Your Presence is Requested (Paperback)

Your Presence Is Requested is a challenge to parents and communities to become involved positively in the life and education of a child. It is a collection of essays on parenting and education that promotes child-centered teaching and learning. Every child needs and deserves an advocate and someone who cares for and supports her. These essays help parents and caregivers think about and plan for the life changing experience available through education. Using personal experiences as a parent and educator, Dr. Veda Pendleton McClain shares information from her education process as well as that of her children. She provides timely insight into the issues plaguing our education system from multiple perspectives. She also offers achievable sensible solutions to these issues and examines what each of us can do daily to promote the wellbeing of a child. This is a must read for parents and educators alike.

Dr. Veda Pendleton McClain, a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, was born an independent thinker. She is a mother, grandmother, aunt, daughter, niece, mentor, educator, author, friend and motivational speaker, and has spent over 30 years as a parent and grandparent, and over 20 years as an educator. She has spent many years working with students, parents and families about education and child rearing and continues to write for a local family magazine. As an educator, she has advised parents and students about the education process, planning for careers as lifelong learners, and child rearing in general. Her research interests include family literacy, particularly with economically disadvantaged groups, and culturally diverse children's literature. She has researched and written about child-parent interactions as they relate to how a child learns how to read, as well as about the importance of parental engagement in the lives of their children. She has been a university professor, department chair and college dean. A graduate of The Ethel Walker School through the A Better Chance Program, Dr. McClain earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Wesleyan University, a master of science in education degree in reading from the University of Central Arkansas, and a doctor of philosophy degree in reading education from The University of Georgia. She is the founding member of Veda McClain Consulting, LLC, and of Friends of Children in Urban Schools (FoCUS). Read more about her at www.vedamcclain.com.