Designs for Living and Learning, Third

Deb Curtis has spent many years observing and studying children in early childhood programs throughout North America. Her daily experiences as a child care teacher have led her to a deep respect for children’s competencies and a strong commitment to work on their behalf. Deb is dedicated to learning meaningful anti-bias, anti-racist teaching practices, building on young children’s natural dispositions for empathy, compassion, and fairness to help create a kinder, more equitable world. She holds an MA in human development from Pacific Oaks College and has worked as an infant/toddler caregiver, preschool and school age child care teacher, CDA trainer, Head Start education coordinator, college instructor, and assistant director of a child care program. She is the coauthor of numerous professional learning books with Margie Carter, including The Visionary Director, Training Teachers, The Art of Awareness, Reflecting Children’s Lives, Learning Together with Young Children, and Reflecting in Communities of Practice, and the author of Really Seeing Children. 

Margie Carter's decades of work in the early childhood field includes teaching in the primary grades, directing child care centers, serving as adjunct faculty in college settings, speaking and consulting throughout North America, Australia and New Zealand. The pedagogical practices she promotes have deep roots in the study of John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and bell hooks, who promote educational philosophies and practices that serve the goals of a vibrant democracy. With social justice as a lens, Margie speaks to the importance of play as an equity issue, cultural and linguistic democracy, creating environments and organizational cultures that nurture belonging, critical thinking, and active imaginations. She has worked as a preschool, kindergarten and primary school teacher, curriculum developer, High/Scope trainer, child care director, and college instructor. She received her B.S. in Education from Northwestern University and her M.A. in Human Development and Leadership from Pacific Oaks College. Margie is the coauthor of numerous professional learning books with Deb Curtis, including The Visionary Director, Training Teachers, The Art of Awareness, Reflecting Children’s Lives, Learning Together with Young Children, and Reflecting in Communities of Practice.