Child Development Pay it Forward Project!

In late August I received an email form Dawn Braa introducing an online book study called Beyond the Pages. Intrigued, I went to the website to learn more about the process and how a book discussion online would work. I quickly learned the book What If Everybody Understood Child Development?: Straight Talk About Bettering Education and Children’s Lives, By Rae Pica would be discussed throughout the fall. Even more intrigued by the book title, I went directly to an online bookseller, purchased the book, and read it as soon as it hit my doorstep.

I would recommend What If Everybody Understood Child Development?: Straight Talk About Bettering Education and Children’s Lives, as a must read. It is full of short chapters on important topics that provide research, insight and thought questions related to child development and education trends that are affecting our nation’s children from birth through elementary school and beyond. In a world of high stakes testing and helicopter parenting, I believe the book raises questions and shares information everyone, including all educators, all families, all politicians, all business owners and beyond, should consider if they are at all interested in the future of education and our society as a whole.

Throughout the fall, as I participated in the Beyond the Pages book study, I  reflected on the title of the book, What If Everybody Understood Child Development?: Straight Talk About Bettering Education and Children’s Lives. I was continuelly challenged by the title’s question and I wanted to help answer it.   Finally one day while walking, I came up with the idea for the Child Development Pay It Forward Project.  I would purchase a dozen of Rae Pica’s book and give them away to colleagues and friends with instructions to read the book and once they finished it they should passed it on to someone else to read, creating a chain of people with a better understanding of child development.  As part of the project, I would also ask that as people passed the book on, they contact me through my Blog, so I could watch the progress.

It has taken me about 6 weeks to move from idea to reality, but as of today the Child Development Pay It Forward Project has been launched, and in this traditional month of giving, I will be handing out 12 copies of What If Everybody Understood Child Development?: Straight Talk About Bettering Education and Children’s Lives, with the following note on the inside cover. I have no idea how it will progress, but my hope is each copy becomes tattered and worn by the hands of many people reading and being confronted by Rae Pica’s thoughtful ideas and questions.

And if you find yourself intrigued…. I recommend you too order the book, read it, and pass it on too!

Child Development

Pay It Forward Project

 Step 1: Read

What If Everybody Understood Child Development?: Straight Talk About Bettering Education and Children’s Lives

 By Rae Pica

 Step 2: Check-in

 When you finish the book please leave your name, location, and comments on the

 EC Consulting Website

 http://www.ecconsultingwy.com

 Child Development Pay It Forward Project page

 http://www.ecconsultingwy.com/?page_id=103

 Step 3: Pass It On

 Pass the book on to someone you think should readWhat If Everybody Understood Child Development?: Straight Talk About Bettering Education and Children’s Lives  

 By Rae Pica

 Step 4: Option for Expansion

 Check out the Beyond the Pages online blog book study focused on this book.

http://blogs.dctc.edu/dawnbraa/2015/08/31/blog-book-study-begins-join-in/

 

 

 

One thought on “Child Development Pay it Forward Project!

  1. Betsy, thanks for sharing the book “What If Everyone Understood Child Development”. This book resonates with me in so many ways. I am a Kindergarten teacher and I am very concerned about the national and local push to have Kindergartners reading at an “E” level before entering 1st grade. Many students can achieve this, however, there are quite a few that are not developmentally ready for this challenge. (There are other concerns in math, writing, etc as well). Previously to teaching Kindergarten I taught special education for 17 years mostly with high school students. They always hated school. Now I know why. I question my role in this push and I question my profession. When will we use research in conjunction with common sense and the love of learning to guide us?

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