• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

SUMMER 2013 HHQHHQ Hopkins House Quarterly Journal EngagingEngaging FathersFathers andand MenMen inin EarlyEarly EducationEducation Cover Story Page 7 Do Early Childhood Educators Really Need a 4-Year College Degree? Page 11 Hopkins House IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO PREPAREPREPARE FORFOR COLLEGE.COLLEGE Through developmental infant care, nationally accredited preschools, and robust parent Through developmental infant care, nationally accredited preschools, and robust parent engagement, the Hopkins House Preschool Academy helps build the engagement, the Hopkins House Preschool Academy helps build the foundation for your child’s future. Serving children and their families in the Foundation for Your Child’s Future. Serving children and their families in the metropolitan Washington, DC area at locations in the City of Alexandria metropolitan Washington, DC area at locations in the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County, Virginia, since 1939. and Fairfax County, Virginia, since 1939. HOPKINSHopkins HouseHOUSE www.HopkinsHouse.org 571.480.4282571480.4282 2 Hopkins House In This Issue HHQ / Hopkins House Quarterly Page 5 / Portraits of Fatherhood Volume 16; Issue 1 A special photo exhibit of fathers and father- Summer 2013 figures engaged with their children at the Hopkins House Preschool Academy. EDITOR IN CHIEF J. Glenn Hopkins Hopkins House President/CEO Page 7 / COVER STORY: Engaging Fathers and STAFF WRITER Father-figures Adam Mann The significance of men on the healthful development of young children. CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Steven Halperson Page 9 / Father-figures in the Lives of Young Children Uncles, big brothers, grandfathers and other male role-models Published quarterly by the Hopkins House can play important roles in a young child’s development. Office of Resource Development ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Page 11 / Do Early Childhood Educators Really Candice Hayes Need a 4-Year College Degree? In addition to being expensive to obtain, there is Address all correspondence to: some doubt about the value. HHQ Hopkins House 5904 Richmond Hwy - Ste. 525 Alexandria, VA 22303 Page 13 / Hopkins House to Open Innovation 571.480.4086 Preschool Academy New academy to serve 100 children in Herndon, Virginia. Email [email protected] www.HopkinsHouse.org Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do Page 15 / Community Stakeholders Elect New not reflect official positions of Hopkins House. © 2013 Hopkins House Board Officers and Trustees All rights reserved Bylaws amended, and new trustees and officers elected to the Hopkins House board. Page 17 / A Page From Our History Notebook The life and times of J. Milton Hopkins. The first in Follow Hopkins Like Hopkins House a series of articles on important events in the House on Twitter on Facebook.com/ history of Hopkins House. @Hopkins_House TheHopkinsHouse Page 18 / Una Bella Notte: A Beautiful Night HHQ welcomes letters from readers about arti- R&B star Linda Clifford to perform at 2013 cles in this journal but cannot print or personally Venetian Masquerade Ball. The history of the respond to all letters received. Letters published Venetian Masquerade. express the views of the writers and not HHQ or Hopkins House. Please keep letters to 250 words or fewer. All letters are subject to editing for Page 19 / News in Brief space and clarity. Please direct letters for publi- Hopkins House’s ECLI recognized at national cation “To the Editor” via email or online at conference hosted by former President Bill www.HopkinsHouse/Contact. Clinton. 3 Hopkins House From The President’s Notebook Childcare Centers Need to be More Welcoming to Fathers and Men. One of my very norm for most children. favorite songs is Luther According to the National Association for Elementary Vandross’ School Teachers, just 13 percent of elementary school “Dance With My teachers are men, and these men largely teach in Father”. There grades 5 and 6. And, the National Association for the is a lyric in the Education of Young Children reports that less than 3 song that tugs at percent of early childhood professionals are men. my heart strings every time I Mothers and women have demonstrated exceptional hear Luther sing it: My father would lift me high and skill preparing generations of children for success in dance with my mother and me and then / Spin me school and life. And, they deserve our admiration and around ‘til I fell asleep. respect. But, if given the chance, men too can play an equally important role in the lives of young children. My father died at the age of 94. In all those years I don’t recall that he ever lifted me high or danced with Despite mountains of research pointing to the life- me and my mother. True of many children of my gen- defining impact quality early childhood education can eration, my father didn't spend much time with me. have on a child’s social-emotional, academic, physical, Rearing children was the domain of mother and my cognitive and creative skills – all necessary for school father knew well to stay his distance. success – the early childhood and elementary educa- tion profession stubbornly remains under-valued, due The traditional role of women and men in raising their in large part, no doubt, to the traditional view that children is finally beginning to change — and not a caring for children is woman’s work. minute too soon. Parents of young children and childcare professionals Studies abound about the value men bring to the bear some of the blame for this. We are wary of male growth and development of young children. These childcare professionals and do little to make it com- studies show that the active and nurturing style of fortable for fathers to engage with young children — fathers and men in the lives of young children results even their own. in better verbal skills, higher intellectual functioning, and greater academic achievement. Their involve- For the sake of our children, we need to change this. ment also supports emotional security, increases intel- A first step is to make childcare centers more welcom- lectual curiosity, enhances social connections among ing to men. Simple things, such as displaying photo- peers, and encourages positive social behaviors as chil- graphs of fathers, father-figures, and men interacting dren grow into adolescence. with children, can be easily done and at little cost, with immediate, positive effect. Early childhood experts, including Professor Ivy Ber- inger of Northern Virginia Community College, tell us From there, we need to move on to the heavy lifting, that children who have involved men in their lives “are by raising the pay of early childhood professionals more likely to do better in school, less likely to suffer (men and women) to a wage commensurate with the from depression, and experience fewer school behav- education and talent they bring to the job. In time, ior problems.” through their achievements in school and life, our children will thank us. Although my father didn't dance with me, I do have fond memories of male teachers and tutors who took a keen interest in me when I was a child, and kept me in my books and out of trouble. But, as we point out in J. GlennJ. Glenn Hopkins this issue of HHQ, this experience is, sadly, not the 4 Hopkins House “Portraits of Fatherhood” These and other photographs of fathers and father-figures engaged with their children at the Hopkins House Preschool Academy will be on display at our offices as part of an ongoing effort to encour- age the increased involvement of fathers and father-figures in the early education of their children. 5 Hopkins House “Portraits of Fatherhood” At the Hopkins House Preschool Academy A project of the RAND/Hopkins House Institute for the Study of Early Childhood Education. 6 Hopkins House Engaging Fathers and Men in the Early Education of Young Children The Significance of the Role of the Father on the Emotional Development of his Children. In some cul- higher IQs than children with less engaged fathers/ tures it is be- father-figures. lieved that the mere presence From birth, children of involved fathers/father-figures of the father during labor could stop the child from demonstrate stronger emotional security, more confi- coming down the mother’s birth canal. While this dence in exploring their surroundings, and greater particular belief may seem extreme, hardly unusual in ability forming social connections with their peers. As many cultures is the practice of discouraging men they grow older, these children are less likely to get in from taking an active role in caring for their young trouble at home, school, or in the neighborhood. children. The way fathers play with their children is also im- “The significance of the role of the father and his influ- portant. Rough-housing with dad can teach children ence on the emotional and social development of his how to deal with aggressive impulses and physical children should not be under-valued,” says Dr. Ivy contact without losing control of their emotions. Fa- Beringer, Assistant Dean for Early Childhood Educa- thers/father-figures also tend to promote independ- tion & Human Services at Northern Virginia Commu- ence and an orientation to the outside world. Fathers/ nity College. “Several studies have shown that children father-figures often push achievement while mothers who have involved fathers in their lives are more likely stress nurturing, both of which are important to a to do better in school, less likely to suffer from depres- child’s healthy development. As a result, children who sion, and experience fewer school behavior problems.” grow up with involved fathers/father-figures are more comfortable exploring the world around them and While infants and toddlers profit greatly from their more likely to exhibit self-control and pro-social be- fathers involvement, the benefit does not stop at this havior.

Load more

  20

Copy Link