Early Education Advocates

At this critical time in our history millions of people in the United States are particularly engergized to take concrete action for children. It is time to combine our efforts to advocate for children and reconstruct our vision of childhood. For more information or to make contributions contact Tom Drummond at North Seattle Community College.
Mission	We gather to define and promote democratic, participatory, and diverse early education provisions for children birth to common school age, for the United States. We wish to stimulate a broad discussion of the deeply felt human values that underly our work and the formulation of a statement of social and political commitment.
15 Capabilities	Fifteen more important things than academic readiness. These are the Early Education outcomes we ought to be advocating for all children. 15capabilities.doc 15capabilities.pdf
Foundation 15	If you were a child in your own program, how would you like to be treated?
Declaration of Values	Underlying the work is a set of assumtions, open to continual reflection and revision. This cooperative effort promotes learning processes based on the values of human dignity, participation, openness to uncertainty and democracy. For a list of the values at this stage in their evolution click the link to the left, Declaration of Values. For the document in .pdf format to reprint for others click here Values.pdf. The document is now available in English and Spanish versions, thanks to Deb Walrath, Dave Wood and others at Sky Valley Services in Sultan, Washington. You can click on the thumbnail below for the pdf file of your choice. -or- Please feel free to duplicate, replicate, and distribute freely. A reference to this URL would be sufficient citation. EarlyEducationAdvocates.Org On Worthy Wage Day 2005, a group of early educators gathered to discuss each of these values as they apply to their work with young children. You can listen to one of the many discussions by clicking on this image:
Statement of Commitment	We wish to provoke a diverse, participatory conversation that can lead to a nationwide commitment to the possibility that early childhood provisions, in whatever form, are forums for a civil society. Historically, we have seen early childhood institutions as "services" to care for children while their parents work, as "services" to support children living in poverty, and as "services" for children with special needs. We would like to see early education instututions as community spaces that promote learning, democracy, economic well-being, and many other possibilities, too — spaces that have yet to be created. To evolve them in the best possible ways we must have broad participation, including the participation of the children. We have questions and strategies to discuss, with no fixed or certain answer, but together our conversations toward a common commitment can serve as a stimulus to our action: What is it that we want in being together with children and families in provisions for young children? What are these provisions for? What are the purposes of schools? Can we get agreement to act toward (or modify) this Statement of Commitment?
Standardization of Childhood	The fight for a state run preschool system is under our noses. Will it be democratic or controlling? Will we look to the market, the state or the neighborhood for how to raise our children?
Readiness?	Stand together against the word "readiness" applied to young children. Let's bury this word.
References for the Work	1. Ethics and Politics in Early Childhood Education by Gunilla Dahlberg and Peter Moss, 2005, RoutledgeFalmer, London. ISBN 0-415-28042-7 2. Children's Services to Children's Spaces: Public Policy, Children and Childhood by Peter Moss and Pat London Petrie, 2002, RoutledgeFalmer, London. ISBN 0-415-247782-9 3. Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care by Gunilla Dahlberg, Peter Moss, and Alan Pence, 1999, Falmer Press, Philadelphia. ISBN 0-7507-0769-0 4. Deconstructing Early Childhood Education: Social Justice & Revolution, by Gaile Sloan Cannella, 1997, Peter Lang Publishing, New York. ISBN 0-8204-3452-3 We have Te Whaariki and Reggio Emilia as guides, but we won't get away copying others.
Baltimore in June 2004	A group from the National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Education met in Baltimore to formulate the initial statement. The initiative was begun by Tom Drummond (North Seattle Community College) and included Elaine Surbeck, Nancy Perry, Beth Blue Swadener, Sally Hurwitz (all of Arizona State University), David T. Harris (Fitchburg State College), Helen Botnarescue, Susan Catapano (University of Missouri, St. Louis), Vicki Garamar (City College of New York), Dina Rosen (Montclair State), Marty Lash (Kent State), Mary McMullen (University of Indiana), Blythe Hinitz (The College of New Jersey), and John M. Chavez.
Anahiem in November 2004	Presentation at National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), fall conference at Anaheim, CA, titled “Creating a vision and pursuing policy for early education in the US” as a discussion session. Session was presented by Beth Swadener, Nancy Perry, Elaine Surbeck, Annapurna Ganesh & Mark Nagasawa.
Tempe AZ Houston TX 2005	Arizona State University preschool parents responded to surveys about the values in November 2004. 475 surveys and 2 focus groups (one of 13 people and one with 5 people) occurred at both Arizona State and the University of Houston. Student drawings of the values Survey responses from Arizona statewide PTA Presented at the 2005 American Educational Research Association Conference in Montreal Canada by Annapurna Ganesh.
Miami June 2005	Presentation at National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), summer conference at Miami, FL, titled “Transforming Narrow Definitions Early Childhood Education by Creating a Declaration of Values for Children and Childhood in the United States of America” as a discussion session. Session will be presented by Annapurna Ganesh, Nancy Perry, & Elaine Surbeck
Links	Links to others.

At this critical time in our history millions of people in the United States are particularly engergized to take concrete action for children. It is time to combine our efforts to advocate for children and reconstruct our vision of childhood. For more information or to make contributions contact Tom Drummond at North Seattle Community College.

Mission

We gather to define and promote democratic, participatory, and diverse early education provisions for children birth to common school age, for the United States. We wish to stimulate a broad discussion of the deeply felt human values that underly our work and the formulation of a statement of social and political commitment.

15 Capabilities

Fifteen more important things than academic readiness. These are the Early Education outcomes we ought to be advocating for all children.
15capabilities.doc
15capabilities.pdf

Foundation 15

If you were a child in your own program, how would you like to be treated?

Declaration of Values

Underlying the work is a set of assumtions, open to continual reflection and revision. This cooperative effort promotes learning processes based on the values of human dignity, participation, openness to uncertainty and democracy. For a list of the values at this stage in their evolution click the link to the left, Declaration of Values. For the document in .pdf format to reprint for others click here Values.pdf.

The document is now available in English and Spanish versions, thanks to Deb Walrath, Dave Wood and others at Sky Valley Services in Sultan, Washington. You can click on the thumbnail below for the pdf file of your choice.

-or-

Please feel free to duplicate, replicate, and distribute freely.
A reference to this URL would be sufficient citation.
EarlyEducationAdvocates.Org

On Worthy Wage Day 2005, a group of early educators gathered to discuss each of these values as they apply to their work with young children. You can listen to one of the many discussions by clicking on this image:

Statement of Commitment

We wish to provoke a diverse, participatory conversation that can lead to a nationwide commitment to the possibility that early childhood provisions, in whatever form, are forums for a civil society. Historically, we have seen early childhood institutions as "services" to care for children while their parents work, as "services" to support children living in poverty, and as "services" for children with special needs.

We would like to see early education instututions as community spaces that promote learning, democracy, economic well-being, and many other possibilities, too — spaces that have yet to be created. To evolve them in the best possible ways we must have broad participation, including the participation of the children. We have questions and strategies to discuss, with no fixed or certain answer, but together our conversations toward a common commitment can serve as a stimulus to our action:

What is it that we want in being together with children and families in provisions for young children?
What are these provisions for?
What are the purposes of schools?

Can we get agreement to act toward (or modify) this Statement of Commitment?

Standardization of Childhood

The fight for a state run preschool system is under our noses. Will it be democratic or controlling? Will we look to the market, the state or the neighborhood for how to raise our children?

Readiness?

Stand together against the word "readiness" applied to young children. Let's bury this word.

References for the Work

1. Ethics and Politics in Early Childhood Education by Gunilla Dahlberg and Peter Moss, 2005, RoutledgeFalmer, London. ISBN 0-415-28042-7

2. Children's Services to Children's Spaces: Public Policy, Children and Childhood by Peter Moss and Pat London Petrie, 2002, RoutledgeFalmer, London. ISBN 0-415-247782-9

3. Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care by Gunilla Dahlberg, Peter Moss, and Alan Pence, 1999, Falmer Press, Philadelphia. ISBN 0-7507-0769-0

4. Deconstructing Early Childhood Education: Social Justice & Revolution, by Gaile Sloan Cannella, 1997, Peter Lang Publishing, New York. ISBN 0-8204-3452-3

We have Te Whaariki and Reggio Emilia as guides, but we won't get away copying others.

Baltimore in June 2004

A group from the National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Education met in Baltimore to formulate the initial statement. The initiative was begun by Tom Drummond (North Seattle Community College) and included Elaine Surbeck, Nancy Perry, Beth Blue Swadener, Sally Hurwitz (all of Arizona State University), David T. Harris (Fitchburg State College), Helen Botnarescue, Susan Catapano (University of Missouri, St. Louis), Vicki Garamar (City College of New York), Dina Rosen (Montclair State), Marty Lash (Kent State), Mary McMullen (University of Indiana), Blythe Hinitz (The College of New Jersey), and John M. Chavez.

Anahiem in November 2004

Presentation at National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), fall conference at Anaheim, CA, titled “Creating a vision and pursuing policy for early education in the US” as a discussion session. Session was presented by Beth Swadener, Nancy Perry, Elaine Surbeck, Annapurna Ganesh & Mark Nagasawa.

Tempe AZ

Houston TX 2005

Arizona State University preschool parents responded to surveys about the values in November 2004.
475 surveys and 2 focus groups (one of 13 people and one with 5 people) occurred at both Arizona State and the University of Houston.
Student drawings of the values
Survey responses from Arizona statewide PTA

Presented at the 2005 American Educational Research Association Conference in Montreal Canada by Annapurna Ganesh.

Miami June 2005

Presentation at National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), summer conference at Miami, FL, titled “Transforming Narrow Definitions Early Childhood Education by Creating a Declaration of Values for Children and Childhood in the United States of America” as a discussion session. Session will be presented by Annapurna Ganesh, Nancy Perry, & Elaine Surbeck

Links

Links to others.