education has added to my roles as a Child and Youth Care practitioner working with families and communities.
My Personal Experiences
I began my reflections by asking myself what is a ‘realistic’ image of a child and who is a child? I found my thoughts to be influenced by Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw (Personal communication, SCYC, 2016), who proposed many interesting ideas and point of views about young children and early childhood education. Like her, as I began to explore my view of a child, I realized that …show more content…
Although I do not intend on becoming an Early Childhood Educator, these honest reflections have helped me grow as a Child and Youth Care practitioner. My career goal is to work in family and community development. My role as an advocate and support for these families will most definitely involve working with young children. I will need to understand my view of a child and understand that each individual with which I will work might have a different view. As I will be working with families of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, values, and cultures I will need to recognize that each families view of a child will vary, therefore each child’s need will vary as well. These reflections have helped me realize that although I might have a greater understanding of child developmental theories, only with a great understanding of the child’s relationships and context will I truly be able to support
As Dahlberg (1999) explains, understanding and defining the ideal child is a difficult task. In fact, each person has their own definition of the child based on their own worldviews, thus, perhaps making ‘the’ child an abstract concept. This paper is a personal reflection of my worldview, personal experiences, and understanding of a child. I also explore how my new perspective of early childhood education has added to my roles as a Child and Youth Care practitioner working with families and communities.
My Personal Experiences
I began my reflections by asking myself what is a ‘realistic’ image of a child and who is a child? I found my thoughts to be influenced by Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw (Personal communication, SCYC, 2016), who proposed many interesting ideas and point of views about young children and early childhood education. Like her, as I began to explore my view of a child, I realized that …show more content…
Although I do not intend on becoming an Early Childhood Educator, these honest reflections have helped me grow as a Child and Youth Care practitioner. My career goal is to work in family and community development. My role as an advocate and support for these families will most definitely involve working with young children. I will need to understand my view of a child and understand that each individual with which I will work might have a different view. As I will be working with families of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, values, and cultures I will need to recognize that each families view of a child will vary, therefore each child’s need will vary as well. These reflections have helped me realize that although I might have a greater understanding of child developmental theories, only with a great understanding of the child’s relationships and context will I truly be able to support