It seems as though advocacy support for low income families is shared all across the world. My question is; with all of the data and research to show that young children benefit from a quality early childhood education, why is it taking so long to provide a stable budget that will support their educational needs?
The resources and information that I am seeking is; evidence/facts to show why the government, city and state has not made early education a priority. What are the members of congress really saying about early education? The "Race to the Top" is an opportunity for all childcare/pre-k/Head Start providers to receive funding for quality services. How will the award impact a community of low-income children/families who are enrolled in a early childhood program that is not rated quality yet can provide assistance to low income children and families who are in need?
The National Center for Children in Poverty (http://www.nccp.org/) has been a helpful tool for me as I have moved forward towards advocacy efforts. It has researched information about children and families, policies, early education and etc. The course text (Informed Advocacy in Early Childhood Care and Education, by Judith Kieff) was also helpful in and more of a resource because it contained step by step information on how to become an advocate. The book included facts about policies, assessments, planning and etc. helped me to expand my topic.
There is so much data regarding how important it is to help low income families and their children. Educators' like yourself had seen how crucial it is to provide childcare services for very young children. We are more prepare to teach, then having these children at home with a grandpa or a grandma. The only thing that grandma and grandpa will be doing is just placing these children in front of the television. The government has seen evidence and many of the facts, and i wish that i can answer some of the questions that you had posted, but i guess that the culprit is, "The economy."
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Alex. My belief is that young children need to be in school for many reasons. The first is that they need to socialize with other children. Have you ever seen a child who is having a difficult time transitiong into school? One of the reasons might be that they have never had to share with anyone, they may have never had to problem solve or follow rule consistant rules. I believe that it is important that children are taught how to be respectful citizens at an early age. Grand Ma and Grand Pa might not have the experience to work with the young child at home. So, when it's time to transition to kindergarten, little Jane is lost. We have to remember that we have to also build thier self esteem.
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