Education for a Civil Society: How Guidance Teaches Young Children Democratic Life Skills Paperback - 2012

Dan Gartrell started his career in education as a teacher at an inner-city elementary school in Ohio and later taught in the Head Start program of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota. He holds a doctorate in teacher education/early childhood and is Professor Emeritus of Early Childhood and Foundations Education at Bemidji State University in Minnesota. As former director of Bemidji's Child Development Training Program, a CDA trainer, and a student teaching supervisor, he has helped scores of students start their journey to becoming excellent educators.

Once introduced at a conference as "the guidance guy," Dan has spoken extensively on using guidance with young children and related topics. He writes the Guidance Matters column in NAEYC's journal, Young Children, and has contributed several additional articles to the journal. The sixth edition of his textbook on guidance, A Guidance Approach for the Encouraging Classroom, published in 2013. Dan has also written The Power of Guidance: Teaching Social-Emotional Skills to Young Children and What the Kids Said Today. Dan and his wife, Dr. Julie Jochum, live in Minnesota. The 11 grandchildren in their blended family know Dan as the grandpa who tells friendly jokes and makes pretty good "papadanpancakes" (the secret is strawberry yogurt in the batter). He enjoys nature photography and being outdoors in the north woods and on the lake near Bemidji, Minnesota.