The website that I examined was International Child Resource Institute (ICRI) (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.). The section that seemed relevant to my current professional development was the section on advocacy. I think that as an educator and especially if you teach young children , you need to be their voice and advocate for them. The website provided some advocacy resources. Another section I found interesting was the consulting section. This section spoke about how different consultants who are experts in their fields form a team of consultants. They help to design, develop. maintain, implement, evaluate and plan different projects within the early childhood field (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.). This seems like it would lend itself to professional development. All these people who are experts in their own rights with their own ideas have to work with other experts and come up with a cohesive plan as to how they will tackle a project. Since all these experts have different strengths and perspectives their projects are probably done with a holistic approach.
I found it surprising that in Chile ICRI along with the National Ministry of Justice and SENAME work with psychologists, social workers and other professionals who deal with abused children to train them in the area of child abuse (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.). I always assumed that the nature of their job meant that psychologists and social workers were already sensitized and adequately trained on child sexual abuse.
As I viewed the website I noticed that quite a few companies and organizations had utilized ICRI’s consulting team (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.). Among some of their past clients was California State Senate (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.). To me this implies that a politician was seeking the advice of experts in the early childhood field which in turn could mean that that this politician probably wanted to support the early childhood field and he or she was asking how he or she should go about it.
A new insight I gained was the importance of training. In many of their projects ICRI provides training for the professionl(s) who are in direct contact with the children (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.). I think I sometimes view training or re-training as a nuisance. However, even if no new information is added to a training program it never hurts to be reminded of what you should be doing for the children in your care and to be kept on task.
Reference:
International Child Resource Institute. (n.d.
Hi Karina,
ReplyDeleteYou did a wonderful job of explaining the ICRI organization and their website. You mentioned that the ICRI in Chile works with psychologists and social workers. That really caught my attention as I have always been interested in this area and completed my undergrad in psychology. I would also assume that these professionals would be adequately trained, however, this shows how important training is in this organization. I think that this shows that ICRI is devoted to helping children and providing them with the best care possible. As you said, training can be tedious, but it is always helpful to be refreshed and ready for any situation to occur
Hi Katrina,
ReplyDeleteI agree, advocating for the students and families in your care is very important. Students and parents may not always have a voice or understand their rights. It is our job to make sure the rights of the children and families are heard and respected. Great Job!