Children as Property
Prisma / SuperStock
Before the late nineteenth century, white American children were largely considered the property of their fathers. Black American children were often born into slavery and, along with their families, were literally and legally considered the property of their masters. Up through the Colonial Period, poor 8- to 12-year-old children were commonly sold as indentured servants, and all slaves, including children, could be bought and sold at will up until the 1860s. While most slave children were likely to live and die enslaved, indentured servants might work off the cost of their upkeep and complete an apprenticeship lasting as many as 7 to 10 years. After the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the factory, children as young as 6 years of age were sent to work to help provide for their families.
Slavery was abolished with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, but the use of young children to work long hours under harsh conditions did not end until the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 prohibited child labor.
Today, Americans typically no longer think of children as the property of their parents, though parents generally do enjoy broad latitude and full authority over their children provided they are not found to be abusive (Morrison, 2001). However, the related practice of describing children as commoditiesproducts of schooling or investment in the futureis common (Morrison, 2001). Costs associated with educating young children are periodically quantified in terms of cost-benefit ratios and return on investment (Partnerships for America’s Economic Success, 2011). While this may be understandable, given the need to allocate public and private resources wisely, early childhood professionals advocate making curriculum decisions from developmental and individual perspectives. Fortunately research increasingly demonstrates the long-term economic value of high-quality early childhood education!
Teachers may subtly convey a proprietary relationship with their students when they use expressions like “my children” or “my class.” Moreover, different curricula allocate varying levels of ownership to teachers and children respectively, and a curriculum that is wholly “owned” by the teacher is very different from one that emphasizes child-initiated activities (Chaille, 2008; Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). As you learn more about the curriculum choices available to you, think about the extent to which you will actively and intentionally balance opportunities for decision making between yourself and the children in your charge.
Society
Today, most experts agree that the concepts and images associated with young children are socially constructed according to cultural values and norms (Arnold, 2000; Heywood, 2001; Hill, Stremmel, & Fu, 2005). Increasing globalization provides American educators with access to competing points of view that challenge embedded notions about what education for young children should be like. These divergent perspectives are discussed in this section in terms of competency versus dependency, risk versus promise, labeling, and gender roles.
