Equity and Excellence in Early Care and Education

This week I listened to a podcast by Maysoun Chehab is the Regional Early Childhood Care and Education Program Coordinator, at the Arab Resource Collective (ARC), a not-for-profit non-governmental organization based in Beirut, Lebanon to  raise awareness of child rights and providing training early childhood caregivers on best practices.  She described her most rewarding projects as the psychosocial support project after the war in Lebanon in 2006.  During the war, 126 primary schools were destroyed.  The ARC trained parents and teachers about the children’s post conflict emotional and social reactions.  Maysoun commented that they found that they had to provide the parents and the teachers with support first so that they then would be better equipped to support the children.  It is important that parents of young children are taking care of themselves so that they can better care for their children.  This reminded me of Head Start and Early Head Start program in the United States.  In HS/EHS, parents and families are provided with supports because they are viewed as the child's first and most important teacher.  Parents are encouraged to acheive family goals which support the families economic and social well being and ultimately supports the learning and develop of the children in the family.

An Economic View of Child Care

This week’s review of the website National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies http://www.naccrra.org/ lead me to two articles that I found particularly interesting as a result of studying this week about the way early childhood education is viewed by economist, politicians and neurobiologists.  

“How parents are making budgetary trade-offs to offset the cost of childcare”  By Susan Johnston September 4, 2012  Retrieved from US News and World Report http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/09/04/dealing-with-the-rising-cost-of-childcare and “Child Care costs exceed rent in most states” by Emily Jane Fox @CNN August 16, 2012 retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/16/pf/child-care-cost/

Both of these articles used information from the NACCRRA website to take a look at the economic side of child care for parents and for centers.  For parents the cost of child care is getting increasingly difficult to pay.  To quote the article by Emily Jane “While the experience of raising a child may be priceless, the cost to provide care for them is getting to be more than most parents can afford”.  This is the issue that economists and politicians alike are and should be concerned with.  As parents and families are spending more money on child care, cost for other expenses like food and gas are also on the rise(Fox, 2012).  In addition,  in 35 states the cost of infant care exceeds the tuition at a four year public college (Johnston, 2012) and costs more than rent payments in 35 of the 50 states for a single child and exceeds rent payments in all 50 states when paying for two children (Fox, 2012).  As child care costs are taking more and money out of the pockets of working parents, families are spending less on other things like entertainment and travel (Johnston, 2012).  

The flip side of this issue is the side of the child care programs.  Why does child care cost so much?  Why are programs raising their rates?  It comes down to the cost of care.  In addition to the fact that child care programs are feeling the effects of economy along with every other part of our society, an increased need for higher quality has also added to the price tag of care.  As Marsha Basloe, executive director of New York's Early Care & Learning Council was quoted in Fox’s article stated "We have very high regulations and standards, from the ratio of teachers to students, to training and education standards, and that leads to a greater cost,".  Quality care is important especially since it has been linked better outcomes for children in later years.  To summarize the data about quality, basically it means that children attending quality early care and education programs are more likely to be successful in school and in life.  And quality simply costs more.

One of the quotes from Fox’s article that I found particularly interesting and somewhat controversial was a comment by David Abuaf, chief investment officer at Hefty Wealth Partners in Auburn, Ind., explaining  that rising college costs contribute to rising service costs, including childcare he was quoted in saying "The cost of educated people has outpaced the demand for regular goods."  I related this statement to the fact that research has linked the education level of child care providers to the quality of care provided creating a need for the wages of child care providers to rise to cover the cost of their education and also for child care centers to recruit and retain quality providers.   

But to pay those wages, child care centers need to increase the cost of care for parents.  

So how do programs balance the cost of quality care with the rates they are charging parents?  How can we as a nation provide quality and affordable child care to all of the children and families who need it?  Don’t our children deserve the right to have equal access to quality care and education that will give them the start they need in life to be successful?  After all, the future of our children and the future of our nation depend on it.

Getting to Know International Contacts in Early Childhood Education

I received an initial response (Aileen from Alberta,  Canada) in my attempt to contact other ECE professionals from around the world, but additional contacts have not received a response.  For that reason I choose to listen to a podcast for this week's blog assignment.  I choose the Podcast by Meridas Eka Yora which I retrieved from :  http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio/.  Meridas is the founder and director of the institution Fajar Hiayah for Islamic Education and Director of the Yayasan Fajar Hidayah Foundation. He developed three boarding schools for children who are orphaned.  Many of the orphans were as a result of the tsunami that struck southern Indonesia and devastated the region in 2004.  However additional orphans are a result of conflicts in the area where children may have seen their parents killed.  In the orphanages,  the preschool teachers are placed in the role of the mother and father and nurse as well as the teacher.  Meirdas described the schools as the families for the children where the older children act as older brothers and sister.   Meridas further described how physcologists were hired but they found that the best psychologists were the teachers and other children and how some children were unable to accept what happened to their families even months after the tsunami and how these children received special treatment from people like him who would take these children into their homes. 
After listening to the podcast I have a better understanding of how an area devastated by disaster and conflict handles educating young children.  For the teachers in these programs in southern Indonesia, their role is not only important but vital to the physical, emotional and cognitive well being of the children.  I believe that often in the United States we focus so much on academics that we often forget the importance of caring for the whole child.  Through natural disaster and conflict, this program in Indonesia has found a way to meet the needs of the children and to provide an education to the most vulnerable.  I believe that in helping families living in poverty in America, it is important that we as early childhood educators are familar with local resources so that we can make referrals to families and help them access the resources needed to meet all of their child's needs.

National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies

This week I looked more closely at the  National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies
http://www.naccrra.org/.   NACCRRA works to make sure that all families in the United States have quality and affordable child care.  The NACCRRA works through research and advocacy for policies that improve the lives of children and families.  I found many resources for child care providers including information about the recent school shooting at Sandy Hook and how to help children cope with traumatic events, talking to children about violence and coping with crisis.  I also found links to child care news by each state and information about state and federal policies and politcal information. Although I did not see anything related to the topic of my study this week (Diversity and Demographics), I found that it had many resources and information that would be helpful to child care providers.  This is definitely a resource I will continue to use. 

Establishing Contacts and Expanding Resources

As part of this week's blog assignment for my class on Issues and Trends in Early Childhood Education, I have sent e-mails to early education professionals in the United Kingdom, China, Australia and Canada.  I picked countries and professionals that most likely speak English so that language would not be a barrier to communicating with them.  Five of my seven e-mails were immediately returned undeliverable.  I tried to search the professional websites from these countries to find e-mails for possible contact with no luck so far.  I will continue to work on making professional contacts because I really look forward to learning more about early education as it exists in other countries and cultures.  In making contact, I sent a short e-mail explaining why I was contacting them and that I would appreciate the opportunity to talk with them about early education.  I can only imagine that if i were the one receiving an e-mail from someone I did not know that I would probably be afraid to open the e-mail due to computer viruses.  My hope is someone takes a chance, reads and returns my e-mail.   

For expanding resources, I already receive information from NAEYC, NHSA and Birth to Three and get information through facebook from them as well, so I decided to look into National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies and Association for Childhood Education International as I work with many child care programs.  I look forward to learning more through these organizations. 

My Supports

I am fortunate to have many supports in my life, including my husband, my family and my friends.  Raising two children while working full time and taking classes for my graduate degree. I often rely on the support of those arround me.  My husband provides emotional support to me when the stress of my busy schedule seems to be too much.   My friends and family also help provide emotional support as well as help to care for my children and their needs.  In addition to the people I have supporting me, I rely on electronics to communicate with others, keep my schedule, remind me of important tasks and complete my work.  I also rely on my car for work and for my personal life.  Living in a rural area, having transportation is an essential part of life.  Without any one of these supports, my life would be much more difficult.  Of these supports, I could live without the electronics because they could be replaced with other methods to organize my life.  However, the supports of my family and friends would be impossible to replace.  I can not imagine my life without them.

I am also fortunate that I am physically able, however I have often thought about the supports I would need if I had a physical disability.  For example, if I had lost muscle  control of my arm, leg or another part of my body, I would need the support of a device to help me get around.  I would also need the supports of a doctor, hospital and physical therapist.  I would need the supports of others for income if  I were unable to work.  I would also need the supports of my family and friends and maybe others in the community to do the things that I would not be able to physically do and to help me handle these challenges emotionally.  I have a hard time relying on others and I don't like to ask for help, but with a physical disability I would need to have others help with things that I would  not otherwise be able to do..  From basic care and management of my needs and that of my home and family I would need to rely on the supports of others.  I can't imagine having medical needs but not having the support of a doctor and hospital staff.  I also can't imagine how difficult life would be without the devices that would allow me to get around on my own and do some things by myself.  I also think that my friends and family would be even more of a source of support as I would need their help as well as their love and support.

My Connections to Play

I tried to teach my child with books,

He gave me only puzzled looks.

I tried to teach my child with words,

They passed him by often unheard.

Despairingly I turned aside,

How shall I teach this child, I cried.

Into my hands he put the key,

“Come”, he said, “play with me!”

-Author Unknown

These are a few of the toys that I played with while growing up in the 70's and 80's.  Although I had plenty of toys growing up, my brothers, my friends and I spent the majority of our time outside- riding bikes, jumping in mud puddles, swimming, running through fields, sled riding and building forts.  We would stay outside in the summer and winter and would only come inside once it became dark.  I can remember my neighbor and I using our imagination to turn her families' shed into a school.  Not surprisely, we are now both educators. Growing up in a rural area and living on farms, we had a large area that we could explore.  I can remember spending hours playing as a young child and I look back now and realize that it was one of the best times of my life.   I think that in today's  world many children have so many toys and electronics that they aren't using their imaginations in play.   They also spend much of their time in play that is not active.  As I am raising my own children, I want them to spend plenty of time outside playing and have opportunities to use their imaginations.  I know as an adult I still like to play and I enjoy spending time playing with my kids. I think play for young children is an important part of growing up and learning.  I think adults can benefit from play too.  I think it helps with productivity and creativity.  

“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play”
― John Cleese

Play Today?

You say you love your children,

And are concerned they learn today?

So are we- that's why we're providing

A variety of kinds of play.

You're asking us the value

Of blocks and other such toys?

Your children are solving problems.

They will use that skill everyday.

You're asking us what's the value

of having your children play?

Your daughter's creating a tower;

she may be a builder someday.

You're questioning the interest centers;

They just look like useless play?

Your children are making choices;

They will be on their own someday.

You're worried your children aren't learning;

An later they'll have to pay?

They're learning a pattern for learning;

For they will be learners always!

by Leila P. Fagg