The Children’s Defense
Fund (CDF) website (http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/early-childhood-education-care/#)
has some very interesting articles that promote the importance of early
childhood education and care and it also outlines the data that reports that only
a small portion (4%) of eligible students will be able to obtain a spot in a
Head Start programs due to the lack of funding (“Policy priorities,” 2014) . Investing in early childhood programs has
helped to keep children out of the prison pipeline and the benefits outweigh
some of the benefits of the stock market (“Policy priorities,” 2014). I never realized the connection between investments
in early learning and improving the overall well being of the country. It is so sad that so many children in the US
will not be able to reap the benefits of an early childhood education because
economists and legislators believe that this sector (babies and toddlers) can
be ignored. This has prompted me to now
lobby for the rights of our poor young children on Capitol Hill.
This website also advocates for all states having kindergarten
for the full day instead of half day programs because research shows that if we
want our children to be globally competitive, they have to be in school for
more hours during the day. Another
interesting fact reports that children who start learning in preschool are less
likely to be enrolled in special education programs when they enroll in
elementary schools (“Policy priorities,” 2014). Which reminds me of how
important early education is for young children because it enhances literacy
skills, problem solving skills, and cognitive development? Children that attend quality early learning programs have stronger social emotional
skills and self regulating skills. I
visit this site often because it reinvigorates my passion and reminds me that I
have a lot of work to do but the results can be very rewarding!
References
Policy priorities.
(2014, February 1). Retrieved from http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-
priorities/early-childhood-education-care/
Hello Nikki
ReplyDeleteThis is a great organization and I have heard good thinks about it. This organization also helps to lift children and families out of poverty. I also learned about a program hosted by the CDF called The Children’s Defense Fund Beat the Odds program which provides students around the country with partial college scholarships. This helps many students who have overcome diversity in their lives and who have gone on to achieve academic excellence in order to give back to their communities. I think that you will enjoy learning about this organization.