ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

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Actually we don't have "Letters to the Editor." But we do invite "comments" to ExchangeEveryDay and we want to share some recent comments. To see comments to all past articles, go to www.childcareexchange.com, see the ExchangeEveryDay section in the middle of the page, and click on "Previous issues."

In response to "How Green is Your School?" (June 14, 2007):
"Our school has been fortunate to have airy and naturally lit rooms and spaces. We have also been blessed with a spacious outdoor garden. When we first moved here in the early '70s, way before the term 'environmentally friendly' was in vogue in Malaysia, it seemed like the right place for our program. We take this one step further by encouraging recycling in our kindergarten. Simple habits like switching off lights and taps when not in use go a long way. Potted plants in the classroom and tiling our floors instead of using carpeting are plus points. To me, going green begins with your attitude and you only need to start with small but sure steps to head that way!
-- Unhairah Ali, Taman Pendidikan Raihain, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia


In response (along with 39 other comments) to "Is Pre-K the Way?" (June 12, 2007):
"For the past six months I have been traveling the state promoting partnerships between Head Starts and public schools as new dollars are given to the schools from the department of education to open preschools. It is definitely having a negative effect on Head Start by decreasing our enrollment, and in turn, decreasing the number of dollars available to our communities for early childhood education (as the Office of Head Start takes the funds away if you are under enrolled). Other concerns as public schools enter the preschool arena include lack of developmentally appropriate practices for four year olds and a total lack of monitoring by the state as these programs operate without following the requirements of the grant."
-- Peggy Manley, Panhandle Community Services, Gering, Nebraska


In response to "Poverty in Real Life" (June 28, 2007):
"In reading some of the findings in this article regarding the research of African American single parent families, I was interested to read the finding where 'mothers tended to justify in their own minds their use of low-quality providers by choosing to see the care that was going on as better than it really was'. I have lived through poverty, as a single parent, from a minority culture. In time, I trained as an early childhood teacher, gaining 2 undergraduate and 1 postgraduate qualifications. However, as a parent prior to training, I was not aware of what indicators to look for when seeking quality early childhood education for my child. In the past 10 years, as a teacher working with families, I have assisted families from both low and high socio-economic and socio-cultural backgrounds in selecting early childhood centres for their children. Through these experiences I have come to understand that unless families have access to information or resources which highlight what to look for when seeking a high quality centre, parents will choose centres in the 'hope' that they will give their children quality early childhood education. I do not believe families choose to ignore low quality indicators; they just may not be aware of what indicators to look for and, considering the financial constraints of the families who participated in the research, their options due to poverty were limited/restricted, therefore impacting on their choices. I would hope the research would highlight the many impacting factors of poverty, not to identify these parents as passive and who 'justified' their choices of low-quality child care."
-- L.Parsons, New Zealand

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