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About
Ruth Beaglehole, M.A.
Founder of CNVEP, Ruth Beaglehole has spent her life
considering the needs of children, seeking support and
nurturing for children as full human beings, using the
principles of respect, healing and connection. Ruth’s
professional journey parallels her personal journey and
has given her the empathy, courage and dedication that
has fueled her groundbreaking work; creating a new
paradigm of unconditional parenting that is the soul of
CNVEP.
Ruth’s Beginnings
Ruth’s story begins in New Zealand; born to Academic
parents, with one sister and two brothers. Ruth’s
childhood was “complicated”, to use her own words. Her
own struggle would become Ruth’s biggest asset. As she
set off to heal her own emotional pains, her
understanding of the |
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parent/child relationship was transformed. She began to
see the world in broad, loving, and ultimately profound
terms. Her early interest in childhood education earned
Ruth a B.A. in Education from Victoria University, New
Zealand and a Diploma in Preschool Teaching (known in
New Zealand as Kindergarten teaching).
Echo Park and The Playgroup – 1970
Ruth moved to Los Angeles and was immediately drawn to
the community of Echo Park where she became involved in
relevant issues of the day. This community energy
evolved into the Echo Park Silverlake Child care Center,
known fondly as the Playgroup.
In its day, the Playgroup was a much needed, newly
formed concept. A daycare center that serviced the
working population of the community, it had humble
beginnings in garages. After much work, it evolved into
a city-funded program with it’s own building, credited
for amending city laws to allow child care in
residential neighborhoods for the first time ever,
simplifying life as we know it today.
Parent Education/ An Awakening – 1982
After leaving Playgroup, Ruth became a Parent Education
Teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District. Working
with children, and then parents, awakened fresh ideas in
her vast heart. She saw that parents needed nurturing
and support and wanted information about child
development and how to love their children. But there
was a big gap for many parents; they simply did not know
what to do.
Teen Mother Program - The birth of Nonviolent
Parenting - 1985
Seeking to broaden her skills as a Parent Educator, Ruth
earned her M.A. in Marriage, Family and Child Therapy
from Phillips Institute, Los Angeles. With her newfound
degree, Ruth’s work with Los Angeles Unified School
District expanded with the birth of the model program
she founded; the Teen Parenting and Child care Program
at the Los Angeles Technology Center. This program
enabled teen mothers to earn their High School diploma
while their children were enrolled in Ruth’s child care
program. It was this child care program that birthed the
term nonviolent parenting. It was a simple genesis;
while watching the teens scream and spank their
children, she realized that their own early childhoods
had brought these teens to a covertly violent style of
parenting. Ruth made a commitment to create a bottom
line within the walls of that child care center. “We
would love, support and model nurturing to these
children”, recalls Ruth.
Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting – 1999
Taken by the success of the program, Ruth was encouraged
by the teen mother mentors and the community to extend
the philosophy and practice, evolving into CNVEP. Ruth’s
big heart, her deep feelings for children, adults and
humanity at large have made CNVEP the thriving
organization that it is today.
Ruth Today
Ruth resides in Echo Park, rooted deeply in the
community that has held her for almost forty years. Her
three devoted children and five Grandchildren that
connect her heart to her work, live nearby and support;
often attending her parenting classes. Ruth remarks that
as she watches them parent she knows that her philosophy
works, seeing them love with more freedom and emotional
competency than she started with. She has broken the
cycle in her own family and that is very profound. |
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