COMPENSATORY EDUCATION

COMPENSATORY EDUCATION

For the last three decades, there has been a general state of ferment in early childhood education. The spirit in the early 1960s was one of naive optimism. A 3- to 12-month-long program was provided for disadvantaged and culturally deprived children to give them a “head start” in elementary school. The evaluation studies of the mid-1960s caused a national debate on compensatory education. Some felt that the “failure” of Head Start was inevitable because of the genetic nature of intelligence. Others emphasized that gains were not maintained because the program ended when school began. Still other researchers have found evidence of success and have singled out situations wherein long-term benefits did exist. In the 10 years that followed, research focused more precisely on specific preschool programs to determine exactly what effects, if any, they could have. Intervention programs throughout the country have reported witnessing gains in IQ ranging from 5 to 30 points. Some ethical questions still remain, however, on exactly how to identify a disadvantaged or culturally deprived child to single out for compensatory education. Our society may be moving toward mandatory preschool education. Would such a move discriminate against any person who varied from a white, middle-class standard forcing him or her to assume specified morals and standards of conduct in government-sponsored education? Choose one side (for or against) of the following proposition:

Mandatory compensatory education is unethical and infringes on the rights and individual freedom that our country stands for.

To receive full credit, assignment must be doubled spaced, 12 point font, 1 ½ – 2 pages, and turned in by due date. Proper grammar and English must be used. Please have someone proof read your paper in order to catch errors.