Why Choose a Path in Advocacy and Public Policy

  Growing up I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher.  Even against the wishes of my family, I was determined to become and teacher and change lives.  Now with 7 years of teaching behind me, two Masters degrees, and countless additional  credits, I am realizing that teaching is no longer as rewarding for me as it once had been.  
  It was during my coursework in my Early Childhood masters that I realized there may be another line of work in which I could still affect the lives of children and families.  As my research continued I decided that I would like to pursue a role in the field of Early Childhood advocacy.  Even as an educator, I was unaware of how many programs and resources there are for parents and families.  I have made it my goal to obtain a position in advocating for the programs and resources available to families become increasingly utilized and for families to understand the need for programs, education, and health in the early years.  
   Advocates are essential to the EC field because there are many families that do not what is available of the general need for programs in the early years.  Babies, infants, toddlers, and children do not know what is needed for themselves.  As advocates and caretakers it is our duty and responsibility to empower families with knowledge to properly care for and prepare their children for school and social interactions.  Advocates must be skilled and knowledgeable in their field to provide the most accurate information.  As an EC professional it is my duty to provide this information to families and children and for the future of our society.  Also, it will take a great amount of finesse and skill to deliver this information to parents because we are helping them understand how to parent, which could be taken as an insult.  
  I hope to learn many things in this class.  I want to learn or at least begin learning how to become more knowledgeable in educating parents and families.  I want to know what resources are the best and how I go about finding them.  I also want to learn how to talk to parents and families and present information regarding programs and research as to why it is important to educate and interact with children in the early years.  A third topic that I would like to learn more about is what educational programs are available to families for their children and how accessible these programs are.