Comments

Old Timer wrote on Apr 20, 2009 6:47 AM:

" I agree with you, Daycare Mama. "Daycare center" and "pre-school" have always pretty much been interchangeable terms since I was a child, and throughout the years I spent raising my own children. "




Day Care mama wrote on Apr 15, 2009 10:04 AM:

" I would like to comment that "daycare center's don't teach children" is a very stereotypical and harsh statement. I have spent 10 hours a day working in a daycare center for the last 4 years and yes the children definetley learn. Maybe you've witnessed times in the day when a child is curled up on a mat relaxing, doing nothing "productive". Did you take into consideration that the child may have arrived at daycare at 6:00am and won't leave until 7:00pm. They have been playing and learning all day.I am sad for headstart,but don't prejudge daycare centers. Some are wonderful. "




Mom wrote on Apr 13, 2009 11:35 AM:

" I have 2 kids. They both attended a private preschool. They both knew what they needed to know to pass Kindergarten before they even attended preschool. The reason I put them in preschool was so I could work for half the day and they could socialize with other kids. I think parents are the best teachers but preschool is great for socialization and learning if they aren't being taught at home.

I was more upset about teachers being cut. But I still think fire, police and health care should come first in where not to cut back. "




Middle Class Parent wrote on Apr 13, 2009 11:14 AM:

" Head Start - another program that the middle class pay for but don't qualify financially to send their children to. A friend looked into Head Start for her daughter and they wanted some ungodly amount of money because she and her husband have the audacity to work for a living. After groceries, bills, house and car payments and student loans there simply wasn't several hundred dollars per month left over to pay for Head Start so they taught their daughter themselves. Since they actually know their numbers and alphabet it wasn't hard but it's the principle of the thing. "




Old Timer wrote on Apr 13, 2009 7:21 AM:

" I'm sure Headstart/Preschool is very advantageous. When I was a kid we called it kindergarten, and that was where, if you hadn't already been taught, you learned your abcs, your numbers, how to write your name and how to function in a classroom environment. Now they seem to want students to already know these things when they get to kindergarten. That would be great if they used the extra year to any type of advantage, but some of these students, that's pretty much all they learn for the next 12 years. "




PMCG wrote on Apr 11, 2009 11:36 PM:

" People. Preschool is not about someone else raising your child. This isn't about adoption or fostering. Exclude the oh so wise counselor's irrelevant comment. If you don't know what the benefits of preschool are and what preschool is for then please don't comment without going and reading a piece of literature or two.

There are hundreds perhaps thousands of books written on the subject. Google it, draw yourself that little compare and contrast circle on a piece of paper, and weigh your results, then come back and comment or just don't. "




Wise Counselor wrote on Apr 11, 2009 2:28 PM:

" I think the government is trying to put the responsibility for raising children back where it belongs: ON THE PARENTS SHOULDERS! Not less then 50 years ago, parents decided to have children WHEN they could afford to school, clothe, feed, and house them until they are 18 years of age. The US just experienced over 30 years of the gov't furnishing money for single mothers who would not work to support their children, and did not marry before having their offspring; and for every subsequent child, more support money was allotted, creating more dependence. "




PMCG wrote on Apr 10, 2009 9:21 PM:

" I would like to point out that the reasons admins decided to shut down our Head Start is a little more in depth than money.

It's largely based on the 2000 census numbers when it's one year, (2009), from the next census and the "average daily attendance."

There's a nine year gap that's not being included into the administration of CAPK's calculations. Maybe they should just cut some of the overpaid admins salaries? "




once a HeadStart parent wrote on Apr 10, 2009 5:16 PM:

" Yes, these are difficult financial times and belt-tightening is in order; however, the Bush Administration was pushing Congress to gut one of the best programs to come out of LBJ's "Great Society" vision. These proposed cuts are nothing new. "




Reality wrote on Apr 10, 2009 5:01 PM:

" I think the point is that studies have proven that preschool helps children succeed. The future of our community, state, and country are dependent on those cute little tots. We live in a world where most families have two working parents, and not all parents are equipped with the tools they need to teach tots the skills they learn school. "




Mac wrote on Apr 10, 2009 10:22 AM:

" Also to PMCG - I used to think as you seem to, that children deserve more simply because they are children. Then I began to read alt.childfree back in the days of Usenet. It opened my eyes to differing points of view and while I find some of the childfree views a bit silly, it's never bad to look at things through someone else's eyes. To say that children always come first is a matter of opinion, one that is not held by everyone, not even all parents. "




Mac wrote on Apr 10, 2009 10:11 AM:

" I have children myself, 3 younger adults. I was raised old-school style by my grandmother, so the notion that one needed some government program to properly prepare their children for school is a foreign one to me. Head Start is a good program for children of disadvantaged homes with minimally involved parents, but it is not entirely necessary overall. These are times of extreme financial cutbacks and if the money isn't there, then it isn't. There are more essential programs that are being cut back as well; we all have to tighten our belts, unfortunately. "




PMCG wrote on Apr 9, 2009 10:53 PM:

" *To Mac*

No one ever said anything about taking from the elderly, veterans, and disabled. They deserve obviously to be cared for by the community. However, children should always come first. It shouldn't even be a matter of argument.

Parent or no parent, a child should come first.

Asides, this thread is about saving Head Start. "




Mac wrote on Apr 9, 2009 12:57 PM:

" Irritated Parent wrote: "For one to dare question or even think of taking from children should be a crime itself." I thought at first you were being snarky, but then I realized you were absolutely serious. Why is it so much worse to take from children than anyone else? Say, disabled veterans, or older people who can't care for themselves anymore? Why do children with parents who are perfectly capable of teaching them ABCs rate higher than these other groups merely because of their age? "




Andre Sanchez wrote on Apr 9, 2009 9:46 AM:

" Again, Ms. Richards, I feel compelled to respond to you. We all pay taxes and their are inequalities in the tax system. There are certain credits and deductions that some people are eligible for that others are not. You can whine about that if it makes you feel better. You should also know that your tax dollars do not pay for the hospital (KVHD anyway). Police and fire services, it can be argued, are also not an equally available resource. Also, no one is trying to infring on your freedom of speech. "




PMCG wrote on Apr 9, 2009 9:23 AM:

" Let's be realistic here. Not gonna lose a hospital, or fire department, and we don't have a police station. We have a sheriff station. As for freedom of speech. It only extends as far as society accepts. Welcome to the good old fashion individual rights versus public good argument. Obviously you don't have children seeing as how you show no empathy, although probably more than one person that has helped you in the valley was probably schooled at Head Start.

If you think Head Start is a drain maybe you should look at the Kern County budget. "




T. Richards wrote on Apr 8, 2009 11:14 PM:

" And a truly devastating thing to happen to the community would be to lose hospital, police, and firefighting services... you know, services that benefit the entire community and not a select few.

If sacrificing Head Start means we get to keep a functional emergency room, I don't think anyone would consider that a bad trade off.

But clearly, I'm (and not a sir, myself, I might add) needing to re-evaluate. "




T. Richards wrote on Apr 8, 2009 8:42 PM:

" I'd like to point out that I, too, pay taxes. And unlike those with children in the home, I do not receive a tax credit. If it's so very important to you, please, feel free to put your tax credit towards the Head Start program.

I will continue to see it as a drain in a time when we can ill afford it.

Special thanks to those that believe it's criminal that such a thing ever been considered, let alone voiced aloud. So much for freedom of speech or thought in the land of the sheeple! "




Andre Sanchez wrote on Apr 8, 2009 11:47 AM:

" Mr. T. Richards' comment is incredibly myopic. Socialization is not basic instruction one recieves at home. And why, in a time where everyone is struggling, should parents, like myself who paid over $10,000 in federal taxes and almost $6,000 in state and local taxes in 2008, have to pay extra for private preschool? Children in Kern Valley are already at a huge educational disadvantage, just because of the resources available to them in the bucolic environment. You sir, Mr. T. Richards, need to re-evaluate. "




Irritated Parent wrote on Apr 8, 2009 11:29 AM:

" To "T. Richards"

I would have to say Mr. T. Richards that there is one great justification for everyone rallying. Children! For one to dare question or even think of taking from children should be a crime itself. "




PMCG wrote on Apr 8, 2009 11:14 AM:

" I would also like to point out the fact that there are far more trying issues at hand other than the education of children in a time of which a lot of people are struggling. I wouldn't exactly say that taking from the children is gonna save our future. So please, maybe you can justify why, in a time when a lot of people are struggling, we should ignore our very future? "




PMCG wrote on Apr 8, 2009 11:10 AM:

" Of course learning begins in the home, sir, but perhaps you should research the benefits of preschool as compared to those without? Oh, and there are many things children learn within a preschool that cannot be learned at home. The "very basic instruction" that children learn at home is far different from that in which they learn in an institution. "




T. Richards wrote on Apr 7, 2009 11:09 PM:

" Perhaps you can justify why, in a time when a lot of people are struggling, why we should rally around Head Start, which to me was always kind of covering the responsibility of the parents in the first place?

Learning begins in the home, sir. If you feel unequal to the task of giving your children the very basic instruction they receive from Head Start, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate. "