Step 5: Final Draft

The Sooner, The Better

Providing All Children With an Earlier, Quality Start, Will Guarantee a More Prosperous Future.

Our nation is making a tragic mistake. Insufficient funding for early childhood programs is creating a downward spiral in our society. This great nation’s future hangs in the balance, and ignoring the problem will only devastate America’s future even more. State and federally funded programs offer children early learning opportunities. By providing children with the tools they need to be successful, America will reap the benefits sooner than one would expect. Although additional funding for early childhood programs would require more money from taxpayers, assisting these non-profit programs would be beneficial because it would educate parents, help children with special needs, offer quality preschool education to every child, and help our economy by increasing employment rates.

Parent education is vital to healthy child development and success. The majority of parents have no prior child development experience or education. Parents as Teachers is a national organization dedicated to educating parents. It provides parents with tools and resources necessary to raise a healthy child. The Parents as Teachers parent educators are specially trained in a child’s development from ages 0-5. They conduct monthly home visits and assess the child’s physical, cognitive and social development by interacting with the parent and child. They educate and provide parents with printouts of ideas and activities that help their child be successful in every area of development.

Programs such as Parents as Teachers give children a better chance in life. Many important opportunities are missed by families who do not participate in programs such as this one. Some children have developmental delays that are not recognized until they are enrolled in school at 5 years of age or even later. Parents as Teachers educators are trained in recognizing delays, and if diagnosed at an early age, may aid in preventing a child from being put in special education programs later in life ("What is...").

A study performed by Edward Zigler, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology; Judy Pfannenstiel, M.A., President and Senior Research Associate; and Victoria Seitz, Ph.D., Research Scientist, proves that the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program aids children in school readiness. The PAT program has proven many beneficial results. It has shown to aid in the overall relationship between parent and child by training parents in positive “parenting practices.” Furthermore, younger siblings born later also benefited from the good parenting characteristics taught by the program (Zigler 3, 16).

Additionally, the longer the duration of PAT program participation, the better the results showed in overall success for involved families. This is also due to the fact that parent participants were oftentimes more likely introducing books to their children than non-participants. Parents were also more likely to register their child for a Pre-K learning program, which better prepared them for kindergarten and overall school readiness (Zigler 8). All the benefits, of this federally funded program, have been thoroughly researched and proven by experts. More importantly, many families' lives have been touched by this program. However, the PAT program is in need of additional funds, because many families are placed on a waiting list when trying to join the program. There just aren't enough parent educators to fill the demand.

A child’s brain develops and learns through involvement and exposure to different life experiences. The more a young child is actively involved and participating in repetitive learning activities, the stronger the brain will be and develop (Gonzales 95). The first three to five years of a child's life is the most optimal time for learning. A child’s brain grows at a tremendous rate in the first three years of life. In that short amount of time, a child’s brain has already produced billions of cells and has had trillions of synapses, or brain connections. In fact, in all the years of a human’s life, the brain is most active in the very beginning. There are many factors in a baby's brain development, and it starts from the time of conception. Once a baby is born, environment plays a huge role in brain development. Additionally, proper nutrition is also an important aspect of strong brain growth ("When Is..."). So many different things affect a young child's development, and this is the best time to teach, when the brain is so pliable.

According to The National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, a child’s brain grows at an enormous rate in the first five years of life. In fact, the brain grows to about 90 percent of an adult size by its 5th birthday ("When Is..."). Knowing this, why does the public school system wait until a child is five years old to begin funding the teaching and learning process? If a child’s brain grows and learns the best in the first five years of life, then we should assume that would be the best time to educationally enrich it.

A small child's brain yields more brain connections than is required for normal function. Real life moments are what develop synapses. The brain eventually regulates itself and the amount of synapses it needs are dependent on past activity. It will "prune" synapses that aren't frequently utilized (Gonzales 95). Now we can better understand the importance of early learning experiences and how they really do affect the brain's development process. The more educational experiences children are exposed to, the more the brain can fully adjust and take in.

Some organizations believe that everything aside from the current public school education system should be parent, not government, responsibility. Government funding of early childhood programs has its opposition. The opponents of more government funding have a completely different philosophy on the topic of early educational learning programs. They do not believe that early education is helping all children, and if not all the children are being uplifted by these programs, they don’t feel that public funding should be implemented. Furthermore, many opponents are afraid that early childhood programs, such as head start, or universal preschool, could become mandatory for every child.

One example is Darcy Olsen, President and CEO of the Goldwater Institute, and opponent of additional government funding of early education programs. She believes that early education makes little difference for “main stream children.” Her philosophy is that, in most cases, only lower income children will ultimately benefit from a universal preschool system (2). Olsen's focus seems to be mainly on children from middle income-earning families. Furthermore, Darcy Olsen is against government funded full day kindergarten. She argues that it isn't benefiting a wide enough spectrum of children to warrant a full time program (8).

Universal preschool education would not just benefit children who have special needs. Experts in the field of education have recognized the benefits for all children, even those who don’t come from less fortunate households. Gifted children come from all types of backgrounds, including higher income families. According to James Gallagher, an exceptional and gifted child educator, early education settings are a good way to recognize children who are becoming uninterested with typical preschool activities (231). This would be a chance to discover and recognize a gifted child at an earlier age. Recognizing a gifted child prevents a child from missed learning opportunities and becoming uninterested in school.

John Stossel, Catherine Brosseau, and Andrew Kirell with ABC News recently reported on a story called: Universal Pre-K: This Whole Thing Is a Scam. Does Free Preschool for Every Child Deserve Taxpayer Money? The story was based on the many people who side against government funded preschool education and the waste of money involved. The story participants are convinced that families can do a better job with their kids than potential government funded programs (Stossel). Some believe that if the current public school system has failed the nation’s children, they have little faith that government funded Pre-K will be any better. In their opinion, this is a waste of tax payer dollars.

The economical benefits alone are more than enough to warrant early learning programs (Heckman 449). The benefits of universal preschool are exceedingly great. With an earlier start at education, there will be lower high school dropout rates, more jobs, and a high return rate for the taxpayers (Oppenheim 9-16). In effect, investing in programs that give children an earlier start at their education will cause a dramatic decline in crime rates, and cause less people to be dependent on public assistance programs such as cash assistance and food stamps. In addition, the children who get an earlier, quality start in school will be more likely to succeed. The overall need of dependency-based, government funded programs will be eliminated.

Linda Jacobson, editor for Education Week, reviewed a study performed in Chicago twenty years ago. She found that the economical return was ten times the amount originally invested in the children it was meant to benefit. Society earned the benefits by keeping kids out of jail and in school later on in their lives (8). The economical benefits are boundless, and this has been proven in this article. By investing in children at a young age, society will bring in the benefits in a vast amount of ways in the future. By neglecting a child’s education when he is best able to learn, our society is neglecting our nation in the long run. As James Heckman so brilliantly describes it, "Early learning begets later learning and early success breeds later success. (3)"

A good example of success for early childhood intervention programs proves true in Texas. The state's public, state funded Pre-K system started in 1984, and today has the highest rate of young participants of all states (“State Profiles”). In recent years, Texas started a new method for early childhood educators to measure and assess Pre-K skills for their students. Prior to the new program there were a lot of bugs in the system. With the new grading plan in place, they were able to see which skills were important to help prepare students for the eventual 3rd grade state-wide assessment tests, and to see which expectations in Pre-K were important for future school success. Experts began to see how vital early education was for their district (Brown 3). More states should take the initiative that Texas and many others have, and implement a state funded Pre-K program within the public school system.

Prevention is the key. The current education system is not working. Real evidence proves that a child’s brain is the most active and capable of learning in the first 5 years of its life. Government funding for an earlier start is not only a desire for our nation’s children, but a necessity. Educating parents and recognizing learning disabilities at an earlier age are vital for family and academic achievement. By giving them a head start in the right direction, the benefits for our society will be limitless. Economic crisis or not, if this nation wants to prevent any more economical decline, it’s got to start with the little people. They are the future. Let’s invest in them.







Works Cited





Brown, Christopher, Mowry, Brian. "Preparing for Change: A Case Study of Successful Alignment Between a Pre-K Program and K-12 Education." Childhood Education 85.3 (2009): 173-178. ProQuest Education Journals. ProQuest. UAF. Rasmuson Library. Fairbanks, AK.. 3 Apr. 2009 http://www.proquest.com/


Gallagher, J James. "Another Opportunity-Preschool Education. " Roeper Review 29.4 (2007): 231. ProQuest Education Journals. ProQuest. UAF. Rasmuson Library. Fairbanks, AK.. 7 Mar. 2009 http://www.proquest.com/


Gonzalez-Mena, Janet. Eyer, Widmeyer Dianne. Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers: A Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive Care and Education. 8th Ed. Boston: McGrawHill, 2009.

Heckman, James J. “Invest in the Very Young.” Ounce of Prevention Fund. (2002): 1-9. First Search. ERIC. UAF. Rasmuson Library. Fairbanks. AK. 26 April 2009. http://www.eric.ed.gov/

Heckman, James J., and Dimitriy V. Masterov. "The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children." Review of Agricultural Economics 29.3 (Fall 2007): 446-493. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 2 Apr. 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=25654170&site=ehost-live.

Jacobson, Linda. "Pre-K Offers Economic Value Into Adulthood, Study Finds." Education Week. 11 Jun 2008: 8. ProQuest Education Journals. ProQuest. UAF. Rasmuson Library. Fairbanks, AK.. 7 Mar. 2009. http://www.proquest.com/en-US/


Oppenheim, Jerrold, MacGregor, Theo. "The Economics of Education: Public Benefits of High-Quality Preschool Education for Low-Income Children. Building Communities for Change.” Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families. (Nov. 2002): 1-32. First Search. ERIC. UAF Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 5 Mar. 2009 http://www.eric.ed.gov/


Olsen, Darcy. “Assessing Proposals for Preschools and Kindergarten: Essential Information for Parents, Taxpayers, and Policymakers.” Goldwater Institute. Policy Report #201. (8 Feb. 2005.): 1-43. Mar. 2009 http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/AboutUs/ArticleView.aspx?id=920

"State Profiles: Texas." Pre-K Now. 3 April 2009. http://www.preknow.org/resource/profiles/texas.cfm

Stossel John, Brosseau Catherine, and Kirell Andrew. “Universal PreK: This Whole Thing Is a Scam.” ABC News. 13 March 2009. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=7070646&page=1
“What Is Parents as Teachers.” Parents as Teachers National Center. 30 March 2009. http://www.parentsasteachers.org/site/pp.asp?c=ekIRLcMZJxE&b=272093



“When Is the Brain Fully Developed? FAQ’s” ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families. 5 Mar. 2009 http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_key_brainFAQ


Zigler Edward, Pfannenstielv Judy and Seitz Victoria. “The Parents as Teachers Program and School Success: A Replication and Extension." The Journal of Primary Prevention. (March 2008) 29. 103-120. SpringerLink. UAF Rasmuson Library. Fairbanks, AK. 19 March 2009. http://www.springerlink.com

Week 12 - Essay #3 Final Draft

How Green Can Fairbanks Be?
Reducing and Recycling Waste- One Tin Can at a Time.

The Oberlin College Recycling Program's website states that, "In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his/her adult weight in garbage. If you add it up, this means that a 150-lb. adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 lbs of trash for his/her children." That is a scary fact. And waste is becoming prevalent in many areas of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Local residents should be reducing and recycling their garbage in efforts to prevent waste. Recycling sites need to be available in a variety of accessible areas, such as transfer sites; however, local transfer sites are not offering enough recycling options for patrons. Although the city of Fairbanks has a current recycling program, local dump sites should have more visible, dedicated recycling areas because it would prevent the waste of recyclable items, encourage more people to recycle, and aid in local recycling awareness.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough has a total of fourteen transfer sites. These dump sites are made available for borough residents to dispose their garbage and reusable items. Each location has a general area for reusable items. On the Fairbanks North Star Borough’s Solid Waste Division’s website: brush, metal, batteries, used oil, aluminum, and propane are the items they offer for disposal and recycling. ("Transfer Sites") According to ILACSD.org, the following items should be recycled: aluminum cans, steel cans, corrugated cardboard, white office paper, mixed paper, glass, newspaper, plastic, appliances/electronics, motor oil, and miscellaneous items such as tires. ("Recyclable Items")

Alaska landfills are becoming overgrown with reusable items. Fairbanks area residents are missing a great opportunity. By not having enough recycling options at local dump sites, a mountainous amount of waste is being produced. Each reuse area should offer options to recycle every item on the ILACSD.org’s list. If borough residents are offered more recycling choices at each transfer site, less waste will be produced, and more items will be recycled. None of the FNSB transfer sites offer containers for paper, newspaper, plastic, cardboard, or glass. All are highly used items amongst all borough residents. By offering a few additional bins, the borough would be preventing a tremendous amount of waste, and possibly create a few jobs in the process.

For more convenience and better collection possibilities, the Fairbanks North Star Borough community should invest in heavy duty, outdoor multi-sort containers to encourage regular recycling. These containers should be placed at each transfer site and emptied as much as needed to allow for more recyclables. After close observation, maintenance workers can decide how often the containers should be emptied. Some sites may require more attention than others. This would all depend on local traffic in an out of the transfer site. In every recyclable area there should be a sign posted with a customer service contact number. This will give residents an opportunity to let waste services know if the area needs attention.

Many Fairbanks residents don’t know where or how to recycle. Some may know how, but going out of their way seems like more of an inconvenience. Instead of wasting everyday household items, offering additional recyclable containers at local transfer sites would encourage more people to waste less. This would also be the perfect approach to take common excuses away from the average trash dumper. With more recycling options, most typical excuses would be eliminated.

Local awareness is vital for recycling success. Additional signs and advertisements should be placed at the transfer sites and other busy areas around town to aid in local awareness. Advertisements can be placed in local papers to help inform borough residents of the newly available recycling containers. Educating the public of the importance of recycling, and the consequences of not, is vital to local awareness and waste prevention. Once this begins, routines and habits will change. Recycling will become tradition amongst most families. Children will witness their caregiver’s recycling acts. In some families, younger members will even have the opportunity to aid in the recycling process, which will change the way of life for future generations. Recycling awareness is an important part of implementing a new recycling culture.

Just like one-stop shops around the Fairbanks area, transfer sites should be a one-stop shop for waste management. How can we expect people to start recycling, while the current system is not practical enough? Fairbanks area residents should not have to travel to 10 different locations just to recycle their garbage. It shouldn't be so difficult to go green.

Local transfer sites must meet the new demands of our world, and become more eco-friendly. Once the option to recycle is available for all items, residents will be more likely to utilize the newly available options. Active recycling may not take off right away, but eventually local awareness will spread and recycling will become a way of life for all borough residents. Fairbanks can feel confident that it’s doing its part in helping the environment, preventing waste, and starting a culture of waste prevention.

Works Cited

"Recycling Facts." Oberlin College Recycling Program. 30 Mar. 2009http://www.oberlin.edu/recycle/facts.html

“Recyclable Items.” ILACSD.ORG. 30 Mar. 2009 http://ilacsd.org/recycle/r_items.php

“Transfer Sites Recycling/Disposal Opportunities.” Fairbanks North Star Borough. 30 Mar. 2009 http://co.fairbanks.ak.us/SolidWaste/Default.htm

Week 11 - Step 4 Workshop for Elizabeth Allen

Workshop for Part 4
(Same questions as for draft #1)
Overall1. What do you like best about the paper?

I really like the fact that I learned so much. I also like how much detail and examples she has put in to it.

2. Email the author and ask for one particular concern that s/he had about the draft. Examine that area and see if you can offer the author helpful suggestions.
Elizabeth was a little concerned about her sources and when she is supposed to cite them.

Thesis3. Does the author clearly express his/her opinion of the topic in the thesis? What argument does the thesis make?

Even with all its benefits, nuclear power is not a safe alternative.

4. What group of people agrees with the author?

Those who are against nuclear power.

What group disagrees with the author?

Those who are in favor of nuclear power.

5. Does the paper have an argumentative thesis statement using ALTHOUGH and BECAUSE?
Yes, at the end of the first paragraph.

Content6. On a scale of 1 to 10, how interesting did you find this paper to read? Be brutally honest! (Friends don’t let friend turn in boring essays!)

I found Elizabeth’s 2nd draft much more interesting than the first one. I would give her a 7 on the interesting scale.

7.Where can the author more fully develop ideas, either by providing examples or explaining/clarifying concepts for the reader? Be specific (e.g. “the 3rd is dullsville”; “the conclusion is really vague”).

I feel that Elizabeth should cite more sources of where she got her information from... even when she isn’t quoting an author. Any information she has obtained from another source, should be cited.

I think that she should be more aware of her punctuation in some areas. My word program picked up some mistakes automatically.

Also, Elizabeth doesn’t seem like she is completely convinced of her stance, according to her first paragraph. I would consider revising it a bit. Maybe taking out so many possible benefits of nuclear power and more thesis support.
Maybe you could add a paragraph or two with counter arguments from a specific source or two. That would also help meet the length requirements.

8.What kinds of objections might someone who disagrees with the author’s point of view raise? If there are none, go back to #3. That nuclear power has some good points.

9.Has the author dealt with these objections? Yes, she has listed the positive points of nuclear power.

10.Is the relationship between each paragraph and the thesis clear? If not, what suggestions do you have for the author to improve the connection? Yes, I think she does a good job of revealing all of them nuclear power downfalls.

Style11. Are there easy transitions from one paragraph to the next, or does the author jump from topic to topic? Yes, it transitions easily.

12. Does the opening of the essay capture the reader’s attention? How so? If not, what suggestions can you make that might strengthen the opening?
It still doesn’t seem to grab my attention. Maybe a fact about nuclear energy might grab my attention more.

13. Does the concluding paragraph serve to bring the discussion to an end that logically follows from the thesis and its direction?
It’s a good summary of the entire paper. It flows well.

Research14. How many different sources are cited in the paper (don’t look at Works Cited; look at the parenthetical citations. The medium does not matter.)
I found 6.

15. Does the author rely heavily on just 1 or 2 sources, or does the author equally use all of the sources to support the paper’s thesis?
She doesn’t rely heavily on just 1 or 2, no. She uses a variety of them throughout her paper.

16. Does the author have more quotes in his/her paper than personal opinion? No.

17. Are there any sources listed on the Works Cited that are not cited within the body of the essay? (This is a no-no)
Yes, Elizabeth should cite (in her paper) every one of her “works cited” sources.

18. Is all the information retrieved from research, including opinion, ideas, paraphrases, quotes, and statistics, cited with in-text (parenthetical) citations? If not, list specifics of what needs to be cited (friends don’t let friends turn in plagiarized papers).
I think there are a lot of places that she needs to add in the citations. Any information that she received from another source, needs to be cited in her paper.

19. All quotes in research papers should be commented upon. Does the author comment after every quote? If not, help the author decide what the underlying reason behind putting the quote in the paper was.
Yes.

Week 11: Step 4 Rough Draft 2

The Future is in Their Hands

By Making a Difference in a Child's Life Today - It Will Guarantee a Better Tomorrow

“Early learning begets later learning and early success breeds later success, just as early failure breeds later failure.” (Heckman 3)

Our Nation is making a tragic mistake. Insufficient funding for early childhood programs is creating a downward spiral in our society. This great Nation’s future hangs in the balance, and ignoring the problem will only devastate America’s future even more. State and federally funded programs offer children early learning opportunities. By providing children with the tools they need to be successful, America will reap the benefits sooner than one would expect. Although additional funding for early childhood programs would require more money from taxpayers, assisting these non-profit programs would be beneficial because it would educate parents, help children with special needs, offer quality preschool education to every child, and help our economy by increasing employment rates.

Parent education is vital to healthy child development and success. The majority of parents have no prior child development experience or education. Parents as Teachers is a national organization dedicated to educating parents. It provide parents with tools and resources necessary to raise a healthy child. The Parents as Teachers parent educators are specially trained in a child’s development from ages 0-5. They conduct monthly home visits and assess the child’s physical, cognitive and social development by interacting with the parent and child. They educate and provide parents with printouts of ideas and activities that help their child be successful in every area of development.

Programs, such as Parents as Teachers, give children a better chance in life. Children and parents who do not participate in a program such as this one, miss many important opportunities. Some children have developmental delays that are not recognized until they are enrolled in school at 5 years of age or even later. Parents as Teachers Educators are trained in recognizing delays, and if diagnosed at an early age, may aid in preventing a child from being put in special education programs later in life. ("What is...")

A study performed by Edward Zigler, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology; Judy Pfannenstiel, M.A., President and Senior Research Associate; and Victoria Seitz, Ph.D., Research Scientist, proves that the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program aids children in school readiness. The PAT program has proven many beneficial results. It has shown to aid in the overall relationship between parent and child by training parents in positive “parenting practices.” Furthermore, younger siblings born later also benefited from the good parenting characteristics taught by the program. (Zigler 3, 16)

Additionally, the longer the duration of PAT program participation, the better the results showed in overall success for involved families. This is also due to the fact that parent participants were oftentimes more likely introducing books to their children than non-participants. Parents were also more likely to register their child for a Pre-K learning program, which better prepared them for kindergarten and overall school readiness. (Zigler 8) All the benefits, of this federally funded program, have been thoroughly researched and proven by experts. More importantly, many families' lives have been touched by this program. However, the PAT program is in need of additional funds, because many families are placed on a waiting list when trying to join the program. There just aren't enough parent educators to fill the demand.

"Experiences activate nueral pathways, and information in the form of chemical signals get stored along the pathways. Repeated experiences strengthen specific pathways." (Gonzales 95)

The first three to five years of a child's life is the most optimal time for learning. A child’s brain grows at a tremendous rate in the first three years of life. In that short amount of time, a child’s brain has already produced billions of cells and has had trillions of synapses, or brain connections. In fact, in all the years of a human’s life, the brain is most active in the very beginning. There are many factors in a baby's brain development, and it starts from the time of conception. Once a baby is born, environment plays a huge role in brain development. Additionally, proper nutrition is also an important aspect of strong brain growth. ("When is...") So many different things affect a young child's development, and this is the best time to teach, when the brain is so pliable.

According to The National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, a child’s brain grows at an enormous rate in the first five years of life. In fact, the brain grows to about 90 percent of an adult size by its 5th birthday. ("When is...") Knowing this, why does the public school system wait until a child is five years old to begin funding the teaching and learning process? If a child’s brain grows and learns the best in the first five years of life, then we should assume that would be the best time to educationally enrich it.

A small child's brain yields more brain connections than is required for normal function. Real life moments are what develop synapses. The brain eventually regulates itself and the amount of synapses it needs are dependent on past activity. It will "prune" synapses that aren't frequently utilized. (Gonzales 95) Now we can better understand the importance of early learning experiences and how they really do affect the brain's development process. The more educational experiences children are exposed to, the more the brain can fully adjust and take in.

Some organizations believe that everything aside from the current public school education system should be parent, not government, responsibility. Government funding of early childhood programs has its opposition. The opponents of more government funding have a completely different philosophy on the topic of early educational learning programs. They do not believe that early education is helping all children, and if not all the children are being uplifted by these programs, they don’t feel that public funding should be implemented. Furthermore, many opponents are afraid that early childhood programs, such as head start, or universal preschool, could become mandatory for every child.

One example is Darcy Olsen, President and CEO of the Goldwater Institute, and opponent of additional government funding of early education programs. She believes that early education makes little difference for “main stream children.” Her philosophy is that, in most cases, only lower income children will ultimately benefit from a universal preschool system. (2) Olsen's focus seems to be mainly on children from middle income-earning families. Furthermore, Darcy Olsen is against government funded full day kindergarten. She argues that it isn't benefiting a wide enough spectrum of children to warrant a full time program. (8)

Universal preschool education would not just benefit children who have special needs. Experts in the field of education have recognized the benefits for all children, even those who don’t come from less fortunate households. Gifted children come from all types of backgrounds, including higher income families. According to James Gallagher, an exceptional and gifted child educator, early education settings are a good way to recognize children who are becoming uninterested with typical preschool activities. (231) This would be a chance to discover and recognize a gifted child at an earlier age. Recognizing a gifted child prevents a child from missed learning opportunities and becoming uninterested in school.

John Stossel, Catherine Brosseau, and Andrew Kirell with ABC News recently reported on a story called: Universal Pre-K: This Whole Thing Is a Scam. Does Free Preschool for Every Child Deserve Taxpayer Money? The story was based on the many people who side against government funded preschool education and the waste of money involved. The story participants are convinced that families can do a better job with their kids than potential government funded programs. (Stossel) Some believe, that if the current public school system has failed the nation’s children, they have little faith that government funded Pre-K will be any better. In their opinion, this is a waste of tax payer dollars.

“On purely economic grounds, the case for early childhood intervention is strong.” (Heckman 449)

The benefits of universal preschool are exceedingly great. With an earlier start at education, there will be lower high school dropout rates, more jobs, and a high return rate for the taxpayers. (Oppenheim 9-16) In effect, investing in programs that give children an earlier start at at their education will cause a dramatic decline in crime rates, and cause less people to be dependent on public assistance programs such as cash assistance and food stamps. In addition, the children who get an earlier, quality start in school will be more likely to succeed. The overall need of dependency-based, government funded programs will be eliminated.

Linda Jacobson, editor for Education Week, reviewed a study performed in Chicago twenty years ago. She found that the economical return was ten times the amount originally invested in the children it was meant to benefit. Society earned the benefits by keeping kids out of jail and in school later on in their lives. (8) The economical benefits are boundless, and this has been proven in this article. By investing in children at a young age, society will bring in the benefits in a vast amount of ways in the future. By neglecting a child’s education when he is best able to learn, our society is neglecting our nation in the long run.


A good example of success for early childhood intervention programs proves true in Texas. The state's public, state funded Pre-K system started in 1984, and today has the highest rate of young participants of all states. (State Profiles) In recent years, Texas started a new method for early childhood educators to measure and assess Pre-K skills for their students. Prior to the new program there were a lot of bugs in the system. With the new grading plan in place, they were able to see which skills were important to help prepare students for the eventual 3rd grade tate-wide assessment tests, and to see which expectations in Pre-K were important for future school success. Experts began to see how vital early education was for their district. (Brown 3) More states should take the initiative that Texas and many others have, and implement a state funded Pre-K program within the public school system.

Prevention is the key. The current education system is not working. Real evidence proves that a child’s brain is the most active and capable of learning in the first 5 years of its life. Government funding for an earlier start is not only a desire for our nation’s children, but a necessity. Educating parents and recognizing learning disabilities at an earlier age are vital for family and academic achievement. By giving them a headstart in the right direction, the benefits for our society will be limitless. Economic crisis or not, if this nation wants to prevent any more economical decline, it’s got to start with the little people. They are the future. Let’s invest in them.

Works Cited

Christopher Brown, Brian Mowry. "Preparing for Change: A Case Study of Successful Alignment Between a Pre-K Program and K-12 Education." Childhood Education 85.3 (2009): 173-178. ProQuest Education Journals. ProQuest. UAF. Rasmuson Library. Fairbanks, AK.. 3 Apr. 2009


Gallagher, J James. "Another Opportunity-Preschool Education. " Roeper Review 29.4 (2007): 231. ProQuest Education Journals. ProQuest. UAF. Rasmuson Library. Fairbanks, AK.. 7 Mar. 2009 http://www.proquest.com/

Gonzalez-Mena, Janet. Eyer, Widmeyer Dianne. Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers: A Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive Care and Education. 8th Ed. Boston: McGrawHill, 2009.

Heckman, James J. “Invest in the Very Young.” Ohio School Readiness. 1-8. 30 Mar.2009. http://www.schoolreadiness.ohio.gov/documents/resources/120205brochure.pdf

Heckman, James J., and Dimitriy V. Masterov. "The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children." Review of Agricultural Economics 29.3 (Fall 2007): 446-493. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 2 Apr. 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=25654170&site=ehost-live.

Jacobson, Linda. "Pre-K Offers Economic Value Into Adulthood, Study Finds." Education Week. 11 Jun 2008: 8. ProQuest Education Journals. ProQuest. UAF. Rasmuson Library. Fairbanks, AK.. 7 Mar. 2009


Oppenheim, Jerrold, MacGregor, Theo. "The Economics of Education: Public Benefits of High-Quality Preschool Education for Low-Income Children. Building Communities for Change.” Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families. (Nov. 2002): 1-32. First Search. ERIC. UAF Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 5 Mar. 2009 http://www.eric.ed.gov/


Olsen, Darcy. “Assessing Proposals for Preschools and Kindergarten: Essential Information for Parents, Taxpayers, and Policymakers.” Goldwater Institute. Policy Report #201. (8 Feb. 2005.): 1-43. Mar. 2009 http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/AboutUs/ArticleView.aspx?id=920

"State Profiles: Texas." Pre-K Now. 3 April 2009. http://www.preknow.org/resource/profiles/texas.cfm

Stossel John, Brosseau Catherine, and Kirell Andrew. “Universal PreK: This Whole Thing Is a Scam.” ABC News. 13 March 2009. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=7070646&page=1

“What is Parents as Teachers.” Parents as Teachers National Center. 30 March 2009. http://www.parentsasteachers.org/site/pp.asp?c=ekIRLcMZJxE&b=272093



“When is the Brain Fully Developed? FAQ’s” ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families. 5 Mar. 2009 http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_key_brainFAQ


Zigler Edward, Pfannenstielv Judy and Seitz Victoria. “The Parents as Teachers Program and School Success: A Replication and Extension." The Journal of Primary Prevention. (March 2008) 29. 103-120. SpringerLink. UAF Rasmuson Library. Fairbanks, AK. 19 March 2009. http://www.springerlink.com

Week 10 Reading Response

The essay, “On Covers of Many Magazines, a Full Racial palette Is Still Rare” by David Carr on page 649 of Everything’s an Argument, was full of facts and figures. This was an essay that, in my opinion, was fully evaluative. David Carr’s essay is explaining certain racial trends in today’s magazine industry. In addition to David Carr’s facts and figures, he also provided visual statistical graphs specifying different magazine’s racial tendencies.

This essay did not surprise me in anyway. The facts, as they are shown in this article, seem understandable to me. It seems that many magazines are out purely for sales, and that makes perfect business sense to me. There are magazines, as this article explains, that are specifically designed for the black female audience. One could then assume that a magazine, such as Cosmo, is designed for the average white female. Surely the African-American targeted magazines wouldn’t feature a white person on their cover, so shall we assume that they are being biased?

The article was featured in a newspaper’s business section rather than the lifestyle section, because it is more about the demographics and sales aspect of the topic. The lifestyle section would be more geared toward the articles that are usually provided inside a magazine, and not the information researched about those who are reading, and which audience is being targeted more so.

If this article had been featured within the pages of a lifestyle section, it would have had a different tone to it. I don’t think it would have gone into so much depth of the sales and statistics covering the race of the cover models. It would have been more based on how racial targeting is affecting its readers.

Week 10 - Essay #3 Rough Draft

How Green Can Fairbanks Be?
Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling Waste - One Tin Can at a Time.

The Oberlin College Recycling Program's website states that, "In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his/her adult weight in garbage. If you add it up, this means that a 150-lb. adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 lbs of trash for his/her children." That is a scary fact.
Waste is becoming prevalent in many areas of the Fairbanks North Star Borough’s community. Local residents should be reducing, reusing, and recycling their garbage in efforts to prevent waste. Recycling sites need to be available in a variety of accessible areas, such as transfer sites; however, local transfer sites are not offering enough recycling options for patrons. Although the city of Fairbanks has a current recycling program, local dump sites should have more visible, dedicated recycling areas because it would prevent the waste of recyclable items, encourage more people to recycle, and aid in local recycling awareness.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough has a total of 14 transfer sites. These dump sites are made available for borough residents to dump their garbage and other reusable items. Each location has a general area for reusable items. On the FNSB Solid Waste Division website: Brush, Metal, Batteries, Used Oil, Aluminum, and Propane are the items they offer for disposal and recycling. According to ILACSD.org, the following items should be recycled: aluminum cans, steel cans, corrugated cardboard, white office paper, mixed paper, glass, newspaper, plastic, appliances/electronics, motor oil, and miscellaneous items such as tires.

Alaska landfills are becoming full of reusable items. Fairbanks area residents are missing a great opportunity. By not having enough recycling options at local dump sites, a mountainous amount of waste is being produced. Each reuse area should offer options to recycle every item on the ILACSD.org’s list. If borough residents are offered more recycling choices at each transfer site, less waste will be produced, and more items will be recycled. None of the FNSB transfer sites offer containers for paper, newspaper, plastic, cardboard, or glass. All are highly used items amongst all borough residents. By offering a few additional bins, the borough would be preventing a tremendous amount of waste, and possibly creating a few jobs in the process.


The Fairbanks North Star Borough community should invest in heavy duty, outdoor multi-sort recycling containers. These containers should be placed at each transfer site, and be emptied as much as needed to allow for more recyclables. After close observation, maintenance workers can decide how often the containers should be emptied. Some sites may require more attention than others. This would all depend on local traffic in an out of the transfer site. In every recyclable area, there should be a sign posted with a customer service contact number. This will give residents an opportunity to let waste services know if the area needs attention.

Many Fairbanks residents don’t know where or how to recycle. Some may know how, but going out of their way seems like more of an inconvenience. Instead of wasting everyday household items, offering additional recyclable containers at local transfer sites would encourage more people to waste less. This would also be the perfect approach to take common excuses away from the average trash dumper. With more recycling options, most typical excuses would be eliminated.

Local awareness is vital for recycling success. Additional signs and advertisements should be placed at the transfer sites, and in other busy areas around town to aid in local awareness. Advertisements should be put in local papers. This would help inform borough residents of the newly available recycling containers. Educating the public of the importance of recycling, and the consequences of not, is vital to local awareness and waste prevention. Once this begins, routines and habits will change. Recycling will become tradition amongst most families. Children will witness their caregiver’s recycling acts. In some families, younger members will even have the opportunity to aid in the recycling process, which will change the way of life for future generations. Recycling awareness is an important part of implementing a new recycling culture.

Just like one stop shops around the Fairbanks area, transfer sites should be a one stop shop for waste management. How can we expect people to start recycling, while the current system is not practical enough? Fairbanks area residents should not have to travel to 10 different locations just to recycle their garbage. It shouldn't be so difficult to go green.

Local transfer sites must meet the new demands of our world, and become more Eco-friendly. Once the option to recycle is available for all items, residents will be more likely to utilize the newly available options. Active recycling may not take off right away, but eventually local awareness will spread, and recycling will become a way of life for all borough residents. Fairbanks can feel confident that it’s doing its part in helping the environment, preventing waste, and starting a culture of waste prevention.


"Recycling Facts." Oberlin College Recycling Program. 30 Mar. 2009
http://www.oberlin.edu/recycle/facts.html

“Recyclable Items.” ILACSD.ORG. 30 Mar. 2009 http://ilacsd.org/recycle/r_items.php

“Transfer Sites Recycling/Disposal Opportunities.” Fairbanks North Star Borough. 30 Mar. 2009 http://co.fairbanks.ak.us/SolidWaste/Default.htm

Week 10 - Step 3 Workshop for Elizabeth Allen

Workshop for Part 3


Overall
1. What do you like best about the paper? Be specific.
I liked the information provided. I now understand what fossil fuel is. ;) I also learned the pros and cons of both types of energy sources.


2. Email the author and ask for one particular concern that s/he had about the draft. Examine that area and see if you can offer the author helpful suggestions.
Elizabeth's concern was for her grammar, and I did the best that I could to help her via email.

Thesis
3.Does the author clearly express his/her opinion of the topic in the thesis? What argument does the thesis make?
I was a bit confused by Elizabeth's first paragraph. I wasn't quite sure which was her thesis. I now understand that she is against nuclear energy. Her last sentence of the first paragraph led me to confusion, because it seemed that she was in favor of nuclear power.

4. What group of people agrees with the author? What group disagrees with the author?
Groups in favor of nuclear energy may tend to disagree with her.


5. Does the paper have an argumentative thesis statement using ALTHOUGH and BECAUSE?
Yes, she does.


Content
6. On a scale of 1 to 10, how interesting did you find this paper to read? Be brutally honest!
I would give her essay a 5 on *my* interesting scale. Elizabeth's essay was interesting, but scary. After reading her essay, I am quite certain that I am scared of nuclear energy. I would hate for major populated areas to become infected with cancer, or even die because of radiation leaks. It seems that all energy sources have adverse effects, and her essay didn't give me a solid foundation of which is better overall. Also, if she broke up some of her paragraphs a bit, and fixed some grammatical errors, I'd find her essay more interesting.


7.Where can the author more fully develop ideas, either by providing examples or explaining/clarifying concepts for the reader?
Elizabeth gave good ideas and examples of historical and current events concerning energy sources.

I do have a suggestion. I'd like to see Elizabeth cite more sources in her paragraphs. For example, in paragraph two, more research information on the greenhouse gas emissions, and where she got that information from. I'd like more proof for her claims.



8.What kinds of objections might someone who disagrees with the author’s point of view raise? If there are none, go back to #3.
They may argue that by not using nuclear energy, the traditional sources will run out, and cause too much greenhouse gas emition damage.




9.Has the author dealt with these objections?
She has dealt with possible outcomes of nuclear energy, potential terrorist attacks, and pricey installation problems. Also, she has gone in depth of possible adverse effects of radiation exposure.


10.Is the relationship between each paragraph and the thesis clear? If not, what suggestions do you have for the author to improve the connection?
I would suggest that Elizabeth change the location of her thesis, and put it in the end of the first paragraph - to make it more clear which side she agrees with. Aside from the main thesis, I would add the counter arguments later in the paper, and take them out of the first paragraph.

Style
11. Are there easy transitions from one paragraph to the next, or does the author jump from topic to topic?
Elizabeth could probably break up some of her longer paragraphs. This would make it easier to read. I've seen a couple of spots where she could have started with a new paragraph. When she gives different examples, she could start a new paragraph to keep the reader more interested.




12. Does the opening of the essay capture the reader’s attention? How so? If not, what suggestions can you make that might strengthen the opening?
When I saw coal and nuclear power, I automatically lost interest. I am ignorant in this subject. Maybe by adding a more dramatic starter sentence, like a scary fact might draw one in.




13. Does the concluding paragraph serve to bring the discussion to an end that logically follows from the thesis and its direction?
Yes, it does, and I like her last paragraph.




Research
14. How many different sources are cited in the paper (don’t look at Works Cited; look at the parenthetical citations. The medium does not matter.)
I found 4 citations.


15. Does the author rely heavily on just 1 or 2 sources, or does the author equally use all of the sources to support the paper’s thesis?
Elizabeth should cite missing sources for some of the information provided.


16. Does the author have more quotes in his/her paper than personal opinion? No.


17. Are there any sources listed on the Works Cited that are not cited within the body of the essay? (This is a no-no)
I cannot find many of the works cited sources in the essay.



18. Is all the information retrieved from research, including opinion, ideas, paraphrases, quotes, and statistics, cited with in-text (parenthetical) citations? If not, list specifics of what needs to be cited (friends don’t let friends turn in plagiarized papers).

Where did you find the following information? That's a source citation opporunity.


"On March 28th, 1979 the Three Mile Island Unit 2 nuclear power plant outside of Middletown, Pennsylvania had a incident, when a feed water pump stopped working, the pump allowed the steam generators remove heat from the core; after that happened the reactor shut down creating pressure, leading to much pressure that caused the core of the reactor to overheat."

I see a lot of works sited sources that you could be added into your essay... where necessary.



19. All quotes in research papers should be commented upon. Does the author comment after every quote? If not, help the author decide what the underlying reason behind putting the quote in the paper was.
I don't see any quotes in her paper.