RTV# 47 Champion the Champions

Dr. Fraser Mustard 1927-2011

A Year of Raising the Village. Week #47:

Champion the Champions...and deliver the straight goods.

Dr. Fraser Mustard, renowned early years champion and scientist, passed away last week. This is a profound loss to the early years movement and perhaps a time to reflect on how we champion our champions. It is well known that Mustard was a pioneer in the understanding of how the early years impacted human development. We have had the pleasure to hear Dr. Mustard present over the years. He shot straight from the hip (or the podium if you will) about how we must all invest in the early years and create MORE for our children which in turn is MORE for our communities and our collective future. No excuses, no debate, no doubts...he delivered the straight goods. His celebrated work and influence will long be remembered as will the sentiments of a true champion. In the same week as his passing, National Children’s Day is also celebrated (November 20th). We thought, what better way to tip our village raising hat to Dr. Fraser Mustards work, then to pay tribute to him and the rights of children. Join us in championing the champion and take a moment to think about your promise to our future, our children. And then act on it.


To get the straight goods on Child’s well being and to look at ways to celebrate the children in your life and community, here are some go-to resources:
Child Rights in practice:
http://globalclassroom.unicef.ca/en/news/ncd.htm
http://www.unicef.ca/en/1word
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncd-jne/kit-eng.php
http://www.canadiancrc.com/Canadas_national_Child_Day.aspx


And remember, we do not have to wait for a champions passing or a National day to honour one another. Do it now.

Village Raising Question:What are the ways you champion your champions?

RTV #2 - Double Dipping Allowed! Fondue & Raclette Sets for Loan.

A Year of Raising the Village: Week #2 - Fondue & Raclette Sets for Loan

Purchase some equipment for loan to families that encourages positive family meal experiences.


Basic fondue pots are inexpensive and make for an interactive family dinner experience. Fondue dinners can be cheese, broth, oil or…chocolate!! You can’t help but talk and enjoy each other’s company around a fondue pot.

Raclette is a very easy, economical, cozy, family-friendly meal - perfect for gathering the family at the table on a cold winter night.  Here is a blog with some kid friendly Raclette tips http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jan/18/kids-in-the-kitchen-raclette-for-cozy-family/ 

Village Raising Tip: Encourage families to eat, talk and have fun together. Family meals are a great way to foster family together-ness.

The Key to Kids NOT Crime

The time and investment going into reacting to gang violence is shocking. People talk about harder sentence and expanding the judicial system in response to these activities. These discussions are reactive with no consideration or value placed on the power of prevention.

The real way to make a societal difference is to prevent criminal behaviours happening in the first place. We know from brain research that what happens in a child's first years of life sets the life trajectory for a person's behaviour, health and overall productivity in society.

Gang violence is related to feelings of belonging, attachment and lifestyle choices. When children have a positive start in life, when their families receive the support they need, when nurturing environments exist across socioeconomic spectrums that support healthy child development - our children will be less likely to grow up into disengaged and disenfranchised youth who seek the connections that gangs offer.

The recently released Kids and Crime report commissioned by the Vancouver Board of Trade (link) re-iterated that “research-based early intervention programs are effective at impacting criminological risk factors associated with crime and thus, they prevent or reduce criminality.”

The costs speak for themselves. It has been documented that when we invest our time and energy and money into very young children, the return on a $1 investment is $16 in savings from our judicial, welfare, education and health systems. The Kids & Crime report claims that for a youth of 18 years who drops out of high school and gets caught up in heavy drug use and criminal activity – it costs society between 2.6 and 5.3 million US dollars.

Aggressive behaviour occurs in children right from birth. The kicks! The bites! The hits! For most children, they learn to control their emotions and use their words before their bodies. These early years are the time to focus on children, allowing them to learn the fundamentals of social interaction. We know that those who fail to learn these lessons – end up in societies troubling statistics. A report titled Early Learning Prevents Youth Violence (link) by the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development outlines clearly the role of human aggression and the consequences of uncontrolled behaviour.

Yes we need to be mindful of those who already have gone down a destructive path in life - but NOT without looking "upstream" to find ways to prevent the next round of children and youth falling into the same traps. Where does it start? At the very beginning - with families and the communities that support them to raise healthy children and youth that will make positive life choices because they have grown up feeling valued and with a sense of belonging.

Village Raising Question

What are your reactions to the Kids and Crime or Early Learning Prevents Youth Violence reports?

link

Be a Mischief-maker

Be a Mischief-maker!
Photo Copyright Tammy Dewar

We are huge Seth Godin fans. His little nuggets of counter-intuitive thinking evoke something deeply motivating and, to be honest, uncomfortable. His opinions shoot out like little burrs that get stuck in the brain and, frankly, bug us until we translate his “business” and “marketing” focused brilliance into something that is relevant as community developers.

His book “Tribes” appealed first because of the title with it’s very village-like sound.  For the first two/thirds, we found it validating and aligned with our penchant towards change and innovation; it was like preaching to the converted. By the time we got to the last 100 pages we were feverish with anticipation to sink our teeth into something.  He did not disappoint.

After closing the book we were determined to be more of a mischief-maker than I ever was before. He convinced us that leadership requires more bravery and if we want to change things, improve things and create a better future…we simply have to do things differently than what has been done before.

“If you are not over the top, you’re not going to have any chance at all of making things happen.”  (pg 86)

When we look around at the work done in the area of the early years and the people who have done the work, we want to celebrate the consistent, focused, caring diligence of these individuals who GET it (that our society can prevent many social issues by investing in quality early years for children). We are also compelled to shout out a call to action: Let’s not work our tails off to maintain the status quo! 

Usually fear gets in the way of positive change. Along with fear of the unknown (which takes a little confidence) there is the fear of being criticized. Lets not worry about potential criticism when we make great things happen. Lets reframe criticism as an earned “ badge of honour” because it means we have blown away people’s expectations. Let’s raise a little mischief and start being remarkable.

Village Raising Question:

How can you create something that critics will criticize because it challenges the status quo?

The Parent Conundrum

If you were to draw a village like an archery target, children and parents would be the bulls-eye or the sweet-spot. This is the part of the target that scores the most points and makes the most difference because families are where the next generation starts. They are the units in which the growth and development of independent, contributing citizens occur. So when government and non-profit agencies plan for new policies and new services, it is this population that has the most at stake when decisions are made. The conundrum is how the service providers best engage the service users (families) to inform and influence their decisions. 

How can a group of early years community developers be responsive to a parental perspective that is inclusive of the diversity that exists among families? Families are as different as they come! And they are legitimately wrapped up in their busy lives, trying their best with what they have. It is important to consider how to give families the opportunity to share their thoughts in ways that fit their lives.

In our book, Raising the Village, we offer a list of ideas and considerations to engage families in community early years planning and decision making processes. There is no one way – no cookie-cutter approach.  It is essential that parents (and children for that matter) be given a voice! We want to gather more ideas and strategies that have worked out there around the world.

Here is our list (5 anyway) to get things rolling….

1 – invite all parents to attend all meetings

2 – service providers “be” the parent voice 

3 – select parent representatives or parent champions

4 – formal surveys (written, telephone or online)

5 – focus group research

Village Raising Question:

What has worked for you to meaningfully engage parents (and children) in community early years planning and decision making processes?

Early Years Community Developers as Linchpins

Over the past 5 years, attention and funding directed towards the early years has gone up and down and around like an awkwardly executed cartwheel. Whether we are on our feet, tail over teakettle or suspended in mid-flight, there are people passionate and committed to keep the early years momentum alive.

We call these individuals Early Years Community Developers. They are people who know that quality investments in the lives of young children have huge payoffs now and far into the future. Sometimes these people feel demoralized by the lack of value attributed to this work locally, nationally and globally. It can feel (like our hero Dr. Clyde Hertzman describes) that we are going up a down escalator.

What if Early Years Community Developers took a linchpin view in order to respond to life’s on-going cartwheels or the up and down escalator rides? Seth Godin’s describes linchpins as people that our world needs more of and who are indispensable, not cogs in a wheel and not easily replaceable. He suggests that typical linchpin contributions are to:

o Over deliver results – to be generous
o Contribute emotional labour – to be enthusiastic
o Connect more people with more ideas – to be constructive
o Find the things that motivate you to do your best work – to be remarkable.


Generosity can help us to reframe events such as funding cuts and organizational changes. As we give generously of our time, expertise and passion to communities, the value, recognition and respect for the potential of the early years will only grow.

Our enthusiasm will result in an increase in creativity, flexibility and innovation. This will be infectious within communities, among our colleagues and into the homes of families.

We can be constructive by becoming more proactive and less reactive to situations. Creating a future where children are honoured is at stake – we want to be in the drivers seat.

Being remarkable is about having our efforts add value to the early years sector – and making a bigger difference is what we are all about!



Village Raising Question:
What are your strengths that have not yet been fully contributed that would make you a linchpin?