NIEER posted an article last week referring to the rate at which preschoolers get suspended from school for misbehavior. Aren't the preschool years when children learn to recognize, understand, and properly express their emotions? Isn't preschool a time when children are learning self regulation? Is it developmentally appropriate to suspend them from school and will they put the suspension as the consequence together with what they did?
"Suspending young students is a controversial practice because 3- and 4-year-olds are unlikely to learn from that sort of discipline, said Laura Bornfreund, deputy director of early education at the think tank New America. For these children, "there's no connection between what kind of misbehavior a preschooler did in class to being suspended," so kids are unlikely to learn from their mistakes, she explained" (Emma, Simon, Severns, 2014). You can read more about this article at http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/civil-rights-education-race-equity-104879.html
While the article really seemed to focus more on the discrimination of which races of young children are suspended more often, my heart sank as I realized how many preschoolers really are suspended each year. The number in this article was an alarming 8,000 3 & 4-year-olds each year with 2,500 suspended more than once.
I watched a YouTube Video about the rate of preschooler expulsion from school. It showed a rate of 2 out of every 1,000 K-12 graders are expelled compared to 27 out of 1,000 preschoolers. Really? We are suspending and expelling preschoolers at a rate of 1300% higher than school age kids? Isn't preschool the age of teaching them social skills? And yet we want to focus on academic core curriculum! You can watch the video for more information, I recommend the first 2:44 minutes of the video. Are Children Safe in Preschool? The Harsh Reality Requires New Skills . While I may not agree with everything in this video, the reality that preschoolers are being suspended and expelled from school is something to be considered. Are we doing our job as educators and parents to teach these children to regulate their emotions?
This led me to a search to see if others are recognizing this as a problem. On The 2, February 2014, The Baltimore Sun newspaper published an article titled State task force will look at pre-K suspensions: Bill calls for a group to study punishment's effectiveness amid recent surge in city. They suddenly recognized that preschoolers were being suspended in the state at a high rate and worried that it was because programs and educators did not have or follow a discipline guideline to teach young children appropriate behaviors. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-02-01/news/bs-md-pre-k-bill-20140131_1_pre-k-suspensions-task-force-state-school-board
What's even more crazy, preschoolers getting suspended for reasons other than behavior problems. Look at this article in the Washington Post . A three year olds gets suspended from a Montessori school for a month because she was having potty accidents. Really?
These by far are not exceptions to preschool suspensions or expulsions. How about this article in the New York Times, or Chicago Tribune or USA Today. This is not new research, not new thoughts. Look at this article from May 2005 called Maybe Preschool is the Problem. The truth comes out... we have taken away the block center and the dramatic play dress up clothes and replaced them with flashcards and alphabet and letter drills and busy desk work and expected children to be better prepared for school. The push is now for children to no longer focus on social skills but to focus on academics and we think this will help them be prepared for school? Maybe the new structure is the culprit to the behavior problems, especially when we are looking at children in poverty, homes with mental illnesses, inconsistent parenting, and many other problems. Aren't these the children we are trying to help? How are we helping them when we suspend or expel them? Have we doomed them to fail for life? If we don't help them, who will?
Maybe we blame it on the teachers who aren't equipped to handle the children as stated in this study and article.
Do we understand the purpose of preschool? If children are being suspended, we are not understanding our role as educators, as parents, and as a community of what quality early childhood education really means. Do we really just want to believe that it is academically focused? What are the long term affects of this? children getting suspended in preschool could have
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Blind to Poverty?
In the world of early childhood we search out to find other professionals in the field who we can collaborate with, share stories with, and ask for help when needed. Those professionals can be right in our own backyard or all the way around the world. Sometimes, things that seem to affect everyone, surprise us when it doesn't. Does that mean it is not apparent, or just not seen? If someone were to ask you to tell them about the specific issues of poverty you have seen in your area, how would you respond? Is there poverty around you and what does it look like, how is it measured, what draws the line?
In an article titled Measuring Child Poverty released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc10_eng.pdf it shows how many children continue to go without in life, even when they may live in a country who has the ability to do something about it. The article shows terrifying facts that there are tens of millions of children living in poverty in some of the world's richest countries. The table on page 3 shows 35 countries that are economically advanced. The United States ranks second with the highest percentage of children living in relative poverty (23.1%) among all 35 countries. Relative poverty is defined as living in a household in which disposable income, when adjusted for family size and composition, is less than 50% of the national median income. Do we see and recognize how many children around us are in need of help or lack the benefits many of us enjoy?
How do you measure poverty? If I asked you if children were considered living in poverty if they didn't have all of these basics: enough food to eat, adequate clothing, a dry home, an indoor toilet, hot water, and a bed to sleep in, most of you would answer "Yes". I see children in these situations every day. For some children, when I send them home from child care, I know they have eaten their last meal of the day until they return tomorrow and I pray for them over the weekends that they will have something to eat. I use community resources and I find them household furniture, clothes appropriate for the weather, and other needs. But let's take a look at another side of poverty. Read through this list of 14 things and tell me that if a household cannot afford 12 out of 14 of these things, would you consider them in poverty?
Are these things not considered normal for children living in a developed, wealthy country? Do these things play a role in our children's ability to learn, in the family's position to being involved in their child's education, and in the outcome of these children to grow up being contributing members of society? I can see how easy it is to argue the idea of whether or not children really need books, games, and leisure activities at their disposal. Isn't it enough that they have clothes on their backs and something in their stomach?
Are we blind to the different realms of poverty around us? Where will each of us draw the line to determine when it is our place to help and when we feel they have enough?
In a brief contact I had with Jon Swain, researcher in the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy (NRDC), and 0.5 in the Doctoral School as the Programme leader for the MPhil/PhD in London, he relates he hasn't come across families and children in poverty. In his 20 years as a primary school teacher and in years of research in adult literacy, his programs don't seem to attract those living in poverty. Why would this be?
Is it because poverty is not around him? The earlier mentioned table shows the UK as having 12.1% of children living in relative poverty. Certainly they are doing better than the U.S. with their number of children almost half, but it is still high. Could it perhaps be that it is just not seen or that individuals view poverty differently, or that those who find themselves in these situations of extreme or relative poverty tend to shy away from participating in such activities that would bring attention to their situation?? Do children perform differently and families participate in the community differently when they are in poverty? Is there any coincidence that Finland, one of leading countries in education also is the second to lowest of children living in relative poverty, at only 5.3%?
Sometimes, even professionals in your field work with a demographic of people that don't fall in the area you are studying about. Perhaps as I continue to study other trends and aspects of early childhood, my contacts will be able to share more experiences. In the meantime, let me pose the question to others who may read: Are we blind to Poverty?
In an article titled Measuring Child Poverty released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc10_eng.pdf it shows how many children continue to go without in life, even when they may live in a country who has the ability to do something about it. The article shows terrifying facts that there are tens of millions of children living in poverty in some of the world's richest countries. The table on page 3 shows 35 countries that are economically advanced. The United States ranks second with the highest percentage of children living in relative poverty (23.1%) among all 35 countries. Relative poverty is defined as living in a household in which disposable income, when adjusted for family size and composition, is less than 50% of the national median income. Do we see and recognize how many children around us are in need of help or lack the benefits many of us enjoy?
How do you measure poverty? If I asked you if children were considered living in poverty if they didn't have all of these basics: enough food to eat, adequate clothing, a dry home, an indoor toilet, hot water, and a bed to sleep in, most of you would answer "Yes". I see children in these situations every day. For some children, when I send them home from child care, I know they have eaten their last meal of the day until they return tomorrow and I pray for them over the weekends that they will have something to eat. I use community resources and I find them household furniture, clothes appropriate for the weather, and other needs. But let's take a look at another side of poverty. Read through this list of 14 things and tell me that if a household cannot afford 12 out of 14 of these things, would you consider them in poverty?
1.Three meals a day
2.At least one meal a day with meat, chicken or fish (or a vegetarian equivalent)
3.Fresh fruit and vegetables every day
4.Books suitable for the child’s age and knowledge level (not including schoolbooks)
5.Outdoor leisure equipment (bicycle, roller-skates, etc.)
6.Regular leisure activities (swimming, playing an instrument, participating in youth organizations etc.)
7.Indoor games (at least one per child, including educational baby toys, building blocks, board games, computer games etc.)
8. Money to participate in school trips and events
9. A quiet place with enough room and light to do homework
10. An Internet connection
11.Some new clothes (i.e. not all second-hand)
12. Two pairs of properly fitting shoes (including at least one pair of all-weather shoes)
13. The opportunity, from time to time, to invite friends home to play and eat
14. The opportunity to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays,name days, religious events etc.
Are these things not considered normal for children living in a developed, wealthy country? Do these things play a role in our children's ability to learn, in the family's position to being involved in their child's education, and in the outcome of these children to grow up being contributing members of society? I can see how easy it is to argue the idea of whether or not children really need books, games, and leisure activities at their disposal. Isn't it enough that they have clothes on their backs and something in their stomach?
Are we blind to the different realms of poverty around us? Where will each of us draw the line to determine when it is our place to help and when we feel they have enough?
In a brief contact I had with Jon Swain, researcher in the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy (NRDC), and 0.5 in the Doctoral School as the Programme leader for the MPhil/PhD in London, he relates he hasn't come across families and children in poverty. In his 20 years as a primary school teacher and in years of research in adult literacy, his programs don't seem to attract those living in poverty. Why would this be?
Is it because poverty is not around him? The earlier mentioned table shows the UK as having 12.1% of children living in relative poverty. Certainly they are doing better than the U.S. with their number of children almost half, but it is still high. Could it perhaps be that it is just not seen or that individuals view poverty differently, or that those who find themselves in these situations of extreme or relative poverty tend to shy away from participating in such activities that would bring attention to their situation?? Do children perform differently and families participate in the community differently when they are in poverty? Is there any coincidence that Finland, one of leading countries in education also is the second to lowest of children living in relative poverty, at only 5.3%?
Sometimes, even professionals in your field work with a demographic of people that don't fall in the area you are studying about. Perhaps as I continue to study other trends and aspects of early childhood, my contacts will be able to share more experiences. In the meantime, let me pose the question to others who may read: Are we blind to Poverty?
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Web Resources & Articles
NIEER - National Institute for Early Education Research, www.nieer.org
NIEER "conducts and communicates research to support high-quality, effective early childhood education for all young children". They support and oversee state and national progress in early education including supporting legislation, standards, regulations, and policy. This organization has a wealth of information to help anyone stay informed on current events and hot topics in the field of early education. There are many blogs and forums that individuals can follow and provide feedback.
Check out the latest Hot Topic : Early Education in the President's FY15 Budget Proposal.
Volume 15, Issue 5: Friday, March 7, 2014 http://nieer.org/publications/online-newsletters/volume-13-issue-5
This article proposes funding to be used that will support early childhood education programs, not only programs for children who are four and will be entering kindergarten next year, but for very young children as well through Early Head Start initiatives and home visiting programs.
With all this talk on preschool being available to all children, one must contemplate if that is really what is best. A supporting article by the Department of Education states, "the importance of early learning is clear. Studies prove that children who have rich early learning experiences are better prepared to thrive in kindergarten and beyond" (Department of Education http://www2.ed.gov/documents/budget/2015/early-learning-2015.pdf ). I agree that rich early childhood experiences prepare children, not only for learning in school but for many life experiences. I believe early childhood is the time to set the foundation and love for learning in the future. I also believe that many of these experiences can happen in the child's home.
Who are we to say that every child should attend a quality preschool? Why should children leave their home at four years old where they can receive rich experiences with a loving parent, where they can receive more individualized attention compared to the 1:10 - 1:16 ratio four year old preschoolers receive. Why should they be exposed to the attitudes, beliefs, actions, and words of other children, teachers, volunteers, and other community helpers in a classroom setting?
Now, I am not speaking of children who need to attend a full day child care/preschool service because they do not have a parent in the home during the day, but to the children who are fortunate enough to have a parent who is home with them during the day and can give them time and attention. Will these children not have the opportunity to have "rich early learning experiences"? When we speak of universal pre-k or free preschool for all four year olds, are we not sending the message that every child needs and will benefit from preschool services. I beg to differ. Many four year olds are right where they belong... home with a parent or loving caregiver who can provide them all the love, attention, and experiences they need to prepare them for school.
Yes, there are the children, those who do have a parent at home who are not providing the best environment for their kids. I get it. But please, let's not look at universal pre-k as the answer to our educational system getting better. Let's not allow all this news and topics to blanket the need for early childhood education in a center or group setting.
NIEER "conducts and communicates research to support high-quality, effective early childhood education for all young children". They support and oversee state and national progress in early education including supporting legislation, standards, regulations, and policy. This organization has a wealth of information to help anyone stay informed on current events and hot topics in the field of early education. There are many blogs and forums that individuals can follow and provide feedback.
Check out the latest Hot Topic : Early Education in the President's FY15 Budget Proposal.
Volume 15, Issue 5: Friday, March 7, 2014 http://nieer.org/publications/online-newsletters/volume-13-issue-5
This article proposes funding to be used that will support early childhood education programs, not only programs for children who are four and will be entering kindergarten next year, but for very young children as well through Early Head Start initiatives and home visiting programs.
With all this talk on preschool being available to all children, one must contemplate if that is really what is best. A supporting article by the Department of Education states, "the importance of early learning is clear. Studies prove that children who have rich early learning experiences are better prepared to thrive in kindergarten and beyond" (Department of Education http://www2.ed.gov/documents/budget/2015/early-learning-2015.pdf ). I agree that rich early childhood experiences prepare children, not only for learning in school but for many life experiences. I believe early childhood is the time to set the foundation and love for learning in the future. I also believe that many of these experiences can happen in the child's home.
Who are we to say that every child should attend a quality preschool? Why should children leave their home at four years old where they can receive rich experiences with a loving parent, where they can receive more individualized attention compared to the 1:10 - 1:16 ratio four year old preschoolers receive. Why should they be exposed to the attitudes, beliefs, actions, and words of other children, teachers, volunteers, and other community helpers in a classroom setting?
Now, I am not speaking of children who need to attend a full day child care/preschool service because they do not have a parent in the home during the day, but to the children who are fortunate enough to have a parent who is home with them during the day and can give them time and attention. Will these children not have the opportunity to have "rich early learning experiences"? When we speak of universal pre-k or free preschool for all four year olds, are we not sending the message that every child needs and will benefit from preschool services. I beg to differ. Many four year olds are right where they belong... home with a parent or loving caregiver who can provide them all the love, attention, and experiences they need to prepare them for school.
Yes, there are the children, those who do have a parent at home who are not providing the best environment for their kids. I get it. But please, let's not look at universal pre-k as the answer to our educational system getting better. Let's not allow all this news and topics to blanket the need for early childhood education in a center or group setting.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources
Part 1:
Jon Swain, along with a few other University professionals in the UK conducted a research study on the benefits of family literacy programs and wrote and article in the February 2014 publication of the Journal of Early Childhood Research. I sent an email to Jon Swain, professor at the University of London with the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy. I wanted to connect with others to share success stories and discuss challenges that they have had in involving parents in the education of young children.
Additionally, I send an email to Fraces Hoyte, Faculty of Human Sciences, Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 210, Australia. She wrote an article on the language of friendship in preschoolers. I was interested to learn more about her work with young children and the issues and trends they are faced with in Austria.
Next I contacted Satu Jarvenkallas, National President for Finland as part of the World Organization for Early Childhood Education. My hopes in connecting with an early childhood professional from Finland is to learn more about their early childhood education structure. In a class I took earlier in my educational studies, I learned how successful the schools are in Finland, one of the leading schools in the country. In Finland, children do not even start school until they are about 7 years of age, and then finish school much earlier, moving on to technical schools and higher educational facilities to prepare for job training skills. How is it that they are so far ahead of America? I attribute this to something they must be doing right in the field of early childhood. If we could capture that success and bring it here to America, would we stand behind President Obama who speaks out that all children should be attending a quality preschool program? Do all children really need preschool? My hope is to learn more about their educational success and see what I can implement in my programs here.
Through researching different national organizations, I found that there were many organizations in the united states that I wasn't even aware of. While contacting people from these organizations was not part of the assignment, I found that there are many more ways that i can be involved and stay informed in early childhood trends even in my own backyard!
Part 2
There are several organizations that I am already a part of and that I watch on a regular basis. These are NAEYC and my local branch UAEYC, zerotothree.org, naccrra.org, as well as local organization to Utah such as Utah Association of Childcare Resource and Referral Association, Utah Afterschool Network, and Utah Private Childcare Association. There are a few websites that I found myself lost in. The first was http://futureofchildren.org/ I read many of their past articles and watched the Youtube clip about what they do. I subscribed to their enewsletters as well as downloaded many of their past articles and felt their information stayed up to date with good evidence based research. I also subscribed to NIEER and Pre-K Now PEW as I felt they helped to stay up to date on many current trends and issues in the field as well as helped to answer questions that I have heard regarding universal Pre-K, as this is still an issue I am debating myself. There are several others I decided to follow, but these two are the one I will probably spend the most time in this class focusing on.
I was excited to learn additional resources where I can turn to learn more about the issues presented at this time in the field of early childhood.
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