Review the 2010 NAEYC Initial & Advanced Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs. Please note that the standards listed in Chapter 7 of your course text have been revised since the printing of the text, so use your required web link for the current standards. The links are located in the “Required Resources” section of the Week 2 tab.

Choose one of the individual standards that you would like to explore in order to boost your knowledge or skills in your current or future practice and would allow you to become a better advocate for young children and their families. 

Use the Initial Standards if you have less than 7 years of experience in an early childhood setting. Choose the Advanced Standards if you have more than 7 years of experience in an early childhood setting. 

Create a two- to three-page paper (not including title and reference pages) that includes the following sections. Each section should be a separate paragraph. 

• Section ONE: Provide A Summary of Your Chosen Standard and Justify Why You Chose It. Summarize the Standard in your own words, then justify why you think that knowing more about this standard will (a) help you in your professional or personal life in general and (b) help you to become a better advocate. Be sure to give at least three specific examples. 
• Section TWO: Create A List of Five Questions With Corresponding Rationales. Create a list of five questions to ask an early childhood professional about aspects of the standard. For each question, describe your rationale for asking it. Create one question designed to enhance your ability to advocate on behalf of children and their families in this particular area. Create the other four questions to enhance your knowledge of both the standard AND your personal and/or professional goals. 
• Section THREE: Provide Contact Information with an Explanation for the Request. First, provide the contact information for an early childhood professional in your own community who is willing to provide email responses to your questions. Then, provide the “blurb” or explanation describing the purpose of the assignment that you will use when you ask him/her if he/she would be willing to answer your questions.

If you do not have access to an early childhood professional, please contact me right away. I will do what I can to help you. 

You will need to have completed the interview and be ready reflect on it in week four (two weeks) so make sure you set a time to get the information back in enough time for the week four assignment.

Be sure to include an introductory paragraph describing the purpose of the paper AND a conclusion summarizing the paper and your next steps. This means your paper will be at least five paragraphs.