First and foremost, I would like to wish each and everyone of you a great Thanksgiving! Be Thankful for those in your life and enjoy the holiday and the down time!
But before you gobble up that Turkey, let us discuss some Early Childhood Education, shall we?
http://www.naccrra.org/
The above link is the website I choose week one to follow!
This week what seemed very relevant to me in light of our discussions and such is this article:
http://www.naccrra.org/news/docs/Parent-Poll%20-FINAL-RELEASE-10042010.pdf
The title of this article is The Economy’s Impact on Parents’ Choices and Perceptions about Child Care. I believe this is most relevant to all of us right now because we need to know how the changes in our economy is changing our field.
The following statement from this same article made me think about this issue in a new way:
“For many families, the cost of quality child care is simply too high,“ said Linda Smith, Executive
Director of NACCRRA. “In today’s economy, more parents are faced with having to choose
unlicensed and unregulated child care settings in order to save money.”
I knew the economy was effecting many things, but I did not think how poorly it was affecting the children of our country. They are not getting the education they deserve and that is simply unacceptable.
This article:
http://www.naccrra.org/publications/naccrra-publications/publications/ARMY_QRIS_STATE_REPORT_081709.pdf
Gave me a new understanding of the political views of early childhood because it compared political views on childhood verses other sectors of our government. Showing though the government has come a long way work can still be done.
I gained a lot insight this week from the articles I read on this website. But being Thanksgiving, it really made me thankful for all that we do have despite of how far we have to come.
This is very interesting. I would say that my views as a teacher and as a parent are a bit different. As a teacher, I often did not understand why a family would chose a program that was simply not meeting thier child's needs. However, as a mother, I can see the expense and it is great. When Owen and Ella are both in preschool, Owen will qualify for a special education preschool program. However, for Ella to be a peer model in this program, it would cost $60 a week for three half-days. This is simply not affordable for most families. Great post! Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!
ReplyDeleteThe article "The Economy’s Impact on Parents’ Choices and Perceptions about Child Care" sounds very interesting and relevant to our discussions this week. We have a similar situation in Canada where many parents cannot afford licensed child care and therefore seek alternate arrangements.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great Thanksgiving.
Tamara
Thanks for the links to the articles, Hailey. They were very interesting. The QRIS state report was very interested. I scrolled down to my state (NH) to see what it had to say. Some things have changed since this report came out. One of the things is that the state now requires 18 hours of training a year instead of the 6 it mentioned in this report. I also agree with the reports assessment that the class size allowed is too large. I personally think that small classes with appropriate ratios are a sign of quality care. Eighteen two year olds in one room (even with 3 teachers) is not a good thing in my book.
ReplyDeleteHailey thats sad that a parent that can't afford best quality education for their child/children, that they have to settle for less quality in care. Now what does this tell us about the decision politician, economist must make? That money needs to be put where and is need it the most. Enjoyed your blog.
ReplyDeleteHailey,
ReplyDeleteAs a EC professional it is hard to see a child in a program that is not meeting their needs. As a parent I understand why that child's parents chose that program. Money speaks in a lot of ways. There are organizations in place that do help parents who are below the poverty level to pay for high quality child care. Unfortunately most parents who go to these lower standard child care programs are the parents who do not meet the requirements and yet they do not make enough to pay for the high quality programs. Its a shame! Thank you for a great post.
Rachael