Page 6
August 10, 2016
O PINION
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Progress Means Changing the Status Quo
Defending
the Preschool
Promise
s wati a darkar
Two pieces pub-
lished recently in
the Portland Ob-
server (“Preschool
Promise Conflict”
and “Well Intend-
ed but with Dev-
astating Consequences,” July 20
issue) raise concerns about Or-
egon’s new preschool program,
Preschool Promise. The program
will begin providing high-quality
preschool for three- and four-year-
old children from low-income
families this September.
The legislation behind Pre-
school Promise is driven by a
commitment to provide high-qual-
ity early learning environments
for children across the state — a
proven strategy to reduce both
health and education disparities
before kindergarten.
“High-quality” is not a catch
phrase. It has a specific meaning
by
built upon the best practices and
research that have yielded results
for early learners, including chil-
dren of color and dual language
learners. Preschool Promise lifts
early learning standards,
increases funding to qual-
ified providers to support
equitable teacher pay with
kindergarten
teachers,
provides full-day classes,
maintains a 1:10 adult-
child ratio, and calls for
lead teachers with bach-
elor’s degrees in early childhood
education or a related field.
The article and opinion piece
published by the Portland Ob-
server suggest that the bachelor’s
degree requirement for teachers
in Preschool Promise may isolate
kids of color and have “devastat-
ing consequences” by reducing
the number of teachers of color
serving those children. They also
suggest that there is no connection
between a bachelor’s degree and
teacher quality.
Children’s Institute under-
stands these legitimate concerns
about how Preschool Promise
will address the need for a diverse
workforce to serve children of col-
or. We know that creating quality
goes beyond having teachers with
bachelor’s degrees. Preschool
Promise allows for a range of ed-
ucation levels in the classroom; it
emphasizes that family and com-
munity engagement and involve-
ment is critical to quality early
learning.
We have been truly inspired
to see many examples in Oregon
where parents start as classroom
volunteers, get energized by the
work, and further their education
to become classroom assistants
and beyond. This is supported and
encouraged in Preschool Promise
and does not undermine existing
professional development pro-
grams.
Children’s Institute has learned
much by working with diverse
families and children at our Early
Works site at Earl Boyles Elemen-
tary School in southeast Portland.
Families from that community
have been our teachers and part-
ners in understanding the fierce
obstacles facing low-income
children and families of color to
achieve early school success. This
model of involvement and partic-
ipation has helped shape our un-
derstanding of quality early learn-
ing and effective implementation.
Preschool Promise raises the
bar for teacher education and
quality in Oregon. Raising educa-
tion requirements and recognizing
the importance of classroom expe-
rience and training for preschool
teachers has clearly demonstrated
that it increases preschool quality.
Research also continues to con-
firm that intentionally structured,
high-quality preschool supports
optimal development for chil-
dren during their earliest years, a
crucial period about which there
is little disagreement: Brain de-
velopment is unparalleled in the
years before kindergarten and
stimulating learning during this
time is absolutely essential.
Further, the National Acade-
mies of Sciences, Engineering,
and Medicine recently published
an extensive report on transform-
ing the early childhood workforce.
Among the core recommendations
is clear support for a bachelor’s
degree with “specialized knowl-
edge and competencies” for early
educators working with children
from birth through age eight. Fed-
eral trends and programs, includ-
ing Head Start, are also moving
toward requiring more lead pre-
school teachers to hold a bache-
lor’s degree.
These findings and trends repre-
sent movement toward high-qual-
ity early learning systems. Ore-
gon does not have one yet, but
Children’s Institute has a vision
of what that system can be and
what it can accomplish. As Pre-
school Promise launches, it serves
as a call to action for Oregon: The
quality of a preschool program is
dependent upon the quality of its
teachers. It recognizes that better
educated early childhood teachers
offer significantly higher quality
learning environments. It’s based
on research that tells us well-edu-
cated teachers give children more
stimulating and developmentally
appropriate curricula, improved
cognitive and social gains, and
more responsive interactions with
children that activate learning. It
also recognizes that high-quality
C ontinued on P age 14
Thinking Much About What’s Healthy Eating
For others — myself includ-
ed — there’s a constant struggle
to determine what’s
healthy, both for our-
selves and for the plan-
by a va r iChardson
et. The dietary habits we
Why do we eat
maintain become part of
what we eat?
our identities.
Many of us eat
But thanks to conflict-
foods that are fa-
ing information, evolv-
miliar,
convenient,
ing norms, and endless
and that simply taste
confusion about what
good, without think-
counts as “healthy,” it’s
ing much about why we make the
getting harder to settle comfort-
choices we do.
My food identity
dilemma
The Law Offices of
Patrick John Sweeney, P.C.
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
1549 SE Ladd, Portland, Oregon
Portland:
Hillsoboro:
Facsimile:
Email:
(503) 244-2080
(503) 244-2081
(503) 244-2084
Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com
ably into our choices.
I call it my food identity dilem-
ma. And believe me, it’s been a
long journey.
I’ve cycled through both veg-
anism and vegetarianism. I dab-
bled for a time in pescatarianism
(eating fish, eggs, and dairy, but
no other meats), raw foodism
(consuming only raw fruits, veg-
etables, and legumes), and hard-
core locavorism (buying only food
grown within a 3-5 hour driving
distance), among other diets.
The most challenging — and
most rewarding — diet I tried was
raw-food veganism. Benefits in-
cluded clearer skin, a better mood,
and a healthier weight, at least for
me. But learning to prepare raw
vegan food was difficult. So was
the fact that virtually all of my
friends were omnivores. On social
occasions, it was often either “eat
before you go” or go hungry.
At other times I tried out the pa-
leo fad, intermittent fasting, high-
carb diets, low-carb diets, and so
many more. My changing diets
have been part of an ever-shifting
understanding of what it takes to
achieve optimal health while sup-
porting a more sustainable food
system.
For more casual eaters, just fig-
uring out what counts as “healthy”
is tough enough. I’m always try-
ing to stay updated on the latest re-
search, and even I struggle with it.
In a recent New York Times
survey, for instance, 71 percent of
Americans viewed the ubiquitous
granola bar as healthy, compared
to just 21 percent of nutritionists.
Similar gaps existed for regular
granola and foods like frozen yo-
gurt, with the public perceiving
them as much healthier than the
nutritionists.
Here’s what the nutritionists
know that the rest of us may not:
All those foods contain lots of
added sugars, which new research
suggests are much more problem-
atic than the fats we used to fret
about (and which many eaters still
do). In fact, many fats are now
considered okay in moderation,
while others — such as coconut
oil or fats from nuts — are even
touted as “super foods.”
Even the government, which
stuck to the old “food pyramid”
for decades, is revisiting its regu-
lations.
The Food and Drug Admin-
istration recently announced an
update of its years-old nutrition
labels to emphasize added sugars
and to clarify serving sizes, among
other changes. And the agency is
cracking down on companies that
throw around the term “healthy”
for snack foods like those granola
bars.
Still there are debates, like the
never-ending quarrel over carbs:
the good carbs, the bad carbs, and
the unmentionable. Naturally, dif-
ferent diet fads offer conflicting
advice about how to include carbs
in a healthy, balanced diet.
At times, I have to admit, I
became rather pretentious in my
quest for a healthy, well-balanced
diet. I started thinking my food
habits were far superior to those
of my peers.
But now I’ve come to appreci-
ate how much we still have to learn
about nutrition — me and every-
one else. It’s helped me learn to be
humble. In the end, my food identi-
ty may remain as ever-changing as
our understanding of the relation-
ship between food and health.
It’s enlightening, in a way. And
occasionally delicious.
Ava Richardson is a New Econ-
omy Maryland fellow at the Insti-
tute for Policy Studies. Distribut-
ed by OtherWords.org.