The Semantics of Early Childhood1
By: Dr. Wanda Y. Newell, McCormick Tribune Foundation

Creating a seamless early care and education system is to semantics as the Tower of Babel is to language. As you may recall, the Tower of Babel represents a lesson in collaboration and communication. According to scripture (Genesis 11), early Babylonian settlers joined together to build a city. This city would be special and different from other cities because it would have a tower that reached to the sky. At first everything went well for the builders. They spoke the same language and shared a common goal. The story line shifts from success to disaster when God confounded the builders' speech. They could no longer understand each other because now each person spoke a different language. The scripture chapter ends with the pronouncement that the Tower of Babel was not completed and that the Babylonians scattered throughout the world.

Clear communication has not always been an easy task for professionals in early care and education. Unfortunately, the major reason for the miscommunication has to do with the two distinct approaches used in viewing early childhood.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT
The child-development viewpoint emphasizes the nature of early development. Many scientists in this area focus their research on the impact of child-rearing practices, deprivation, and cultural experiences on the lives of young children. They also look specifically at how these factors affect learning. Scientists spend a considerable amount of time studying the needs of poor working families - particularly their critical need for child care. Focusing on early development, rather than on schooling, has helped to perpetuate a legacy of miscommunication.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The other general viewpoint used to frame early childhood issues is education. This framework focuses specifically on cognitive development. Many of the early schools for young children modeled their ideas on John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Sigmund Freud, and others because they emphasized education more than development and placed a high premium on teaching children to learn. Today the major thrust of this education perspective is to prepare children for school and school-related activities. The early childhood programs, consequently, provide experiences that promote intellectual growth. Clearly, the scientists in the field of education speak a different language from the scientists in child development.

THE NEED TO UNITE CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION
Most professionals in the field of child development and early childhood education advocate uniting the best of the disciplines in a clear seamless, high-quality, service-delivery system. We know from longitudinal, randomized studies that intensive early care and education programs increase the likelihood of school success and reduce later social risk - school drop-out and delinquency - for poor children. We know less about the effects of high-quality early care and education for middle and upper class children. Individuals in the fields of child development and education are now prepared to close the historical gap that has for years promoted fragmentation in both child care and education. Unfortunately, a seamless early care and education system will be difficult to establish as long as individuals and stakeholders in the field do not address early care and education issues head-on.

ADDRESSING DISCRPANCIES IN EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION
To build a seamless early care and education system, we must begin by reducing and limiting discrepancies that exist between child care and education. There are major disparities in professional training, qualification requirements, and pay for individuals who work in child care and early childhood education.
Next, we must address the discrepancies in our terminology and seek to speak the "same language." Early care and education terminology need to be standardized which would allow for better communication throughout the field. It would also help early care and education advocates to interpret federal and state legislation and polices that affect funding streams, and to review program management and program development. Finally, we must address the discrepancies in how children's services are funded and identify funding sources that address and make provisions for the "whole child."

THE ROLE OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES
We cannot overlook the importance of health and social services in early care and education settings. They are crucial in helping us establish the objective of a clear, seamless system to meet the needs of children and their families. Having a health consultant or social worker available makes it less difficult to assist families who are not well-served find additional services that best meet their needs.

CONCLUSION
The Babylonian builders did not complete the Tower of Babel because they lost the ability to effectively communicate with one another. We can learn from them. Whether we will be able to build a high-quality seamless service-delivery system for young children remains to be seen and lies in our ability to clarify how we communicate. I am certain that once we learn how to speak the "same language" across professional disciplines, we will be able to build a seamless, high-quality service-delivery system for young children.

1 Reprinted from the Spring/Summer 2000 issue of Continuance. Continuance is produced by the Intergenerational Initiative at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Reproduction rights granted.