The sections that were helpful to me as a professional were the sections on early childhood. It really detailed the journey the Harlem's Children Zone has taken over the years to meet this population's need for their services. The information on how they work with the parents to teach them basic parenting skills, building language skills in their children and about their child's development, emphasized the importance of what I do as a parent educator and an EC professional. The information on the Baby College and how the program emphasize the importance of the first three years of a child's life contributed to how I understand and help parents understand that this is where a child can overcome many obstacles they are going to face with their circumstances. By giving the a healthy, supportive and enriching beginning, children can enter school and become successful students.
What I found very interesting, not really controversial, was how the various community centers could offer their camps and services free to children and adults that they serve. It strives to support children and families in such a phenomenal way that it surprises me that they are able to continue to provide these services during this recession. I know that they accept donations from all over, but it makes me wonder realistically, how they can stay afloat with the employees and all the services they provide to the vast and overwhelming Harlem community? I also found it astounding that the Harlem Gems Prekindergarten program reported that 100% of their children were at grade level once leaving the program.
The Harlem Children's Zone is getting a lot of support from politicians, such as Barach Obama, business owners such as Howard Shultz, the CEO of Starbucks lend phenomenal support to this program and it's efforts to combat the cycle of poverty in inner cities. They really define in economic terms, what the effect would be on society as a whole to turn these children's live around while they are young versus paying for these children to go through the welfare system or legal system when they turn 18. I gained a better understanding for how big this program really is. It open my eyes to how vast and expansive poverty is and the ways that people are really trying to end the cycle of poverty by helping parents understand the importance of their job and providing support for the children and families.
