From the past to the present to the future: Early childhood policies and systems

     Truthfully, this early childhood policies and systems course could not have started at a more perfect time for me.  Two weeks before this new school year began, the school district in which I work received a state grant changing our Universal Pre-Kindergarten program from one half day classroom to two full day classrooms.  Any professional in the education field could correctly predict that two weeks was certainly not enough time to organize or prepare for this change, and new challenges are still arising even as we are over two months in.  Much of the challenges that we have faced directly relate to the policies and systems regarding Universal Pre-Kindergarten in my state.  If research was conducted and knowledge was obtained about these policies and systems before we accepted the grant, many of the challenges could have easily been prevented, eliminating our overwhelming sense of confusion and frustration.

     As an early childhood teacher, and one who has personally been involved in the situation described above, I tend to struggle internally about how much I need to know about the policies and systems in my district, city, and state.  I question whether it is my responsibility or the responsibility of my administrators to know the specifics of each policy or system, and to what extent.  I was eager to begin this next course in my program as I believe that it will provide me with an understanding of both past and present early childhood policies and systems and the ways in which they can positively, or negatively, impact young children and their families.  I am hoping that throughout this course I will be able to accomplish the following three goals:

1.  To gain an understanding of how early childhood policies and systems are created and implemented so I can have an idea as to the process that it would take to potentially create and implement a new policy or system in my district, city, and/or state that could better the way Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs are developed and made available to all children who are eligible.

2.  To gain a general understanding about both the past and present early childhood policies and systems in order to comprehend the ways in which the policies and systems of the past have influenced those of the present, and the ways in which those of the present could possibly influence the policies and systems of the future.

3.  To become knowledgeable of the resources and politics outside of the current early childhood policies and systems that can strongly influence their success, and ultimately the positive or negative outcomes that it can have for young children and their families. 

With these three goals in mind as I move forward in this course, I am confident that my understanding about early childhood policies and systems will increase, and I am anticipating that the knowledge I will gain will assist me in becoming more effective in my role as a professional in the early childhood field.