Un Convention

"All of us have equal talents, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our own talents."(Kennedy, John F)

John Kennedy's words rings true for people of all ages. So what does "equal opportunity" mean? It means opening up the universe for the child and family so that they can take full benefit of the early childhood activities in school and in society. Equal opportunity does not mean treating everyone the same. The common areas of discrimination are race, financial capability, gender and the ability of the child. Every child's future depends on opportunities provided to it in his early years of life which usually defines the child's outlook towards life. This will be the window through which the child will define race, gender, nationality, religion, family, etc in his or her own way. The teacher and parents will play the most vital role in the child's early years of development and they will be providing all the vital elements of this process to build the child's future. He is like a mirror, reflecting whatever he takes in. To this stand Maria Montessori rightfully says, "If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem." Teachers and parents have to make sure that he is in the right environment for this development to take place. To help them, the UN has played a major role and contributed immensely to this process.

The UN general assembly agreed to adopt the conventions on the rights of the child on November 20th, 1989. It came into force in September 1990 after it was ratified by 192 member nations. The convention is child centric and deals with child specific needs and right to education and care. It also looks after the best interest of the child. This convention recognizes that the child has some basic rights including the right to life, identity, to be raised by their family, food, healthcare, to free education to rest and leisure, to play, not to be used as workers or in the armed forces and to be kept safe. Articles 2,3,6,7,8,11,12,13,23,28,29,30,31,32,34,35 are related specifically to the early years in respect to education and care. These articles of the policy state that the member nations will respect the rights set forth in the present convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind. (Convention on the rights of the child,1990)

The United States of America (USA) along with Somalia have not ratified the convention. Madeline Albright who was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations at that time had signed the Convention. Also for a policy to come into effect, it requires the approval of two-thirds of the senate. It also has to be compatible with the existing laws of the country at the state and federal level, which can take up to several years. Article 37 of the UN convention on the rights of the child specifically prohibits capital punishment for crimes committed by juveniles. Several US states advocate capital punishment for children from the age of 16 to 18 at the time of the crime. This also has been keeping the USA from signing the convention. Many legal experts question the treaty's intrusiveness into domestic policy. They also believe that nations should be invited to develop objectives pertinent to their own countries and that monitoring has to be done at the national level. The current administration is ready to take a step forward if the convention considers greater "parental authority" while crafting policies for children, and sustained focus on education as the current president George W Bush has adopted for the American children.

The United States Supreme court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ended racial segregation in schools and other public facilities. It brought about opportunities for African American children to enjoy the same educational benefits as the American children. It sought to end discrimination and segregation in public schools. The Brown decision ruled unanimously that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. But even after the Brown decision it took more than a decade to bring an end to segregation in all public facilities through the Civil rights Movement, led by Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The Elementary and Secondary School Act was passed in 1965. It provided financial aid to educational institutions which served children from low income families. The Head start program was one such program started as an eight week summer program which expanded to a full year program. The Elementary and Secondary School Act of 1965 was amended in 1968 with Title VII, resulting in the Bilingual Act, which offered federal aid to local schools districts to assist them to address the needs of children with limited English-speaking ability. The US has signed the "No Child Left behind Act Of 2001" as a landmark education reform designed to improve student achievement and change the culture of American schools.

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As part of early childhood development, USA has various programs and activities. There are head start programs for low income families, kindergarten and day care centers for children with working parents. But the big question is "Are we doing enough?" We all agree to the fact that every child should have equal access to quality early childhood education, but is it available for free? Primary education in the US is not free. The United States is one of the few nations that does not provide any benefits to families with children. Because of the complexity of the tax laws in the United States the American family who needs most assistance is least likely to apply for benefits and are least likely to receive them. The US system surely needs to be reviewed, discussed and rectified in light of changing times, but a change to the above system will have far reaching