Working for a just,
equitable, and quality
early childhood education
for every young child.
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DEY News
An Update for our
Subscribers, Allies, and Friends
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A
Quote We Like
"
Why do we teach children in ways that are contrary to what we know about how children learn?
" --
Rae Pica
,
What if Everybody Understood Child Development
?
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PROGRESS, IN PLAY
Recently, Denisha Jones reached out to one of our play advocates to interview her about how she has transformed play in her own school and an experience she witnessed with the kids. The teacher, Becky, has been interested in bringing play back into the daily lives of the children she supports, 4 & 5 year old's at the Providence Childcare and Preschool. In her words, the kids wanted to experience the beauty and glory of the leaves of the tree, but also understood that the tree was too young and small for the kids to climb on. Here is how they tackled this problem of having their experience while respecting nature (
Read more).
What We Will Be Chatting About In This Issue.
In the September newsletter we focused on defining
authentic play
and what it looks like for the child and the teacher. This issue is about
activism
--advocating for our youngest students, our children caught in a system that is not set-up to educate them in the way that they authentically learn. We will talk about why to advocate and how to build an advocacy platform. We will address how to bring together important stakeholders (teachers, parents, administrators) and what steps need to be taken in order for change to happen locally.
Activism? Please explain.
The research and the lessons learned by programs like Head Start, which validate the value (and need) for developmentally appropriate and play-based curricula, are largely ignored by today's policymakers, states’ department of education, and certainly the mandates of CCSS. Activists are any (and every) concerned teacher or parent who want change in their school or district. Activism is when we step up by writing an opinion piece to a local news outlet, writing letters to a local elected official, testifying at a public hearing, participating in a campaign, or organizing a drive in your community.
What do you need to advocate?
It’s also important to be knowledgeable about the needs of your students and their families in order to advocate for them. Telling stories about specific children or classrooms are powerful and convincing arguments. And lastly, be prepared to share your knowledge and understanding with others. Check out our
Activist Toolkit
to help you get started in these efforts.
DEY’s Take.
The need to protect childhood and to advocate for our youngest of children and students has never been more imperative. We continue to see a pushdown of academics- a continued emphasis on testing, less time for play and hands-on-learning, and of course the Common Core State Standards. As a result, our children are more stressed, teachers are burned out, children have an increase in behavior problems and mental health issues, and our communities are weaker. But we can change this paradigm.
So it’s important that advocates be well-informed and be willing to speak out and speak up. Our collective voices can change policy and can educate policymakers. We can return early childhood education to be what it was intended to be when Froebel created the first kindergarten in 1837 - a place where innovation, creativity, curiosity, and a love of learning are naturally developed because it meets the child where they are developmentally.
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If you didn’t see our announcement last week, DEY launched two new
Teachers Speak Out
videos,
How Play is Learning
and
How Do Young Children Learn Best
. These videos highlight experienced early childhood educator advocates, who are maintaining developmentally appropriate learning environments for children who are thriving. DEY produces these videos so that we may learn from these expert teachers’ experience. Tell us what you think by contacting us
here
.
What else can I do?
Download DEY’s
Activist Toolkit
. Develop your policy strategy - see the
Nine Essential Questions
When Developing Your Policy Strategy. Start organizing your community. Start writing to your school board president, principal, superintendent, parents and your local newspaper.
DEY is continuing its pressure on combating the “online preschool” movement so please join us in
Rejecting
“online preschool” by writing to your representatives to urge them to oppose any state and local funds be used for these harmful programs
.
Did You Know ...
That November 7 is
Outdoor Classroom Day
(
#outdoorclassroomday
) where kids go outside to play and learn? If you need ideas on how to plan your Outdoor Classroom Day, check out their
lesson plans
and
materials
. Need a good video to show your principal to explain why your school should participate? Check out this one by
Project Dirt
. Let us know if you decide to participate and what you do with your students. We would love to hear your stories, and we will be following and resharing your efforts throughout the day.
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EVENTS & WHERE YOU WILL FIND US
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NAEYC Annual Conference in November
(
Nov. 20-23 in Nashville, TN
). DEY's Diane Levin and Marcy Guddemi will be presenting workshops
and Denisha Jones will be hosting DEY’s organizing meeting
:
Diane's is entitled
"
Media & Technology Use by Young Children in the Home: Helping Parents Promote the Positives and Counteract the Negatives".
November 22nd at 3:00 pm in the Music City Center, Room 107A
Marcy will present
"Defending the Early Years: How Communities Can Stand Up for Children."
Her workshop is on
November 22
nd
at 1:00 pm
in the Music City Center, Room 205C.
Denisha's, DEY's director of Early Childhood Organizing, will be hosting DEY’s 7th Annual Organizing Meeting
on
Saturday, Nov. 23
in the morning, place and time TBD. This year we will be focused on
Building an ECE Advocacy Platform
. Make sure to attend.
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We will be at
NPE
(Network for Public Education)
in March.
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RESOURCES, RESOURCES and ...
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We were recently asked by one of our followers, “How can we (the collective ‘we’) make them listen–teaching colleges, district administrators, policymakers?” It is a good question and it starts with being well-informed in order to mobilize your community. The DEY
Resource page
is intended to be your first stop, but there is so much more on DEY’s website:
Need input or ideas from fellow Defenders? Tap into the DEY community by beginning a discussion on our
Forum
page.
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I need more.
DEY’s co-Founders,
Dr. Nancy Carlsson-Paige
and
Dr. Diane Levin
, are our resident experts on early childhood education. Check out their pages to see what they are up to and where they have been featured
.
DEY PICKS
Building Blocks to Build Your Knowledge.
Waldorf’s letter to NAEYC
, where they highlight concerns about certain principles and the absence of allowing a child to just ‘be.’ They made suggestions about expanding other principles and increasing the use of Play to be equal to or greater than the focus of learning and development. It’s a letter worth reading.
I’m Ready to be an Activist.
Excellent. Now that you’re ready and you’re thinking about mobilizing and building your advocacy plan…you might be wondering how to fund such an effort? We’ve got you covered. DEY offers
mini-grants
to those who are looking to return authentic play to their school and community. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain help in returning developmentally-appropriate learning to your classroom and your school
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Share the newsletter with parents and fellow educators so they, too, can be part of the
play revolution
. See you next month.
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We are social! Join us . . .
@DEY_Project
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Defending the Early Years
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved
Defending the Early Years is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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