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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Will You Watch the Debate Tonight?

I am very eager to tune in for tonight's debate, although I know I will likely become very frustrated and agitated. As much as I say that I dislike politics, it is necessary to get involved and stay informed if you're going to advocate for children and education reform.  I have been doing some research and cannot locate anything or any time that Mitt Romney has mentioned early education. In fact when he speaks about education, he often refers to statistics in Finland and how the US should emulate that system. He has also gone on record and...

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MUD KIT

This post is my vow to update and post on the EEAL blog regularly. Not a day goes by that I don't rant about something related to early childhood education and how we need to rally for action. I need to become more organized and put that rant online! If you have read my other posts, you have seen that EEAL likes to get dirty, especially in MUD! We have recently partnered with our local AEYC (Association for the Education of Young Children) affiliate,...

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Position Statement on Mud

DRAFT OF A POSITION STATEMENT ON MUD Revised DRAFT:  Beach Cities Association for the Education of Young Children Early Education Action League Committee Recommendation: Position Statement Early Care and Education – The Integration of Mud into the Curriculum May 9, 2012 Introduction:  The Early Education Action League Committee arose from the concerns of Beach Cities Association for the Education of Young Children (BCAEYC)...

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Statement of Grievances

EEAL was created by a group of like minded individuals that grew increasingly dissatisfied with NAEYC. Instead of sitting back and complaining, we took action and became involved with a local AEYC affiliate. Despite our best efforts and active participation, we felt powerless as decisions were made that did not seem to take into account the best interests of children and the professionals that care for them. We spent many years "fighting the good fight" and encouraging our collegaues to hang in there. In early 2012 we decided that we were done...

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