Rae Pica - What If Everybody Understood Child Development?: Straight Talk About Bettering Education and Children′s Lives

What a pleasure to read commonsense wisdom about what young children need!

Diane Ravitch, Research Professor of Education

New York University

This amazing book does far more than chase down the myths about how to ensure that children are successful. It offers real, research-backed practical strategies every teacher and parent can use. This belongs on every desk for quick and handy use!

Eric Jensen, Director

Jensen Learning, Maunaloa, HI

This book is a must read for anyone who is part of the current education system. It is time to think about what we are doing to the youth who are the new digital generation era and to ensure we are teaching them in ways that are the most developmentally appropriate.

Lyneille Meza, Coordinator of Data and Assessment

Denton ISD

This is a great read. Its social media flavor is inviting and inspiring. The issues presented echo teacher discussions made around the water fountain. [Rae Picas] expertise and evidence based on research will move your hair-pulling complaints to policy-changing action.

Leonard J. Villanueva, Teacher

Palisades Elementary School

This book offers provocative ideas for the new educator, the experienced teacher, and administrators alike. Lets use what we know about child development to start remaking our schools to meet the needs of all students. This book provides a starting point.

Katrina L. Ladopoulos, Teacher

Crestwood Elementary School

Rae Pica has a deep understanding of childhood development and she has delved into every facet of it so that educators, parents, and policymakers will come to that understanding too. What If Everybody Understood Child Development? includes 29 critically important chapters that focus on every single important issue we dont always take enough time to talk about. This book needs to not just be on everyones shelves, but open in everyones hands.

Peter DeWitt, Author/Consultant

Former K5 Principal, Finding Common Ground BlogEducation Week

Our understanding of young children has become quite distorted, as have our policies and practices. Its time to reorient our views and Rae Picas What If Everybody Understood Child Development? gives clear examples of the problems and of the solutions. To her, children are remarkable human beingsactive, caring, and creative. They are more than an investment in the future. They are of immense value here and now.

Joan Almon, Co-Founder

Alliance for Childhood

Rae Picas What If Everybody Understood Child Development?, in its so readable and so interesting format, is an important contribution to a field that is constantly fighting to have facts about child development guide and inform decision making about young children rather than let the theory of the day do harm to our youngest learners. I love, love, love this book!

Marcy Guddemi, Executive Director

Gesell Institute

Rae Pica understands children. With her wisdom and insight, she helps us know how to do right by kids in a world full of conflicting pressures. Thank you, Rae, for this valuable book. We need it now more than ever!

Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Professor Emerita

Lesley University

This book is dedicated to my oldest friend, Sheila Chapman, who has known me since we were thirteen and still loves me these many years later.

What If Everybody Understood Child Development?

Straight Talk About Bettering Education and Childrens Lives

• Rae Pica

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All rights reserved. When forms and sample documents are included, their use is authorized only by educators, local school sites, and/or noncommercial or nonprofit entities that have purchased the book. Except for that usage, no part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pica, Rae, 1953

What if everybody understood child development? : straight talk about bettering education and childrens lives / Rae Pica.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4833-8184-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Early childhood education. 2. Child development. I. Title.

LB1139.23.P52 2015

372.21dc232015009628

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

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In April 2013, I wrote a piece for Huffington Post called What If Everybody Understood Child Development? because I was fed up with the many ridiculous actions taken against children in the name of education or safety. What if all administrators, policymakers, educators, and parents really understood childrenhow they develop and what can be expected of them at certain stages? Surely childrens lives would be so much better! Surely their education would be greatly improved.

Writing the piece was a necessity for me. I was asking a question that had been gnawing at me for some time. What I expected was relief at putting the question out there. What I hoped was that educators, administrators, policymakers, and parents would take notice. What I hadnt predicted was the response both the question and the piece would receive.

As of today, the post has been shared widely on social media, acquiring, among other things, more than 2,500 Facebook shares and 23,000 Facebook likes. Recently, it was moved from Huff Post Education to Huff Post Impact, where it received renewed interest that began a whole new round of sharing.