The area I chose to focus on for my research paper was Universal Early Childhood Education. Some of the related topics that came up when discussing Universal Early Childhood Education were: cost, taxes, developmentally appropriate practice, parent education, welfare dependency, transportation, drug and alcohol addiction, low income, and accessibility.
Due to so many other areas of need and the lack of federal funds this topic is not currently at the forefront of advocacy efforts. The education coordinator that I interviewed felt like this issue is being addressed locally. The St. Joseph County ISD has an early on collaborative that offers every family screenings, connections for preschool education, and grants for those that slip through the crack to pay for preschool education.
Scientific studies have show that the first three years of a child's life are the most critical in the brain's development and this statistic should be given national attention. Abraham Lincoln said, "A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit where you are sitting, and, when you are gone, attend to those things which you think are important. You may adopt all the policies you please, but how they are carried out depends on him. He will assume control of your cities, states and nations. He is going to move in and take over your churches, schools, universities and corporations; the fate of humanity is in his hands."
The area of interest I am going to focus on for my paper is Universal Early Childhood Education. The three specific topics that are related to my area of study are; quality childcare, welfare dependency, and parent education.
Some questions that I have for my colleagues in regards to these issues are: Do you think that mother care is better than center care? Do you feel like the government should provide tax breaks and resources for families so they can take better care of their children at home and educate them better by themselves? How do you feel as a nation we can move away from welfare dependency? How can we provide early childhood education to parents before birth so that they are better equipped to educate their children themselves?
Susan, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Quote by Lincoln! Thank you for sharing that :) Anyway, I am very excited to hear more about your topic of Universal ECE. I feel strongly about universal preschool. In Michigan where I am we have free preschool for "most" children. I would like to say all, but honestly there are just not enough centers to take in all of the preschoolers. Plus, to be HeadStart you have to be well below poverty guidelines, and then to be state funded you get chosen based on need, and income of course if the first area of need. This is very discouraging to me because I do not feel just because a child's family is above the income guidelines means they are not at risk for needing quality preschool education. I also do not feel like they should be forced to use daycare preschools, as from my experience I have found they are just not the same as a center based preschool program (at least not in this state or perhaps just in my area). Also, they should not have to go to parochial programs as not all over income children's families are Christian. There are just not a lot of options for children who are not under the federal poverty guidelines, which I find to be highly unfortunate. I think my state is finally getting it right this coming year, as I have heard a rumor that the state funded program is going to incorporate tuition based slots for children who do not qualify for income reasons. This is a great news and I relaly hope the rumor holds true, because this is something that will greatly help those children who have just as much right to quality preschool, yet their parents make decent money. From my experience, I have seen children come from well off families and be some of the lowest academically in my class. I think it may contribute to the family having less time at home together due to working a lot, and perhaps not having the knowledge of how to teach their kids, as not every working parent is a teacher or knows "how" to teach, and I don't think it's fair to expect them to be able to just because they have good jobs. Also, not all people with good paying jobs are highly educated. Some work their way up, but do not have any education past a high school diploma. I do not feel that the higher income parents are any different or better than the ones who stay home or are below federal poverty guidelines, so why do the children get treated differently when it comes time to register for preschool?
ReplyDeleteThose are some great questions you posed. I had never thought about using tax dollars towards teaching parents how to teach their children instead of center care. In some countries, such as Australia, parents get a government allocation (it is not seen the same as welfare here, it is a standard practice) for one parent to stay home with their children until they are in age 6. I think this is something to consider, as it not seen as being lazy to stay home there, but seen as a necessity because those first few years of a child's life are important, and why shouldn't they have their parent close by, as by research we know the importance of bonding in the early years, and we know parents to be a child's first teacher. Their government views being a parent as a serious job, and they help support that choice if that is what the family chooses is best for them. If this were the case here then I would really support parent education. I feel that if your family was going to take the government allocation then you should have to attend a parenting class at least monthly to go over ways you could teach your child effectively at home, and then hold at least a weekly socialization for the children of stay at home parents.
Laura,
DeleteI just wanted to take a moment to wish you luck in your advocacy efforts and say thank you for commenting on my blogs and asking questions. When people comment and ask questions it makes me research and question things myself. Thanks so much for your extra effort and support.
It is amazing how much children learn in the first 3 years of life. It is also important for parents to take advantage of their child's willingness to learn and absorb everything. Experiential learning, talking to, reading to, doing math with your child all adds up.
ReplyDeleteYou ask some very deep questions. In regards to your question about mother care verse center care I have a few comments. I am a firm believer that all children deserve the opportunity to receive an appropriate education with certified teachers. I think that parents should be part of the educational process and that teachers should spend time giving parents ideas about how they can help their children at home. Unfortunately, many children do not have positive experiences at home and lack access to appropriate educational opportunities.
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