Wise Words From A Woman

 

 

     Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve Chairwoman, recently offered advice for improving our economy. Will President Trump listen? Will Governor LePage listen? She said women entering the workforce in the mid-20th century were "a major factor in America's prosperity." She went on to say, "Evidence suggests that many women remain unable to achieve their goals.  If these obstacles persist, we will squander the potential of many of our citizens and incur a substantial loss to the productive capacity of our economy at a time when the aging of our population and weak productivity growth are already weighing on economic growth." Recently, she said, women are less likely to hold paying jobs than men. She asserted that to bring more women into the workforce, policies would need to shift to include increasing paid leave, affordable childcare, and flexible work schedules. (New York Times, May 6, 2017: "To Lift Growth, Help Women Go to Work, Fed Chief Says")

     Let's go further and advocate for a livable wage. Equal pay for equal work. Just having a job in a workplace with owners/supervisors who understand the social need for good paying jobs should be part of this discussion. We have all heard these justifications. Let's also highlight that when women work outside the home in minimum paying, less than full-time jobs it is often not enough to support a family. How does this affect children?

     Public schools know all too well how poverty affects children. Most arrive at the threshold of their school years in kindergarten already academically and socially behind their peers. It is difficult for them to 'catch up' with peers who are making strides, growing physically, socially, and cognitively. Not only do they need to catch up, but they fall further behind even as they are working hard to catch up! These same children usually come to school hungry, requiring schools to build nutrition programs that ensure hungry children get fed so they can then pay attention and learn. These same children are likely to require cohesive well developed student support services and either extended school day and/or school year programming to address their learning and social gaps.

     Many schools also offer pre-K programs as a regular part of their K-12 education. Some states encourage pre-K programming.  The Maine Department of Education has encouraged our communities to include pre-K programming in their public schools. Towns and cities who do include pre-K programming receive reimbursement from the state. These schools receive a per pupil reimbursement for each pre-K child enrolled. Some schools understand that early intervention is the best prevention for school dropouts, truancy, and later criminal activity.  The research is abundantly clear that children from low socioeconomic backgrounds benefit from these pre-K programs. These pre-K school programs located within community schools with highly qualified staff close the academic and social gaps experienced by these children. The children arrive in kindergarten prepared to learn and socialize. They are familiar with the school buildings and school staff. School staff are familiar with them. This familiarity is important to very young children. Highly qualified staff and access to learning and social support specialists make a difference in addressing the variety of learning and social needs children have. 

     Speaking of prevention - let's listen to the Federal Reserve Chairwoman and all advocate for workplaces that recognize the need for progressive policies that enable woman to work (AND earn a livable minimum wage).  Our economy will not recover with the continuation of 'trickle down economic' policies and practices.  When more families climb out of poverty, then there will be fewer children living in poverty. Then there will be more children who can happily attend school, well fed and able to learn.