A Guidance Guide for Early Childhood Leaders - by Dan Gartrell (Paperback)

About the Book

"Guidance Guy" Dan Gartrell provides strategies on how early childhood professionals can help others gain the emotional health they need to build relationships and solve problems cooperatively.

Book Synopsis

In this follow-up to Guidance for Every Child, author Dan Gartrell, EdD, expands on the advice broached in that book--that children need guidance rather than discipline. Guidance is teaching for healthy emotional and social development. On a day-to-day basis as conflicts occur, guidance is teaching children to learn from their mistakes, rather than punishing them for the mistakes they make; helping children learn to solve their problems, rather than punishing children for having problems they cannot solve.

In A Guidance Guide for Early Childhood Leaders, Dan explores secure relationships as the foundation for guidance and how to build them with children, families, and colleagues. He gives examples of how children's mistaken behavior (not misbehavior) can play out in the classroom and provides strategies on how early childhood professionals can help others to gain the emotional health they need to be socially responsive, and then support the social skills they need to build relationships and solve problems cooperatively.

Review Quotes

"Every day teachers make important decisions that impact the social-emotional development of our youngest generation, Dan has created a wonderful resource that is packed with useful strategies and inspiring stories that will help teachers strengthen their relationships with children and families while supporting the development of social skills that children will use throughout their lives." --Lisa Sutherland, senior director, early learning, Cognia(TM)

"Dan Gartrell certainly has a unique and endearing way of explaining child guidance in a clear, easy to apply manner. His passion, humor, and dedication to the field of Early Childhood will be evident as the reader moves through this book. Dan's insight into a child's behavior and their 'mistaken behavior' is brilliant guidance for all who know, work with and raise children." --Ann Klaas, professional development system coordinator, Montana Early Childhood Project, Montana State University

"In an age when empowering young children to solve their own problems and settle disputes peacefully is as important as learning to count or read, the author delivers an insightful resource for educators and families. The text provides us with theoretical explanations and specific strategies that will surely make a significant impact in early childhood education." --Dr. Shawn Watkins, associate professor of reading, East Stroudsburg University

About the Author

Known as "The Guidance Guy," Dan Gartrell has studied and written about the topics of child guidance and liberation teaching for the past 50 years. He received his master's degree from Bemidji State University and his EdD from the University of North Dakota. For many years, he was the director of the child development training program and a professor of early childhood and foundations education at Bemidji State University, where he is now professor emeritus. Gartrell is the author of four books, including Guidance for Every Child and was the principal author of the "Guidance Matters" column in NAEYC's Young Children for many years.