Early Childhood
education centers, where young children (birth through 4- years old) go, learn
through play with children their age to help build their four developmental
domains. The four developmental domains
are: cognitive development, social/ emotional development, language
development, and physical development.
When attending an early childhood center, by the age of 4, children
begin preparing for Elementary School.
By this age, children should be learning their letters, numbers, shapes,
and colors; however, this is not happening in our early childhood centers,
sadly. R.O.P.E, Restore Oklahoma Public
Education, states: “Oklahoma is lagging other states in funding for education
but excelling in assessing students and schools” (Rolland). Oklahoma is ranked
as the forty-first state in education out of all fifty states. This reveals Oklahoma is struggling in
education and Early Childhood Education are the years that have the largest
impact on children’s learning and it needs to be improved. Early Childhood Education can be improved by
offering more training for the teachers, hiring more childhood educators, and
making Early Childhood Education more affordable for children to attend and
thus have the opportunity to learn.
The importance of childhood education in Oklahoma is lacking. This problem begins with the teachers and other educators. An early childhood educator is defined as: anyone who spends time with children. Since children learn through what they see around them and will imitate adults around them, it is important for teachers to have better quality training in order to provide the best learning environments for children and their families. Ages one through five is the most critical ages for a child to learn. The child’s brain at this age is like a sponge, ready to absorb anything and everything they see and hear. The National Education Association says, “Providing a high quality education for children before they turn five yields significant long- term benefits.” In other research studies, it shows adults who attended excellent preschool programs earned up to $2,000 more yearly; however, the adults whom did not receive such quality preschool programs were not as successful. It is very important for people who want to help shape young minds in the Early Childhood Education centers, know all children deserve the best care and it is not just a babysitting job. Teachers need to be prepared and ready to teach the moment they step foot into their classroom. It is a very complex job and it should not be taken lightly by any means, considering the children being taught now are the children of the future. Having free play in a classroom is good to let the children learn and use their imagination while interacting with the other children; however, free play all day is not acceptable in a learning environment. Children need structure and having free play all day is just the opposite. Early Childhood centers need to have a curriculum with a daily routine so the children have a stable environment to learn in. There is also a major shortage in Early Childhood Educators in Oklahoma.
The need for more early childhood educators is significant. In order for Oklahoma to be successful in providing quality education, there needs to be enough teachers to help shape minds of the growing communities. “Oklahoma’s teacher shortage is worsening as salaries remain among the nation’s lowest and work workplace pressures mount, promoting school districts statewide to implement strategies to retain and recruit educators.”(Archer). Some cities across Oklahoma have centers with long waiting lists due to not enough teachers in this field of education. The longer the children are on the waiting lists, the more time is being wasted on not learning, or not getting the proper preparation for Elementary School. More often than not, a center has a spot for only one child in the family, but not the other children. Most parents struggle just getting their children to one center, there is absolutely no way centers can expect a parent to drive their children to multiple centers. They also cannot expect a parent to continue to hold out on a waiting list to get their children in when the child is in desperate need to get interaction and preparation for Elementary School. Educators come to these centers expecting to have a relaxed job, just to play with the children all day. In the provided trainings, they need to be prepped and learn that educators have one of the hardest jobs; it is not just fun and games. Once employed, teachers soon learn children need structure and consistency. Every child learns differently and in the classroom teachers need to learn to teach in different styles to cater to all the children’s needs, not just one specific style. Children are incredibly unique and need a warm hearten educator to have faith in them, teach them, and to help them grow. There are many parents whom stay home due to being unable to afford the tuition at Early Childhood Center’s.
The cost of providing quality education is growing. The number of children born each day is too, increasing. The parents of these children need to be able to afford the cost of an Early Childhood center. This is crucial, so parents can go to work and make money in order to provide for their families. Parents also want to be assured their child is being exposed to quality education to help them grow while they are unable to be an educator to their children. The cost of an average learning center is around $200.00 a week, which means $800.00 a month for families whom just have one child in this center. This is not affordable at a minimum wage job, which many people are struggling at daily. This one months’ cost would take a whole paycheck just for Early Childhood care, allotting no extra money for the necessities to live. The National Center for Children Child Poverty Fact Sheet (March 2002) reports, “17 percent of children under 6 are in poverty.” There needs to be a program implemented in Oklahoma to help families afford sending their children to Early Childhood centers. They have implemented one program, the head start program, which is based on the income of the family. This however, only helps some families, the ones lucky enough to get in. Head start closes during the summer and also anytime the public schools are out. This makes it hard for parents whom have to work even when the public schools are out. This also means they are responsible for finding someone to watch and educate their child. Department of human services helps families pay for some of the cost, if they qualify. Department of human services has so many guidelines to abide by and their requirements for qualification sometimes makes it hard to get the much needed help. For a program that helps children in such a large way, it needs to be more affordable for the average person. The educators are also not making enough money in this growing field. All the money received by the centers needs to be distributed evenly amongst bills, educators, and the owners. This is creating a crisis in Oklahoma when it comes to hiring educators. It is stressed how important of a job being a teacher is, yet when looking at the big spectrum of everything, they are one of the least paid employees. Educators need to be compensated for their worth. If we expect them to truly care about their career, we need to show them we care. “For years there have been shortages in subjects such as science and math, but now we are starting to see this spread to area such as elementary and early childhood. That is a new phenomenon and one that must be reversed." (Archer)
The importance of childhood education in Oklahoma is lacking. This problem begins with the teachers and other educators. An early childhood educator is defined as: anyone who spends time with children. Since children learn through what they see around them and will imitate adults around them, it is important for teachers to have better quality training in order to provide the best learning environments for children and their families. Ages one through five is the most critical ages for a child to learn. The child’s brain at this age is like a sponge, ready to absorb anything and everything they see and hear. The National Education Association says, “Providing a high quality education for children before they turn five yields significant long- term benefits.” In other research studies, it shows adults who attended excellent preschool programs earned up to $2,000 more yearly; however, the adults whom did not receive such quality preschool programs were not as successful. It is very important for people who want to help shape young minds in the Early Childhood Education centers, know all children deserve the best care and it is not just a babysitting job. Teachers need to be prepared and ready to teach the moment they step foot into their classroom. It is a very complex job and it should not be taken lightly by any means, considering the children being taught now are the children of the future. Having free play in a classroom is good to let the children learn and use their imagination while interacting with the other children; however, free play all day is not acceptable in a learning environment. Children need structure and having free play all day is just the opposite. Early Childhood centers need to have a curriculum with a daily routine so the children have a stable environment to learn in. There is also a major shortage in Early Childhood Educators in Oklahoma.
The need for more early childhood educators is significant. In order for Oklahoma to be successful in providing quality education, there needs to be enough teachers to help shape minds of the growing communities. “Oklahoma’s teacher shortage is worsening as salaries remain among the nation’s lowest and work workplace pressures mount, promoting school districts statewide to implement strategies to retain and recruit educators.”(Archer). Some cities across Oklahoma have centers with long waiting lists due to not enough teachers in this field of education. The longer the children are on the waiting lists, the more time is being wasted on not learning, or not getting the proper preparation for Elementary School. More often than not, a center has a spot for only one child in the family, but not the other children. Most parents struggle just getting their children to one center, there is absolutely no way centers can expect a parent to drive their children to multiple centers. They also cannot expect a parent to continue to hold out on a waiting list to get their children in when the child is in desperate need to get interaction and preparation for Elementary School. Educators come to these centers expecting to have a relaxed job, just to play with the children all day. In the provided trainings, they need to be prepped and learn that educators have one of the hardest jobs; it is not just fun and games. Once employed, teachers soon learn children need structure and consistency. Every child learns differently and in the classroom teachers need to learn to teach in different styles to cater to all the children’s needs, not just one specific style. Children are incredibly unique and need a warm hearten educator to have faith in them, teach them, and to help them grow. There are many parents whom stay home due to being unable to afford the tuition at Early Childhood Center’s.
The cost of providing quality education is growing. The number of children born each day is too, increasing. The parents of these children need to be able to afford the cost of an Early Childhood center. This is crucial, so parents can go to work and make money in order to provide for their families. Parents also want to be assured their child is being exposed to quality education to help them grow while they are unable to be an educator to their children. The cost of an average learning center is around $200.00 a week, which means $800.00 a month for families whom just have one child in this center. This is not affordable at a minimum wage job, which many people are struggling at daily. This one months’ cost would take a whole paycheck just for Early Childhood care, allotting no extra money for the necessities to live. The National Center for Children Child Poverty Fact Sheet (March 2002) reports, “17 percent of children under 6 are in poverty.” There needs to be a program implemented in Oklahoma to help families afford sending their children to Early Childhood centers. They have implemented one program, the head start program, which is based on the income of the family. This however, only helps some families, the ones lucky enough to get in. Head start closes during the summer and also anytime the public schools are out. This makes it hard for parents whom have to work even when the public schools are out. This also means they are responsible for finding someone to watch and educate their child. Department of human services helps families pay for some of the cost, if they qualify. Department of human services has so many guidelines to abide by and their requirements for qualification sometimes makes it hard to get the much needed help. For a program that helps children in such a large way, it needs to be more affordable for the average person. The educators are also not making enough money in this growing field. All the money received by the centers needs to be distributed evenly amongst bills, educators, and the owners. This is creating a crisis in Oklahoma when it comes to hiring educators. It is stressed how important of a job being a teacher is, yet when looking at the big spectrum of everything, they are one of the least paid employees. Educators need to be compensated for their worth. If we expect them to truly care about their career, we need to show them we care. “For years there have been shortages in subjects such as science and math, but now we are starting to see this spread to area such as elementary and early childhood. That is a new phenomenon and one that must be reversed." (Archer)