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March-April 1972
learning the "why" and "how" about
this world. Stimulating a child's mental
growth can be naturally worked into
every activity between parent and child.
But these learning situations need to be
plaoned. They do not appear, as if by
instinct, when the first cbild is boro.
In fact, every parent - whether
middle class, working class, or poor -
needs to learn how to rear children.
Tbere is every reason to believe that
middle-class cbildren have even greater
potential for learning than most slum
children. They could be accomplishing
even more thao the Milwaukee children.
But they aren't. As the director of the
Milwaukee project commented, "This
study really shows we are depriving
most all children of opportunities to
learn and be educated."
Conquering the Slum Attitude
But if slum parents are to become
effective teachers of their children, life
in the slums will also have to change -
radically. Such parents, after all, are
generally the products of a slum men–
tality. There must be a necessary change
in slum environment in order to effect
change in parents.
As long as uoemployment and dis–
crirnination deoy slum fathers regular
jobs at decent wages, there is little hope
that they can win the respect and admi–
ration to be tbe head of a family, or
even hold the marriage together.
The tragedy of husbaodless mothers,
so physically and psychologically over–
burdened that they canoot guide or
teach their children, will have to cease.
Slum parents will have to broaden their
own interest and improve their own
understanding of the world. Even mat–
ters such as irregular mealtimes and
household confusion - which inhibit
the development of order, trust and
confidence in a child - will have to be
cbanged.
Frankly, many of these changes will
require more than the skilled instruction
of concerned teachers. They will require
a change in tbe social fabric, and a
change of the human spirit. People will
have to live differently.
Parents Must Leam First
The results of preschool projects are
encouraging because they show that
The
PLAJN TRUTH
such a change in parents is possible. In
the followup study of the Early Train–
ing Project, Dr. James MiiJer recorded a
common observation. He wrote that
many of the mothers in the project
"went on to fioisb their high school
education and enrolled in training
courses to upgrade vocational skills."
Interest and participation in community
affairs broadened. Social contacts with
other membecs of the community
increased markedJy. There were cooper–
ative outings, a rotating-book library,
and even the establishment of a bowl–
ing league which ioduded the fathers.
Many of the parents wanted to move
out of the housing projects to better
areas. There were iocreases
in
tbe num-
27
ber of checking and savings accounts,
which almost none of the parents had
before the study began.
A cycle of poverty, ignorance, hope–
lessness and educational failure entraps
thousands of unfortunate people of our
so-called "progressive" modero nations.
Only when ghetto
parents
are taught
how to rear their children is such a pov–
erty cycle broken.
All cbildren
can
learn. But their
parents will have to teach them.
O
lf
you would like additional iofor–
malion about teaching your chjld,
send for the book,
Plain Truth
About Child Rearing,
offered with–
out charge by Ambassador College.
Sce the insíde fmot cover for che
address nearesr you.
LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING
-
Even when a child does something
wrong, you must be pati ent.