ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

I applaud the editors of the 'exchange everyday ' magazine for their zest to share the wide range of view points. .'Exchange' is like a 'One -a -day ' vitamin' for me and for my child care career. it's very convenient to read as it comes directly in my mail box , keeping me up date with current child care issues. It was interesting to know about opposing views on preschool as working as a day care center director for 20 years , I had almost forgotten to look at the child care issues from other way around! I read almost all the comments . Definitely it will be a topic to discussion in my next staff meeting! And I think it will be a good idea to discuss some of the concerns to the parents of the new children who are starting preschool for the first time.

Without having seen the studies on which this opinion is based, it is impossible to know how much validity the opinion has.

There are so many factors involved. Preschools vary widely in their quality -and in their definition of quality in preschool education. Elementary teachers have varying expectations.

There is no doubt in my mind that poor quality preschool education has the potential contribute to a child's difficulties in elementary school just as high quality preschool education can contribute to success.

Lack of support for preschool education means that recruiting, educating, and retaining qualified teachers is extremely difficult. Research, I am told, shows that the quality of preschool teachers has been declining over the past 20 (at least) years.

The part of our role that requires us to be advocates for young children gets more and more difficult as politicians decide that testing is necessary and recess, physical education and arts education are unimportant. Not to mention how difficult it is to be a child without time to move about or to express oneself.

We need to be kept aware of how the non-professionals are thinking,, about our field. To quote Judith Martin (Miss Manners) Teaching is cursed with being one of the jobs ... that every layman is certain he could do better than the professionals.

Thank you for presenting both sides of the issue. This is one of the reasons I appreciate ChildCare Exchange. Why should we not want to know what "everyone" feels about this issue. Thankk you for the work you do.

I appreciate that Exchange Every Day is committed to presenting both sides of an issue. I don't always have the time to do well rounded research, and it's nice to have a synopsis delivered to my inbox. I remember talking with a friend who worked for a political group doing community education about the amount of research she did to get information about opposing points of view. Her take was, "You always have to know what the opposite viewpoint is and what the opposing team is doing to share their message. It makes me really think about my messages and actually helps me to make my message stronger." As someone else commented, knowledge is power. To make our point of view strong, we need to understand the opposition.

Bravo! The "Opposing View on Preschool" article was much needed. Everyone's voice needs to be heard! It's important not to just dig in our ECE heels and ignore the realities of opposing views. Of all people we ought to know that there are no absolutes when it comes to child development. Children are raised in a such a wide range of family dynamics, cultures & communities, economics, etc. that it is unwise to believe that just one system model is the best answer for everyone.

We must continue to seek to understand each other's positions, share our stories and knowledge to create new and better solutions for the challenges of providing high quality early childhood care and education. Keeping the children and families at the heart of the conversation will keep us all moving forward.

Never stop printing negative as well as positive aspects of early Childhood care. If I only want one point of view I can watch the 6:00 news on any channel. Yesterday's article, according to some, may be accurate; but it is comparing apples & oranges. We are not living in the world of the 60s or 70s, our expectations for Children at all age levels is not the same, Our family structure & teacher expectations are not the same. I have worked in this field for almost 30 years and have seen our children change as our values & family structure has changed. They can produce all the surveys & studies they want but until Early Child Care is only one of several factors affecting our children none of these studies will be correct.

Never stop printing negative as well as positive aspects of early Childhood care. If I only want one point of view I can watch the 6:00 news on any channel. Yesterday's article, according to some, may be accurate; but it is comparing apples & oranges. We are not living in the world of the 60s or 70s, our expectations for Children at all age levels is not the same, Our family structure & teacher expectations are not the same. I have worked in this field for almost 30 years and have seen our children change as our values & family structure has changed. They can produce all the surveys & studies they want but until Early Child Care is only one of several factors affecting our children none of these studies will be correct.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!!

I absolutely agree that we need to be aware and analyze what others are saying and thinking. I printed out the article quoted in your August 27th ExchangeEveryDay and posted it for myself and other staff as a challenge and a reminder of the importance of the work we do each and every day.

Thanks for helping keep us informed.

I applaud your articles consistently because you share with all of us both sides of the field. In order to validate our field as "educators", we need to express ourselves in a clear, consistent manner educating the public and our parents about young children and their needs. In the world and economy today, most parents need to work to support and care for their families. We are not babysitters. When we clear value what we do for children it will be expressed to the world better.

When I read yesterdays article, I was a little upset but after thinking about it I question whether everything was taken into consideration. If a child is in preschool, is it a quality school? Are the parents spending enough time with their children or are they always rushing from school to work and activiites?

Research studies sometimes don't look at all of the aspects of an issue because they are wanting a specific end result. So we need to take studiesand articles like these with a grain of salt. We also need to do more research that will support our field. Look at how children with autism when entering a social environment such as preschool on a daily basis can grow and blossom and be ready for kindergarten because they went to preschool to learn and develop their social skills. If they enter kindergarten not speaking, not being able to socialize with their classmates and not being able to be a part of a classroom environment, then that child will not be successful in school. This is only one example but there are many more.

I feel that part of the problem is we put so much pressure on our children to succeed so early in life. Kindergarteners of today are doing what I did in first grade. Preschool is now what Kindergarten used to be. Childhood is getting shorter and shorter. Children need the time to grow, experiment, explore, wonder, dream, problem solve and then they will be the leaders of tomorrow.

Thank you for getting us to think about what next step we as educators need to take to help our children, the ones we care for as well as our own, be successful in the world today.

Sorry if I got to preachy or wordy.

I value all of the viewpoints that appear on ExchangeEveryDay. It begins my morning at work with some food for thought and excellent information. I often print out the topic or an article to share with our staff. Please keep including the quotations. They're wonderful. I hope that you will always continue to maintain your integrity. Thanks for the important service you provide to child care professionals.

I was also surprised at yesterdays article on Exchange Everyday but I was interested that the author's point of view existed. I think we get locked into our own little world and often think everyone else must agree with us.

Kudos to you, Exchange Everyday! Thank you for providing a fair and balanced viewpoint on the importance of providing fair and balanced viewpoints! Keep up the great work!

Martha

I think it was a valid topic of discussion and yes this should be a forum for exploring opposing views. I can understand the viewpoint of those who have issues with early care for our youngest children. Some people (single mothers for one) do not have the option of a child being home with them or a family member and must seek care outside the family. I have also worked with families who struggled educationally themselves and want to give their child a better start. These are valid reasons to look at providing quality care. I think the key is in parental choice. I fiercely believe that parents should determine a child's level of participation up until school entry. I oppose manditory early education.

I should have said this yesterday. Thank you for giving us broad view of our profession.

Many of us are privy only to what the advocates, the State Dept. of Ed. and the legislature are saying, and for better or worse their issues are 1) our issues 2) what is politically prudent 3) funding. I will come out of the closet and say, I believe the best work we do is centered around social development, parent engagement/education, and language development for our ESL kiddos (at my centers that is the majority of students). Since there are studies out their showing that the test scores decrease the longer kids are in school, perhaps a point that should give even more importance is developing and encourage parental involvement. After all, we can never replace a child's first and best teachers-- the only ones that don't change.

I agree with the article that gave research showing that government early childhood programs did not benefit children long term. The public school child development classes in my area are not developmentally appropriate and cause many children to be labeled as difficult or challenging. I am a proponent of preschool done correctly. This means that the children learn through play and experience, not lecture and ditto sheets. I think that, done well, preschool can make a lasting positive influence on a chld's educational, as well as social and emotional, experiences.

Your points are so accurate. Although not always pleasant to hear it is important that we know all the viewpoints that are being discussed and reported on. We then can be fully informed and examine the strengths and weaknesses of work that is being reported.

Exchange is an excellent resource. I share, promote and use the information each week.