Education for a Civil Society: Teaching for Five Democratic Life Skills, Revised Edition
Learning to Work Cooperatively and Respectfully with Others
Democratic life skills are skills that enable all of us—children and adults alike—to be caring, thoughtful members of families, schools, communities, and societies. But these emotional and social skills don’t just happen. Teachers and families support and nudge young children toward them, using guidance techniques that calm and teach.
Completely updated and revised, the second edition of this classic resource provides relatable anecdotes and practical strategies for teachers to understand
- Why building secure relationships with children and families is so important—and eight communication practices to build them
- How viewing misbehavior as mistaken behavior allows you to focus on helping a child learn better ways to meet their needs
- When and how to use specific guidance practices to promote children’s healthy personal development and social cooperation
- How an encouraging learning community helps everyone move toward achieving their potential
Whether you’re a veteran teacher or just embarking on your teaching journey, you’ll find what you need in this book to provide young children with a solid foundation for their—and society’s—future.
Dan Gartrellprofessor emeritus.
Dan has written 30 articles that have appearedin Young Children, Teaching Young Children,The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary EarlyChildhood Education andExchange2004 to 2015.
Dan is the author of seven books, including sixeditions of his textbook, A Guidance Approachfor the Encouraging Classroomcomprehensive membership selection books: ThePower of Guidance: Teaching Social-Emotional Skillsin Early Childhood Classrooms (2004) and Educationfor a CivilSociety: How Guidance Teaches YoungChildren Democratic Life Skills(2012).
His books on guidance in early childhoodeducation and guidance for early childhood leaderswere published in 2017 and 2020 by Redleaf Press.
Dan has led over 300 presentations, keynotes,and master classes in 23 states;Washington, DC;Germany; and Mexico. About 20 times Dan haspresented at NAEYC annual conferences andprofessional learning institutes. Dan is a member oftwo families that include wife, Dr. Julie Jochum, fiveadult children, and fifteen grandchildren.
