Marcy whitebook biography of williams

By Marcy Whitebook and Rachel E. Early care and education ECE in the United States began as reforms to address the needs of young children in the 19th century. Women, in particular, have always been counted among its leaders, visionaries, thinkers, and organizers. As in many reform initiatives, people in positions of power and privilege disproportionately shaped ECE, but the collective agency of early educators, advocates, and activists has also been key to its development over time.

Though reformers and activists may have agreed on the need to expand care and education, they represented diverse communities and had different ideas about the goals of ECE programs, who they should serve, and how they should be funded and staffed. Programs often reinforced ideologies, attitudes, and policies that were sexist, racist, classist, and anti-immigrant.

Marcy whitebook biography of williams: Marcy began her professional life

The ECE system has continued to evolve around the dominant ideas of those with greater power, access, and influence in the political realm, while input from teachers and parents too often goes unheeded and at times has been directly repressed. We celebrate the creativity, bravery, and determination of these ECE activists. Their stories — our history — cultivate hope for the future and serve as a map to continue this work.

Throughout the history of ECE, activist movements have worked to narrow the gap between the system as it exists and their vision in which all teachers are well paid and respected and all children have a right to well-resourced and culturally affirming environments, no matter their age or race, where they live, or the financial resources or work lives of their parents.

Yet, the role of activists has largely been erased from ECE histories.