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Prisons or Preschools?
November 6, 2013
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi
-Mahatma Gandhi
"Do We Invest in Preschools or Prisons?" challenged the headline of a New York Times editorial by Nicholas Kirstof in which he concluded...
"Look, we'll have to confront the pathologies of poverty at some point. We can deal with them cheaply at the front end, in infancy. Or we can wait and jail a troubled adolescent at the tail end. To some extent, we face a choice between investing in preschools or prisons.
"We just might have a rare chance in the next couple of months to take steps toward such a landmark early childhood program in America. But children can't vote, and they have no highly paid lobbyist — so it'll happen only if we, the public, speak up."
Kristof is referring to President Obama's new "Preschool for All" initiative under which all four-year-olds in low- and moderate-income families will have access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. The initiative also proposes expanding the availability of Early Head Start and home visiting programs.
One controversial aspect of the President's proposal is that funding would be delivered through the public school system. This has raised concerns about the impact on the current delivery system. To help ascertain the views of the broader early childhood community on the provisions of "Preschool for All", Exchange and the Early Care and Education Consortium are conducting a national survey. We invite you to take five minutes to give us your input by completing this survey. Results will be presented in ExchangeEveryDay in a few weeks. All who complete the survey will be eligible to participate in a drawing for one of four collections of Exchange Press resources.
Developing an Ecological Identity in Young Children |
"Reading The Goodness of Rain made my heart soar. With her beautiful descriptions of guiding young Dylan into seeing the details of the natural world around her, Ann Pelo offers us a clear picture of how we can offer children a strong sense of place in their upbringing." – Margie Carter Join author Ann Pelo on her year-long journey as she nurtures the ecological identity of a toddler and discovers for herself what it means to live in relationship with the natural world. |
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Comments (7)
Displaying 5 of 7 Comments [ View all ]Brightside Academy
Bronx, NY, United States
I believe that every child in America should be given an opportunity to take part in a Pre-K program, and for those families who cannot afford a program then funding should be given to these families to help jumpstart their child's educational experience.
United States
I love the High Scope comment by Peter Gebhardt!
I am saddened beyond words to see large, publicly-funded programs in my area abandoning a great, research-based curriculum for something more scripted and shallow. This a huge mistake in my opinion and a sign that things are going in a very bad direction in the name of accountability and the need for easy data collection and monitoring (i.e., over-simplified checklists done with software that allows agencies to make neat and tidy charts and graphs with the assessment scores).
You are absolutely correct that the curriculum needs to be implemented correctly. Some people think the solution is to switch to another curriculum. I would argue that if the providers in question are not implementing High Scope correctly, what makes anyone think they will implement another curriculum correctly...? This is a staffing and administration problem that can only be addressed by hiring qualified teachers and providing the necessary support.
ece consultant
Dallas, TX, United States
*Head Start classrooms are only effective IF:
1.High/scope curriculum is present ( the only research-validated ece curriculum with proven success).
2.The High/Scope curriculum must be implemented effectively, thru the 3-part way:
A.Effective implementation of the High/Scope curriculum
B.Actively-engaged ongoing Staff Training
C.Effective actively-engaged Parent Involvement
Unfortunately, there are too many High/Scope curriculums, in name only, and if we don't replicate the famous Preschool Project, the amazing results won't occur.
4Cs Home Ties Child Care Center
Iowa City, IA, United States
It is much more productive for society in general and for young children in particular to invest in early education programs for very young children. An amazing amount of brain growth occurs in the child's first year of life. If the child does not get a solid foundation on which to build further learning, the deficits exist for the child's whole life. Please invest in early education programs for infants, toddlers and their parents. Our country's future depends on it.
United States
I think one of the reasons we are willing to spend money on incarceration and other social services is that the public school domain is relatively local. A school principal, superintendent, school committee members are responsible for their budget each year. Often, and understandably, passing along a troubled or troubling child and family situation saves money now. Having the federal government more involved certainly brings its own concerns, but until the predominant financing isn't the individual homeowner, this understandable, but undeniably shortsighted way of doing things will resist change.
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