When I began to explore the newsletter from the Society for
Research in Child Development this week, I was drawn to an article about
policymakers and research. The article
talked about how the individuals in charge of our decision-making need more
substantial, research-based information.
Instead of creating more policies, the author suggests they should be
investing in the work of social science researchers. It went on to say that federal funding should
be allocated to this area to help the long term effects of issues like
poverty. How can we solve a problem if
we only work to make programs to aid once someone is impoverished? Their idea is to try to get to the root of
the issue instead. This article seemed
particularly relevant to our work in this course.
One article that made me think in new ways was about taking
on grad school with two small children.
The author talked about what a juggling act it is to be a mom and try to
grow professionally. Each new course
brings new struggles with how to balance life, a full-time teaching job, and
grad classes for me. This article made
me really think about my fellow classmates with children, though. While I have many things on my plate, I do
not have little ones expecting me to care for them. It makes it a lot easier for me to schedule
my time and finish my coursework. It was
a good reminder that things will always be busy, but you need to be able to
prioritize the things that are important in life.
The first article I mentioned urged politicians to back
researchers and social scientists. This
is one way that politicians can have early childhood agendas on their
radar. It will help them in the long run
to be able to work towards a solution for issues like poverty.
While the website and newsletter contain great information, I
found this week that there were many roadblocks if you are not a member of this
organization. All of their excellent scholarly
writings and journal articles are available online – but only if you are a
member. Membership runs about $140 a
year depending on where you are in your education. I would love to be able to shell out that
kind of money and access the site in its entirety, but that isn’t a feasible
financial option for me at this point.