[Global HR Forum 2011] The Role of Family, School and Society in the Age of Centenarians

The Role of Family, School and Society in the Age of Centenarians

 

The responsibility of government and family in nurturing early childhood education was the central theme of the third plenary session during Wednesday’s Global HR Forum.

 

The first speaker, Carolyn Herrington, president of the Association for Education, Finance & Policy, used the example of Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City. She emphasized the necessity of a structured school environment, organized home environment and a cooperative education system for students. Through her ‘Family, School and Community Partners’ presentation, she stressed the importance of “introducing programs that improve children’s lives through a better coordination of services at the neighborhood level.” Regarding cost related problems, she cited the need to “search for greater efficiencies through partnerships.” To highlight the Harlem project’s strengths and weaknesses, she compared it to the Chicago Child-Parent Centers which is funded by the federal government. Despite differences in the projects, Herrington says the fact that young children who take part in either program are less likely to be developmentally delayed is evident.

 

 

Concerning children who live in Harlem or other slums, she said: “Services for children may be available but difficult to access in those areas. Parents cannot afford services if both parents work, so child diagnosis may be delayed and conditions could worsen.” She added, “Learning opportunities lost in the early years may be remedied later, but at much greater costs.”

 

 

 

Mae Chu Chang, lead education specialist at the World Bank, stressed the importance of parent and community engagement in a student’s achievement. “Programs that develop young children’s learning skills are important because children who start out as high performers tend to remain that way, while children who have a poor start tend to remain poor students,” she said. Her ending remarks underlined the importance of the roles of parents and communities. “It is needed to ... shift the dynamics of power toward more community ownership of the schools,” said Chung. Both speakers agreed that children from three to five years of age are vulnerable and young, but investing in their education is the best use of our resources.