Career development means that one has to shift from one workstation to another for new challenges that will exploit their potential. It also involves working hard, focusing on personal career goals, exploiting one’s full potential, and being organized with a vision to achieve long-term objectives and goals. Besides, due to the demand for academic qualifications in most jobs, academic certificates are essential. In search of opportunities to advance my career, I came across an advert for Early Childhood Assistant Teaching passion placed on the Ashford Multigenerational Website.
As an early childhood teacher, the advert grabbed my attention, and I decided to think about it. The main reason was that the opportunity in line with my career goals would help me develop my career. As for qualifications, I am qualified since I have a certificate in Early Childhood Development, a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, and CPR certified with five years of classroom experience. I am also passionate about working with children, having good communication, a team worker, and connecting with children seamlessly. I am also eager to learn, and I feel the position accords me with that opportunity. Thinking about the position made me predict some of the potential interview questions for that position. I came up with five areas that the interview will most likely major on issues and trends in the field, creating a learning environment for children, ethical and personal practices, leadership, and professional development.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Issues and trends in your field
How does having children with exceptionalities in the classroom impact your curriculum? In what ways would you meet the needs of all learners?
As an early childhood educator, one is bound to meet and interact with children who have special needs. It is vital to ensure that the classroom is appropriate for children's development to benefit them irrespective of their unique needs ( Lidz, 2002) . Having children with exceptionalities in my classroom would mean that I have to adjust the learning environment to accommodate their unique needs. It would also mean that I have to alter my lessons to fit the needs of the normal children and the needs of the children with exceptionalities. I would also give extra support and one-on-one teaching to such children if need be.
Describe your views of the assessment of young children. What kinds of records would you keep for monitoring student progress?
Information collection is essential in making important decisions on the children's educational and developmental needs. Hence, continuous and frequent assessment of the children's performances is crucial in early childhood education, as it provides the information that guides decision-making ( Lidz, 2002) . Also, assessing children gives them opportunities for personal learning, development, and growth. I would assess the children in my class by grouping them into three groups, comprising children of the same level. Every day I would be recording the groups' performances. The groups would be a 'teacher' group, an independent group, and a free-play group. The groups' activities would be rotational so that at the end, all children have the same learning experiences. For example, in a 20 minutes session, the teacher group can do a guided letter of the worksheet with me; the free-play group can be playing with the Legos, while the independent group can engage in manipulative activities ( Lidz, 2002) . The roles of the change can then rotate after the session. During these sessions, I will see and record each child's progress and assess its development. I will also be testing the children weekly on letters, sounds, colors, shapes, and other classroom teachings. The assessments will make the children better.
Environments
What five items would you put into an empty classroom? And Why?
An early childhood classroom should create a learning environment that is attractive to the children and comfortable. Besides, the classroom environment should keep the children engaged through active exploration, play, and learning, as they quickly get bored ( Department of Education and Training, 2015) . In my classroom, I will have the following items rest mats and floor cushions, blocks and puzzles, a reading nook, table and chairs, and storage shelves. The rest mats and floor cushions are essential for the children to lie or sleep on during nap time, storytime, or playtime. They will also ensure that the children sit comfortably on the floor. The Blocks and puzzles are essential as they keep the children's brain engaged. Besides, building and exploring the blocks and puzzles play a part in developing the children's thinking and problem-solving capabilities. The reading nook will contain books, magazines, and other reading material relevant to children's development. Table and chairs are essential in any classroom; hence, I will have the tables and chairs that provide the young ones with a comfortable sitting posture. Finally, all the items for use in the classroom will require to be stored safely and securely, thus the need for the storage shelves.
What strategies would you use for working with children in groups? What strategies would you use to guide their behavior?
The first strategy of ensuring that the groups are effective is creating groups based on individual levels. In this case, I will group the children into groups that are based on their level. This will ensure that they are comfortable in the group workings. In addition, I will also ensure that the groups are small so that each member will have the opportunity to participate in group activities. Small groups are also easy to coordinate ( Department of Education and Training, 2015) . I will also be explaining to the children my expectations at the end of the group activities to ensure that they remain within the group activity and ensure they concentrate in the groups. In guiding the children’s behavior, I will establish positive relationships with the children founded on self-respect and respect for others, pay attention to the issues that may be affecting their behavior, and use positive approaches in guiding their behaviors ( Department of Education and Training, 2015) . I will also provide support and guidance to the children with questionable behaviors and engage their parents to work together to correct the behaviors.
Personal and Ethical Practices
Describe a time when you have had to deal with an upset parent. How did you handle the situation, and what was the outcome?
Although teacher-parent confrontation does not always happen, it sometimes does. My only encounter with a teacher-parent confrontation situation was with a parent who was upset that their child had not received any award after an award assembly. In this case, children were being awarded for identifying sounds, letters, and numbers. Unfortunately, the parent's child was among the three children who did not manage to get any award despite working so hard with them. The child's parent came to me, fuming and uttering unpleasant words and saying that I was why the child had not received any award. I felt sorry about the situation, and I was able to control my emotion; and after some time, the parent cooled down. I told her there was a need for us to discuss the issue the following, and I am glad she honored the invite. During the meeting, I explained to her the merits of awarding the children and why they did not perform well. We also discussed ways through which we would collaborate in improving the child's performance. I am glad the discussion bore fruits, and in the following award assembly, the child got two awards.
What defines success for you as an early childhood educator? What do you see as essential to be effective in your role?
As an early childhood educator, the number of children who can succeed in early childhood education defines my success. I also feel successful when I see children who came into my class without academic knowledge leave as knowledgeable kids after their time in my classroom. Basically, my success is defined by the success of my students. For early childhood educators, aside from academic qualification, passion for children, compassion, emotional control, dedication and devotion, and love for the profession is essential.
Leadership
In what ways would you build relationships with families in your program? How often should you communicate with parents?
I believe that any student's educational success, primarily early childhood education, is greatly influenced by the relationship between the student, the teacher, and the parents. According to the American Federation of Teachers (n. d) , educators must create close relationships with their children's parents. This ensures that the parents are comfortable that you are with their children all day, and they will also be free to confine to you the concerns with their children's education. I use the Whatsapp application to connect with the parents in my class. I have a Whatsapp group for the parents where we discuss the progress of the children openly. Open communications have helped me build a good relationship with the parents. I communicate with the parents anytime over the platform whenever there is a matter of concern.
As a leader with an assistant, how would you encourage an effective partnership and support your assistant?
Any effective partnership is always based on free communication and a clear outlining of each partner's responsibilities. Hence, as a teacher with an assistant, I would promote open discussion between my assistant and me. I would also explain to my partner his or her duties and responsibilities and the shared responsibilities, ensuring there are no scuffles over undine duties.
If you were a lead teacher in a classroom with an assistant, what are some strategies you would use to support your assistant?
Prior to working as an educator, I was an assistant teacher for some time, and I feel that gives me a good idea of how I can support my assistant. I would seek to establish a personal relationship, and that would give me a good idea of how I can support him or her. I would also make sure that I provide the assistant with all the materials needed to accomplish the assigned duties. Finally, I will ensure that the assistant gets to learn the classroom structure.
Professional Development
In what areas would you most like to develop? What skills do you feel you would still like to learn?
Irrespective of my experience as an educator, I still feel that my communication skills are not my desired levels. Although I am comfortable teaching and communicating with the children in classrooms, I tend to get nervous when having face-to-face communication with the parents. Hence, I need to improve in this area and communicate with the parents more confidently.
How do you stay updated on news and innovations in the field of early childhood education?
One way that will ensure that I keep up to date with the innovations and news on early childhood education is through attending all the seminars and training that I can manage to. I feel lucky because our area education offices arrange multiple seminars and development training each year, and I manage to attend most of them. The seminars and training help me become more knowledgeable and get new skills to better my students' early childhood education experience.
Conclusion
In the essay, I have outlined my qualifications for the Early Childhood Educator position advertised on the Ashford Multigenerational Website. I have also responded to interview questions that I would expect during the interview on such a position. The questions I have discussed are on the trends and issues in early childhood education, creating a favorable environment for the children, and the personal and ethical practices expected of me as an early childhood educator. I have also responded to question on the leadership and professional development of an early childhood educator. I believe my responses to the questions and my qualifications are adequate to grant me a chance to work in that position.
References
American Federation of Teachers (n. d). Building Parent-Teacher Relationships. Reading Rockets . https://www.readingrockets.org/article/building-parent-teacher-relationships.
Department of Education and Training (2015). Strategies to Guide Children’s behavior. Victoria State Government. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/regulation/pracnotesstratbehav-12-05-2015.pdf
Lidz, C. S. (2002). Early childhood assessment . John Wiley & Sons.
