This edition of the NIEER biweekly online newsletter contains a lot of information about funding issues in early education. One topic caught my attention when I read the preview “Senator Tom Harkin estimates that approximately 46,000 employees currently employed through Title 1, special education, and Head Start funds could lose their jobs” (NIEER, 2012). If this happens where would it leave our young children? I further reviewed this report from Senator Harkin and found that “under the Budget Control Act, Federal programs face an across-the-board cut in January 2013 if Congress does not enact a plan before then to reduce the national debt by $1.2 trillion” (Harkin, 2012, p. 2). “A December 2011 study found that investing $1 billion in health care or education creates significantly more jobs within the U.S. economy than spending $1 billion on the military. In health care, the difference is 54 percent more jobs; in education, 138 percent.” (Harkin, 2012, p. 2). Congress really needs to work on fixing the budget so that our youngest members of society do not suffer the consequences. This report is 181 pages long and breaks down the federal programs that lose funds and the loss of employment in the education field.
The NIEER website and its online newsletter is packed full of information that goes along with the issues of access, availability, and responsiveness in early childhood education. The information that I learned as I read Senator Harkins report about the possibility of 46,000 people in the education field losing their job if congress does not find a solution to the budget crisis. This really scares me as I work in a Title 1 and special education learning community.
Resources:
Harkin, T. (2012). Under threat sequestration’s impact on nondefense jobs and services. Retrieved from http://harkin.senate.gov/documents/pdf/500ff3554f9ba.pdf
National Institute for Early Education Research. (2012). Online news. 11(16).
NIEER website http://nieer.org
I found your information to be very profound as well as the article in my NHSA website. The educational crisis is really an issue that effects the mesosystem of all that are involved yet, many memebers of congress do not understand the significance of their actions. I believe Dr. Tammi Mann and Senator Harkin maybe the guiding sources we need to make a difference in early childhood education.
ReplyDeleteThe information you just shared with us is terrifying! I keep thinking that the federal government could NEVER allow the cuts to happen. I cannot imagine what that would do to the thousands of children that are supported and educated by these programs. Thinking of the children does not even begin to touch on the many who would lose their jobs due to the budget cuts. I really hope that Senator Harkins report informed other Senators and they can see the devastation that they would cause by not supporting those federal programs.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this article you found. I feel a little nervous about the future of federal programs now but it is always good to stay informed.
Unfortunately those budget cuts hit home with me. I know quite a few people who work as teachers or aides in special education classrooms that were "laid off" or fired these past two years. I was so sad to see people who do such amazing work with these children and truly care about them receive such awful news. Unfortunately there are very few jobs around here in education so they have to search for work in other fields. Very, very disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI checked out this website and found it to very informative! A webpage worth marking as a favorite! The newsletter you mentioned about many educators losing their jobs and its effects on children brings tears to my eyes because children today are not being put a priority when it comes to various budget cuts, but we wonder why our society is not thriving like it should be. We need to invest in education instead of taking learning experiences from our children and future workforce.
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