Marjorie Fields Dr. Marjorie Fields has recently retired after teaching in the field ofearly childhood education for more than 30 years. She first taught kindergarten, then
first grade, and then began teaching teachers. Thanks to her own children, she also
had experience in cooperative preschools and various types of childcare.
Marjorie has a Doctorate in Early Childhood Education with Research in Parent
Involvement. She has been active in early childhood professional organizations at
the national and local levels; she recently served as president of the National Association
of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE) and has also served as
vice president of that association. She has served on the national governing board
for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). She has
published extensively in the field of emergent literacy, including the textbook Let’s
Begin Reading Right (Merrill/Prentice Hall), as well as in the field of child guidance.This book is the result of more than 30 years of reading and thinking in conjunction
with developing and teaching early childhood discipline courses. Dr. Fields
credits her two sons with initially helping her learn what is most important about
child guidance and discipline. She now continues to learn from her grandchildren.
Patty Meritt Patty currently serves as a Professor of Early Childhood Education forthe University of Alaska in Fairbanks. The newest author, Patty used this book for
several years in classes for both teachers and parents. She teaches Child Guidance
in several formats, including workshops, on the web and as an intensive and compressed
course, and says the book is the backbone of every presentation. In addition
to teaching at the university, Patty has worked as a classroom teacher, owner and
administrator in childcare, private preschool, and a parent coop. Patty’s academic
degrees began with an AA in Nursery School and include a BA in Child Development
and a Masters in Teaching. Her research has been primarily in the field of gender
differences in early childhood. First as a parent and continuing as a grandparent, she
delights in continually learning, sharing, and improving her respectful responses to
all children.
Deborah M. Fields Debby is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and the Director ofSocial Services for Agape Adoptions, an international adoption agency. She assesses
and helps prepare families who wish to adopt children in normal health and with special
needs from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Debby also provides post-adoption
support services, assisting parents with the process of adjustment, attachment, and
developing sensitive discipline practices. Debby is particularly interested in the role of
primary relationships and is continually impressed by the powerful effect that loving
and sensitive caregivers have on children’s behavior and emotional development.
Debby is also the mother of two preteen daughters and continues to learn a great deal
about emotional development in her family life. Her children attend a cooperative
public school, where Debby enjoys working regularly in their classrooms.
Debby has a Master’s degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling. She
presented her Master’s thesis on Multicultural Counseling at a national convention
for the American Psychological Association. In addition to her training in attachment
issues, she has focused on developing culturally sensitive practices in her work with
children and families. She has also worked with teen parents and in an elementary
school counseling center.
