Kill Your TV (and Laptop, iphone and ipad)

Kill Your Television (by Vik Nanda)

Children under age 2 should not watch television or videos because it could impair their development, according to a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The new report also happens to reaffirm what they’ve been saying for the past decade. 

However, this advice is routinely ignored by most parents. The report indicates that 90% of parents with children under 2 let their babies and toddlers watch some form of electronic media, with the average child watching one to two hours of TV or videos per day. Children with single mothers and low-income children watch more than this on average. 

The report did not discuss any direct effects that television or videos might have on the developing brain. However, it did emphasize that watching TV takes children away from other healthier or more educational activities like unstructured playtime or bonding with their parents.

It should be no surprise that children in low income and single parent households are watching more television, as these parents tend to have more stressful and busier lives. Television is an easy way to keep a small child preoccupied while dinner is prepared and chores are done. It is also a convenient way to buy a little extra peace and quiet after a long day at work or while finishing a meal.

However, with the ubiquity of media players, even affluent families may be relying on videos more than in the past. SUV’s come equipped with DVD players to keep the kids amused on long trips (or short errands). Parents sometimes allow their small children to play with ipads in waiting rooms. Small, toddler-friendly portable DVD players are used by parents to sneak in an extra hour of sleep on weekends.

Another factor contributing to the misuse of media with babies and toddlers is ignorance and misinformation. According to the AAP report, while many video programs for infants and toddlers claim to be “educational,” the evidence does not support this claim for children under the age of 2. Also, some parents do not realize how important unstructured play time is for children to learn to think creatively, problem solve, and develop reasoning and motor skills, or that they learn more from interacting with live humans than from screens.

Unstructured play time does not require expensive toys. In fact, young children like to play with almost anything they can get their hands on, especially if they see their parents using it. Between the ages of one and two, my son loved to play with cooking utensils while we prepared dinner, including measuring cups and spoons. He is now four and I am still amazed at how much he can amuse himself with common household items during unstructured playtime. Of course he loves his Buzz Lightyear doll and his DVDs, but what he enjoys more than anything is constructing pretend machines, tools, vehicles, robots and guns from nuts and bolts, rubber bands, wooden chopsticks, ropes, tinker toys, wires and whatever else he can find lying around the house.

While he can keep himself entertained like this for extended periods of time (occasionally for as long as an hour), he enjoys it even more if I get involved. And I have to say that as busy or tired as I may be, it truly is the most peaceful and enjoyable part of my day to participate in his make believe world, as villain, hero or coconspirator. It pulls me away from my own worries and stresses far better than any movie or television show possibly can and brings me back, even if only fleetingly so, to a carefree time in my own life when anything was possible.

The Beatings for Preschoolers Will Continue Until Test Scores Improve

(Thanks to Schools Matter blog for first covering this news from Ed Week)

Not only has NCLB not gone away or been “reformed,” it has given birth to a demon spawn named Race to the Top (RTTT), with Obama and Arne Duncan as co-fathers. The basic idea is to dangle a few million bucks in front of states desperate for cash to bail out their sinking education systems and get them to beat themselves up to win the money. The states that go the farthest in opening up their public education systems to private profit, weakening teachers unions and stifling students’ curiosity and creativity through excessive testing and test preparation, win the limited funds.

Now RTTT is offering grants to early childhood education programs and preschools. Since the achievement gap starts well before kids start school (see here, here and here), it makes sense to improve learning at the pre-K level, and these programs are in desperate need of money. However, as Education Week reports, in order to win a grant, states will have to develop assessment systems for their programs and develop appropriate standards and tests for young children.

That’s right, states will start mandating testing and test preparation at the pre-school level, as if it wasn’t already terrible enough to do this to k-3^rd graders, let alone any child. But it is even worse when one considers how little states will gain for selling out toddlers to the test publishers and corporate education raiders. Arne Duncan only is offering $500 million, which is chump change when divvied up among five or more states. (Actual state grants will range from $50-100 million). The money might barely cover the tests the little tykes will be forced to endure. After paying for consultants, assessors, new curricula and training, pre-K schools certainly won’t have anything extra left to hire more staff, offer good wages, expand enrollment, or invest in manipulatives, picture books and learning games. In the end, very young kids will learn very early to hate school. Their schools will gain nothing but a lot more bureaucracy and headaches. Only the test and curriculum publishers really stand to gain directly.

Toddlers, Enemies of the People! The Decimation of Preschool in America

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER: www.nieer.org) has just published its annual “State of Preschool” survey, which shows that overall funding for pre-kindergarten programs dramatically declined. The Washington Times reports that states spent an average of $114 less per child in 2009-2010 compared with the previous year, despite receiving extra money from the federal stimulus package. Compared with a decade ago, they are spending an average of $700 less per child.

Demonstrating the clarity and brilliance that comes from an elite private school education, Secretary of State Arne Duncan said that "Three- and four-year-olds don't vote, don't hire lobbyists and don't have a union." (Quote is from the Los Angeles Times.)

Steven Barnett, co-director of the NIEER, who conducted the survey, said “We don’t eliminate first grade in tough economic times …why do we cut preschool? (Quote is from the 4 LA Kids blog). He also warned that the cuts will negatively affect the school readiness of youngsters. Valerie Strauss (The Answer Sheet) pointed out that considerable research correlates high quality preschool programs with improved high school graduation rates. She also notes that neither Obama’s blueprint for rewriting No Child Left Behind nor Race to the Top includes high-quality preschool, suggesting that the Ed Secretary and the President need to coordinate their propaganda better.

Five states—Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio — now enroll fewer children than they did 10 years ago. However, the biggest hit was to programs serving 3-year olds, with nine states cutting enrollment by 10% or more. According to the Times, less than 300,000 three-year-olds are enrolled in state-funded pre-school programs, out of 1.3 million preschoolers in funded programs.

The report also looked at the quality of schools, examining 10 standards. 23 of the 40 states with funded programs failed to meet the institute’s benchmarks for teacher qualifications, while 26 failed to meet the benchmark for assistant teacher qualifications. Only five states met all 10 standards: Alabama, Alaska, one of the three Louisiana programs, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.

While California’s preschool funding held steady last year, only about 17% of the state's 4-year-olds attended state-funded schools, according to the Los Angeles Times. This ranks California 23^rd out of the 40 states that have funded programs. Worse, California met only four of NIEER’s ten standards, including site visits, child-to-staff ratios, and teacher training. With expected funding cuts, the number of students served will likely decline further, while the quality of existing programs will likely deteriorate. In order to close the state’s budget gap, Gov. Brown signed legislation that cuts 15% from subsidized child care and early learning programs. Brown also signed legislation that shifts $1 billion from state and county First 5 programs, which supports preschool education. According to the LA Times, this could result in a loss of 28,000 preschool slots.

As bad as it was last year, next year will be worse. State funding decreased by almost $30 million last year and would have fallen by an additional $49.3 million if it weren’t for stimulus funding. Stimulus funds have since dried up and Congress is considering slashing Head Start and child care programs. States across the country are grappling with huge deficits and many are considering (or have already) implementing cuts to early childhood education, health and welfare. The likely consequences for k-12 education are increasing numbers of students who are ill-prepared for school and a worsening achievement gap.

Toddlers To Pay for Corporate Tax Break in Iowa

Iowa, one of the few states that does not have a budget crisis, actually has a $318 million surplus that they want use to give corporations a tax break. The problem is that next year they will need that surplus to keep other programs intact. Therefore, in order to pay for the tax break, they will have to make some cuts and preschool is first on their chopping block. The bill also cuts family-planning services and attempts to make state employees pay more for their health care premiums.

“Philosophy” vs Facts

The benefits of preschool are well-documented. Preschool helps prepare young children for school by advancing their literacy, social skills and overall school-readiness. Iowa Republican and House Appropriations Chairman, Scott Raecker, doesn’t see it this way. Whether to spend money on preschool or on tax breaks is a “philosophical debate we’ll have to have,” he said.

The Rand Corporation, which is certainly on the business tax break side of any philosophical debate, begs to differ. Their research shows that every dollar spent on high-quality preschool programs generates a benefit to society ranging from $1.80 to $17.07. “Early childhood intervention programs are designed to mitigate the factors that place children at risk of poor [educational] outcomes.” They also found that the more money that was spent of preschool programs, the greater the benefits.

Class War

Of course, no one really needs to get so upset by all this. Kids from upper middle class to wealthy families will continue to get quality preschool, along with quality K-12 education. If the free public schools and inexpensive preschools in their communities aren’t up to their high standards, they will simply spend the money to send their kids elsewhere. They will be sufficiently educated to run their parents’ businesses and take on the high-tech demands of the future.

The rest of our children will also still be educated, although perhaps not to the degree we think they should. And they, too, will be sufficiently educated, not to run the economy, but to buy and consume its products and services and to take on the low skill jobs that are available. If not, then the bosses can always hire immigrant labor from countries that invest more in educating their youth.