The New Brigade of Nursery Rhyme Police
Parents of babies and toddlers will be expected to record their child's progress in new 'learning diaries' under a £9million Government scheme.
They will be encouraged to log details of every activity attempted by their children, ranging from stacking play bricks to singing nursery rhymes.
The diaries will be scrutinised by childcare experts to check that parents are doing all they can to prevent their offspring falling behind.
While I'm all for parents investing time and energy and love into their children, whatever happened to parental responsibility? And who are these "childcare experts" anyway?
Which reminds me, maybe we've not gone so far with the government nanny thing in the U.S. yet, but look out:
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is proposing a $10 billion federal program aimed at providing voluntary pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-old children in America.Less likely to enter the welfare system? And did anyone bother to realize that this program in itself is a welfare program? Hmmm.
"Our educational system needs to be strengthened from start to finish, but we have to start where it all begins," Clinton told an audience of children, teachers and parents on Monday.
Clinton said she would pay for the program by closing tax loopholes and eliminating Bush administration programs she disagrees with.
"There are so many places to cut the money that is being spent in this government. Let's start by cutting 500,000 of the private contractors the Bush administration has had who don't do a job that is held accountable in any way," Clinton said, adding that ending the Iraq war will also provide money for investing in programs.
She said quality pre-kindergarten programs will more than pay for themselves because children will be less likely to enter special education programs, drop out of school or enter the welfare system. She also said preparing children for school also reduces behavioral problems.
Read the full article.
First it will be voluntary, next it will be involuntary.
posted by Crystal Paine at 8:29 PM
10 Comments:
Hi crystal,
i really enjoy reading your blog. can i just ask ever been to africa any country south africa, east or west,etc there are no choices who are feminists anyway are they women who have to be tough for their kids, are they women who have to survive for their kids? Frugal living means survival with the little you have which most time means nothing!i wish we all had your upbringing with a mother who had the time to be a stay at home mom, there are no choices in africa the women raise the kids to the best of their ability with with alot of stuff that happens rape, Disease etc.I thank GOd for those who have choices. thank you for the website i hope i did not offend u.
People ahve been trying to get a pre-K program in the schools for at least 20 years that I know of-so far almost nothing has ever panned out.Funniest thing about the programs most schools can't afford to offer them.
also said preparing children for school also reduces behavioral problems-This statment proves that Clinton doesn't even know much about what she is talking about.Most schools try to let the children be older then 5 to start school so they are more prepared for school to help start behavioral problems!!
The state I live in right now has a "voluntary" tax dollar funded pre-k program offered to all four year olds. State law dictates what these children must be fed at meal & snack time at the "school" and makes other requirements as well. I always become uncomfortable when the government feels such things are their place and, worse yet, when people allow their rights to be taken away. It's bizarre.
For Christine--I don't know about Crystal, but I have been to Africa and married an African. He was born and raised in rural, poor Ethiopia. His mother stayed at home through thick and thin (with her 10 kids) and he honors her for that. Their family lived off an evangelists stipend, and his dad has never done anything but preach. My African husband married American me because he could not find any Ethiopian young women in his church who *wanted* to stay at home and have a bunch of kids. They all wanted the Western ideal of 2 kids at the most, and a career. He knew that if he married one of them and required that she be home, she would be bitter and unhappy. The lie that a job is 'fulfillment' has reached even rural Africa.
Perhaps the definition of "at home" is a little different, too. My dh's mother didn't sit in a hut all day. She did work, and she worked hard-on the farm, collecting water, gathering firewood. But she didn't abandon her children to daycare and nannies, and she did keep the home.
As far as that "activity log" goes--who on earth has time? Daycares don't log each and every activity for 25 children individually. Why should parents have to? I can't imagine.
Some days, my kids do nothing educational. Other days they learn by leaps and bounds. I'm sure we wouldn't look so great on paper, but our kids are way ahead developmentally in spite of our "unprofessional" lack of paperwork!
Here in FL we have the VPK program. Voluntary four year old preschool.
I agree soon it will be mandatory four year old preschool and voluntary three year old preschool and on down the line until they just take the babies at the hospital, because we are as parents are just ignorant.
When will people allow children to actually be children, instead of pushing them into a preschool to begin the process of preparing them for a "successful" adulthood even earlier?
I understand that for most of us on here, education begins in the home, and rightly so. Many parents emphasize education in the home early on in life, setting their children up for a more successful learning experience later on. I am a public school teacher (early education). It is a known fact that MANY parents do not, well, parent! Many kindergarteners come to school with little or no vocabulary and basic knowledge. It takes all of kindergarten just to prepare these students for school, leaving them behind for years. Yes, many students come to kindergarten ready and raring to go- because they come from homes that are supportive and place an emphasis on education. However, with the current testing trend, it has become evident that kindergarten alone will not produce results. I heard a statistic at a teaching conference not long ago- 3 year old children in homes where both parents are educated (not just college educated) had the same vocabulary and language abilities as an adult on welfare. What happens to the kiddos who don't live in homes where they are taught at home at all? I understand why some are attempting to initiate a preschool program.
Anonymous: The problem is that more government programs and involvement equals less parental responsibility. The less parents are responsible, the less they will be responsible.
Yes, it's a sad thing that many parents today do not know how to parent, but heaping on more government programs, money, and so forth is never the answer.
This is scary stuff. I think alot of people feel like if it's a free program, why not use it. I can see the government's point of view if you plan on making use of the public school system for twelve years anyway, so their thinking is, "why not start younger so they are more prepared for kindergarten?". People who depend on the government for everything and blindly turn there children over to the state won't really have a leg to stand on if they tried to object to this, should it turn into an involuntary program.
My main concern is that this could adversely effect homeschooling parents who don't use the public school system at all, but could still have the government trying to force this agenda onto them. Could you imagine having to submit "lesson plans" or curriculum lists to the government for a six month old baby? Crazy as it sounds, it could happen in the future. We need to stay informed on things like this and not assume that homeschoolers will automatically be exempt from such programs.
Post a Comment
<< Home