2 minute read
Early Childhood Multicultural Education
Dr. Lewis Gambill, Assistant Professor Early Childhood Multicultural Education Division of Education, Health and Human Services
“I believe the children are our future” is a lyric from the iconic Whitney Houston song from 1985…“Greatest Love of All.” At UNMGallup, that lyric is more than a part of a song, but rather the philosophy that drives the Early Childhood Multicultural Education (ECME) program. Students enrolled in UNMG’s Early Childhood Multicultural Education certificate and Associate of Arts degree programs want to make a difference in the lives of children. They possess a passion for education and a strong desire to instill a love for learning in every child they encounter.
Many of our ECME graduates go on to
All photos provided by John Van’t Land careers in Head Start, work in public and private schools as paraprofessionals, open their own day care facilities, or move forward to obtain bachelor’s degrees in education. Regardless of the path that our graduates take, the fact remains that they will make a significant impact on our nation’s youngest citizens and future leaders.
The ECME program at UNM-Gallup welcomes anyone and everyone who would like to learn more about interacting with and teaching children from birth to age eight (third grade). Our certificate and degree programs offer classes that address the needs of early childhood children/students. Even if a certificate or associate’s degree in ECME is not in your immediate future, courses are still available that would assist in parenting and childcare services. Some of those courses are ECME 101- Child Growth, Development, and Learning, ECME 103 – Health, Safety, and Nutrition, ECME 115 – Guiding Young Children, and ECME 202- Introduction to Reading and Literacy Development.
The ECME faculty invites you to visit our classroom, meet the faculty, engage with ECME students, and to pose questions to our faculty, staff, and administration. It is crucial that “I believe the children are our future” is more than a lyric in a song, but rather a philosophy that encourages all of us to strive to assist our children to be all that they can be. It is not a “right” to work with these children; it is a “privilege.”
