EDUC 653 Reading Summary: A Report on Early Childhood Education

This assignment presents a summary of seven articles related to early childhood education. The articles cover topics such as the importance of playtime for kindergarteners, the impact and varying views on the Head Start program, the qualifications of Pre-K program staff, the significance of attunement through playtime, the need for equal pay between Pre-K and K-3rd grade teachers, policies to support the early childhood workforce, and the challenges within the American daycare system. Each summary includes a critique from a biblical perspective and connects the concepts to real-life situations, highlighting the importance of quality early childhood education and care for children's development and future success. The assignment also references relevant internet resources to support the arguments presented.

Running Head: SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
Kindergarteners Get Little Time to Play. Why Does It Matter?
CHRISTOPHER BROWN.
The first article explores the fact that kindergarteners often get very little time to play, and
that it matters a lot as it is taking away precious play time from five year olds who require the
play time more than their teacher-led academic life. Even teachers admit that there is a lot of
pressure on the teachers from the parents to make sure that their children excel academically.
However this tends to have adverse effects as the children start lacking in curiosity and stop
looking for answers as they are already concocted and provided for them to mindlessly learn
and use. This dulls their brains. Thus, it is important to advocate play time for children. Rules
diminish a child’s curiosity and ability to go take risks. Though play time, they can explore
hands on learning activities that enable them to interact, get curious and internalize new
information by trial and error than by pure learning. It even helps them make social
connection with their peers that helps them learn what they pother person has learnt through
conversations. It helps them explore which is way more important at such an early stage than
learning what has already been explored because it helps them boost their confidence. The
starting days of one’s life pave the way for the rest of it as recounted in the Bible. “Start
children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from
it.” (Proverbs 22:6).
Playtime must be integrated within the classroom, academics that are taught within
the context of the play tend to find interest in studies. The drive to play is extremely strong in
every healthy child and it must be utilized to benefit the child. Children inevitably grow and
many are of the view that through pure academics they might grow faster but this wrong, fast
growth is not necessarily proper growth so children must have enough time to grow along

2SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
with their creativity and curiosity intact, this is why playtime must be included along with
academics ("What Happened to Kindergarten? | Scholastic", 2019).
Head Start
A Bridge From Past to Future
BLYTHE S.F. HINITZ
In the second article, the varying views on the Head Start program is discussed. It was
envisioned as program that will promote parent involvement in early education, serve diverse
populations and help low income families get access to early education for their children,
which is focused and well planned to help them excel in their lives. The head start theory
focuses on Freud’s emphasis on the early days of a child, Wellman’s theory about different
IQ levels, epistemological studies, and various other reports that focus on child education and
psychology. Head Start is emphasized on and is in practice still today as it gives various
families a voice and keeps building on their foundation of early education along with social
justice. Every child deserves they correct for of education, even the poor child. If they receive
it, they will inevitably learn from it and help their parents out in trouble It will make the
empathetic and successful. There has been cases of children excelling with the help of this
program. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. (Psalm
37:26)
The National head Start association has improved the life of 32 million children,
regardless their condition at birth, the life and education they deserve. Every child has the
right to do better, and this platform enables them, with a head start into education that will
help them do better. Not only does it take care of the child, it also makes sure that the family

3SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
understands the importance of a head start and acts accordingly ("National Head Start
Association", 2019).
Running a Pre- K Program Is Hard. So Why Do Some States Require Almost No
Qualifications?
ABBIE LIEBERMAN and LAURA BORNFREUND
The third articles, focuses on the difficulties in a Pre-K program. After conducting various
studies on various early education centers it became evident that the qualification of the
people involved in imparting education to the children in early education classrooms, wildly
vary. Many of these people have less than an associate’s degree and it can be seen through
their salaries which are significantly lesser than the people with master’s degrees. It is
important that childcare programs are properly financed to help them recruit qualified
personnel and improve the learning experience for child learners. See that you do not despise
one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my
Father in heaven. (Matthew 18:10) No child should be left behind in this world, even the
bible agrees to that.
The median pay for Preschool and Child Care directors is $47,940 per year. They are
responsible for the planning, programming and implementation of the plans for childcare and
early education. They usually work in daycare services and are required to have degrees in
early childhood education and are often asked to acquire a CDA (Child Development
Association) credential as well ("Preschool and Childcare Center Directors : Occupational
Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics", 2019).

4SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
Play Is the Way…
STUART BROWN and KRISTEN COZAD
The fourth article helps the readers understand this phenomenon called attunement,
which happens during playtime and is import ant for each child to learn and retain. Playtime
helps recreation (Blatchford, Creeser & Mooney, 1990). It reenergizes people and increases
productivity. Attunement happens when people open themselves and connect with the
environment and community round them. This is important as it helps in physical activity,
maintains health and emotional well-being and reverses the damage of chronic stress (Bower
et al., 2008). It also helps people reconnect with nature and not suppress her. This article
beautifully throws light on the fat that humans are a part of nature and connecting with it will
help in retaining important characteristics of humanity. “But ask the beasts, and they will
teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they
will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not
know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and
the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10) The Bible shows us that we are all a part of nature,
it is imbibed in our very identity.
Human play is a credentialed discipline in the community of science. School systems
need to imbibe this system of play to transform the society by providing the new age children
an atmosphere that is made interactive through playtime that will help them become
interactive, curious and smart to help bring about changes on the planet for the betterment of
humankind ("National Institute for Play", 2019).
The Importance of Equal Pay between Pre-K and K-3rd Teachers
ANNA SILLERS

5SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
The fifth article focuses on the importance of equal pay for Pre-K and K-3rd teachers.
A parity is important to retain teachers at levels that usually pay les. Every child as various
ages have different sets of requirement and teaching them at these different stages are very
important and difficult. Every teacher is equally hardworking. The Bible says, “Do your best
to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly
handling the word of truth.” Every teacher does what the lord had commanded and their
remuneration should reflect gratitude as well.
Talking of school systems, it has some into view that preschool teachers are not paid
as much as kindergarten teachers. It must be keep in mind that introducing a child to
education is very difficult and this why these teaches try to shift to kindergarten which
reduces the amount of educators for preschoolers. Kindergarten teachers make about $51,640
per year while preschool teachers make about $28,570 which is a little more than half the
salary of kindergarten teachers ("NPR Choice page", 2019).
6 Policies to Support the Early Childhood Workforce
REBECCA ULLRICH, KATIE HAMM, AND LEILA SCHOCHET
The sixth article looks into the policies required to support the early childhood
workforce whose salaries are in the bottom quintile of annual salaries in the United States.
There are also inequities in the compensation of teachers and childcare providers in the
various centers of childcare. Childcare costs are extremely high but wages still remain low
due to unprofessional coordination systems. Supporting a diverse childcare workforce is
essential through policies that address these limitations. Maintaining equality is important as
the bible puts it “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no
other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31)

6SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
There has been a lot of debate regarding these teachers requiring a college degree.
Nothing about early childhood education require a college degree and this will make
education for children even costlier and it will reduce supply and diversity of the people
doing the job ("Do Preschool Teachers Really Need to Be College Graduates?” 2019).
The Hell of American Day Care
An Investigation into the Barely Regulated, Unsafe Business of Looking After Our Children.
JONATHAN COHN
In the 7th article, the unsafe American daycare system is looked into. The quality of
the day care system vacillates It is important for the system to be stable as parents puts their
trust in these daycares as they are mostly working. Parents willing to secure a spot in the
daycares have to wait for long because they are always filled up and they cost a lot.
Children’s education is not just academic in nature. It is necessary for teachers, parents and
caregivers to invest in such a manner that child grows up as someone skilled at social
interactions, with proper cognitive development and physical fitness (Diamond et al., 2007).
Emotional health is also important for every child. For this the inclusion of play time is very
important, to help the child pick up life skills and grow curiously. High quality pre-
Kindergarten programs are now hugely required by parents as it is evident after studies that
proper childcare helps them in adulthood as an all-round development is required for every
kind of child. This has to be stabilized for the overall welfare of the society. “He took the
children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” (Mark 10:16) The Bible
notes that children are blessings from God, utmost care must be given to them. Parents must
be helped cope with the problems and the future of humanity should be saved by helping
them rear these children up into people who can be trusted.

7SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
Care providers for children should provide various options for parents. The caregivers
can be of any type, they might be able to speak a certain language, attend a babies for
different amounts of time, and they might be required to be nannies even. Care is provides in
various ways but still the system is not stable ("Find Childcare, Housekeepers & Pet Sitters -
Care.com UK", 2019). It must be understood by everyone that childcare is one of the very
important aspects of people lives hence the systems must be looked into for the betterment of
children, their overall growth and to provide adequate help to the parents in rearing them up.

8SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
References
Blatchford, P., Creeser, R., & Mooney, A. (1990). Playground games and playtime: the
children's view. Educational Research, 32(3), 163-174.
Bower, J. K., Hales, D. P., Tate, D. F., Rubin, D. A., Benjamin, S. E., & Ward, D. S. (2008).
The childcare environment and children’s physical activity. American journal of
preventive medicine, 34(1), 23-29.
Diamond, A., Barnett, W. S., Thomas, J., & Munro, S. (2007). Preschool program improves
cognitive control. Science, 318(5855), 1387-1388.

9SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
Do Preschool Teachers Really Need to Be College Graduates?.
(2019). Nytimes.com.
Find Childcare, Housekeepers & Pet Sitters - Care.com UK.
(2019). Care.com.
National Head Start Association. (2019). National Head Start Association.
National Institute for Play. (2019). National Institute for Play.
NPR Choice page. (2019). Npr.org.
Preschool and Childcare Center Directors: Occupational Outlook
Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Bls.gov.
What Happened to Kindergarten? | Scholastic. (2019). Scholastic.com.