These phrases are still fresh in my mind, even though more than 20 years have passed since I was a member of the Task Force for Early Childhood Education. Wilson Riles put together a powerhouse of talent, skills, and experience - 22 people representing both the public and private sectors - educational, medical, and business. It was due to his leadership style that we functioned as smoothly as we did.
From the moment he gave us "The Charge" on that first day, we knew this was something special, serious, and very close to his heart. We all felt his sense of urgency and strong desire to create a new system of education for young children. Wilson made it very clear that, whatever system we developed, the child must be the central feature of the program along with the parents. He strongly felt that parents needed a voice in their child's education.
During the months our task force met, we had our disagreements. With such a group of very strong minds, it was inevitable. An illustration of Wilson's style in working with us was the discussion we had concerning the question, "How Early is Early?" Do we go all the way back to the time a child is an embryo in the mother's womb? Is there a middle ground? What would be the cut off age that the schools would be responsible for educating? This took a great deal of time, effort, and discussions. It was during these sessions that Wilson would say in a loud voice that only he could do, "Remember the charge!" You're into too much minutiae. Look at the overall picture!" Eventually, we would come to a consensus. We ruled by consensus.
Wilson led by example. His tremendous sense of humor and the ability with a quip, narrative, or funny story came in handy whenever we were caught up in a prolonged, heated discussion. His sense of timing was uncanny. He would come in just at the right moment. He gave us a great deal of freedom to go in whatever direction we desired. However, whenever we got into a quagmire, there he was to help us out.
Wilson made sure that our task force had the best resources the state had to offer. Whatever studies, publications, or reports that we needed, we got. Leading experts of the day, besides the ones on our task force, were brought in to share their views with us. Those meetings led to some very invigorating and stimulating learning experiences for all of us. We took the best from the best in the development of our final Early Childhood Education Program.
Frozen in my mind is a picture of a scene replicated hundreds of times in several schools throughout the state: Wilson entering a first grade classroom, his big smile illuminating the room, immediately sitting on the floor amidst a circle of students. His long legs sticking out and his hands waving in the air, Wilson starts telling a story. The children are all looking up and very soon become mesmerized. Love envelopes the room.
That, to me, is what Early Childhood Education was all about.
DR. ROBERT PONCE received his Ed.D. from USC. He served as Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction for CDE from 1976-1987. Before that, he was Director of Education for the Ventura COE. He also served as a member for the first Commission on Special Education, as well as the Blue Ribbon Committee on the Gifted and Talented.
He is now retired. The warm bond developed between the Ponces and Wilson and Louise Riles remains strong to the present time.