Join us in the Center for Social Change

The Center for Social Change will be held during the upcoming 2019 CAAEYC Annual Conference and Expo April 11-13 in Santa Clara, CA.

The conference theme is “Celebrate the Joy of Childhood.” The Center for Social Change aims to broach the idea of joy in childhood through a lens of social action and finding joy in the face of adversity.

The first step is asking the question: “What does joy mean to you?” Joy has a different meaning for everyone and is even more different for a child. What does joy mean to you as an educator? What is joy for a child? What is your goal as an educator with respect to joy?

The Center will address the following questions:

• How do we find our own joy, and how to we teach children to find joy in difficult circumstances?
• How do we create an environment that supports and allows moments of joy on a regular basis?
• How can we bring joy to our communities - our classroom, schools, neighborhoods?

In difficult times, joy can be hard to find, but the ability to give and hold on to joy - through relationships and shared experiences - is an invaluable skill. The reality of life is that joy is fleeting; if we can hold onto those moments of joy, we are better able to weather hard times.

Please join us in the Center for Social Change on Saturday, April 13, 2019, to discuss and reflect on the meaning, search for and science of joy for children and early childhood educators. The experienced community of educators involved in the Center for Social Change will share stories of their own challenges and successes in bringing joy to their communities, and hope to facilitate and participate in the important discussions of teaching, preserving and cultivating joy in the lives of all children.