The Reimagining Our Work Initiative is a community and a movement to uplift social justice in early care and education, and work proactively to bring educators together in support, strength and solidarity to deepen their practice and learn from one another in authentic community.

The ROW Initiative seeks to build a community of thinkers anchored in relationships that allow for substantive, open-hearted, intellectually rigorous dialogue and reimagining. We explore the values and commitments at the heart of our founding ROW Charter. These principles guide us as we work towards transformation. We commit to move beyond a “fix-it” mentality, and to act boldly to reimagine our work:

An anchoring inspirational text for this work is the book From Teaching to Thinking: A Pedagogy for Reimagining Our Work, by Ann Pelo and Margie Carter, to uncover longings and to call forward new possibilities for how we do our work in early learning. Together we ask these questions and live into the answers:

Committing ourselves to deeper discussion of these questions will uncover what needs to change. We will learn how to mobilize courage, how to innovate, and shape action plans. We can bring our full selves to educational settings shaping a culture of excitement about learning where children, families and educators become critical thinkers. Together we can construct understandings of what must be created and what must be dismantled in order to repair harm, heal, and form ourselves into the beloved communities that lead to an equitable world.

We are committed to sharing examples of our work in this area with each other. If this is an area of importance for you, please submit examples of your work (written descriptions) for consideration to be shared on this page.

Previous ROW Conversations

The Reimagining Our Work book collection is a series of stories written by early childhood educators that illuminate the pedagogical approach described in the foundational text From Teaching to Thinking. This approach includes a commitment to social justice, deep listening, and thoughtful meaning-making about children’s conversations. The powerful stories in this collection explore play, representations, and documentation that foregrounds educators’ thinking, anchored by a workplace culture of inquiry that promotes strong identities and learning for children and educators alike.

Use the ROW book collection on your own or as a team, to discover how early childhood educators in the field are reimagining their work and thinking alongside children in this innovative collection of stories.

How do we navigate and embrace social justice teaching and learning in real time?

Bring your voice to the conversation and join a passionate group of teacher-researchers who ask big questions and enjoy the journey.

Questions? Contact us at row@exchangepress.com