FROM THE “CRADLE TO THE GRAVE” OR

FROM “GIDDY-UP TO WHOA”?

By

Dr. Jimmie R. Applegate

 

 In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama proposed skills and training for jobs begin as early as possible in life.  He said, “But today, fewer than three in ten 4-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program…….So, tonight, I propose working with states to make a high-quality preschool available to every single child in America……We know this works.  So let’s do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind”.  Two days later in Decatur, Georgia, Obama described his proposal as a “Continuum of high-quality early learning for a child, beginning at birth and continuing to age 5.”  He also said that federal monetary grants willl be available “to serve children 3 and younger, starting from birth”.

 

President Obama’s proposals reinvent those made by William Beveridge, a leading English liberal and one of the Fathers of the Modern Welfare State in England during and shortly after World War II.  Beveridge proposed a welfare state based on the creation of a national health service, full employment and child benefit payments.  He also supported a eugenics program that emphasized which parents could have how many children, namely the educated professional class.  He proposed ensuring that citizens when prevented from working would have a subsistence income for themselves and their families as a right, and “below which no one should be allowed to fall” without any form of means testing.  When the German occupiers saw this, they accused Beveridge of plagiarism from the German “Wohlfahrtsstaat” program.  Beveridge’s  program was the blueprint for social security and a welfare state.  The Labor government in England agreed and enacted Beveridge’s proposals.  Is this welfare statism the form of government we wish for the United States?  I think not!

 

Obama’s proposal will provide pre-school for babies from the mother’s womb to kindergarten.  In 1983, The Subhumans, a punk rock group, described such programs in the lyrics to their song, “From the Cradle to the Grave”.  “When they took you from your mothers’ wombs and put you in a school, Told you how to run your life by following the rules….Cos your father will tell you, Sonny, you must do as you are told!  And you’ll say the same thing to your kids when you’re 32 years old.  Your government will rule your mind and your mind will rule your heart.  You’ll conform to every social law and be the system’s slave.  From birth to school, from work to death, from cradle to the grave…..”

 

There is no question but after hearing all of the President’s nationalized pre-school   “giddy-ups”, we should be shouting emphatically “Whoa”.  President Obama justifies his pre-school from “the cradle to grave” by saying, “You know, study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road”.  A quick review of some such studies reveals that many of them are questionable.  Many suffer from questionable designs, over-extended generalizations and failures to meet strict experimental procedures.  Most of the studies are correlational; that is generalizations are made based solely on B happened after A occurred, without any demonstration that A caused B.  As a result, no causal relationships were tested and importantly should not be implied!!  Some of the studies are replete with statements like “might have large effects”, “might enhance”, “might be difficult” and “…..it may have large dollar effects if it has larger effects on college degrees”.  Some of these studies purport to show that early pre-school experiences impact positively on incomes at middle age.  How in the world can all of the variables that impact conditions from pre-school to middle age be controlled?  They cannot!  So, let’s rein in a bit, Whoa.

 

The authors of a major study, Head Start Impact Study, Final Report, January 2010, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C., wrote “There is clear evidence that Head Start had an impact on children’s language and literacy development while children were in Head Start.  However, these early effects were no longer evident in elementary school....”  Whoa, again. 

 

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services said in reaction to this report, “….for Head Start to achieve its full potential, we must improve its quality and promote high standards across all early-childhood programs”.  And Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “These results make it clear we need to build a more coordinated system of early care and education, and to focus on key improvements to teaching and learning in the early grades”.  Notice he did not say,  “preschool” or “head start”.

I cannot help but question what studies President Obama referred to when he said in his SOTU speech, “You know, study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning the better he or she does down the road.”  Are President Obama, Secretary Sebelius and Secretary Duncan on the same page in the play book?

 

Whoa Mr. President, no to “From birth to school, to work to death, from the cradle to the grave….” programs.  It’s time to dismount.  Get off your high horse, sit down and study the Constitution of the United States, especially the 9^th and 10^th Amendments in case you have forgotten that the U.S. Constitution grants no authority over education to the federal government.  Education is not mentioned in the Constitution of the United States.  Therefore, see Amendment #10.