WWYD (WHAT WOULD YOU DO?)

Rodney West

It was a great pleasure to interact with many Early Childhood advocates at the recent CAAEYC Annual Conference and Expo in Santa Clara. The Diversity-in-Action group had a station in the Center for Social Change entitled: What would you do? Conferees did critical thinking responses to questions that were not always deemed comfortable. Some topics communicated were developmentally appropriate instructional practices, parent participation, language barriers, physical disabilities and culture just to name a few.

Participants had thought provoking responses to subject matter introduced at the Diversity station. Conferees also had a genuine heart to make sure that all people were treated in the most fair and equitable manner. In summation, inclusion of all stakeholders is ideal to bring about the most positive change.

The Diversity-in-Action committee is seeking a more inclusive think tank that best represents CAAEYC membership. Besides the question in the stated title; it is really a matter of how the important work is going to be done, and the when work is going to be done. I declare that the time to get the work done is now. We are in a current climate where it is imperative that all early childhood advocates become first responders.

There is an immediate call for action for willing members to join the Diversity committee. A near future goal is to create a position statement on behalf of CAAEYC. Young children and families could greatly benefit from our collaboration of the meeting-of-the-minds. Please feel free to communicate your interest with CAAEYC staff or by emailing Rodney West at mwalimurodney@cs.com. I am looking forward to your responses and ideas to make CAAEYC even more inclusive. Judge each day not by your harvest, but by the seeds you plant.