Timeline of a Man Working in ECE by Greg Uba

Here is a copy of Greg Uba's proposed article for SVAEYC Men In Child Care... adapted from an article I wrote for Connections For Children Child Care Resource and Referral in Santa Monica... 1983… I begin my early care and education (ECE).  I enter the profession from the side door - I was an elementary school teacher in my prior life.  Mentored by wonderful teachers including Jewish, Cuban, Lebanese, and European and African-American teachers, I realize that early educators knew things that I hadn’t imagined were even knowable.  I...

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Blog Challenged

Hi Everyone, I have discovered that I am not so great at blogging. I am however, pretty consistent at updating the EEAL Facebook page and you can follow me there: https://www.facebook.com/EarlyEducationActionLeague?fref=ts Thank you, Sta...

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My Resignation Letter to Beach CIties AEYC

December 16, 2012 Dear BCAEYC Board, BCAEYC Members, and ECE Colleagues and Friends, During the past 4 years, my term as BCAEYC President has been both personally and professionally fulfilling. Working alongside phenomenal colleagues and professionals has been incredibly rewarding and I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished. It is with much thought and consideration, that I submit my resignation from BCAEYC and renounce my membership. As many of you know, I have struggled over the past two years or so with many of NAEYC's decisions...

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I'm Not the Only One Who's Annoyed

I have been waiting and waiting to share this letter on the EEAL blog. At first, we waited 30, then 60 days to allow the NAEYC Governing Board time to respond. Shortly before the annual NAEYC conference, a brief response stating that NAEYC "still supports play" was issued. Shortly after that a statement was released that NAEYC Executive Director, Dr. Jerlean Daniel was retiring. http://www.naeyc.org/newsroom/pressreleases/special_announcement My hope is that the next Executive Director will be open to hearing the concerns of colleagues and...

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Halloween and Gender Bias

My daughter is 19 years old and I clearly remember an epic mother-daughter battle 6 Halloweens ago over her costume choices. It appeared that costume choices went from cartoonish to provocative as soon as she needed clothing in juniors sizing. I am shocked that these suggestive costumes are now being made for very young children, well, girls.  I am pleased that there does seem to be a movement addressing this. SPARK is a girl-fueled activist...

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Have You Seen Race To Nowhere?

Have you seen the documentary, Race To Nowhere? http://www.racetonowhere.com/  The film features heartbreaking stories of students across the country who have been pushed to the brink by over-scheduling, over-testing and the relentless pressure to achieve, “Race to Nowhere” points to a silent epidemic in our schools. Through the testimony of educators, parents and education experts, it reveals an education system in which cheating has become commonplace; students have become disengaged; stress-related illness, depression and burnout...

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My Take on the NAEYC Technology Survey

The Early Education Action League came to fruition as I sat with a group of colleagues at a Beach Cities AEYC Board Meeting and discussed, in horror, NAEYC's "Draft" of the Technology Statement.  http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PS_technology_WEB2.pdf We now know that this draft was the real deal. Nothing was changed during the process where feedback was summoned, whether online or at the NAEYC conference in Anaheim. Dozens of people voiced their opposition in the conference room and asked why NAEYC was going against American...

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