logo_edsource_sow4_v1-0-0An argument in favor of universal preschool and publicly funded early care for infants and toddlers volition hit the small screen early next year in the form of a new PBS documentary series, "The Raising of America."

The documentary series, produced with funding from the Kellogg Foundation and the California Endowment, features experts from the U.South. and abroad discussing their research in betwixt images and interviews of families with young children. When it'south finished at the finish of 2013, the series will consist of one hr-long show followed past 5 supporting one-half-hour episodes. So far, only one episode has been released. (See video below.)

Larry Adelman and Rachel Poulain are the lead producers of the upcoming documentary series on early childhood education, "The Raising of America." Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource Today

Larry Adelman and Rachel Poulain are the lead producers of the upcoming documentary series on early childhood education, "The Raising of America." Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource Today

Series creator and executive producer Larry Adelman, of the production visitor California Newsreel, is known for his work covering the furnishings of poverty. Adelman said he was driven to produce the serial past the question, Why is America the just rich country in the world that hasn't invested in intendance and education for children under age 5? The serial, he said, volition answer that question from the angles of health care, poverty, workplace policies and economics, amongst others.

Associate producer and managing director of public engagement Rachel Poulain hopes the serial tin be used to influence public policy. She's creating a companion website that will provide information including clips and info-graphics that early education advocates can include in presentations to public officials.

EdSource Today sat down with Poulain and Adleman in their San Francisco office to talk about their project. The excerpted chat is beneath, or read the complete transcript.

EdSource: What made you retrieve that there was plenty textile nigh the early years for six episodes?

Larry Adelman: There'south enough material hither for dozens of episodes and that's been our biggest problem: trying to eddy information technology down in a way that we don't oversimplify the cloth.

I of the things that interests us the virtually, or certainly interests me, is why is it that nosotros always are so quick to blame parents for the bug of their children? We talk nigh negligent parents, but why do nosotros never talk about negligent guild? How did the structures that our society create the neighborhoods, the workplaces, the services, our public policies, our economic and social arrangements? And how do those nested social ecologies actually drip down and touch on the opportunities for favorable development trajectories for our children? That's what nosotros never talk about in this country.

Adelman-1EdSource: What has been the virtually surprising affair you've institute?

Adelman: The Usa is such an outlier. We are the only country in the rich world that does not mandate, past (federal) law, paid parental leave. Nosotros are the but land that doesn't guarantee universal health intendance for everybody. Near rich countries provide quality early intendance in preschool for their kids. We don't.

EdSource: Rachel, if you want people to come up away with 1 matter from this series, what is the new idea you'd desire people to have?

Poulain-1Rachel Poulain: We can do information technology differently. It doesn't have to be this way. We can have a society where having kids isn't something that is incredibly hard work, but where you tin feel like, "Oh, I can practise this because I will have the time, I volition accept the money, I will have the resource. I will have a quality, affordable child intendance." We tin can be a society where saying that you have to intendance for your child isn't making a selection between your career and your family and where we really value the fourth dimension that nosotros can spend with our kids and with our families. Past changing the kinds of conversations that we have, nosotros can really change the ways that we as a nation allocate our resources.

EdSource: Information technology sounds similar y'all're both talking nigh affordable child intendance for middle class families, non just targeted kid intendance for the lowest income families.

Poulain: Absolutely. Some people pay more in child care than they do on their mortgage. That's not correct. We shouldn't have to make those kinds of decisions. And then information technology's absolutely for folks who are in lower classes, merely also the center grade, because we practice meet that everyone is beingness squeezed.

When we expect at the Department of Defence force, they're already doing information technology differently. They provide kid care centers that are affordable, are bang-up quality. That ways when the servicemen and women become away to practice their jobs, they know that their kids are well taken care of, that they have quality education, quality care, and they're in an environment where they're existence looked after.

Adelman: It's not only a question of early care, as important as that is. Really what we're looking at is the larger environment in which kids are growing upwardly. Have paid sick leave. Why is it that something similar 44 percent of private sector employees in America have no paid sick leave? For almost private sector employees, if yous go ill you face a selection: You can either stay home and lose a day'southward pay, or go to piece of work sick. Let alone if your child gets sick.And there are problems with housing (and wages). The median wage for childcare workers is $ix.28 an hr. That'south a piddling over $xix,000 a year. That'south less than a poverty-level wage for a family unit of iv. So the people we're entrusting with our own children – we're non paying them enough to have intendance of their kids. This doesn't make any sense. Why are all our resources in this country going unduly to the 1 percentage or the elevation 10 percent? And why are we investing then little in our own future?

The question we accept to ask ourselves as a nation is why are we not doing this? Even third-world countries like Cathay and Brazil are beginning to invest in their children. Why not us?

The video featured higher up–"Are We Crazy Virtually Our Kids?"–is one episode of what will become a 6-part documentary series chosen "The Raising of America."

EdSource: There's too the outcome of women, and men, being able to afford to stay in the work identify when their children are younger. How is that afflicted past quality early care?

Poulain: We're not really embracing having kids and having families.

Why not exist able to take the first year off and to know your job is guaranteed? It's in the best interest of the workplace because it ways the kind of dedication that nosotros want to see, and it's in the interest of the mother, because coming back to piece of work before you're gear up does non make a very focused person.

Poulain-2

EdSource: Obama has presented a new thought of universal preschool for 4-yr-olds. How likely practice you lot call back that actually is to laissez passer, and do you call up in that location's a adventure of people getting behind information technology?

Adelman: I don't know. I'm merely hopeful. I retrieve it's a corking start. We have that there is government coin spent for Thou-12. It's the natural next pace to expand universal education downward.

EdSource: There are a lot of policies that you've talked about: workplace policies, policies around providing gratis intendance, habitation visiting policies. Is there any one that stands out?

Adelman: At that place's no one simple solution. Nosotros need to ask ourselves: What type of a nation are nosotros? What do we value? What do we prioritize? Where practise we want to put our money and our resources? Do we want to go ahead and put information technology into Larry Ellison'due south yachts? Exercise we desire to put it into hedge funds, billions of dollars for hedge fund managers? … Or practice we desire to invest this coin into creating rich environments for our immature children? That's probably the almost important question that any nation tin ask.

EdSource: Rachel, you said earlier that you didn't want people to simply spotter this series and so exist washed. What is it y'all want people to go and do?

Poulain: We're creating "The Raising of America" in the context of a national public engagement entrada. The idea here is to really work with other organizations. We accept over 100 organizations who've joined on equally partners. Whether they organize internal screenings with staff or with existing allies or use parts of the series to build new partnerships or get out into the community and do community briefings or community screenings, they'll be using it as a policy tool.

Adelman-3Adelman: You know, out of 29 rich nations, according to the most recent U.North. Evolution Report, child well-being in the United States came in 26th. We beat Republic of latvia, Republic of lithuania and Romania. The question is why? Why can't we do better?

This is a picture show to kickoff a conversation. The responsibility for raising our children is a common obligation that nosotros all have. Not only because of moral grounds, but because our nation – the future health, safety, didactics, prosperity and disinterestedness of our nation – is really tied to the kickoff that nosotros give our kids.

Lillian Mongeau covers early on childhood educational activity. Contact her or follow her @lrmongeau.

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