Eye to Eye Volume 1 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781439273494)

Gloria is an "Air Force Brat" whose father was a Senior Master Sergeant. While growing up she lived with her parents, brother, and sister in England, France, and the U.S. She also spent a good deal of time with her large extended family, which still includes 22 cousins. Through these close relationships, she was able to observe and learn a great deal about the process of growing up and the nature of childhood relationships. These family ties remain close to this day. When Gloria was 27, after the death of her husband, she decided to devote the rest of her life to developing and practicing a uniquely effective way of leading young children to grow into the magnificent beings that they truly are. She has had a powerfully empathetic understanding of young children all of her life, and she based her approach on this, tempering it through academic studies and practice. Gloria prepared herself for her mission through extensive study centered around home life, childhood development, and early childhood education, receiving a B.S. degree in Home Economics from Ohio State University, an M.A. in Family Life Development from Florida State University, and a PhD in Early Childhood Development from USC. Throughout the years of formal education, extensive research, and student teaching in various preschools, Gloria's essential approach has always remained the same: "I read everything I could find written by the early childhood theorists, threw that information against my heart, and let go of anything that didn't stick." Her first "teaching" assignment was in the USC Preschool. She moved to the Portuguese Bend Coop Nursery School two years later. After four years there she became the Director of the St. Thomas Parish Preschool in Hollywood, California. She also taught many classes at UCLA in Curriculum Development and Classroom Management (Preschools), as well as creating and teaching classes there in Emergent Literacy. In this unfolding process of "teaching" young children, Gloria found that a great deal of her approach also rubbed off on the parents. Many of them began to urge her to write this book. In 1996, supported by an extensive community of concerned parents of young children, Gloria founded The Walther School (also in Hollywood)- a preschool that fully manifests her approach. What is Gloria's approach? It centers around the loving of young children, respect for them, honoring of them, and continually encouraging their participation.