One of the latest blog entries on the International Child Resource Institute’s website discussed the professional journey of Marianela, an ECE professional who had quite the global childhood growing up in the US, Canada, and South America. She was the daughter of a diplomat, and therefore, exposed to various cultures and other children as she developed. Currently, it is clear through the ICRI blog posting about her, that she is a dedicated child advocate, who works with at-risk students and youth that have been exposed to abuse. I was especially intrigued as I learned about Marianela because though she has many international experiences, which guided her journey as an ECE professional, her traditional education through higher learning took place in my neck of the woods, where I grew up in and around Boston, Mass.
The blog continues by explaining her dedication to continual education and participant observation to provide well-educated and well-rounded services to the children and families she works with. The article describes her as “eager to hone her knowledge,” but also discusses her challenge of “sustaining herself” professionally (icri.org, October 2011).
Equity and excellence are important values that every professional involved with the ECE field should strive for in my opinion. By staying abreast of the populations we serve, their challenges, and the need for advocacy are simply not enough. We must also advocate for ourselves as a vital piece of the safety and well-being of future generations of ECE professionals!
Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.
Vincent Van Gogh
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