March REChEC meeting!

Happy March, everyone! We're excited to announce the second REChEC meeting at 6:15pm on Wednesday, March 26th. Please RSVP here: March REChEC Meeting.

At our last meeting many of us wanted to hear from each other about what sort of work we've been doing with both young children and the adults in their lives around a multitude of issues, and there were plenty of great ideas in the room. This next meeting will be a show-and-tell! Or a resource/skill-share, if that sounds more professional. Please bring a lesson plan, or a picture book, or a game, or toy, or some other resource that you've created or used to teach or inspire conversation about an issue important to you, and be prepared to share it with others!

This meeting will also be at the Montessori Day School of Brooklyn, 237 Park Place just west of Vanderbilt Avenue. Feel free to bring dinner for yourself or snacks to share. Montessori Day School has an afterschool program until 6:00, so we ask that you not come before that time to allow for an easier child pick-up process.

Please spread this announcement far and wide! Looking forward to seeing you.

Join us for REChEC's first meeting!

The Radical Early Childhood Education Collective (REChEC) is a gathering of people who work with young children (kindergarten and under) and are interested in the ways that social justice education and radical politics influence how we teach and engage with both children and the other adults in their lives.

Four of us (a school administrator, a librarian, and two preschool teachers) decided to get together after observing the ways that early childhood educators are underrepresented in conversations and actions around radical education. We hope to provide a space for skill-sharing, support, discussion, and implementation, and since the organization is in the earliest stages of development it is open to a wide variety of directions and visions.

The first official meeting will be on Thursday, January 23^rd from 6:30-8:00 at Montessori Day School of Brooklyn (237 Park Place, just off of Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn). Anyone who considers themselves an early-childhood educator is welcome, including babysitters, after-school teachers, classroom teachers, administrators, and graduate students. We do not have a particular litmus test for “radical” or “social justice,” but hopefully we will share a commitment to anti-oppressive education in its myriad and intersecting forms.

You are welcome to bring dinner/snacks, and there are many restaurants and bars nearby for those who want to continue discussions afterwards. Please RSVP using this form, and feel free to forward this to anyone you know who might be interested!