Top 3 Brilliant Quotes from CounciLIVE

This year, for the first time, we invited our community to join us in a brand-new series: CounciLIVE. Covering key topics in early childhood education today, CounciLIVE brought wisdom, wit and resources from some of the foremost leaders in our field. In each episode, we had the chance to hear from those who have spent their lives ensuring that all young children receive the quality education they deserve.

Anchored in the practical, competency-driven perspective of the CDA^®, CounciLIVE featured experts on current issues ranging from equitable literacy development to cultivating a diverse early childhood workforce. Every discussion gave us a greater impetus to bring the highest ideals of our field to real life.  After all, CounciLIVE is about equipping all of us to better serve young children in our own homes, communities and classrooms worldwide.

As we celebrate the end of the pilot season, we invite you to take a look back on the three standout quotes from our final CounciLIVE episodes. Reflect on them and dare to dream even bigger on behalf of the children in your corner of the globe.

1. “What, then, is the Council lens? In addition to the fact that it is lodged, content-wise, in the six competency goals and thirteen functional areas, I would argue that the Council lens is really focused on three things. One, the Council lens is child centered. Always, the work that we do is really about benefiting children first. The second focus is on application and practice. While there is a lot of content around theory and there is a lot of content that is conceptual, the Council lens is one that works to translate all of that into practical application, and to talk about skills in classrooms and in programs working with children and families. Thirdly, and this has historically been very important to the development of the competency standards, is an embrace of equity and social justice. The intent is always to remove any obstacles that might stand in the way of children and families’ access to full development and growth. Though you may find the topics addressed on CounciLIVE addressed in other places, you will nowhere find that they are addressed in the way the Council is addressing them, through this child-centered, applicational, practice lens, and through this embrace of social justice.”—Dr. Carol Brunson Day, Council for Professional Recognition, Distinguished Fellow

Listen to “What makes the CDA^® perspective unique?” featuring Dr. Carol Brunson Day.

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2. “When working with preschoolers, you’ll want to set up opportunities for movement, encouraging children and seeking to make sure all children are included. So, you need to set up a movement environment that elicits jumping, for example. While children are exploring movement, teachers can verbally comment on their discoveries to help children become aware of the movement skills and concepts they are performing.”—Dr. Fran Cleland, West Chester University professor and former SHAPE America president

Listen to What’s PE for Pre-K? featuring Dr. Fran Cleland.

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3. “Children learn when they are around caring and responsible adults who talk with them and engage them in conversations, even when they are very little, read to them and sing songs. In doing so, you are giving them one of the best gifts that you can give a young child—the lifelong gift of providing appropriate opportunities to develop language and literacy skills. Young children need intentional, meaningful experiences every day to acquire the foundation for language and literacy. Children feel valued in the classroom when their home language is respected, when they receive the message that their home culture is very important. And this is essential for a young child to learn.” — Vilma M. Williams, Council for Professional Recognition, Manager, Multilingual and Special Programs

Listen to Dual Language Learning Myths (& More!) featuring Vilma M. Williams.

Thank you for joining us for the first-ever season of CounciLIVE! We look forward to seeing you at CounciLIVE 2022.