Halloween and Gender Bias

My daughter is 19 years old and I clearly remember an epic mother-daughter battle 6 Halloweens ago over her costume choices. It appeared that costume choices went from cartoonish to provocative as soon as she needed clothing in juniors sizing. I am shocked that these suggestive costumes are now being made for very young children, well, girls. 

I am pleased that there does seem to be a movement addressing this. SPARK is a girl-fueled activist movement to demand an end to the sexualization of women and girls in media. I ran across this site last week: 
Cookie Monster Costumes for Toddler Girls and Boys

How is this developmentally appropriate? If this is okay and socially acceptable, then why aren't boys costumes designed like this? I highly doubt I'm going to see a  Magic Mike costume for a preschool boy in a costume shop. Of course parents have the choice not to buy the sexy little girls costume, but when this is what they see on the shelves and on other children, will they start to believe that this is the norm and this is how one dresses young children?  If you are appalled by this too, SPARK has a Call To Action page on their website where you can sound off: Call To Action

I feel that these costumes send a message to both girls and boys that it's never too early for girls to start being sexy and that girls are supposed to look "hot" at every age. Girls are inundated from a very young age with inappropriate messaging by way of products, including sexy Halloween costumes. Children begin to codify other kids by placing them in strict categories that they've been taught -- not born with. Inevitably, kids begin to believe that girls need to be sexy, and boys believe it, too.

Grown woman make a conscious choice to dress in sexually suggestive outfits for Halloween or any other night of the year. She knows a sexy dress is going to garner a different reaction than Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, but she can take precautions to stay safe from the creepers. A child has no idea what's going on. It is our responsibility as adults and early childhood professionals to protect children and educate those that care for them.

Huffington Post Parents has a slide show showing the evolution of girls Halloween costumes throughout the years: Girls Costumes Then and Now 

My mom made me dress as a gorilla when I was 8 years old. It was a full body costume with a mask. I have been holding a grudge for approximately 34 years about this, but I think I'm over it now. I'm thankful she didn't send me out on the street dressed as a trampy looking Jane.

Read More

Have You Seen Race To Nowhere?

Have you seen the documentary, Race To Nowhere? http://www.racetonowhere.com/ 
The film features heartbreaking stories of students across the country who have been pushed to the brink by over-scheduling, over-testing and the relentless pressure to achieve, “Race to Nowhere” points to a silent epidemic in our schools. Through the testimony of educators, parents and education experts, it reveals an education system in which cheating has become commonplace; students have become disengaged; stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant; and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired. I have held screenings at the Child Development Center than I manage to help parents see what they can expect in elementary school and beyond, and to start teaching them advocacy skills now. Preschool can be a utopia, as we are frequently so open and welcoming. Elementary school, middle school and high schools rarely welcome parents and families like we do in ECE. This doesn't mean that parents and families do not have a say and cannot get involved. It is important that we get this message to parents.
 

With the recent broadcasts of the presidential debates, the recent release of the film “Won’t Back Down,” and the school year now in full swing, it’s more important than ever to keep the “Race to Nowhere” conversation alive in our communities. Check out the Race To Nowhere website to find a screening near you. It is crucial that this dialogue focuses on the positive solutions offered by the real experts on education: the students, educators and parents working hard each day to transform our schools! If you are in or near Long Beach, CA., I am hosting two screenings in December. Come on by, check out the film and let me know what you think.

Read More

My Take on the NAEYC Technology Survey

The Early Education Action League came to fruition as I sat with a group of colleagues at a Beach Cities AEYC Board Meeting and discussed, in horror, NAEYC's "Draft" of the Technology Statement. 
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PS_technology_WEB2.pdf
We now know that this draft was the real deal. Nothing was changed during the process where feedback was summoned, whether online or at the NAEYC conference in Anaheim. Dozens of people voiced their opposition in the conference room and asked why NAEYC was going against American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations and their own previous opposition and a canned, "We will take that into consideration and look into that" response was given. When our Board got together, we talked about what we could do and what we should do, and in addition to our letter of opposition, http://eealeague.blogspot.com/search/label/Position%20Statement%20on%20Technology%20and%20Young%20Children
a few of us decided to break free from AEYC and form EEAL.

NAEYC never responded to our initial letter. I have also had the opportunity to get involved with another group that also vehemently opposes NAEYC's position on technology. They too have been very vocal and NAEYC appears to have indirectly responded to our concerns by creating a survey for educators on how they use technology with young children http://www.naeyc.org/survey/technology

If you have not yet participated in the survey, I would strongly encourage you to do so. I find it pretty biased. I use technology frequently in my personal and professional roles, but never directly with young children. There is no place in the survey to distinguish that. When I stated that I use a computer frequently in my line of work, the survey questions seem to assume that I do so with young children. I have stated my opposition to this on any page that allowed me to share comments or feedback. 

I am eager to see the results of this survey or rather, see if the results are ever shared publicly.

Read More

Will You Watch the Debate Tonight?

I am very eager to tune in for tonight's debate, although I know I will likely become very frustrated and agitated. As much as I say that I dislike politics, it is necessary to get involved and stay informed if you're going to advocate for children and education reform. 

I have been doing some research and cannot locate anything or any time that Mitt Romney has mentioned early education. In fact when he speaks about education, he often refers to statistics in Finland and how the US should emulate that system. He has also gone on record and said, "Everyone should get as much education as they can afford.”  Most of his other statements about public education validate this philosophy. For example, instead of ensuring that every child has access to quality early childhood education, Mitt Romney’s solution is “private” model. The Finns themselves have learned from this mistake—before becoming number one, fewer than 40 percent of children were enrolled in early childhood education. Now, as the world leader, approximately 95 percent of children have access to early childhood education. Certainly poverty does affect a child’s education, but the key is in ensuring it doesn’t limit it. This is the lesson we should learn from Finland, and it seems to be entirely lost on Mitt Romney. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/what-was-romney-talking-about-at-education-nation/2012/09/27/f65ca47c-091c-11e2-a10c-fa5a255a9258_blog.html  

On the other side, President Barack Obama promises change, and child care centers and preschool programs across the country are in dire need of it. Obama has made it clear throughout his last campaign and throughout his term that he is committed to education—to reforming No Child Left Behind; to rewarding and retaining teachers; to preparing high school students for college; to helping parents and students afford college; and, arguably most importantly, to investing in the education of our young children.

Research has consistently shown that investing in childcare and pre-k programs pays off. “For every $1 we invest in these programs, we get $10 back in reduced welfare rolls, fewer health care costs, and less crime,” Obama said in a 2007 speech in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Obama’s Zero to Five plan is to invest $10 billion a year to support young children and their parents. Here’s what the plan looks like:

• Early Learning Challenge Grants

 These grants will provide states funding to support child care, early education, and other “zero to five” efforts. States will be required to match federal funds and will be given flexibility in how they choose to expand their programs.

• Support for Head Start

 The plan is to quadruple the number of eligible children for Early Head Start, increase Head Start funding, and improve quality for both.

• Universal Pre-School

 Obama’s plan will provide funding and will encourage all states to adopt voluntary, universal pre-school for all.

• Child Care Development Block Grant Program (CCDBG)

 This program provides critical support to low-income families to pay for child care. Obama’s plan will ensure that CCDBG remains adequately funded to account for cost-per-child increases.

• Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit

 Obama’s plan will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for child care expenses.

• Presidential Early Learning Council

 This initiative will increase collaboration and program coordination across federal, state, and local levels.

I will be paying attention tonight to see if education is mentioned and if so, what the plan is. Before I sign off, I must ask if you are you registered to vote. If so, has any of your information (address, name, etc.) changed since the last election? If you're in CA., follow this link to register and/or update your information: https://rtv.sos.ca.gov/elections/register-to-vote  

If you're not in CA., follow this link: http://www.eac.gov/voter_resources/register_to_vote.aspx 

Read More

MUD KIT

This post is my vow to update and post on the EEAL blog regularly. Not a day goes by that I don't rant about something related to early childhood education and how we need to rally for action. I need to become more organized and put that rant online! If you have read my other posts, you have seen that EEAL likes to get dirty, especially in MUD! We have recently partnered with our local AEYC (Association for the Education of Young Children) affiliate, Beach Cities AEYC and Lakeshore Learning to create a Mud Kit to accompany our Position Statement on Mud. I have uploaded a couple photos and welcome your feedback. Our goal is to distribute these with the position statement to agencies, city council members and ECE stakeholders. Do you have any ideas on other items that we should add to the kit?

Read More