Changing the Game for Generation Alpha: Teaching and Raising Young Children in the 21st Century

by Valora Washington

Overview

“Generation Alpha” applies to children born between 2011 and 2025. They will be raised in smaller and constantly evolving families, digital natives, more tech-savvy than previous generations, globally-connected, diverse, and will live and interact with many more generations. Because of these differences, the next generation and the nation is transforming in ways that adults have never experienced before. Valora Washington invites you to consider how to advocate for and influence the trajectories of this next generation.

Raising Generation Alpha Kids looks at how this generation of young children presents new opportunities and challenges, and supports and informs the two principal groups of adults in children’s lives—their families and early childhood educators.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605547268
Publisher:	Redleaf Press
Publication date:	01/19/2021
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Valora Washington, former CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition, is a top authority in early care and education. She has conceptualized, led, facilitated, and executed significant change initiatives. Spanning higher education; local, state, and federal government; organizational development; research; and advocacy, her efforts have led to strategic changes for policy, programs, and practice in philanthropy, national organizations, and local initiatives.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Prologue: Let's Be Game Changers! My Invitation to Educators and Families xi

I For Your Consideration: Inevitable Megatrends, Game Changers, and Possibilities 1

Weigh and Consider 3

Destiny and Decisions 4

Choosing to Lead Our Children 6

Alternative Futures 7

Decades of Dialogue 9

Change Is Not an Option; Neither Is Courage 12

Hope, Always 17

II Inevitable: Generation Alpha Megatrends 21

Generations Characterize Our Lives 22

Generation Alpha: One Generation Among Many 24

Generation Alpha: Living in Smaller, Constantly Evolving Families 26

Generation Alpha: Living in a Tech-Immersed Social Experiment 29

Generation Alpha: Globally Connected 33

Generation Alpha: Diversity Is Their Signature 35

Generation Alpha: Transforming Adulthood 37

III Transformative: Overview of Game Changers for 2030 and Beyond 43

IV Transformative: Game Changer #1: Universal Systems for Supporting People 51

How Our Peer Nations Support Families 53

Pain Points Related to Limited Family Support 56

Strategies to Achieve GameChanger#1: Universal Systems for Supporting People 59

V Transformative: Game Changer #2: Universal High-Quality, Tuition-Free Early Childhood Education 63

Our Current State 64

Analyzing the Gap 65

How Our Peer Nations Do It Better 69

Pain Points Related to Early Childhood Education 70

Strategies to Achieve Game Changer #2: Universal High-Quality, Tuition-Free Early Childhood Education 75

VI Transformative: Game Changer #3: Opportunity Equity 81

Opportunities to Thrive in Other Nations 82

Pain Points 84

Strategies to Achieve Game Changer #3: Opportunity Equity 96

VII Bold: Choosing Possible Futures 105

Choosing Alternative Futures: Becoming Bold 106

Archetypes and Perspectives 112

Being Bold 116

VIII Hopeful: Faith That We Will Do the Right Thing for the Alpha Generation 125

A National Legacy of Hope 126

A Hope Deficit? 128

Demography: A Challenge to Hope 130

Hope Reignited by Lessons Learned 131

Strategies to Fill Alpha Children with Hope 134

The Way Forward 147

Notes 153

Index 167

Editorial Reviews

Valora Washington has identified six powerful, transformative megatrends that have the potential to reshape and refocus the way in which we think and talk about early childhood education, as well as race, gender, and class. She writes that it is a book of hope and activism and that is true, it is also a book about leadership, raw courage, and truth to power.” —Maurice Sykes, author of Doing the Right Thing for Children: Eight Qualities of Leadership

“Respected and well-recognized disruptive innovator Dr. Valora Washington offers a guide through the chaos, challenging readers to choose hope with action. Standing at a threshold when ‘we know more than we do’, Dr. Washington identifies transformative ways forward that are hiding in plain sight.” —Kitt Cox, co-founder and coordinator, North Shore Postpartum Help

“In Changing the Game for Generation Alpha, Valora Washington sets forth a challenge. Will we be bold enough to dare to intentionally choose a game-changing social system anchored in equity and led by a mobilized citizenry? Will we cherish the changed demographic of the country, thus embracing ALL children, their empowered families, and the potential of government policies based on caring for each other? Washington offers several perspective-altering keys to success. If we start now, there is hope!” —Jerlean Daniel, PhD, early childhood education consultant

“A timely book that invites us to consider in positive terms how a transformed world is possible. Framing her case using current trends and data, Dr. Washington builds a foundation of optimism and possibilities. While many challenges remain, she is a firm believer in that next generation—the Alphas—who have the rigor, skills, and hope to make a better world for all.” —Luis A. Hernandez, early childhood education specialist, and co-author of Learning from Bumps in the Road

From the Publisher