Having been in teaching for 7 years now, I have become very aware to what the opinion of education and intervention is in my area. I do not know that all of these opinions apply to all areas, but for a few cities in Arizona this is what I have discovered.
There is not much value held in the importance of early intervention and services to families. This is particularly true in the low income Spanish speaking communities. Early childhood programs are seen as babysitting services and nothing more. This attitude holds true for the children as they progress through school. There is no value in children attending school. I have students who don't come to school or do homework because they "don't want to" or take days off to go horseback riding. The parents in the community believe that their children are always right, that their teachers are wrong, the school must be at fault, and it could never be their child who did something wrong. If the child fails it is the teachers fault. I have had several parents blame me for their child's failing grade and bad behavior claiming racism or I don't like their children. All of this stems from the parents and their early years. Parent behavior and student attitude has greatly influenced my thoughts with regards to this topic. Also, social media such as Facebook has also influenced my opinion because I read all of the posts from parents that are on swap pages or community pages. I am disgusted with the fact that parents do not care or hold value in their children or their futures. Obviously this does not hold true for the entire community but for the majority that I have encountered. Early programs are not seen as a benefit or a step to a promising future but a way to rid the parents of their children for a few hours. I also notice that many parents and families want programs and services for free. They continually expect donations or free items. Many have become dependent on these items and feel that if they do not get them then they get the right to be angry.
I sincerely hope that parents of all backgrounds and cultures wake up and realize that there is a great need in the programs and services for young children. Parents also need to realize that there is not only a need to educate parents and children, but also obtain proper medical care and treatment including vaccinations and hygiene care. As parents and families grow their understanding of the importance of early childhood care and education, this knowledge will spread to future generations and create a ripple effect. If families start taking advantage of these programs then hopefully more monies will be provided to support more programs. More children will begin growing up with a head start in life and have an equal opportunity to become successful as those who are at an advantage. As more of the public becomes aware and utilizes these programs the more aware the public will become and hopefully show support for them. As soon as the public that is not in education and advocacy becomes aware of the great need for early education programs, more support for these programs will begin. Often it is said that "ignorance is bliss" and I wonder if this may be the case for early childhood education and programs.
I am fascinated by the lack of enthusiasm that many of the parents in your community look at education. I would think that a parent would want their children to have more opportunities to learn instead of looking at it as a waste of time. Thank you for sharing your experience with this. I hope that more parents realize the same thing that you were talking about as well. It sounds like there is still a lot of work to do with advocating. I have a feeling that maybe that feeling of "ignorance is bliss", like you said, may be the cause. This is something that hopefully you can try to work to change this attitude.
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