Educating Young Children Volume 1 - Summer 2025 | Page 12

NAEYC: How does NAEYC help?

Linda: NAEYC will always be a constant for me. In my undergraduate courses, Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs was a required text. It’ s trustworthy information that teachers and administrators can immediately put into practice. There’ s no replacing it.

NAEYC’ s magazines are among my favorite resources. I’ ll look at an issue and think,“ How did they know?” I recently shared an issue on Nurturing Multilingual Learners in Preschool [ Teaching Young Children Summer 2024 ] with our ESOL teachers. I send out a weekly newsletter that highlights articles I’ ve read, like strategies for family-educator conferences. These publications are my go-to sources for quality information.

NAEYC: You’ ve been so transparent about the challenges you faced growing up. Who were your mentors?

Linda: I had some very caring elementary teachers. My parents got divorced when I was in third grade. My teacher checked in on me but still held me to a high standard. In high school, my French teacher knew my home situation. She would let me out of class, so I could type up my work because we didn’ t have a computer at home. Another teacher opened up the world of novels in a way I never knew was possible. She taught us about themes and symbolism and introduced us to advanced vocabulary. My teachers were strengths-based, but they did not take it easy on me. They were empathetic and supportive, but they held me to a high standard. I’ m forever grateful for them.