Chapters 4 and 5 talked about early
and middle childhood development. While a great deal of development occurs in
these stages of a child’s life it is not as rapid the development that takes
place in infancy. Types of development discussed were: physical, cognitive,
social, brain, moral, and language.
In chapter 4 on p. 139, the reading
talks about Head Start Program. I was not aware of this program’s national
recognition and support until reading more about it. The reason this section
stood out to me is because during my undergrad at Millikin University, I was a
member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, and we partnered up with the Head
Start program in Decatur, IL as part of our philanthropic program. Head Start
was created under President Johnson’s War on Poverty in the 1960’s to “increase
school readiness among children by providing educational, health, nutrition,
social and other services to low-income children and their families.”
Our fraternity scheduled groups of
brothers every day of the week in the morning and afternoon to volunteer at the
local Head Start facility in Decatur. There we helped the students with
projects, read to them, played with them, and helped teachers and workers serve
food during meal times. It was a very rewarding experience. After a week or two
the children looked forward to our visits and it seemed like we might have had
an impact of some kind on these children’s lives.
After doing the readings, studying education
and child development, I am now aware of the great things Head Start does for
low-income children that I was able to be a part of. We were not just helping
these children in their current life situations; rather we were helping their
early and middle childhood development. We were modeling and influencing
social, language, cognitive, physical, brain, and moral development and we didn’t
even know it.
The idea of Head Start is fundamentally solid. To“increase school readiness among children by providing educational, health, nutrition, social and other services to low-income children and their families.” There is an abundance of research that suggest reaching children when they are young is most effective during that ever so important critical period. Many people want that momentum to of head start to continue well beyond early education. Education provides tremendous opportunities and that emphasis of reaching all students can always be strengthened and improved.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you able to volunteer in a Head Start. I feel every child should get a good education regardless of their parents economic standing. Unfortunately much of the success of these programs depends on the education and abilities of the teachers. Another great aspect of the program os that it gives the parents an opportunity to work during the day.
ReplyDeleteI imagine that you were a huge influence to many children while you were a part of the "Head Start" program. You probably touched the lives of children that you will never even realize or know. I think it is very important for us to reach out to our younger generations. It is especially important when it comes to nutrition and health. Some children grow up with these things not being a priority and they should be. I admire you that you have had more experience with that than I have. Thank you for sharing Chris.
ReplyDeleteTopher,
ReplyDeleteWow this is so cool i just read your comments on mine! Head start. It really gets kids, especially low income kids a change to get a head start on education. Its great for the education system because in kindergarden they spend less time on procedures and more time on the meat and potatoes of education! Your fraternity sounds so lovely! You such a giving person chris. I wish we met earlier or i had you as a teacher. Your students family and friends are lucky to have you in their lives!
Being the health nerd that I am, I love that you realized that just connecting, building relationships, and being present in the lives of the children in Head Start was impactful for two reasons. I believe, first, that the secret to educational success isn't just financial wellness but also social/cognitive wellness. Secondly, influencing students to make a healthy lifestyle change comes more from just being a cool, older person they can look up to rather than someone that will preach a diet program to them. Seems like Head Start and your fraternity had a good system going.
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