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February 8, 2012
Real development is not leaving things behind, as on a road, but drawing life from them, as from a root.
-G. K. Chesterton
"Occupy Wall Street is shining a useful spotlight on one of America’s central challenges, the inequality that leaves the richest 1 percent of Americans with a greater net worth than the entire bottom 90 percent. Most of the proposed remedies involve changes in taxes and regulations, and they would help. But the single step that would do the most to reduce inequality has nothing to do with finance at all. It’s an expansion of early childhood education."
This observation was made by Nicholas Kristof in his recent New York Times editorial, "Occupy the Classroom.". He continues...
"That will seem naïve and bizarre to many who chafe at inequities and who think the first step is to throw a few bankers into prison. But although part of the problem is billionaires being taxed at lower rates than those with more modest incomes, a bigger source of structural inequity is that many young people never get the skills to compete. They’re just left behind.
“'This is where inequality starts,' said Kathleen McCartney, the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, as she showed me a chart demonstrating that even before kindergarten there are significant performance gaps between rich and poor students. Those gaps then widen further in school. 'The reason early education is important is that you build a foundation for school success,' she added. “And success breeds success.'
"One common thread, whether I’m reporting on poverty in New York City or in Sierra Leone, is that a good education tends to be the most reliable escalator out of poverty. Another common thread: whether in America or Africa, disadvantaged kids often don’t get a chance to board that escalator."
Places for Childhoods: Making Quality Happen in the Real World demonstrates how centers can face real-world challenges and make quality care a reality. Special sections authored by recognized child care experts enhance this collection of updated articles written by Jim Greenman for Exchange magazine. Readers will be empowered by new ideas on how to make child care programs work for children, families, and staff.
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ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
Comments (5)
Displaying All 5 CommentsWichita, KS, United States
I am in almost 100% agreement with this article. Children who have access to early care and education do tend to do better in life than those who don't. But I do feel that there is one key component that is left out of this discussion and that would be the parents. No matter what kind of early exposure to learning children may have, if they don't have parents who will support them through their school career, the early stuff doesn't matter. I am in the early care and education field and I feel that early learning is very important to children. I also feel that parents have to be interested enough in their children's education in order for children to be successful in school. They have to be involved in their child's school, interested in homework, and following through with discipline. Making sure their children know that their parents value education. I feel that society wants to blame the teachers for children not succeeding in school, when those that usually fail are the ones who don't have positive views of school being exhibited at home. Teachers can only do so much, parents need to be involved as well. I would like to see a study done regarding parent participation in their child's education, and how that lends to success in school.
new york, United States
Early childhood education is important, but it cannot by itself ameliorate all of the problems created by living in poverty. We need to look at both the societal problem of poverty and one of the solutions is education. Families that are financially stable and not living in constant crisis must also be part of the solution to see any real change. Early childhood teachers cannot take on the responsibility of fixing a societal problem with deep roots and no quick and easy fix.
United States
Suggested reading: "Class Dismissed" by John Marsh--intelligently challenges this notion.
LifeWays North America
United States
Recently there was an article noting that pediatricians are beginning to tell parents how important play is for young children. This was considered especially important for children in underserved or poverty conditions. The problem that happens when "education" pundents speak of giving this population more advantages so that they can be successful later on, is that these children get more developmentally inappropriate programs heaped on top of them. What is "success" later on? Is that a stressed-out individual who can read and write (maybe) because they have been forced to do so since they were three. Or is it a whole person who, as a child, was treated as a child, allowed to play and freely explore, and only later was introduced to academics? Can early childhood educators come to some basic agreements about what we mean when we talk about early childhood education? Otherwise, it seems to me, we will continue to create stressed out children in all economic streams.
Bobcaygeon Daycare
Bobcaygeon , Ontario, Canada
I recently changed my email address and forgot to notify many subscriptions.
I really missed getting daily information that help contribute to my everyday experiences with children. I look forward to reading more good stuff.
Thanks
Stacy
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