No extra money for early learning and Head Start this year
The death of a big spending bill in Congress last week means federal government won’t be funding an Early Learning Challenge Fund, meant to spur innovation in the early years of education as Race to the Top did for K-12. This is not terribly surprising, but early education advocates are upset. They say the bill’s [...]
Universities get involved with P-12 to implement standards
A coalition of groups representing colleges and universities is getting involved in the new common standards movement, which is pushing forward a set of K-12 math and English standards that are meant to set the bar for what students should know to be ready for college. All of this is part of the so-called P-16 [...]
Big vocabulary can help little boys with self-control
“Use your words” is the title of a study that has found that a child’s vocabulary is related to how well they’re able to self-regulate, and self-regulation, or self-control, is one of those skills that’s related to important things like IQ and academic achievement. Self-control happens also to be something that little boys often have [...]
Ingredients for a good early education teacher: Time in class or time in the classroom?
Do early education teachers need to spend more time learning their craft in the classroom, under the tutelage of a more experienced teacher or mentor? Or should they spend more time with their nose in a book (or a journal article), learning about early childhood development? The answer is probably both, but in an interview [...]
Reforming recess
On Thursday afternoon, Jill Vialet stood on a frozen playground and surveyed the latest outpost in a blossoming empire organized around fun for fun’s sake. Specifically, Vialet was observing recess at the World Cultures Magnet School in St. Paul, Minn. The school participates in Vialet’s Playworks program. As such, it enjoys a full-time recess coach, [...]
One of the most depressing jobs: Childcare
Childcare workers have one of the top ten jobs that can lead to depression according to Health.com. (via Gawker, via Gothamschools.org) Nearly 11% of childcare and nursing home workers report “a bout of major depression,” the magazine says. That’s compared to 13% of people who are unemployed – pretty grim. Teaching is also on the [...]
Study: Cell phones correlated to badly behaved children
Pregnant women might want to take a time-out from using their cell phones if they want to avoid behavior problems in their children later on, or so suggests a new study. Quoting Time’s report on the study: “Children exposed to cell phones before and after birth were 50% more likely to have emotional or behavior [...]
The future of universal prekindergarten: good, bad, or mediocre?
After a recession that threatened to become a depression and an economic recovery pace that can optimistically be called glacial, the fate of the universal prekindergarten movement might have seemed bleak. With states slashing budgets for general education right and left, the conventional wisdom has been that early education was also in a precarious position. [...]
Washington, DC’s new mayor makes early ed a priority
Washington, DC may be the place to watch in the coming year when it comes to early education. The new mayor there, Vincent Gray, who take office in January, is promising to make infant and toddler care a priority, despite a tight budget. According to a Washington Post article: “Gray sees an infant and toddler [...]
