“Wien addresses the fundamental question of whether good early childhood education can indeed exist in schools obliged to offer a standardized curriculum…. These stories of eight teachers present an amazing range of definitions of what works, what’s best for children, and what helps them the most.”
— From the Foreword by Lilian Katz

This book takes you into the classroom to see how eight teachers struggled with the dilemma of how to balance a standardized curriculum with their understanding of sound early childhood educational practices. You’ll see up close how each teacher developed a variety of strategies in her efforts to respond to imposed standards and assessments, to the developmental nature of children, and to the challenge of diversity in the classroom. With intimate portraits and vivid observations, this volume:

• Addresses how a standardized curriculum changes the way teachers approach teaching and the consequences to the children in their care.
• Presents and analyzes a variety of approaches used by these teachers, including a linear approach, an integrated approach, a holistic approach, and ignoring the imposed standards entirely.
• Offers examples of how best to ensure that the curriculum stays meaningful to young children of different cultural, ethnic, and language backgrounds as well as to those with special needs.
• Provides hope to teachers that they can teach in ways they value in spite of systemic constraints imposed at the district level.

Carol Anne Wien is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at York University in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of Developmentally Appropriate Practice in “Real Life” (1995).