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Does ECE Make a Difference? Two Views
February 7, 2014
Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
By again including an appeal for support of early childhood education in his State of the Union message, President Obama has stimulated quite a debate. Here are excerpts from two of the first salvos:
Don't Throw Money at Early Childhood Education
"Policymakers are right to be focused on increasing access to high-quality early childhood education, but throwing money at the problem won't get the job done. We need to spend in a way that provides government-funded preschool providers with incentives to meet the needs of families they serve, not those of government bureaucrats."
Pre-K, the Great Debate
"Against all odds, prekindergarten is gaining ground.... Aside from apple pie, preschool may be the only issue on which voters agree. A poll last year found that 60 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of Democrats support expansion of prekindergarten. Republican-led states like Oklahoma have been leaders in early education for a simple reason: It works."
What You Need to Lead an Early Childhood Program
What You Need to Lead an Early Childhood Program: Emotional Intelligence in Practice is the first and only early childhood leadership book anchored in what matters most: the art and science of building relationships. Emotional intelligence is the ability to read people as well as you read books and to know how to use that information wisely. Each chapter begins with a case study that features richly complex, everyday challenges facing early childhood program directors. Alongside case studies are theory and principles, pointers and problem-solving steps to help you practice and hone your leadership skills.
- Part I — Forming: Setting Up the Program and Yourself for Success
- Part II — Storming: Identifying, Preventing, and Addressing Resistance to Change
- Part III — Norming: Establishing Management Systems
- Part IV — Performing: Putting Principles into Practice
- Part V — Re-Forming: Renewing, Refreshing, Dreaming of What Might Be
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Comments (7)
Displaying 5 of 7 Comments [ View all ]Boulder City, Nevada, United States
The attention span of an infant under one is about a minute or two. Twenty minutes is too great an expectation for one that young.
Red Hill School.com
Red Hill, PA, United States
Yes, money should follow the child!!! Parent choice is what will give us better quality and more $$ rather than administrative costs for early ed, Government control and overreguation is one problem and unfairly excluding faith base choices is another. Please speak up for your values and beliefs!
Fairfield, CA, United States
It's such a controversial issue. I think government money can be helpful, but yes, universal preschool can easily turn into a curriculum focused on developmentally INappropriate early academics. I especially worry when pre-k becomes part of public school systems. Another issue is the idea of three hour programs without accompanying full-day child care. Another issue is that of pre-K teacher salaries, which today are far less than public school teachers' salaries, even for those teachers with credentials and Master degrees. Marcie Whitebook brings up the issue of using the money to help poverty-level children succeed in school, which is fine - but not when the system creates another group who earn poverty wages - the teachers. She has lots of statistics about the issue.
Very complex. But at least the lawmakers are finally paying attention to our field - and that's a good thing!
SCAC
Huntington, WV, United States
That makes me feel a little better, but I still don't see the need. Allow children to develop naturally.
Parkersburg, WV, United States
ECE is designed to work with children of diverse ethnicity and socio-economic backgrounds. One MUST keep in mind how ECE is attempting to even a playing field that is uneven due to a spectrum of demographics. YES ECE works for the communities Head Start and school collaborative; church centers; private ECE centers to enhance a child's development.
Politicians and other critics attempt to measure ECE with long range benchmarks of life; then try to connect a wide range of societal goals to the initial foundations of ECE. The economic woes of the USA are rooted in the economic greed of CEO/board of directors, who chose to out source jobs rather than deal with creating and sustaining jobs in America. I have a question for the personal greed brokers of Wall Street. How are those 1% interest rates working out for you now that you sold out America and the citizens who politicians are denying services to and no longer have opportunities to live the American Dream due to personal greed?
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