Saturday, July 23, 2011

So my term as DEC president officially began on July 1st (so thankful to Amy's leadership and the support of the current executive board as I begin this journey)....and one of my responsibilities is to continue the blog Amy started this past year.

I've been reluctant to post - not knowing quite the flavor or tenor my posts should take. Ihave, however, found (in my short time as president) that critical thinking as well as time for reflection and consideration is a necessity!



....yet finding the time for such activities is proving to be difficult. Thus, I've decided to treat the blog (to some extent) as I do my teaching blog - as a place where I ponder out loud, never expecting a response, but hoping that in my efforts to put words to my thoughts, that my actions might be on target.

So, if you are following the blog - thanks and I hope you won't mind my ramblings...though, I intend to follow Amy's lead and also use the blog to keep our members up to date regarding various board and DEC member activities.

My thoughts this weekend center on two questions (no responses or answers necessary but both are welcome)...


First, "What are we here for?" In other words, what is DEC here for? Sure...we can read our mission statement, we can review our policies and handbooks, we can even talk to members and gain some insight. But if DEC were to stop existing tomorrow, what would be our motivation and rationale for bringing it back? As I try to answer this first question, a second comes to mind. If the DEC executive board is to represent the members, how are we determining or verifying member values and member needs? In other words, I can form my own opinions regarding the importance of DEC as an organization, I can turn to past presidents and members with stronger organizational history than me to validate the important role DEC has played - but.....
  • How am I as the current president representing the members?
  • Do I need more or different data?
  • Do we need to utilize different modes of communication?
  • Do we need a different agenda or greater visibility?
  • Do we need to strengthen our subdivisions or maybe our membership benefits?
Well, as with most of my posts, one questions leads to a thousand others; however, sometimes, by asking the stream of questions - I find an answer. One answer that keeps coming back to me is that I/we need data. We talk all the time about practitioners needing to be data driven and we try our best to provide data to decision makers at the state and national level - so we too as an organization need to be data driven. We need to make the time to gather, document, summarize, analyze, and interpret - particularly based upon the needs of our members and the field at large. No small task...yet we know the benefits of such critical actions.

So as I'm reading this summer's best seller (ha - just a little light reading the DEC executive board has taken on)...
I'm going to try and find answers and even some data to clarify why we (DEC) are here, why our existence is important, and what data are needed to best interpret the needs and preferences of members and the field. One thing that has struck me thus far as I've read about policy governance is actually in line with the 2011 Conference - and is about "transforming diverse voices into a single voice".

It strikes me that more than ever, we need an organization of diverse members (like DEC) to speak on behalf of young children and their families - and more importantly to take the diverse ideas of our members and speak to policy makers and other decision makers with a single (and loud) voice regarding the importance of our collective work.

It also strikes me that now more than ever we need to work closely with other organizations (e.g., Zero to Three, NAEYC, NAHS, etc. etc.) to again - transform diverse voices into a single voice in an effort to make the greatest amount of change and impact.

Well...likely enough thinking for a Saturday afternoon (actually enough avoidance of my long to do list) - so more to follow as I embark upon this year long journey. For sure, I'll continue to think about how I/we can use data to make sound decisions and continue to move our organization and field forward.

I hope each of you will encourage your students, colleagues, office mates, and friends to join our blog or follow us on facebook and perhaps as you begin to answer the two questions on my mind - you'll decide to renew your membership or invite others to join - recognizing from your own perspective, the important role DEC plays!

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