By Karen D'Souza, EdSource, January 5, 2021
Throwing a tantrum, crying inconsolably, hitting or biting, and refusing to follow the rules are challenging behaviors that many preschoolers experience on the playground and in the classroom.
For many children, these tear-stained incidents are quickly forgiven and forgotten, dismissed by caregivers as yet another tumultuous developmental stage to be weathered. But for some youngsters, the incidents have repercussions that resonate throughout their childhood and beyond.
That’s one of the reasons that California’s new Master Plan for Early Learning and Care, an ambitious 10-year plan to reform the state’s early childhood system, calls for prohibiting the suspension and expulsion of any child in state-subsidized early learning and care programs, so that children are not deprived of opportunities to learn at a critical stage in their growth. Such practices disproportionately impact children of color, particularly Black boys, experts say.
Comments (0)