Kozol still makes a very shocking and depressing point in this revisit of Savage Inequalities. At first I kept asking myself where the government leaders are..who is voting? What are they voting for? Are the leaders corrupt? What race are the leaders in these cities? As I read on, I was almost momentarily proturbed. He talks about innercity kids being denied valuable pre-K programs. As I see it, it is working class that are denied that. Low income has the federally funded (and well in our district) Headstart program and the More at Four, etc. etc. etc. The poorer you are the more of a guarantee that your child has a spot. My son didn't attend a Montessori PREK. I paid for him to go to First Baptist Daycare so that I could work and I struggled each month until I could finally get him in school. If I hadn't worked at all, he could have gone for free. Why are the inner city kids not able to go to Headstart? If it's federally funded, I'm assuming that it is national not just in NC. Back to the question at hand, I agree with Kozol that the high stakes testing is definately biased against minorities and anyone of less educable opportunities or abilities. What is the answer? On a personal note, that salute at PS65 in NYC sounded almost Nazi in form; and the line leader rubric was over the top!

An interesting tidbit to think about though is that many of the kindergarten teachers that I have spoken with say that the Head Start kids are not prepared better, perhaps maybe even worse for school when they arrive. Again, perhaps for the very same reasons these students continue to struggle - SES, poverty, parental attitudes, etc. Ask Charlotte, Ann, and Jen what they think.

Maybe these students are not as academically prepared as you should think but don't you they are more socially prepared than if they had not been around any other children before they came to school?

According to my mother who teaches first grade, she says the children who attend the headstart program in her county are still behind academically and socially. She difference she states is the lack of correlation between these teachers and the kindergarten teachers. Do teachers of headstart have a set curriculum similiar to the Standard Course of Study? If so, how is each child instructed since many are from environments where education is not a priority? To me, it would seem that every child would have a plan (like an IEP) and individualized instruction would be a necessity. I would love to know what Elaine and Charlotte have to say...
For many children this can be a positive step in improving their education. However, we are forgetting that the teachers must have support from the home. Sadly, "surviving" is the priority and the program comes almost "too late". Since many of these children are from impoverished homes, their attitude toward school may already be established. Is the child in the program for the sake of learning or is it a free baby-sitting service for the parents? Programs such as these can only be effective if there is reinforcement from the home. Perhaps if
we could identify these children at a younger age than four there will be fewer Serenas, Mickeys, and Smokeys. How can it be done is my question...

I am often in favor of Head Start programs. There are many parents not actively involved in Head Start that would qualify. Whether their lack of involvement comes from lack of initiative or simply ignorance, there are still many students that show up in my room each year that I feel could have benefitted greatly from a 'pre-school' program. I am not saying that the programs themselves better equipt the children academically, but it does give the students a sense of 'social' relationships and interaction. Many of my minority students often attend Head Start and through it gain meaningful ELL skills in those initial year(s). During this time, when children are still building and developing their native vocabulary, more exposure and experience with other languages are very beneficial. In fact, many of my students come to kindergarten with more english than either of their parents as a result of 2 years of Head Start. I also see situations where children would not have access to resources that are readily made available to them through Head Start programs- had they not joined the group. In these programs they are guaranteed 2 meals a day(something very important in some households), transportation to and from school, field trips, library visits and also some medical screenings from county nurses, etc. Head Start is often a program that I see as not ony for the child, but also for entire families. At my school many of the Head Start parents are introduced to the Old Fort Family Center and Pack Program- a grant based parenting organization that meets over the course of several weeks to teach basic parenting skills and other family issues. While many parents will not choose to participate in the program, Head Start often literally gives families a "Head Start" on getting the help that many of them could benefit from for their families. But then that's just one opinion.

I just read back over my reply and saw two additional posts that I hadn't seen before (I don't know how I missed them!- maybe my sermon was just too long and you guys were quick!) but I wanted to just clarify myself. Whether there are or are not social or academic gains is very irrelevant for me as a teacher. What I consider important is the exposure and experiences that I feel the child has been given over the last 5 years. If the child has lived in a trailer park, without a car or phone for most its life, I believe that the child could benefit from any type of exposure to the outside world. How will we ever know if those kids “did or did not benefitâ€

Jennifer,

I have never heard of the Birth-Kindergarten program. Could you tell me more about it? (can you tell I am in secondary education?) This sounds like an extremely positive first step for many. I enjoyed reading your comments;they were extremely insightful. Your plans are definitely unique because you are teaching children life and etiquette skills that used to be modeled in the home. If I understand you correctly, it seems an "unfair" comparison? Corrrect me if I'm wrong!