persuasive speech topics on early childhood education

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292 Education Speech Topics [Persuasive, Informative, Argumentative]

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Education is a human right and everyone is entitled to one. Problems arise when people disagree on what is right and wrong with education. Below are topics that everyone involved in or with education often face at some point.

In this article:

Informative

Argumentative.

List of Education Speech Topics

• Should boys and girls have separate classrooms?
• Should schools sell soft drinks and candies to students?
• Should gym grades impact grade point average?
• Would it be better if schools with low test scores were closed?
• A psychological screening should be taken before you are admitted to college.
• Do you think it should be legal for students to drop out before they turn 18?
• Should schools have a mandatory life skills class?
• Should state colleges be free?
• Should notebook computers replace textbooks?
• Why we should support education in developing countries.
• Businesses must not have a say in the education process.
• College is not meant for everyone.
• Children are taught to read too late.
• Ultimately education begins at home.
• Children do not fear educators.
• Teachers earn too little.
• Textbooks are more effective than iPads.
• Second languages should be compulsory.
• Homework does not improve grades.
• Teachers deserve their long holidays.
• Corporal punishment doesn’t adjust behaviour.
• Technology must be used in schools.
• Students with good attendance records should be rewarded.
• Teachers must be held accountable for bad results.
• American schools must have armed guards.
• Teachers should have to pass a skills test every 5 years.
• Free college for all students with good academic results.
• Expel cyberbullies from schools.
• More importance must be placed on art and music.
• Allow mobile phones in high schools only.
• Schools should only offer healthy foods and drinks.
• Not enough support is given to education in developing countries.
• Make dropping out of school a criminal offense.
• Students in public schools work harder.
• The school year needs to be longer.
• Teach home economics in all schools.
• Taking a gap year before starting college is beneficial.
• Give alternative education the recognition it is due.
• Quality of adult training is poor.
• Grades never indicate intelligence.
• Learning music at a young age positively affects brain development.
• Teach etiquette in schools.
• Not enough time is spent reading in schools.
• Reading will maximize a child’s love of learning.
• Textbooks should be free.
• There is no place for religion in education.
• Gardening should be practiced at schools.
• Sex education isn’t taught properly.
• Schools must embrace social media.
• Kids learn most from the fun teachers.
• Face to face learning is superior to online learning.
• Divide classes into genders.
• Incorporate cultural events into the school program.
• Skills test are inaccurate.
• Lack of sleep limits ability to learn.
• Reading comic books makes you smarter.
• TV shows have zero educational value.
• Google is a threat to libraries.
• Electronics has robbed children of real mental stimulation.
• Allow religious dress in schools.
• The education system is outdated.
• There is not enough discipline in schools.
• Old school values are important.
• Private school education is no advantage at a university.
• IQ tests are flawed.
• There is not enough innovation in education.
• All schools need uniforms.
• Make discipline part of the grading system.
• Schools are too business-like.
• Allow high school students to choose own academics.
• Pressures of education are ruining childhoods.
• Bullies should make public apologies at school.
• Chewing gum helps students concentrate.
• Math and science should be the main focus in schools.
• There is a need for practical things to be taught at schools.
• Competitive situations motivate kids.
• Montessori schools develop independent thinkers.
• Moral education is a lost cause.
• All educators must be trained to do proper first aid.
• Online encyclopedias are inaccurate.
• There are too many subjects taught at school.
• Physical schools will never become obsolete.
• Make up should not be allowed at schools.
• The government must stop interfering in how students should be taught.
• School projects offer no benefits.
• Students have the right to protest.
• No child must be forced into sports.
• Print books are better for learning than ebooks.
• Cursive writing is outdated.
• Stranger danger must be highlighted at schools too.
• Children’s books are educational tools.
• Grades do matter.
• Technology is responsible for people not knowing how to spell.
• Stricter background checks must be done when hiring educators.
• The best schools are in Denmark.
• Free education will lower poverty rates.
• Dictionaries should be free.
• The internet does not make people smarter.
• Classroom dissections shouldn’t be mandatory.
• Schools for younger kids should have a break just for eating.
• Too many principals lack vision.
• Pregnant teens must still get an education.
• Random locker tests are necessary.
• Exams should only be for University students.
• Give out birth control in schools.
• Education is not a place for affirmative action.
• Corporal punishment does not help educate.
• Parental participation influences achievement positively.
• Leadership skills must be taught from young.
• Why educated people should volunteer as tutors
• Do you believe students who fail their classes should repeat the grade?
• Should minority groups be given priority when applying to colleges?
• Why Americans should not have to learn a foreign language.
• If you play a sport should you be required to take gym class?
• Why you should consider studying computer science.
• Universities should help students get a job after they graduate.
• Schools should teach both creationism and evolution.
• Should classes be based on periods of time or individual work?
• Do you think companies should be able to advertise in schools?
• Should students be able to go to the bathroom without asking?
• Should handwriting be taught in schools?
• Would it be better if schools started later in the morning?
• Do you think students should have open campus lunch breaks?
• Why we should be able to substitute study hall for a proper class.
• Should students be able to listen to music during classes?
• Schools should take students abroad.
• Should teachers be over a certain age?
• Should the teaching of multiple languages be mandatory?
• Should schools be more technologically advanced?
• Music education should be a priority in schools.
• Should students join Greek life on campus?
• Financial aid shouldn’t be based on income.
• Should home economics be required in all schools?
• Should Chinese classes be mandatory for students?
• Should Spanish classes be mandatory for students?
• SAT scores should affect college acceptance.
• Public schools are better than private schools.
• Should standardized testing be abolished?
• Studying abroad will benefit your future.
• Everyone has the right to education.
• Should students take the PARCC test?
• The importance of preparing children for kindergarten.
• Fifth graders should have study hall.
• We need more financial assistance for students.
• Don’t take education for granted.
• The school year should be longer.
• Why anime has educational value.
• Why college isn’t for everyone.
• Should children have homework?
• Students have too much work.
• Take a year off from school.
• Expand school breakfast programs.
• Tenure for professors should be protected.
• Minority scholarships should be increased.
• Alternative education should be increased.
• Education in prisons should be increased.
• Accelerated learning options should be increased.
• Educational costs should be lowered.
• Private schools should offer scholarships.
• School security needs to be improved.
• State lotteries should fund education.
• School violence can be prevented.
• Home schooling can be as high quality as going to school.
• Adult training programs should be improved.
• Every person should learn two or more languages.
• Is the Oxford comma necessary?
• Does the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 still work?
• Do not limit access to education for children of illegal migrant workers.
• Speaking recognition models can improve reading scores without expensive K-12 student loans for extra tuition vouchers.
• There should be an effective character education leadership course in our high school curriculum.
• Everyone should do a special Summer School course every year.
• There should be more competition into public education.
• Why poorly performing schools are performing poorly.
• The perfect student loan plan with low interest rates does not exist.
• We should introduce an appropriate formal dress code for our campus.
• The problem of illiteracy in our country is much bigger than most people think.
• The ACT curriculum-based educational and career planning tool is right when it states that most graduates are not ready for college education.
• Tuition vouchers programs upgrade academic performances for sure.
• Schools have the right to limit freedom of speech in classes.
• Video conferencing is the solution for improving classes in rural areas.
• Replace letter grades with number grades.
• People cannot be a part of modern society if they are illiterate.
• Keep race and ethnicity out of education admissions.
• Boys perform better in a only boys class.
• Students should be required to take foreign policy classes.
• Striving for high assignment grades is useless.
• MP 3 players are an aid that help with concentration.
• Motivating someone to study literature is a waste of time.
• Lack of education contributes to poverty.
• Knowledge management should be mandatory in each study curriculum.
• Replace examinations with other forms of assessments.
• Women are becoming the majority in universities because they are smarter.
• Improved driver education will reduce traffic fatalities significantly.
• Wikipedia is as accurate and reliable as Encyclopedia Britannica.
• The quality of education is lower than 15 years ago.
• Billingual education helps illegal immigrants to assimilate into our culture.
• Teachers must be paid based on performance.
• Higher education should only be accessible to good high school students.
• I can learn better by myself than with a teacher.
• Health and education are key to accelerate development in the third world.
• Quality classroom acoustics help education.
• Why Amish teenagers should be forced into compulsory high school education.
• Should classrooms be replaced with online teaching sessions?
• It would help ESL students to take state tests in their native language.
• Human resources management in colleges.
• What to know about transferring colleges.
• The responsibility of parents and students regarding education.
• The history of special education over the past 30 years.
• The mental effort that intelligent writing necessitates.
• How visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners are different.
• Cooperative learning in education in the Philippines.
• The benefits of personality development camps for students.
• The importance of arts and languages in education.
• The uses of dioramas for geography instruction.
• Moving out of the dorm to an apartment off campus.
• Education is the best weapon against poverty.
• Improving the active learning curve in education.
• Why classes in school should be 45 minutes long.
• How school does not prepare you for the real world.
• The benefits of online learning.
• The effects of studying while listening to music.
• Computers benefit students in school.
• How to bring back the passion for education.
• The benefits of making college free.
• The benefits of field trips for students.
• The most important factors that affect student performance.
• Why travel is beneficial to education.
• How to earn income as a student.
• How to unleash your inner geek.
• The importance of high school service learning programs.
• The importance of higher education.
• The importance of maintaining order on campus.
• How to find student discounts.
• Teachers should be paid more money.
• Education is the master key to all.
• The negative effects of the privatization of higher education.
• How to write an informative essay.
• The benefits of having free textbooks.
• How to get a student job on campus.
• The importance of not taking education for granted.
• The best way to spend your senior year.
• The basics of getting a fellowship.
• The importance of mathematics.
• The rising cost of education.
• How to survive freshman year.
• Technology in the classroom.
• The effects of discrimination in education.
• The qualities of a good student.
• The different learning styles students have.
• The education system in Pakistan.
• How to ace the GRE.
• How to spot a diploma mill.
• Overcoming your fear of public speaking.
• The importance of financial education.
• How visual arts can be used for educational organizations.
• How to plan a Geology field trip.
• How to avoid plagiarism in essays.
• Smart debating techniques

Writing informative essays can be tough, so for more ideas head on over to our awesome list of informative essay ideas.

• Are academics and sports of equal importance?
• Should teachers have to take a yearly test to keep their jobs?
• Students should learn about world religions in public schools.
• Should sports be made a compulsory subject in universities?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of school uniforms?
• Hungry students cannot learn, which is why free meals should be provided.
• Should students be held back for bad grades?
• Do colleges put too much stock in standardized test scores?
• Home education should only be allowed for medical reasons.
• CPR and first aid instruction should be mandatory in schools.
• Essays do not demonstrate a student’s knowledge on a topic.
• Should all students be randomly drug tested?
• Educational computer games should be used in school.
• Why the government should prevent violence in schools.
• Teachers should wear uniforms or obey a dress code.
• Why are sports trips paid for while club trips are not?
• Music education should be placed back into schools.
• Should teachers give out homework on the weekends?
• Sex education should be required in all schools.
• Exam scores do not reflect student performance.
• Testing and choice are undermining education.
• The benefits of attending a single-sex school.
• State colleges should be free to attend.
• There should be no religion in schools.
• Education should be free for everyone.
• Gender does not affect learning.
• Smoking and drinking on campus should be banned.
• Should homework be reduced?
• The pros and cons of Common Core.
• Exams should be abolished.
• Grades are not important.
• Why do we have homework?
• Teachers should be punished for rude behavior to students.
• Students should take a year off between college and high school.
• Why we should learn more than one language.

For even more argumentative topics check out our epic list of argumentative essay prompts .

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3 thoughts on “292 Education Speech Topics [Persuasive, Informative, Argumentative]”

persuasive speech about lack of education

all these topic are very interesting, especially topic No: 50. I will put more effort to motivate teens on doing debates on this topics. it was very helpful, thank you

Wow! This really helped. I went from no ideas to too Many!! 😛

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21 Early Childhood Education Essay Topics (Best Titles)

During your studies, the time to write an essay on early childhood education may come. We’ve compiled a list of good and creative early childhood education essay topics to help you fasten the process.

What is Early Childhood Education?

Early childhood education is described as education combined with child care services provided to young people from the time they are born until they reach the age of eight. When it comes to early childhood education, children participate in a variety of educational environments throughout their early childhood years. Whenever someone learns that you are a student majoring in education, they can’t help but wonder why you want to become a teacher. Isn’t it true that teachers are underpaid?

Due to their enthusiasm for all aspects of teaching, most aspiring teachers are completely immersed in the world of education before enrolling in even the first college course in their field. Consequently, many teacher candidates have difficulty narrowing their emphasis on a particular issue to do research for their thesis paper as a result of this. Fortunately, there is a diverse range of domains available within the field of education from which to pick from. When picking a field to investigate more, think about what motivates you the most as an instructor and how you can benefit from studying more about a specific issue in greater depth.

Early Childhood Education Essay Topics

When writing an essay on the importance of early childhood education, here are some of the best topics you can choose from.

1. How does poverty impact a child’s education?

In addition to the kid’s health and nutrition, parental mental and physical participation, a facilitating family environment, child care, as well as neighborhood and school environments, poverty can have an impact on a child’s developmental trajectory. As a result of these variables, a kid may develop feelings of self-doubt, disinterest, and inability to create a healthy educational environment.

So, what steps can we take to begin providing outreach to these stunted children? In order to address the numerous variables that contribute to the educational stagnation of low-income students, several alternatives must be explored.

To lessen or remove the financial divide between education and students, we must first ensure that funding is directly responsive to the needs of students and educational institutions.

I’ve witnessed personally the dearth of books, as well as outdated and usable technology, available to pupils. It is impossible to expect students to recall all of the necessary curriculum if they are not provided with adequate resources in school. If our own instructors are not equipped with the necessary resources to educate, how can we expect to prosper when presented with the opportunity to pursue higher education?

2. The use of Technology in early childhood learning.

There is a great deal of disagreement in the educational community about the use of electronics and multimedia in the classroom, particularly when it comes to early childhood education. Should children as young as three years old be allowed to use computers? What is the appropriate age for a youngster to learn how to use an iPad before learning how to use the bathroom on his or her own? When doing this research, researchers would look not only at the past, but also at the future, as technology becomes increasingly pervasive in children’s daily life. In light of the fact that these ideas are relatively new to the field of education, any research that is conducted on the benefits of using technology in the classroom will assist to define the future of teaching in contemporary society.

3. The relationship between early childhood education and literary skills in high school.

As a small child grows, his or her environment has a significant impact on the abilities that he or she acquires.  The emergent literacy skills, that comprise phonological awareness, narrative awareness, alphabet knowledge, print concepts, vocabulary, and oral language, are part of the critical skills that will help these young learners prepare for their future.

It is possible to acquire these abilities through the home environment and early childhood school environments. Before kindergarten, children’s emergent literacy abilities are established, and they are predictive of a child’s later success in reading. There are a variety of elements that can influence whether or not a youngster is able to develop reading abilities.

4. Should the federal and state governments improve funding of early childhood learning?

Technology grants and philanthropic foundations are available to assist underserved communities. Because of its more user-friendly platforms, Apple initially had a monopoly on the market for educational applications of technology. For many educators, Apple continues to be the favored choice because of the discounts and additional possibilities that the company provides to its customers. Because of the numerous cross-platform software packages that have been produced, both Macintosh and Microsoft settings are increasingly being given equal access to current educational environments. Education decision-makers should remember that the future is unpredictable and that today’s smart buy may wind up on tomorrow’s garbage heap of obsolete technology, no matter which platform they chose.

5. Adverse Childhood Experiences and their Effects on High School Graduation Rates.

The shocking impact that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have on children and adults was shown in a landmark study that was initially published twenty years ago and has since gained widespread attention. Adults’ exposure to abuse, divorce, substance abuse, and other factors were found to be associated with a number of health risk factors, according to Andra et al (1998).

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study expanded our understanding of the long-term impacts of direct and indirect abuse, as well as the fact that children did not have to be abused themselves in order to suffer serious consequences to their physical, mental, and even social well-being in the long run.

6. The contribution of a child’s socioeconomic background to the success of early education.

In order for a child to acquire the necessary skills, his or her socioeconomic position must be taken into consideration. In addition, the child’s socioeconomic position will influence what resources are accessible at home and whether or not the parent or guardian is able to provide the child with the essential language and literacy exposure because they are constantly at work. Additionally, there are several other elements to consider, such as a child’s language handicap and prior adverse literacy experiences.

Therefore, to that extent, early childhood educators must conduct an in-depth investigation into the child’s family and community relationships in order to provide the best possible care. It is possible to use the outcomes of such investigations to optimize the teaching process and dissipate any negative connotations that may be detrimental to the child’s development.

On the other side, both the family and the community can work together to ensure the child’s future success in school and in the workplace. As a result, the educator must work to foster positive relationships with parents and members of the community for the children in his or her care.

7. Examining the benefits of daycare to young children

Early childhood educators, of course, are well aware of the significance of their work. Despite the fact that individuals may intuitively understand the relevance of early childhood education programs, research on the benefits of such programs places a quantifiable value on their significance, which has implications for funding. Participation in early education programs can have a variety of consequences for a kid.

Conducting longitudinal study on the potential future success of children in higher grades is essential to fully comprehending how a primary teacher’s efforts can result in long-term advantages for her students. This research can be done in a variety of ways.

The recognition of these consequences motivates teachers to do their best work every day and to constantly improve their approaches.

8. Does attending preschool improve a child’s vocabulary?

Following the completion of quality preschools, children have stronger self-regulation behavior and academic skills than their counterparts who do not participate in preschool. This is according to some new studies.

• Perks such as expanded vocabulary developed through socialization with other youngsters and a love of reading can provide children an advantage throughout their academic lives.
• By the time they reach high school, children who attend preschools where instructors receive additional training can still make academic gains of up to a quarter of a letter grade.
• With the start of a new school year in full swing, parents of preschool-aged children may be wondering whether or not sending their children to preschool makes a significant impact in their children’s development.

9. Contribution of early childhood learning to the cognitive development of young children.

In addition to assisting children in developing their individual cognitive, physical, emotional, and social skills, childhood care providers also assist instructors in responding to the unique requirements of each child in their care. One of the most important responsibilities of childhood care providers is to prepare children for school through curricula that assist children in developing their individual cognitive, physical, emotional, and social skills, and at the same time helps instructors respond to the unique requirements of each child in their care.

In this scenario, cognitive development is particularly important, since it provides youngsters with knowledge of topics such as measuring and patterns, forms and numbers, and counting strategies, among other things. The most effective way for children to develop in this area is through play.

As an example, a report from the Manitoba Early Learning and Childhood Curriculum Framework proposes that children’s cognitive and intellectual skills be developed through relevant activities – such as allowing them to experiment with a range of cardboard boxes and tube shapes.

10. The practices of early childhood teachers related to the use of dramatic play in learning environment.

A surprising finding from the research is that there is no single early childhood method that is intrinsically superior; rather, what matters most is that children are exposed to educational opportunities at the earliest feasible age. In spite of the fact that no single curriculum or pedagogical approach can be determined to be the most effective, children who participate in carefully planned, high-quality early childhood programs in which curriculum aims are specified and integrated across domains tend to learn more and are better prepared to master the complex demands of formal schooling.”

More essay topics on Early Childhood Education

11. The effects of school district policies on preventing maltreatment among early childhood learners.

12. The impacts of politics on the success of early childhood learning programs.

13. Exploring the problems of measuring the efficacy of ECE programs such as Head Start.

14. Evaluating the progress and transformation of early childhood learning.

15. Approaches to make early childhood curriculum effective.

16. What are the challenges facing early childhood learning in modern America?

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Informative Speech Topics on Early Childhood Education

Informative Speech Topics on Early Childhood Education: Early Childhood Education is very important. It is the starting point in one’s education. It enables one to understand how to deal with children.

If you are undertaking a career in early childhood education, at one point you will be required to write an academic paper or research work, at times you will be required to give a short informative speech about Early Childhood Education.

1. Healthy child development: new trends and theories

2. The significance of early childhood education.

3. Education and poverty: how poverty influences children’s health, performance, and social skills

4. Steps to take in schools to reduce child obesity

5. The best approaches to a child’s guidance and counseling sessions

6. Classroom Guidance and Support

7. How to create experiences for Brain Development

8. Early education. What makes formative years in a child’s life to be the most important in studying?

Find more than 600 Topics For An Informative Speech

9. Can a child’s early education affect the learning process later in their senior classes?

10. How school does not prepare you for the real world.

11. How to bring back the passion for education.

12. Improving the active learning curve in education.

13. Improving family communication: pre-birth through life

14. The Advantages of Home Schooling. Why do more and more parents remove their kids from public schools in favor of home education? Is homeschooling more beneficial?

Read: Informative Speech Topics about Animals

Presentation Topics for Early Childhood Education

1.Stages of Moral development in children and their analysis.

2. Effects of exposing children to social media in the early stages of their lives

3. Discuss factors that influence child development.

4. Expound on causes of unusual behavior in children?

5. What are the main growth stages of children?

6. The consequences of improper diet in a child’s mental development

7. Significance of Childcare centers in society.

8. What affects the development of children’s social skills?

9. Explain Vygotsky’s theory of child development and its importance.

10. What are the impacts of music on childhood development?

Read: Health Related Informative Speech Topics

11. Discuss the effect of domestic violence on children.

12. Effects of absentee parents on a child’s social skills

13. Expound forms of parenting styles and how they function.

14. The role of Siblings in a child’s development.

15. Discuss the Child Abuse Prevention measures that are most effective.

16. The result of obesity on child emotional growth.

17. The effect of divorce on young children.

18. The role of the fathers in their girls’ development.

19. Importance of physical movement in the growth of a child.

Find Also: Child Development Topics for Research Papers

Informative Speech Topics On Child Development

1. ADHD in young children and explain the factors that have increased its occurrence rate.

2. Compare the growth rate of raising a child in a green environment versus in a polluted environment

3. What is the proper diet for children? Explain the importance of diet in child development.

4. Significance of family interactions for young children.

5. Therapy methods suitable for children.

6. What are the main causes of ADHD?

7. The best children’s games to promote mental growth

8. Technology and its contribution to child development.

9. Parental Challenge of bringing up a child with ADHD.

10. How to manage behavioral issues in children.

Read: Informative Speech Topics About Music

11. Effects of social issues on a child’s psychological development?

12. Explain the developmental milestones in a normal child.

13. The effects of substance abuse on children’s learning ability.

14. Children and money, can the economic status of a parent impact the security of a child? Explain

15. Managing causes of sleeping disorders in children?

16. Effects of good sleeping patterns on child development.

17. Expound on the significance of sport and physical games on child development.

18. How does psychology vary for boys and girls in the first 10 years of their life?

19. Impacts of too much screen time on a child’s language development

20. Explain the link between Social skills and play skills?

21. What factors affect a child’s ability to improve their social skills?

Find: Informative Speeches Examples

Betty is a qualified teacher with a Bachelor of Education (Arts). In addition, she is a registered Certified Public Accountant. She has been teaching and offering part-time accounting services for the last 10 years. She is passionate about education, accounting, writing, and traveling.

5 Current Issues in the Field of Early Childhood Education

Learning Objectives

Objective 1: Identify current issues that impact stakeholders in early childhood care and education.

Objective 2: Describe strategies for understanding current issues as a professional in early childhood care and education.

Objective 3: Create an informed response to a current issue as a professional in early childhood care and education.

Current Issues in the Field—Part 1

There’s one thing you can be sure of in the field of early childhood: the fact that the field is always changing. We make plans for our classrooms based on the reality we and the children in our care are living in, and then, something happens in that external world, the place where “life happens,” and our reality changes. Or sometimes it’s a slow shift: you go to a training and hear about new research, you think it over, read a few articles, and over time you realize the activities you carefully planned are no longer truly relevant to the lives children are living today, or that you know new things that make you rethink whether your practice is really meeting the needs of every child.

This is guaranteed to happen at some point. Natural events might occur that affect your community, like forest fires or tornadoes, or like COVID-19, which closed far too many child care programs and left many other early educators struggling to figure out how to work with children online. Cultural and political changes happen, which affect your children’s lives, or perhaps your understanding of their lives, like the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that brought to light how much disparity and tension exist and persist in the United States. New information may come to light through research that allows us to understand human development very differently, like the advancements in neuroscience that help us understand how trauma affects children’s brains, and how we as early educators can counteract those affects and build resilience.

And guess what—all this change is a good thing! Read this paragraph slowly—it’s important!  Change is good because we as providers of early childhood care and education are working with much more than a set of academic skills that need to be imparted to children; we are working with the whole child, and preparing the child to live successfully in the world. So when history sticks its foot into our nice calm stream of practice, the waters get muddied. But the good news is that mud acts as a fertilizer so that we as educators and leaders in the field have the chance to learn and grow, to bloom into better educators for every child, and, let’s face it, to become better human beings!

The work of early childhood care and education is so full, so complex, so packed with details to track and respond to, from where Caiden left his socks, to whether Amelia’s parents are going to be receptive to considering evaluation for speech supports, and how to adapt the curriculum for the child who has never yet come to circle time. It might make you feel a little uneasy—or, let’s face it, even overwhelmed—to also consider how the course of history may cause you to deeply rethink what you do over time.

That’s normal. Thinking about the complexity of human history while pushing Keisha on the swings makes you completely normal! As leaders in the field, we must learn to expect that we will be called upon to change, maybe even dramatically, over time. 

Let me share a personal story with you: I had just become director of an established small center, and was working to sort out all the details that directing encompassed: scheduling, billing policies, and most of all, staffing frustrations about who got planning time, etc. But I was also called upon to substitute teach on an almost daily basis, so there was a lot of disruption to my carefully made daily plans to address the business end, or to work with teachers to seek collaborative solutions to long-standing conflict. I was frustrated by not having time to do the work I felt I needed to do, and felt there were new small crises each day. I couldn’t get comfortable with my new position, nor with the way my days were constantly shifting away from my plans. It was then that a co-worker shared a quote with me from Thomas F. Crum, who writes about how to thrive in difficult working conditions: “Instead of seeing the rug being pulled from under us, we can learn to dance on a shifting carpet”.

Wow! That gave me a new vision, one where I wasn’t failing and flailing, but could become graceful in learning to be responsive to change big and small. I felt relieved to have a different way of looking at my progress through my days: I wasn’t flailing at all—I was dancing! Okay, it might be a clumsy dance, and I might bruise my knees, but that idea helped me respond to each day’s needs with courage and hope.

I especially like this image for those of us who work with young children. I imagine a child hopping around in the middle of a parachute, while the other children joyfully whip their corners up and down. The child in the center feels disoriented, exhilarated, surrounded by shifting color, sensation, and laughter. When I feel like there’s too much change happening, I try to see the world through that child’s eyes. It’s possible to find joy and possibility in the disorientation, and the swirl of thoughts and feelings, and new ways of seeing and being that come from change.

Key Takeaways

Our practices in the classroom and as leaders must constantly adapt to changes in our communities and our understanding of the world around us, which gives us the opportunity to continue to grow and develop.

You are a leader, and change is happening, and you are making decisions about how to move forward, and how to adapt thoughtfully. The good news is that when this change happens, our field has really amazing tools for adapting. We can develop a toolkit of trusted sources that we can turn to to provide us with information and strategies for ethical decision making.

If You’re Afraid of Falling…

One of the most important of these is the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, which expresses a commitment to core values for the field, and a set of principles for determining ethical behavior and decision-making. As we commit to the code, we commit to:

• Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle
• Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn
• Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family
• Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture,* community, and society
• Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague)
• Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues
• Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect.

If someone asked us to make a list of beliefs we have about children and families, we might not have been able to come up with a list that looked just like this, but, most of us in the field are here because we share these values and show up every day with them in our hearts.

The Code of Ethical Conduct can help bring what’s in your heart into your head. It’s a complete tool to help you think carefully about a dilemma, a decision, or a plan, based on these values. Sometimes we don’t make the “right” decision and need to change our minds, but as long as we make a decision based on values about the importance of the well-being of all children and families, we won’t be making a decision that we will regret.

An Awfully Big Current Issue—Let’s Not Dance Around It

In the field of early childhood, issues of prejudice have long been important to research, and in this country, Head Start was developed more than 50 years ago with an eye toward dismantling disparity based on ethnicity or skin color (among other things). However, research shows that this gap has not closed. Particularly striking, in recent years, is research addressing perceptions of the behavior of children of color and the numbers of children who are asked to leave programs.

In fact, studies of expulsion from preschool showed that black children were twice as likely to be expelled as white preschoolers, and 3.6 times as likely to receive one or more suspensions. This is deeply concerning in and of itself, but the fact that preschool expulsion is predictive of later difficulties is even more so:

Starting as young as infancy and toddlerhood, children of color are at highest risk for being expelled from early childhood care and education programs. Early expulsions and suspensions lead to greater gaps in access to resources for young children and thus create increasing gaps in later achievement and well-being… Research indicates that early expulsions and suspensions predict later expulsions and suspensions, academic failure, school dropout, and an increased likelihood of later incarceration.

Why does this happen? It’s complicated. Studies on the K-12 system show that some of the reasons include:

• uneven or biased implementation of disciplinary policies
• discriminatory discipline practices
• school racial climate
• under resourced programs
• inadequate education and training for teachers on bias

In other words, educators need more support and help in reflecting on their own practices, but there are also policies and systems in place that contribute to unfair treatment of some groups of children.

Key Takeaway

So…we have a lot of research that continues to be eye opening and cause us to rethink our practices over time, plus a cultural event—in the form of the Black Lives Matter movement—that push the issue of disparity based on skin color directly in front of us. We are called to respond. You are called to respond.

How Will I Ever Learn the Steps?

Woah—how do I respond to something so big and so complex and so sensitive to so many different groups of people?

As someone drawn to early childhood care and education, you probably bring certain gifts and abilities to this work.

• You probably already feel compassion for every child and want every child to have opportunities to grow into happy, responsible adults who achieve their goals. Remember the statement above about respecting the dignity and worth of every individual? That in itself is a huge start to becoming a leader working as an advocate for social justice.
• You may have been to trainings that focus on anti-bias and being culturally responsive.
• You may have some great activities to promote respect for diversity, and be actively looking for more.
• You may be very intentional about including materials that reflect people with different racial identities, genders, family structures.
• You may make sure that each family is supported in their home language and that multilingualism is valued in your program.
• You may even have spent some time diving into your own internalized biases.

This list could become very long! These are extremely important aspects of addressing injustice in early education which you can do to alter your individual practice with children.

As a leader in the field, you are called to think beyond your own practice.  As a leader you have the opportunity—the responsibility!—to look beyond your own practices and become an advocate for change. Two important recommendations (of many) from the NAEYC Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement, another important tool:

Speak out against unfair policies or practices and challenge biased perspectives.  Work to embed fair and equitable approaches in all aspects of early childhood program delivery, including standards, assessments, curriculum, and personnel practices.

Look for ways to work collectively with others who are committed to equity.  Consider it a professional responsibility to help challenge and change policies, laws, systems, and institutional practices that keep social inequities in place.

One take away I want you to grab from those last sentences: You are not alone. This work can be, and must be, collective.

As a leader, your sphere of influence is bigger than just you. You can influence the practices of others in your program and outside of it. You can influence policies, rules, choices about the tools you use, and ultimately, you can even challenge laws that are not fair to every child.

Who’s on your team? I want you to think for a moment about the people who help you in times where you are facing change. These are the people you can turn to for an honest conversation, where you can show your confusion and fear, and they will be supportive and think alongside you. This might include your friends, your partner, some or all of your coworkers, a former teacher of your own, a counselor, a pastor. Make a quick list of people you can turn to when you need to do some deep digging and ground yourself in your values.

And now, your workplace team: who are your fellow advocates in your workplace? Who can you reach out to when you realize something might need to change within your program? 

Wonderful. You’ve got other people to lean on in times of change. More can be accomplished together than alone. Let’s consider what you can do:

What is your sphere of influence? What are some small ways you can create room for growth within your sphere of influence? What about that workplace team? Do their spheres of influence add to your own?

Try drawing your sphere of influence: Draw yourself in the middle of the page, and put another circle around yourself, another circle around that, and another around that. Fill your circles in:

• Consider the first circle your personal sphere. Brainstorm family and friends who you can talk to about issues that are part of your professional life. You can put down their names, draw them, or otherwise indicate who they might be!
• Next, those you influence in your daily work, such as the children in your care, their families, maybe your co-workers land here.
• Next, those who make decisions about the system you are in—maybe this is your director or board, or even a PTA. 
• Next, think about the early childhood care and education community you work within. What kind of influence could you have on this community? Do you have friends who work at other programs you can have important conversations with to spread ideas? Are you part of a local Association for the Education of Young Children (AEYC)? Could you speak to the organizers of a local conference about including certain topics for sessions?
• And finally, how about state (and even national) policies? Check out The Children’s Institute to learn about state bills that impact childcare. Do you know your local representatives? Could you write a letter to your senator? Maybe you have been frustrated with the slow reimbursement and low rates for Employment Related Day Care subsidies and can find a place to share your story. You can call your local Child Care Resource and Referral, your local or state AEYC chapter, or visit childinst.org to find out how you can increase your reach! It’s probably a lot farther than you think!

Break It Down: Systemic Racism

When you think about injustice and the kind of change you want to make, there’s an important distinction to understand in the ways injustice happens in education (or anywhere else). First, there’s personal bias and racism, and of course it’s crucial as an educator to examine ourselves and our practices and responses. We all have bias and addressing it is an act of courage that you can model for your colleagues.

In addition, there’s another kind of bias and racism, and it doesn’t live inside of individual people, but inside of the systems we have built. Systemic racism exists in the structures and processes that have come into place over time, which allow one group of people a greater chance of succeeding than other specific groups of people.

Key Takeaways (Sidebar)

Systemic racism is also called institutional racism, because it exists – sometimes unquestioned – within institutions themselves.

In early childhood care and education, there are many elements that were built with middle class white children in mind. Many of our standardized tests were made with middle class white children in mind. The curriculum we use, the assessments we use, the standards of behavior we have been taught; they may have all been developed with middle class white children in mind.

Therefore it is important to consider whether they adequately and fairly work for all of the children in your program community. Do they have relevance to all children’s lived experience, development, and abilities? Who is being left out?

Imagine a vocabulary assessment in which children are shown common household items including a lawn mower…common if you live in a house; they might well be unfamiliar to a three-year-old who lives in an apartment building, however. The child may end up receiving a lower score, though their vocabulary could be rich, full of words that do reflect the objects in their lived experience.

The test is at fault, not the child’s experience. Yet the results of that test can impact the way educators, parents, and the child see their ability and likelihood to succeed.

You Don’t Have to Invent the Steps: Using an Equity Lens

In addition to the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Equity Statement, another tool for addressing decision-making is an equity lens. To explain what an equity lens is, we first need to talk about equity. It’s a term you may have heard before, but sometimes people confuse it with equality. It’s a little different – equity is having the resources needed to be successful.

There’s a wonderful graphic of children looking over a fence at a baseball game. In one frame, each child stands at the fence; one is tall enough to see over the top; another stands tip-toe, straining to see; and another is simply too short. This is equality—everyone has the same chance, but not everyone is equally prepared. In the frame titled equity, each child stands on a stool just high enough so that they may all see over the fence. The stools are the supports they need to have an equitable outcome—being able to experience the same thing as their friend.

Seeking equity means considering who might not be able to see over the fence and figuring out how to build them a stool so that they have the same opportunity.

An equity lens, then, is a tool to help you look at decisions through a framework of equity. It’s a series of questions to ask yourself when making decisions. An equity lens is a process of asking a series of questions to better help you understand if something (a project, a curriculum, a parent meeting, a set of behavioral guidelines) is unfair to specific individuals or groups whose needs have been overlooked in the past. This lens might help you to identify the impact of your decisions on students of color, and you can also use the lens to consider the impact on students experiencing poverty, students in nontraditional families, students with differing abilities, students who are geographically isolated, students whose home language is other than English, etc.) The lens then helps you determine how to move past this unfairness by overcoming barriers and providing equitable opportunities to all children.

Some states have adopted a version of the equity lens for use in their early learning systems. Questions that are part of an equity lens might include:

• What decision is being made, and what kind of values or assumptions are affecting how we make the decision?
• Who is helping make the decision? Are there representatives of the affected group who get to have a voice in the process?
• Does the new activity, rule, etc. have the potential to make disparities worse? For instance, could it mean that families who don’t have a car miss out on a family night? Or will it make those disparities better?
• Who might be left out? How can we make sure they are included?
• Are there any potential unforeseen consequences of the decision that will impact specific groups? How can we try to make sure the impact will be positive?

You can use this lens for all kinds of decisions, in formal settings, like staff meetings, and you can also work to make them part of your everyday thinking. I have a sticky note on my desk that asks “Who am I leaving out”? This is an especially important question if the answer points to children who are people of color, or another group that is historically disadvantaged. If that’s the answer, you don’t have to scrap your idea entirely. Celebrate your awareness, and brainstorm about how you can do better for everyone—and then do it!

Embracing our Bruised Knees: Accepting Discomfort as We Grow

Inspirational author Brene Brown, who writes books, among other things, about being an ethical leader, said something that really walloped me: if we avoid the hard work of addressing unfairness (like talking about skin color at a time when our country is divided over it) we are prioritizing our discomfort over the pain of others. 

Imagine a parent who doesn’t think it’s appropriate to talk about skin color with young children, who tells you so with some anger in their voice. That’s uncomfortable, maybe even a little scary. But as you prioritize upholding the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, you can see that this is more important than trying to avoid discomfort. Changing your practice to avoid conflict with this parent means prioritizing your own momentary discomfort over the pain children of color in your program may experience over time.

We might feel vulnerable when we think about skin color, and we don’t want to have to have the difficult conversation. But if keeping ourselves safe from discomfort means that we might not be keeping children safe from very real and life-impacting racial disparity, we’re not making a choice that is based in our values.

Change is uncomfortable. It leaves us feeling vulnerable as we reexamine the ideas, strategies, even the deeply held beliefs that have served us so far. But as a leader, and with the call to support every child as they deserve, we can develop a sort of super power vision, where we can look unflinchingly around us and understand the hidden impacts of the structures we work within.

A Few Recent Dance Steps of My Own

You’re definitely not alone—researchers and thinkers in the field are doing this work alongside you, examining even our most cherished and important ideas about childhood and early education. For instance, a key phrase that we often use to underpin our decisions is developmentally appropriate practice, which NAEYC defines as “methods that promote each child’s optimal development and learning through a strengths-based, play-based approach to joyful, engaged learning.” The phrase is sometimes used to contrast against practices that might not be developmentally appropriate, like expecting three-year-olds to write their names or sit quietly in a 30 minute story time.

Let me tell you a story about how professional development is still causing me to stare change in the face! At the NAEYC conference in 2020, during a session in which Dr. Jie-Qi Chen presented on different perspectives on developmentally appropriate practice among early educators in China and the United States. She showed a video from a classroom in China to educators in both the US and in China. The video was of a circle time in which a child was retelling a story that the class knew well, and then the children were encouraged to offer feedback and rate how well the child had done. The children listened attentively, and then told the storytelling child how they had felt about his retelling, including identifying parts that had been left out, inaccuracies in the telling, and advice for speaking more clearly and loudly.

The educators were asked what the impact of the activity would be on the children and whether it was developmentally appropriate. The educators in the United States had deep concerns that the activity would be damaging to a child’s self esteem, and was therefore not developmentally appropriate. They also expressed concerns about the children being asked to sit for this amount of time. The educators in the classroom in China felt that it was developmentally appropriate and the children were learning not only storytelling skills but how to give and receive constructive criticism.

As I watched the video, I had the same thoughts as the educators from the US—I’m not used to children being encouraged to offer criticism rather than praise. But I also saw that the child in question had self-confidence and received the feedback positively. The children were very engaged and seemed to feel their feedback mattered.

What was most interesting to me here was the idea of self-esteem, and how important it is to us here in the United States, or rather, how much protecting we feel it needs. I realized that what educators were responding to weren’t questions of whether retelling a story was developmentally appropriate, or whether the critical thinking skills the children were being asked to display were developmentally appropriate, but rather whether the social scenario in which one child receives potentially negative feedback in front of their peers was developmentally appropriate, and that the responses were based in the different cultural ideas of self-esteem and individual vision versus collective success.

My point here is that even our big ideas, like developmentally appropriate practice, have an element of vulnerability to them. As courageous leaders, we need to turn our eyes even there to make sure that our cultural assumptions and biases aren’t affecting our ability to see clearly, that the reality of every child is honored within them, and that no one is being left out.  And that’s okay. It doesn’t mean we should scrap them. It’s not wrong to advocate for and use developmentally appropriate practice as a framework for our work—not at all! It just means we need to remember that it’s built from values that may be specific to our culture—and not everyone may have equal access to that culture. It means we should return to our big ideas with respect and bravery and sit with them and make sure they are still the ones that serve us best in the world we are living in right now, with the best knowledge we have right now.

You, Dancing With Courage

So…As a leader is early childhood, you will be called upon to be nimble, to make new decisions and reframe your practice when current events or new understanding disrupt your plans. When this happens, professional tools are available to you to help you make choices based on your ethical commitment to children.

Change makes us feel uncomfortable but we can embrace it to do the best by the children and families we work with. We can learn to develop our critical thinking skills so that we can examine our own beliefs and assumptions, both as individuals and as a leader.

Remember that person dancing on the shifting carpet? That child in the middle of the parachute? They might be a little dizzy, but with possibility. They might lose their footing, but in that uncertainty, in the middle of the billowing parachute, there is the sensation that the very instability provides the possibility of rising up like the fabric. And besides—there are hands to hold if they lose their balance—or if you do! And so can you rise when you allow yourself to accept change and adapt to all the new possibility of growth that it opens up!

Current Issues in the Field Part 2—Dance Lessons

Okay, sure—things are gonna change, and this change is going to affect the lives of the children and families you work with, and affect you, professionally and personally. So—you’re sold, in theory, that to do the best by each one of those children, you’re just going to have to do some fancy footwork, embrace the change, and think through how to best adapt to it.

But…how? Before we talk about the kind of change that’s about rethinking your program on a broad level, let’s talk about those times we face when change happens in the spur of the moment, and impacts the lives of the children in your program—those times when your job becomes helping children process their feelings and adapt to change. Sometimes this is a really big deal, like a natural disaster. Sometimes it’s something smaller like the personal story I share below…something small, cuddly, and very important to the children.

Learning the Steps: How do I help children respond to change?

I have a sad story to share. For many years, I was the lead teacher in a classroom in which we had a pet rabbit named Flopsy. Flopsy was litter-trained and so our licensing specialist allowed us to let him hop freely around the classroom. Flopsy was very social, and liked to interact with children. He liked to be held and petted and was also playful, suddenly zooming around the classroom, hopping over toys and nudging children. Flopsy was a big part of our community and of children’s experience in our classroom.

One day, I arrived at school to be told by my distraught director that Flopsy had died in the night and she had removed his body. I had about 15 minutes before children would be arriving, and I had to figure out how to address Flopsy’s loss.

I took a few minutes to collect myself, and considered the following questions:

Yes, absolutely. The children would notice immediately that Flopsy was missing and would comment on it. It was important that I not evade their questions.

Flopsy had died. His body had stopped working. His brain had stopped working. He would not ever come back to life. We would never see Flopsy again. I wrote these sentences on a sticky note. They were short but utterly important.

I would give children the opportunity to share their feelings, and talk about my own feelings. I would read children’s books that would express feelings they might not have words for yet. I would pay extra attention to children reaching out to me and offer opportunities to affirm children’s responses by writing them down.

Human beings encounter death. Children lose pets, grandparents, and sometimes parents or siblings. I wanted these children to experience death in a way that would give them a template when they experienced more intense loss. I wanted them to know it’s okay to be sad, and that the sadness grows less acute over time. That it’s okay to feel angry or scared, and that these feelings, too, though they might be really big, will become less immediate. And that it’s okay to feel happy as you remember the one you lost.

I knew it was important not to give children mistaken impressions about death. I was careful not to compare it to sleep, because I didn’t want them to think that maybe Flopsy would wake up again. I also didn’t want them to fear that when mama fell asleep it was the same thing as death. I also wanted to be factual but leave room for families to share their religious beliefs with their children.

I didn’t have time to do research. But I mentally gathered up some wisdom from a training I’d been to, where the trainer talked about how important it is that we don’t shy away from addressing death with children. Her words gave me courage. I also gathered up some children’s books about pet death from our library.

The first thing I did was text my husband. I was really sad. I had cared for this bunny for years and I loved him too. I didn’t have time for a phone call, but that text was an important way for me to acknowledge my own feelings of grief.

Then I talked to the other teachers. I asked for their quick advice, and shared my plan, since the news would travel to other classrooms as well.

During my prep time that day, I wrote a letter to families, letting them know Flopsy had died and some basic information about how we had spoken to children about it, some resources about talking to children about death, and some titles of books about the death of pets. I knew that news of Flopsy’s death would be carried home to many families, and that parents might want to share their own belief systems about death. I also knew many parents were uncomfortable discussing death with young children and that it might be helpful to see the way we had done so.

I had curriculum planned for that day which I partially scrapped. At our first gathering time I shared the news with the whole group: I shared my sticky note of information about death. I told the children I was sad. I asked if they had questions and I answered them honestly. I listened when they shared their own feelings. I also told them I had happy memories of FLopsy and we talked about our memories.

During the course of the day, and the next few days, I gave the children invitations (but not assignments) to reflect on Flopsy and their feelings. I sat on the floor with a notebook and the invitation for children to write a “story” about Flopsy. Almost every child wanted their words recorded. Responses ranged from “Goodbye bunny” to imagined stories about Flopsy’s adventures, to a description of feelings of sadness and loss. Writing down these words helped acknowledge the children’s feelings. Some of them hung their stories on the wall, and some asked them to be read aloud, or shared them themselves, at circle time.

I also made sure there were plenty of other opportunities in the classroom for children who didn’t want to engage in these ways, or who didn’t need to.

We read “Saying Goodbye to Lulu” and “The Tenth Good Thing About Barney” in small groups; and while these books were a little bit above the developmental level of some children in the class, many children wanted to hear and discuss the books. When I became teary reading them, I didn’t try to hide it, but just said “I’m feeling sad, and it makes me cry a little bit. Everyone cries sometimes.”

This would be a good set of steps to address an event like a hurricane, wildfires, or an earthquake as well. First and foremost of course, make sure your children are safe and have their physical needs met! Remember your role as educator and caretaker; address their emotional needs, consider what you hope they will learn, gather the resources and your team, and make decisions that affirm the dignity of each child in your care.

• Does the issue affect children’s lived experiences? 
• How much and what kind of information is appropriate for their age?
• How can I best affirm their emotions?
• What do I hope they will learn?
• Could I accidentally be doing harm through my response?
• Which resources do I need and can I gather in a timely manner?
• How do I gather my team?
• How can I involve families?
• Now, I create and enact my plan…

Did your plan look any different for having used these questions? And did the process of making decisions as a leader look or feel different? How so?

You might not always walk yourself through a set of questions–but using an intentional tool is like counting out dance steps—there’s a lot of thinking it through at first, and maybe forgetting a step, and stumbling, and so forth. And then…somehow, you just know how to dance. And then you can learn to improvise. In other words, it is through practice that you will become adept at and confident in responding to change, and learn to move with grace on the shifting carpet of life.

Feeling the Rhythm: How do I help myself respond to change

—and grow through it.

Now, let’s address what it might look like to respond to a different kind of change, the kind in which you learn something new and realize you need to make some changes in who you are as an educator. This is hard, but there are steps you can take to make sure you keep moving forward:

• Work to understand your own feelings. Write about them. Talk them through with your teams—personal and/or professional.
• Take a look in the mirror, strive to see where you are at, and then be kind to yourself!
• Gather your tools! Get out that dog eared copy of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, and look for other tools that are relevant to your situation. Root yourself in the values of early childhood care and education.
• Examine your own practices in light of this change.
• Examine the policies, structures, or systems that affect your program in light of this change.
• Ask yourself, where could change happen? Remember your spheres of influence.
• Who can you collaborate with? Who is on your team?
• How can you make sure the people being affected by this change help inform your response? Sometimes people use the phrase “Nothing for us without us” to help remember that we don’t want to make decisions that affect a group of people (even if we think we’re helping) without learning more from individuals in that group about what real support looks like).
• Make a plan, including a big vision and small steps, and start taking those small steps. Remember that when you are ready to bring others in, they will need to go through some of this process too, and you may need to be on their team as they look for a safe sounding board to explore their discomfort or fear.
• Realize that you are a courageous advocate for children. Give yourself a hug!

• Work to understand your own feelings. Write about them. Talk them through with your teams—personal and/or professional. 

This might be a good time to freewrite about your feelings—just put your pencil to paper and start writing. Maybe you feel guilty because you’re afraid that too many children of color have been asked to leave your program. Maybe you feel angry about the injustice. Maybe you feel scared that this topic is politicized and people aren’t going to want to hear about it. Maybe you feel scared to even face the idea that bias could have affected children while in your care. All these feelings are okay! Maybe you talk to your partner or your friends about your fears before you’re ready to get started even thinking about taking action.

• Take a look in the mirror, strive to see where you are at, and then be kind to yourself! Tell that person looking back at you: “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”

Yep. You love children and you did what you believed was best for the children in your program. Maybe now you can do even better by them! You are being really really brave by investigating!

• Gather your tools! Get out that dog-eared copy of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, and look for other tools that are relevant to your situation.

Okay! This would be an excellent time to bring out the equity lens and your other tools. Read them over. Use them.

Do your practices affirm the dignity of every child and family? Ask yourself these hard questions while focusing on, in this case, how you look at behavior of children of color. Do the choices you make affirm the dignity of each unique child? Use your tools—you can pull out the equity lens here! Are you acknowledging the home realities of each child when you are having conversations that are meant to build social-emotional skills? Are you considering the needs of each child during difficult transitions? Do you provide alternative ways for children to engage if they have difficulty sitting in circle times?

And…Do your policies and structures affirm the dignity of every child and family? Use those tools! Look at your behavioral guidance policies—are you expecting children to come into your program with certain skills that may not be valued by certain cultures? What about your policies on sending children home or asking a family to leave your program? Could these policies be unfair to certain groups? In fact—given that you now know how extremely impactful expulsion is for preschoolers, could you take it off the table entirely?

Let’s say you’re a teacher, and you can look back and see that over the years you’ve been at your center, a disproportionately high number of children of color have been excluded from the program. Your director makes policy decisions—can you bring this information to him or her? Could you talk to your coworkers about how to bring it up? Maybe your sphere of influence could get even wider—could you share this information with other early educators in your community? Maybe even write a letter to your local representatives!

• Who can you collaborate with? Who is on your team? 

Maybe other educators? Maybe parents? Maybe your director? Maybe an old teacher of your own? Can you bring this up at a staff meeting? Or in informal conversations?

• How can you make sure the people being affected by this change help inform your response?

Let’s say your director is convinced that your policies need to change in light of this new information. You want to make sure that parent voice—and especially that of parents of color—is heard! You could suggest a parent meeting on the topic; or maybe do “listening sessions” with parents of color, where you ask them open-ended questions and listen and record their responses—without adding much of your own response; maybe you could invite parents to be part of a group who looks over and works on the policies. This can feel a little scary to people in charge (see decentered leadership?)

Maybe this plan is made along with your director and includes those parent meetings, and a timeline for having revised policies, and some training for the staff. Or—let’s back it up—maybe you’re not quite to that point yet, and your plan is how you are going to approach your director, especially since they might feel criticized. Then your plan might be sharing information, communicating enthusiasm about moving forward and making positive change, and clearly stating your thoughts on where change is needed! (Also some chocolate to reward yourself for being a courageous advocate for every child.)

And, as I may have mentioned, some chocolate. You are a leader and an advocate, and a person whose action mirrors their values. You are worth admiring!

Maybe you haven’t had your mind blown with new information lately, but I’ll bet there’s something you’ve thought about that you haven’t quite acted on yet…maybe it’s about individualizing lesson plans for children with differing abilities. Maybe it’s about addressing diversity of gender in the classroom. Maybe it’s about celebrating linguistic diversity, inviting children and parents to share their home languages in the classroom, and finding authentic ways to include print in these languages.

Whatever it is—we all have room to grow.

Make a Plan!

Dancing Your Dance: Rocking Leadership in Times of Change

There will never be a time when we as educators are not having to examine and respond to “Current Issues in the Field.” Working with children means working with children in a dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of community, knowledge, and personal experience. It’s really cool that we get to do this, walk beside small human beings as they learn to traverse the big wacky world with all its potholes…and it means we get to keep getting better and better at circling around, leaping over, and, yep, dancing around or even through those very potholes.

In conclusion, all dancers feel unsteady sometimes. All dancers bruise their knees along the way. All educators make mistakes and experience discomfort.  All dancers wonder if this dance just isn’t for them.  All dancers think that maybe this one is just too hard and want to quit sometimes. All educators second guess their career choices. But all dancers also discover their own innate grace and their inborn ability to both learn and to change; our very muscles are made to stretch, our cells replace themselves, and we quite simply cannot stand still. All educators have the capacity to grow into compassionate, courageous leaders!

Your heart, your brain, and your antsy feet have led you to become a professional in early childhood care and education, and they will all demand that you jump into the uncertainty of leadership in times of change, and learn to dance for the sake of the children in your care. This, truly, is your call to action, and your pressing invitation to join the dance!

Brown, B. (2018).  Dare to lead . Vermilion.

Broughton, A., Castro, D. and Chen, J.  (2020).  Three International Perspectives on Culturally Embraced Pedagogical Approaches to Early Teaching and Learning.  [Conference presentation].  NAEYC Annual Conference.

Crum, T.  (1987).  The Magic of Conflict: Turning a Life of Work into a Work of Art.  Touchstone.

Meek, S. and Gilliam, W. (2016).  Expulsion and Suspension in Early Education as Matters of Social Justice and Health Equity.  Perspectives: Expert Voices in Health & Health Care.

Scott, K., Looby, A., Hipp, J. and Frost, N. (2017).  “Applying an Equity Lens to the Child Care Setting.”  The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 45 (S1), 77-81.

Online Resources for Current Issues in the Field

Resources for opening yourself to personal growth, change, and courageous leadership:

• Brown, Brenee. Daring Classrooms. https://brenebrown.com/daringclassrooms
• Chang, R. (March 25, 2019).  What Growth Mindset Means for Kids [Video] .  TED Conferences.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66yaYmUNOx4

Resources for Thinking About Responding to Current Issues in Education

• Flanagan, N. (July 31, 2020).  How School Should Respond to Covid-19 [Video] .  TED Conferences.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSkUHHH4nb8
• Harris, N.B.. (February 217, 015). How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime [Video] .  TED Conferences.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk
• Simmons, D. (August 28, 2020). 6 Ways to be an Anti Racist Educator [Video] . Edutopia.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM3Lfk751cg&t=3s

Leadership in Early Care and Education Copyright © 2022 by Dr. Tammy Marino; Dr. Maidie Rosengarden; Dr. Sally Gunyon; and Taya Noland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Everything begins with an idea!

Persuasive Speech Topics about Education

Persuasive speech about education is a kind of speech that a person makes with an intention to convince the audience to accept his or her own view about education. People have various opinions on different aspects of education. Often, people try to promote their views about education, and the best way to do so is through persuasive speeches. However, anyone who wants to give persuasive speech must firstly find a topic that will make the audience have an interest in what he or she has to say. We realized that a lot of people find it difficult to get education topics that their audience will find interesting, so we’ve decided to help people with that. As you read on, you’ll find some popular persuasive speech topics about education. Go through them to get the best persuasive education speech ideas for your next persuasive speech. When you use the education topics below, you’ll find it easy to get good points to convince your audience.

Persuasive speech topics about education

• The government should distribute free textbooks regularly to students
• Libraries should be available in all school
• Online learning should be encouraged
• Education is necessary for every individual in society
• Students deserve more scholarship opportunities as a way to encourage them to do well in academics
• Free breakfast or lunch should be given in school
• Free internet connection should be provided at high schools
• Learning environment should be conducive
• Uniforms should be compulsory at all levels of education
• Students should enjoy free transportation to schools
• Shaming words shouldn’t be used on students
• Grades shouldn’t be all about education
• Talents of students should be improved on at schools
• Education should be free for all
• Discrimination of black students should be stopped
• Students should be punished for their mistakes at school
• Values and Ethics should be taught at school
• Learning should be more about practicals than theory
• Exorbitant School fees should be prevented by the government
• Bullying should be punished appropriately
• Avenue should be created for the gifted students to showcase their talents
• Excessive punishment for minor offenses should be eradicated
• Electronic learning should be encouraged
• Religious discrimination should be discouraged in schools
• Empowerment skills should be taught to students
• Excessive use of accessories should not be allowed in schools
• Dropping out of school shouldn’t be an option
• Moral education should be taught
• Sporting activities should be encouraged in schools
• Rioting by students should be frowned at
• Quizzes and competitions should be organized for students
• Violence in school should be abolished
• Sex education should be taught in all schools
• Should language classes be necessary for all students?
• A peaceful protest by the students should be allowed
• Students should be rewarded for good behavior
• Teachers deserve good salaries
• Job opportunities should be made available for graduates
• Extracurricular activities should be encouraged
• Maltreatment of students should stop
• Accommodation should be made available for students in school
• Students should carry out community services
• Educational standard should be high
• Schools should seek better ways of conducting examinations
• Proper discipline is necessary in schools
• Technology should be used to enhance education.
• Students with poor grades shouldn’t be criticized
• Child abuse should be prevented at schools
• Government should run all schools
• Expensive school fees should be discouraged
• Schools should be in every street in a country
• Students should freely choose their courses in high school
• Teachers should not beat or spanking students for whatever reason
• Students should be allowed to bring mobile phones to school
• Teachers should not threaten students
• Religious beliefs should be taught in schools
• Government should lay much emphasis on school certificates
• Consistency of tests and assignments should be reduced
• Students should not pay any interest on student loans
• Schools should take student counseling more seriously
• Students deserve to enjoy social life within school premises
• Students with disabilities should enjoy free education
• Students should not get homework everyday
• Students in the higher institutions deserve to receive allowance from the government
• School authorities should frown at racism
• There should be a closer relationship between schools and industries
• Government should make funds available for interschools competitions
• There should be a well-recognized student day worldwide
• Students in elementary schools deserve to enjoy free meal at school

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Why early childhood care and education matters

The right to education begins at birth.

But new UNESCO data shows that 1 out of 4 children aged 5 have never had any form of pre-primary education. This represents 35 million out of 137 million 5-year-old children worldwide. Despite research that proves the benefits of early childhood care and education (ECCE), only half of all countries guarantee free pre-primary education around the world.

UNESCO’s World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education taking place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 14-16 November 2022 will reaffirm every young child’s right to quality care and education, and call for increased investment in children during the period from birth to eight years.  

Here’s what you need to know what early childhood care and education.

Why is early childhood care and education important?

The period from birth to eight years old is one of remarkable brain development for children and represents a crucial window of opportunity for education. When children are healthy, safe and learning well in their early years, they are better able to reach their full developmental potential as adults and participate effectively in economic, social, and civic life. Providing ECCE is regarded as a means of promoting equity and social justice, inclusive economic growth and advancing sustainable development.

A range of research and evidence has converged to support this claim. First, neuroscience has shown that the environment affects the nature of brain architecture – the child’s early experiences can provide either a strong or a fragile foundation for later learning, development and behaviours. Second, the larger economic returns on investment in prior-to-school programmes than in programmes for adolescents and adults has been demonstrated. Third, educational sciences have revealed that participation in early childhood care and education programmes boosts children’s school readiness and reduces the gap between socially advantaged and disadvantaged children at the starting gate of school.

From a human rights perspective, expanding quality early learning is an important means for realizing the right to education within a lifelong learning perspective. ECCE provides a significant preparation to basic education and a lifelong learning journey. In 2021, only 22% of United Nations Member States have made pre-primary education compulsory, and only 45% provide at least one year of free pre-primary education. Only 46 countries have adopted free and compulsory pre-primary education in their laws.

How has access to ECCE evolved?

Overall, there has been significant global progress in achieving inclusive and high-quality ECCE. Globally, the ratio for pre-primary education has increased from 46% in 2010 to 61% in 2020. The global ratio for participation in organized learning one year before the official primary school entry age also increased to reach 75% in 2020. However, in low- and lower-middle-income countries, fewer than two in three children attend organized learning one year before the official primary entry age.  Furthermore, the proportion of children receiving a positive and stimulating home environment remains significantly low with only 64% of children having positive and nurturing home environments. Great regional disparities remain the biggest challenges. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 40% of children have experienced a positive and stimulating home learning environment compared to 90% of children in Europe and Northern America.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted ECCE?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effect on ECCE and amplified its crisis. Young children have been deemed the greatest victims of the pandemic, experiencing the impact of on their immediate families, and because of stay-at-home orders of lockdowns, having been deprived of essential services to promote their health, learning and psychosocial well-being. Some children will start basic education without organized learning experiences to the detriment of their readiness for school. It was estimated that the closure of ECCE services has resulted in 19 billion person-days of ECCE instruction lost with 10.75 million children not being able to reach their developmental potential in the first 11 months of the pandemic.

What are the consequences on foundational learning?

ECCE is a pre-requisite for meeting the right to learn and to develop. In particular, access to pre-primary education is a basis for acquiring foundational learning including literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional learning. Yet, according to the recent estimate, about 64% of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple story at age 10. The roots of this learning poverty start in ECCE and its lack of capacity to make children ready for school.

What is the situation regarding ECCE teachers and care staff?

As the calls grow for higher quality ECCE provision, teacher shortages and quality has received increasing attention. The number of teachers who received at least the minimum pedagogical teacher training, both pre-service and in-service, increased from 68% to 80% between 2010 and 2020. It is estimated that ECCE services need another 9.3 million full-time teachers to achieve the SDG target . Most Member States have established qualification requirements for ECCE teachers, while far less attention has been focused on ECCE teachers’ working conditions and career progression. The low social status, poor salaries and job insecurity of ECCE teachers and care staff tend to have an adverse impact on attracting and retaining suitably qualified early childhood educators.

What are the policies, governance and financing implications?

It is time for societies and governments to implement relevant policies to recover and transform their ECCE systems. ECCE is seen by many countries as a key part of the solution to a myriad of challenges including social inclusion and cohesion, economic growth and to tackle other sustainable development challenges. According to the 2022 Global Education Monitoring Report, 150 out of 209 countries have set targets for pre-primary education participation by 2025 or 2030. The proportion of countries that monitor participation rates in pre-primary education is expected to increase from 75% in 2015 to 92% in 2025 and 95% in 2030. It is expected that the pre-primary participation rate for all regions will exceed 90% by 2030. In Central and South Asia, East and South-East Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, participation rates are expected to be nearly 100%. At the same time, it is projected that participation rates in Northern Africa and Western Asia will be about 77% by 2030.

What are the obstacles to ensuring access to quality ECCE?

• Policy fragmentation: In many countries, ECCE policies and services are fragmented and do not leverage whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to addressing the holistic needs and rights of families and their young children. This is particularly challenging for national governments with limited resources, low institutional capacities and weak governance.
• Lack of public provision : Non-state provision of ECCE continues to grow in many contexts, and the role of non-state actors in influencing policy development and implementation is evident. Non-state actors provide a large proportion of places in pre-primary education. In 2000, 28.5% of pre-primary aged children were enrolled in private institutions, and this rose to 37% in 2019, a figure higher than for primary (19%) or secondary (27%) education.
• Insufficient regulation of the sector : Specific regulations and standards for ECCE are not in place in most countries. Regulations usually do not establish quality assurance mechanisms and those that do, tend not to focus on outcomes.
• Chronic underfunding : An average of 6.6% of education budgets at national and subnational levels were allocated to pre-primary education. Low-income countries, on average, invest 2% of education budgets in pre-primary education, which is far below the target of 10% by 2030 suggested by UNICEF. In terms of international aid, pre-primary education remains the least funded sector.

What are the solutions?

Political will and ownership are key to transforming ECCE. UNESCO’s review highlights progress in some countries, giving an indication of what is required to successfully strengthen the capacity of ECCE systems:

• Expanding and diversifying access : Increasing investment and establishing a legal framework to expand ECCE services are essential steps. Innovative ECCE delivery mechanisms such as mobile kindergartens with teachers, equipment for learning and play, have been deployed in some countries to reach remote areas and provide children with pre-primary education.  
• Enhancing quality and relevance : ECCE curriculum frameworks should cover different aspects of early learning and prepare children with essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions to transit smoothly to formal education.
• Making ECCE educators and caregivers a transforming force : For the transformation of ECCE to take place, ECCE educators need to be adequately supported and empowered to play their part.
• Improving governance and stakeholder participation : Countries have adopted different modes of governance. There are generally two systems that are followed, an integrated system and a split system.
• Using funding to steer ECCE development : Strengthening domestic public financing is important for providing affordable ECCE. Since ECCE services are offered by different ministries, there must be a clear demarcation of funding and financing rules for different sectors and different ministries. Innovative financing may include earmarking resources from economic activities and other sources.
• Establishing systems for monitoring and assessing whole-of-child development . System-level action in strengthening the availability and reliability of data obtained from assessments enables efficient and timely monitoring of programmes and child developmental milestones.
• Galvanize international cooperation and solidarity . The World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education is an opportunity to mobilize existing global, regional, and national networks to increase focus on identifying and sharing innovations, policies and practices.

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100 Persuasive Speech Topics for Kids

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Kids' persuasive speech topics cover everything from current events to age old childhood milestones. If you've been assigned a persuasive writing speech, look for a topic you know a lot about and really stand behind.

Easy Persuasive Speech Topics for Beginners

Students in grades two and up who are just starting to learn about the different types of essays and writing can select easy topics about things they are very familiar with. These persuasive writing prompts work great for short speeches.

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Fun and Interesting Topics

• Kids should start every morning with yoga.
• Cereal is not a healthy breakfast.
• Showering every day isn't important.
• Kids' clothing should always be designed by kids.
• Being a YouTube star is a real job.
• Boredom is good for kids.
• Borrowing books from the library is better than buying them from a store.
• Hamsters are the best first pet for kids.
• Every person is completely unique.
• My town is the best place for families with young children to live.
• Being an only child is better than having siblings.
• Kids should have TVs in their bedrooms.
• Jeans are the most uncomfortable article of clothing.

Educational Topics

• Cursive writing shouldn't be taught in schools.
• Lunch periods should be longer for younger kids and shorter for older kids.
• Kids shouldn't be allowed to bring homemade treats to share at school.
• Homework should be optional for kids.
• Schools should mandate that all kids learn about all holidays celebrated around the world.
• All schools should have outdoor classrooms available.
• All foods should be grown or raised by small farmers.
• Playing video games is a good hobby for kids.
• Gardening is an easy way to eat healthier.
• Reading is more important than math.
• Kids should get to choose what classes they take in elementary school.

Global Topics

• People's differences make the world a more interesting place.
• Kids under age 13 shouldn't be allowed to have jobs anywhere in the world.
• The world is round.
• Dinosaurs really did exist and go extinct.
• People should only be allowed to eat food that grows or lives in their country.
• International pen pals are good for kids.
• Learning a second language is helpful for everyone.
• There should be one form of money that every country uses.
• Every country should have its own kind of schools.
• Governments should offer free travel to other countries for educational purposes.

Intermediate Persuasive Speech Topics for Children

Kids in upper elementary grades who have some practice in writing persuasive speeches can choose topics that might be a little more controversial. These unique speech topics leave room for longer arguments and feature more interesting subjects.

• Kids should have cell phones.
• Kids, not adults, should decide how much screen time to have each day.
• Every town should be required to have a playground.
• Waffle cones are better than regular ice cream cones.
• Dogs are better companions than cats.
• Wearing pajamas in public is inappropriate.
• Short hair is for boys and long hair is for girls.
• Kids should have fewer toys and more cardboard boxes to play with.
• Girls like to play with action figures.
• Pokemon are cooler than Yo Kai.
• Mosquitos are the most annoying of all bugs.
• Zoos are unsafe for young children.
• Kids under age 13 should be banned from having social media accounts.
• Classrooms shouldn't have traditional desks.
• School lunches should include some junk food options.
• Every school should have child representatives on their hiring committee.
• Naps are important for kids of all ages, not just babies and toddlers.
• The government should stop making paper money and only use coins.
• Robots make life easier for humans.
• Children's books should be written by children.
• Field trips and real-world experiences are more useful than classroom lectures.
• Columbus discovered America.
• Kids should be allowed to skip high school and go to college early if they want.
• Dancing in public should be outlawed.
• Voice recognition locks are safer than fingerprint recognition locks.
• People should only eat foods they grow or catch.
• All people in the world should speak English.
• All countries should have the same rules about weapons.
• Every child should spend a year living in another country with their family.
• Men and women should have the same rights no matter what country they live in.
• Adults should encourage child participation in strikes and marches for important causes.
• The current U.S. President represents the country well.
• Global competition is good for everyone.

Advanced Persuasive Speech Topics for Kids

Upper elementary and lower middle grade students with lots of speech writing experience can pick more complex topics that elicit bigger emotional reactions.

• TV shows and movies for kids should have stronger content guidelines.
• Real life heroes like police officers and firefighters would be more approachable if they dressed like Power Rangers and other super heroes.
• Virtual reality games are better than 3D games.
• Parents of bullies should be punished for their child's actions.
• "Crap" and "Heck" are bad words.
• Riding a bike is not that easy.
• Funny cat videos are funnier than funny baby videos.
• There's no such thing as too many stuffed animals.
• Goats say "maa," not "baa."
• Kids sports are safe.
• Holidays shouldn't be celebrated in schools.
• Kids should rate their teachers at the start and end of every school year.
• Recess and classroom physical activity breaks help kids focus in school.
• School buses should have a driver and at least two aides.
• Classes should be grouped by ability levels rather than ages.
• Technology makes people's lives better.
• Middle school is still elementary school.
• Schools should mandate classes where kids teach each other.
• No one, teachers or students, should be allowed to bring cell phones into the school.
• Kids should be allowed to take off their shoes in their classroom.
• Students should not have to ask permission to take drinks and bathroom breaks.
• Global warming isn't real.
• Every country can have its own guidelines for who is allowed to leave or enter.
• Kids can help combat climate change.
• Astronauts will find life on other planets.
• Daylight Savings Time should be eliminated.
• Aquariums and zoos help with wildlife conservation.
• People should be allowed to clone animals.
• Sugar should be outlawed.
• McDonald's is better than Burger King.
• Tribal cultures should be preserved.
• Companies should not be allowed to build their products in other countries.
• People should call countries by their native name, not a translated name.

More Speech Topics for Kids

Speech topic examples and ideas from other types of speeches can be adapted to persuasive writing with a few minor wording changes.

• Get students started with motivational speech topics for kids that are uplifting and less controversial.
• Beginning writers can select simple kids speech topics for their first persuasive essays.
• Some of the most interesting speech topics for kids include subjects they haven't encountered in real life.
• Use examples of funny speeches for kids to show how students can inject humor into any kind of speech.

State Your Case

Most people agree that writing in elementary school is important because it gives kids a way to express their thoughts and feelings in a way others can understand. Persuasive writing is all about stating your case, or point, and all the facts that support this opinion. Choose a topic you believe in or are passionate about to create the best persuasive speech.

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Benefits of Early Childhood Education

More and more research is showing that quality early education opportunities have lifelong benefits not only for those children, but for society in general. By the time a child is just 5 years of age, the brain has undergone 85% of its development . That is a relatively short window of opportunity to provide the best environment for as much learning and growth as possible.

Why is early childhood education so important?

Numerous researchers have looked from the scientific standpoint of brain development to learn more about how children’s brains develop. They continually find the same answer – that brain development is on overdrive during the years before typical schooling of K-12. Even researchers who study socioeconomic impacts of early childhood education find that the benefits of quality programs are far reaching – to the economy, workforce, and beyond. Students who have access to early childhood education:

• Do better in elementary school
• Graduate high school with better grades
• Have higher test scores
• Go on to college or another avenue of education or training
• Have a stronger social support system as adults
• Have higher incomes by the time they are in their middle ages
• Have a lower likelihood of being incarcerated for crimes

Early childhood education is a proactive approach to addressing problems that are often seen much later – when the changes needed are more complicated and challenging. Just like preparing your vehicle before a road trip, taking steps  before  there is a problem can make for a much better journey.

What types of early childhood education are available and work best?

The research is conclusive that opportunities for early childhood education are vitally important to preparing children not only for school, but for life. There are, however, many different ways that early childhood education can take shape that can all be effective at helping children succeed.

Early childhood education options are not equal throughout communities, and many are trying to focus their energies on families who have fewer resources. The lower the family income and grade level or academic success that parents have, the lower the likelihood that their children will be able to find the early education resources needed. People living in poverty or in poor neighborhoods just don’t have access to enrichment programs and engaging daily activities as easily as some in other demographics. This is why programs like Head Start target low-income families to serve them with resources and tools for early childhood education during those crucial first five years.

Other community based programs also show positive impacts on families. Classes where moms bring their toddlers to meet and play with other toddlers in a slightly more formal setting can give these children opportunities to learn the foundations of social cues. Moms can also learn from the wisdom of other moms, and gain ideas for making more purposeful playtime at home with their kids.

Parents who are concerned about their young children’s early childhood education have many options .

• Head Start and other social programs aimed at providing support and tools for childhood education
• Community education based early childhood learning groups and settings
• Church based parent and child classes
• Quality pre-K programs available for ages 3-5
• Daycares with educational components that build on core skills needed
• Community involvement as a family, taking part in various activities of the environment on a regular and positive basis (attending museums, parks, zoos, concerts, and any other age appropriate activity that engages your child)
• Story times at libraries
• Music enrichment programs for tots
• Early intervention programs for kids with disabilities, learning, or behavioral challenges

The goal of early childhood education is not that all children between birth and five years of age attend a similar classroom setting that looks exactly the same. The goal, instead, is to make sure that all children ages birth to five years have regular and consistent opportunities for enriching and engaging activities, regardless of income or family structure. These activities and opportunities should include time for reading, exploring outside, imaginative play, engaging play with adults, engaging play with peers, and participating and experiencing new things. Early childhood education of many forms is one of the most important investments that can be made in a child’s future.

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• 1. Education is…
• 2. Students...
• 3. Teachers
• 4. Spending Time...
• 5. Places For Learning
• 6. The Right Stuff
• 7. And a System…
• 8. …with Resources…
• 10. So Now What?

Preschool: Yes, Early Childhood Education Matters

America would be more equal, with this one change..

Some children fall behind in school. But many start behind, especially kids from less-advantaged families.

In This Lesson

Why does early childhood education matter, what is childhood mortality, when does learning begin, does early learning head off learning gaps, what is the history of kindergarten, how old are kids in kindergarten, when do achievement gaps begin, is pre-k education a good investment, does the federal government support early education, how does california compare to other states in early education, do other countries provide preschool free, do researchers agree about the value of early education, are childcare workers paid well, ★ discussion guide.

There are no magic answers in education, but considerable evidence suggests that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Achievement gaps start early. Why not head them off before they happen?

Ed100 Chapter Four explores on the role of time in education. This lesson, the first of the chapter, focuses on the role of timing — specifically preschool and kindergarten education. California struggled for decades to get serious about early learning. There are reasons for optimism.

Today, most babies live

In the early days of public education in America, early education wasn't a top priority for many reasons, starting with the fact that nearly half of children died before age five. As recently as 1920, the childhood mortality rate approached 20%. The institutions of public education took shape at a time when most children were cared for by their family until they had the ability to walk themselves to school.

Today, the vast majority of children live, protected by vaccines against childhood diseases. In most developed countries and US states , about 996 out of every thousand children live to at least age five. It makes sense for early childhood to be about learning, not just survival.

Early learning starts at birth

Children are born learners, and those with the opportunity to attend a good preschool begin their life with significant advantages. According to one Stanford study, a language gap between rich and poor children begins in infancy . Stanford psychologists found that 2-year-old children of lower-income families may already be six months behind in language development. K-12 educators can’t do much about this — for them, California’s large achievement gaps come to them as a pre-existing condition .

To head off gaps from the start, it helps to prepare new parents for their role as their child's first teacher. Nurse-Family Partnership programs begin even before birth, working with new mothers. Nurse home visiting programs support families with medical, parenting and family education to give children a strong start.

Achievement gaps start early

Persistent gaps in academic achievement show up prominently in standardized tests. Researchers have demonstrated that these patterns can be spotted very early. According to a high-profile study by the Getting Down to Facts II research effort (GDTFII), California’s achievement gap, one of the biggest in the nation, is not due to failures in K-12 education. Rather, it exists because of “the disproportionate achievement gap when children enter kindergarten.”

Where did the term kindergarten come from?

The first systematic movement for early childhood education began in Germany, where it was called kindergarten . The term stuck. Elizabeth Peabody is generally credited for establishing America’s first public kindergarten in Boston in the 1860’s. She was inspired by a private German school in Wisconsin led by Margarethe Schurz . As mandatory public education took root throughout the U.S. states in the 1910’s, many included a kindergarten program as an optional extension of elementary school. (See Ed100 Lesson 1.7 for more about the history of public education .)

What does kindergarten mean now?

Kindergarten in California generally refers to education for five-year-old children . Though not mandatory, it is provided for free, and an analysis by the California Kindergarten Association estimated that about 93-97% of children enroll in it, whether in a public or private school. The most recent credible estimate (2017) suggests that about 70% of California's kindergarten students attend a full-day program, about 5.6 hours in duration. The other 30% attend a part-day program, about 3.5 hours in duration, shorter than most pre-school programs. Bills to make kindergarten mandatory for all children at age five and full-length were vetoed in 2022.

Every dollar invested in high-quality early learning programs can save $7 later on.

A wealth of evidence supports the value of universal early education. Estimates of the long-term return on investment from preschool programs range from a low of 200%-400% (based on a meta-analysis of multiple studies) to 700% or more . Students provided early education are more likely to graduate from high school and college. They are more likely to attend school consistently and less likely to have to repeat a grade of school. They are better socialized in school and less apt to fail .

In addition to the educational and social benefits for children, early education programs also free up time for parents to earn, learn, or make other choices.

How does America invest in early education?

Education and care for children are not mentioned in the Constitution, so they are a function of the states. Some states invest more in the education and well-being of young children, and others invest less.

The federal government provides some support for early education and child care providers, partly through the Head Start program. Federal funds for early education often are structured as block grants that help coax states to take action. Funding for federal grants must be passed by Congress, which can be fickle. In a 2021 report on the economics of child care , the US Treasury reported on the costs, burdens, and benefits of child care and early child education. (The report was issued in the context of the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better plan.)

Early education has received sporadic federal funding in times of crisis. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Congress provided significant funding for early education on a temporary basis, with bipartisan support. In 2023, this consensus was insufficient to overcome partisan filibusters over the national debt ceiling , leaving thousands of early education providers underfunded .

Lacking clear federal leadership, states vary widely in their implementation of public education for children prior to kindergarten:

California has struggled for a policy consensus about the best approach to providing more supervised time for children. Is it better to fund more time for early learning or more after-school program time? In California, this choice was personified by two successive governors. Arnold Schwarzenegger , who served 2003-2011, won the office after successfully campaigning for an initiative that funded after-school programs. Under his successor, Jerry Brown, the state pivoted toward early learning. During Brown's administration, California took significant steps toward making education for four-year-olds part of the state's public education system under the name Transitional Kindergarten (TK).

Gavin Newsom, who succeeded Brown, committed to expand and accelerate the rollout of TK:

“California is making a big commitment, and that’s making Transitional Kindergarten accessible and free to all 4 year old kids. That means every child can learn in a nurturing environment with small class sizes to give our young learners the attention they deserve. And when we’re finished with this expansion, California will have the single largest free preschool program in the country, serving nearly 400,000 children.” — Governor Gavin Newsom, Jan 4, 2023

A big little increase

To implement a TK program safely and effectively requires staffing, facilities, transportation arrangements, community confidence and leadership. It doesn't just happen. To make transitional kindergarten universally available in California will probably take years, with gaps in availabity and quality. Inevitably, some will complain about the expense of adding a year to the school system. It's useful to keep the context in mind: extending the 13-year K-12 system to a 14th year is an increase of less than 8%.

When fully implemented, it is reasonable to expect that TK will bring California's education system a bit closer to matching the best practices of the world's developed nations, which are way ahead in this area.

Which countries invest in early education?

Virtually all developed nations provide universal preschool for 4 year olds. Most provide it for 3 year olds, too.

The short answer: virtually all of them.

Because the benefits of universal early education are massive, most of the world’s developed economies provide universal public education starting by age three. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): “Once children reach the age of 3, early childhood education and care is the norm in the vast majority of OECD countries, with an average enrollment rate of 74%.”

Is preschool a magic answer?

Of course not. Preschool belongs on the long list of things-that-are-not-magic. Educating kids is hard, and there are always ways to mess it up in implementation.

But the cumulative evidence is awfully persuasive. For example, it would make sense for the academic benefits of preschool to kind of wash out over time, making it hard to detect by, say, seventh grade. It isn't. More than a generation's worth of skeptical research on early education suggests that learning is cumulative. Like a snowball on a roll, knowledge and skills tend to grow faster than they melt.

Early education isn't magic — but investing in it is good policy. Failing to provide universal early education is harmful, and tends to have unequal impacts.

Pre-TK teachers in poverty

The quality of early learning programs depends on the support and preparation of the people who work in them. But early childhood care workers are among the lowest-paid workforce in the country. Nearly half of child care workers are in households that participate in at least one public assistance program, such as Medicaid or CalFresh (food stamps). The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley finds that policies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. “shortchange the two million early educators who are shaping the future of 12 million children in childcare and preschool…” California is not an exception .

Updated November 2023

Which ONE of the following statements is TRUE?

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Carol Kocivar December 6, 2023 at 3:40 pm

Jeff camp - founder june 13, 2023 at 12:21 pm, carol kocivar august 4, 2022 at 1:35 pm, carol kocivar august 3, 2022 at 9:08 pm, carol kocivar august 3, 2022 at 9:04 pm, carol kocivar october 19, 2021 at 12:59 pm, jeff camp - founder september 1, 2021 at 11:11 pm, jeff camp - founder may 3, 2021 at 10:33 am, derekandrebeccasdad november 21, 2019 at 10:57 pm, jamie kiffel-alcheh november 2, 2019 at 9:07 pm, susannah baxendale january 17, 2019 at 12:11 pm, caryn january 17, 2019 at 12:39 pm, susannah baxendale january 17, 2019 at 12:07 pm, caryn january 17, 2019 at 12:23 pm, jeff camp august 16, 2018 at 12:25 pm, carol kocivar april 8, 2018 at 1:17 pm, carol kocivar december 7, 2017 at 10:48 am, lisette october 3, 2017 at 4:23 pm, carol kocivar july 19, 2017 at 3:02 pm, carol kocivar july 1, 2017 at 11:28 am, jeff camp - founder march 28, 2017 at 3:54 pm, rbrooks january 31, 2017 at 3:13 pm, carol kocivar december 27, 2016 at 3:57 pm, carol kocivar october 28, 2016 at 12:28 pm, carol kocivar june 20, 2016 at 9:41 am, carol kocivar june 12, 2016 at 5:02 pm, carol kocivar june 10, 2016 at 2:25 pm, carol kocivar june 10, 2016 at 2:22 pm, albert stroberg may 1, 2016 at 7:09 pm, carol kocivar april 23, 2016 at 3:56 pm, carol kocivar april 23, 2016 at 3:05 pm, carol kocivar march 16, 2016 at 12:31 pm, carol kocivar march 8, 2016 at 4:36 pm, carol kocivar december 5, 2015 at 10:56 am, jeff camp - founder october 13, 2015 at 12:59 pm, aimeef23 april 27, 2015 at 4:18 pm, janet l. april 20, 2015 at 6:27 pm, ms april 11, 2015 at 11:58 pm, tara massengill february 8, 2015 at 11:56 am, paul muench january 14, 2015 at 9:03 pm, carol kocivar - ed100 december 4, 2014 at 12:10 pm, ted lempert april 5, 2011 at 4:13 pm, spending time....

• Spending Time... Overview of Chapter 4
• Preschool Yes, Early Childhood Education Matters
• Class Size How Big Should Classes Be?
• School Hours Is There Enough Time To Learn?
• Time Management Spending School Time Well
• Extra Time and Tutoring When Kids Need More Time and Attention
• Summer Time to Learn, or Time to Forget?
• After School What Should Happen After School?
• Attendance Don't Miss School!
• Purpose What is Education For, Really?
• Parents A Child's First Teacher
• World Language Learning The Cure for Ugly Americans

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• Persuasive Essay- Why We Need Preschool

The essay isn’t quite finished yet, I plan to write a little bit more about why the Head Start program is ineffective even for those who do qualify and I want to end the essay with my detailed proposal of what needs to be seen in preschool is this country- it needs to be available, free, and optional, and preschools must have qualified teachers, adequate materials, and government controlled curriculums. Emphasis needs to be placed on government regulation so that preschools in underprivileged districts still get the same benefits as wealthier districts. Please offer any honest feedback! Thanks.

(Citations aren’t in yet but I have endnotes marking their place just for my own use. You can ignore them, but if you would like to know where I got any of my information I can post a completed copy next week)

My first day of preschool was one of the most exiting days of my life. My aunt signed me in as I ran to the classroom already filled with kids getting to know each other. “What’s your name?” a volunteer parent asked me gently, marker in hand waiting to fill out my nametag. Hmm… my aunt was already gone and preschool was my chance to be anyone I wanted to be.  “Katie!” I lied enthusiastically. I never actually expected the lie to work, but it did. My first day of preschool my nametag read “Katie” right up until the end of the day when my very confused aunt came to pick up “Lizzy.” With new friends, a new atmosphere, new knowledge, (and a new name) preschool really was the world of new possibilities that I had dreamt it to be. Unfortunately, far too many American children never get to have this kind of experience.  Private preschool is expensive and in most places in America, only the poorest families qualify for state-funded education before Kindergarten. This country needs publically available and free preschool education to give every child the opportunities that he or she deserves. We need to ensure that the possibilities of the world remain open to every student and this process begins with nationalized, public early childhood education.

Children learn more in their first five years of life than in any other five-year period [i] . Melzoff describes children as “just like little sponged during the first 2000 days of life.” [ii] During this stage, brain growth occurs rapidly. At age five, the human brain is the densest that it will ever be [iii] . In early childhood development, a special emphasis is placed on education at ages 3-5, which is why preschool specifically is so important. As children “engage in avid an rapid learning,” [iv] progress is made in cognitive and motor development. Access to education can foster positive improvement in these areas, not only because the children can learn from properly trained teachers but also because of the many social interactions available in the classroom environment. Additionally, by observing children’s progress, many developmental disabilities can be diagnosed in the first few years of life. Early intervention beginning at age three has the incredible ability to reduce the severity of many disabilities, including hearing or sight impairments, speech problems, or generalized learning delays [v] .  If children lack access to trained professionals such as teachers, many of these disabilities may go unnoticed until Kindergarten, when intervention is much less likely to have a profound effect. Nationalized preschool would give children the opportunity to take advantage of the critical stages of young brain activity, enhancing development and helping to recognize and improve the severity of various developmental disorders.  Without proper access to good education, valuable time and opportunities can be lost, forcing children to start Kindergarten already behind with little chance to catch up.

Social development is another major attribute of preschool. The ability to play and interact with other students offers countless benefits. Communication skills are enhanced in a classroom setting because child-to-child interaction is increased and children must learn to effectively communicate needs to a teacher [vi] . Self-help skills, like eating, washing hands, and putting on shoes, are also acquired more quickly in a group setting. If students gain these important skills in preschool, then the disparities between children is greatly reduced upon entering kindergarten.

Social acceptance is highly variable among students between the ages of three and five, but nationalize preschool and well-educated teachers can promote social equality at this young age. Research suggests that sexist behaviors are developed from birth on, but are greatly increased by our public education system; for example, in preschool, teachers are more likely to keep teaching boys certain skills, like cutting out a shape, consequently enhancing male learning, but teachers are more likely to do the skill for girls, like cutting the shape our for them, thereby preventing female learning [vii] . Teachers, often female themselves, do not recognize the impact of these actions because it occurs from a subconscious tendency to sympathize more with girl students. Similar problems often arise with differences in race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Nationalized, government-controlled preschools would allow for better and more uniform teacher education and training. With proper training, teachers can better understand subconscious tendencies and avoid these behaviors, thus promoting equality and diminishing public education’s role in perpetuating academic deficiencies in women, minorities, and poor students.

The many benefit of a preschool education remain with students throughout their lives, creating a better society overall. In President Obama’s State of the Union Address, he emphasized the need for an early education system by stating the proven outcomes: “In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children, like Georgia or Oklahoma, studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job and form more stable families of their own.” [viii] University of Chicago researcher, James Heckman also suggests that preschool education reduces crime rates and increases income levels [ix] . Tax-payer funded preschool would require an expensive start up, but the proven benefits can ultimately decrease government spending by reducing the number of people in prison or on welfare. It can also reduce the money spent on special education programs, aiding students with learning disabilities early enough to keep them at grade level instead of waiting until these students are already too far behind to catch up. The most current research suggests that every $1 invested in early childhood educations can save up to $7 in the future. [x]    If preschool was nationalized and better regulated, these benefits could be further increased by getting more children educated by more highly trained teachers. Society as a whole would advance, benefiting all citizens regardless of whether they have children.

Clearly, preschool has huge benefits in this country, but there is already an extensive public and private preschool system, why aren’t we seeing these returns? Unfortunately, even though preschool is available in some places of the country, many individuals still lack affordable access. Private preschool can be very extremely expensive if it is of good quality.  In rural areas, good quality education might not be available even for families that can afford it. Today, only one in five families has a stay-at-home parent [xi] ; these families must spend a significant part of their income on childcare.  When money is tight or good preschools are too far away, parents must sacrifice the quality of their children’s education. Untrained baby sitters and poor quality childcare can be detrimental to children. In these situations, children are not properly educated and fail to learn many of the beneficial skill that can be gained from qualified teachers and specialized attention. Well-run preschools have toys and curriculum designed specifically to enhance young cognitive and motor development, to promote literacy and reading, and to handle children with special needs. Denied these tools, the value of learning is diminished and children can no longer gain the potential benefits only possible at the critical ages of three to five.

The United States government does offer public preschool, know as the Head Start program, to poor families, but many of the families that need it still don’t qualify for the necessary help. Currently, Head Start is only available to families that make 130% of the income that defines the national poverty line. Many families that do not fall below this line still cannot afford quality childcare. It is the children just above the cutoff for the Head Start program that suffer the most, because most often they end up without significant education and then must enter school distracts far behind wealthier children and the children that qualified for Head Start.

3 Responses to Persuasive Essay- Why We Need Preschool

I like this topic. It is also interesting to me that I wrote about making college education free. You make a lot of good points and have a really strong sense of logos. I also liked the story at the beginning. One thing you might want to fix is that your second paragraph starts off with just a bunch of facts stringed together. You might want to add some narrative in between. It might also be helpful to quote any psyhological studies that you may be talking about and not just paraphrase.

I completely agree with this. I love the personal example you gave at the beginning, I think that really added to the statement you are making. I also like all of the facts that you use to back up your arguments. Great job so far, this is a great first draft!

I like the story that you included about your own preschool experience. I think it really adds a personal touch to the paper. I think that so far your essay is really well-written and each of your points flow together nicely! I think that you argue your opinion very clearly.

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112 Persuasive Speech Topics That Are Actually Engaging

What’s covered:, how to pick an awesome persuasive speech topic, 112 engaging persuasive speech topics, tips for preparing your persuasive speech.

Writing a stellar persuasive speech requires a carefully crafted argument that will resonate with your audience to sway them to your side. This feat can be challenging to accomplish, but an engaging, thought-provoking speech topic is an excellent place to start.

When it comes time to select a topic for your persuasive speech, you may feel overwhelmed by all the options to choose from—or your brain may be drawing a completely blank slate. If you’re having trouble thinking of the perfect topic, don’t worry. We’re here to help!

In this post, we’re sharing how to choose the perfect persuasive speech topic and tips to prepare for your speech. Plus, you’ll find 112 persuasive speech topics that you can take directly from us or use as creative inspiration for your own ideas!

Choose Something You’re Passionate About

It’s much easier to write, research, and deliver a speech about a cause you care about. Even if it’s challenging to find a topic that completely sparks your interest, try to choose a topic that aligns with your passions.

However, keep in mind that not everyone has the same interests as you. Try to choose a general topic to grab the attention of the majority of your audience, but one that’s specific enough to keep them engaged.

For example, suppose you’re giving a persuasive speech about book censorship. In that case, it’s probably too niche to talk about why “To Kill a Mockingbird” shouldn’t be censored (even if it’s your favorite book), and it’s too broad to talk about media censorship in general.

Steer Clear of Cliches

Have you already heard a persuasive speech topic presented dozens of times? If so, it’s probably not an excellent choice for your speech—even if it’s an issue you’re incredibly passionate about.

Although polarizing topics like abortion and climate control are important to discuss, they aren’t great persuasive speech topics. Most people have already formed an opinion on these topics, which will either cause them to tune out or have a negative impression of your speech.

Instead, choose topics that are fresh, unique, and new. If your audience has never heard your idea presented before, they will be more open to your argument and engaged in your speech.

Have a Clear Side of Opposition

For a persuasive speech to be engaging, there must be a clear side of opposition. To help determine the arguability of your topic, ask yourself: “If I presented my viewpoint on this topic to a group of peers, would someone disagree with me?” If the answer is yes, then you’ve chosen a great topic!

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for what it takes to choose a great persuasive speech topic, here are over one hundred options for you to choose from.

• Should high school athletes get tested for steroids?
• Should schools be required to have physical education courses?
• Should sports grades in school depend on things like athletic ability?
• What sport should be added to or removed from the Olympics?
• Should college athletes be able to make money off of their merchandise?
• Should sports teams be able to recruit young athletes without a college degree?
• Should we consider video gamers as professional athletes?
• Is cheerleading considered a sport?
• Should parents allow their kids to play contact sports?
• Should professional female athletes be paid the same as professional male athletes?
• Should college be free at the undergraduate level?
• Is the traditional college experience obsolete?
• Should you choose a major based on your interests or your potential salary?
• Should high school students have to meet a required number of service hours before graduating?
• Should teachers earn more or less based on how their students perform on standardized tests?
• Are private high schools more effective than public high schools?
• Should there be a minimum number of attendance days required to graduate?
• Are GPAs harmful or helpful?
• Should schools be required to teach about standardized testing?
• Should Greek Life be banned in the United States?
• Should schools offer science classes explicitly about mental health?
• Should students be able to bring their cell phones to school?
• Should all public restrooms be all-gender?
• Should undocumented immigrants have the same employment and education opportunities as citizens?
• Should everyone be paid a living wage regardless of their employment status?
• Should supremacist groups be able to hold public events?
• Should guns be allowed in public places?
• Should the national drinking age be lowered?
• Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
• Should the government raise or lower the retirement age?
• Should the government be able to control the population?
• Is the death penalty ethical?

Environment

• Should stores charge customers for plastic bags?
• Should breeding animals (dogs, cats, etc.) be illegal?
• Is it okay to have exotic animals as pets?
• Should people be fined for not recycling?
• Should compost bins become mandatory for restaurants?
• Should electric vehicles have their own transportation infrastructure?
• Would heavier fining policies reduce corporations’ emissions?
• Should hunting be encouraged or illegal?
• Should reusable diapers replace disposable diapers?

Science & Technology

• Is paper media more reliable than digital news sources?
• Should automated/self-driving cars be legalized?
• Should schools be required to provide laptops to all students?
• Should software companies be able to have pre-downloaded programs and applications on devices?
• Should drones be allowed in military warfare?
• Should scientists invest more or less money into cancer research?
• Should cloning be illegal?
• Should societies colonize other planets?
• Should there be legal oversight over the development of technology?

Social Media

• Should there be an age limit on social media?
• Should cyberbullying have the same repercussions as in-person bullying?
• Are online relationships as valuable as in-person relationships?
• Does “cancel culture” have a positive or negative impact on societies?
• Are social media platforms reliable information or news sources?
• Should social media be censored?
• Does social media create an unrealistic standard of beauty?
• Is regular social media usage damaging to real-life interactions?
• Is social media distorting democracy?
• How many branches of government should there be?
• Who is the best/worst president of all time?
• How long should judges serve in the U.S. Supreme Court?
• Should a more significant portion of the U.S. budget be contributed towards education?
• Should the government invest in rapid transcontinental transportation infrastructure?
• Should airport screening be more or less stringent?
• Should the electoral college be dismantled?
• Should the U.S. have open borders?
• Should the government spend more or less money on space exploration?
• Should students sing Christmas carols, say the pledge of allegiance, or perform other tangentially religious activities?
• Should nuns and priests become genderless roles?
• Should schools and other public buildings have prayer rooms?
• Should animal sacrifice be legal if it occurs in a religious context?
• Should countries be allowed to impose a national religion on their citizens?
• Should the church be separated from the state?
• Does freedom of religion positively or negatively affect societies?

Parenting & Family

• Is it better to have children at a younger or older age?
• Is it better for children to go to daycare or stay home with their parents?
• Does birth order affect personality?
• Should parents or the school system teach their kids about sex?
• Are family traditions important?
• Should parents smoke or drink around young children?
• Should “spanking” children be illegal?
• Should parents use swear words in front of their children?
• Should parents allow their children to play violent video games?

Entertainment

• Should all actors be paid the same regardless of gender or ethnicity?
• Should all award shows be based on popular vote?
• Who should be responsible for paying taxes on prize money, the game show staff or the contestants?
• Should movies and television shows have ethnicity and gender quotas?
• Should newspapers and magazines move to a completely online format?
• Should streaming services like Netflix and Hulu be free for students?
• Is the movie rating system still effective?
• Should celebrities have more privacy rights?

Arts & Humanities

• Are libraries becoming obsolete?
• Should all schools have mandatory art or music courses in their curriculum?
• Should offensive language be censored from classic literary works?
• Is it ethical for museums to keep indigenous artifacts?
• Should digital designs be considered an art form? 
• Should abstract art be considered an art form?
• Is music therapy effective?
• Should tattoos be regarded as “professional dress” for work?
• Should schools place greater emphasis on the arts programs?
• Should euthanasia be allowed in hospitals and other clinical settings?
• Should the government support and implement universal healthcare?
• Would obesity rates lower if the government intervened to make healthy foods more affordable?
• Should teenagers be given access to birth control pills without parental consent?
• Should food allergies be considered a disease?
• Should health insurance cover homeopathic medicine?
• Is using painkillers healthy?
• Should genetically modified foods be banned?
• Should there be a tax on unhealthy foods?
• Should tobacco products be banned from the country?
• Should the birth control pill be free for everyone?

If you need more help brainstorming topics, especially those that are personalized to your interests, you can  use CollegeVine’s free AI tutor, Ivy . Ivy can help you come up with original persuasive speech ideas, and she can also help with the rest of your homework, from math to languages.

Do Your Research

A great persuasive speech is supported with plenty of well-researched facts and evidence. So before you begin the writing process, research both sides of the topic you’re presenting in-depth to gain a well-rounded perspective of the topic.

Understand Your Audience

It’s critical to understand your audience to deliver a great persuasive speech. After all, you are trying to convince them that your viewpoint is correct. Before writing your speech, consider the facts and information that your audience may already know, and think about the beliefs and concerns they may have about your topic. Then, address these concerns in your speech, and be mindful to include fresh, new information.

Have Someone Read Your Speech

Once you have finished writing your speech, have someone read it to check for areas of strength and improvement. You can use CollegeVine’s free essay review tool to get feedback on your speech from a peer!

Practice Makes Perfect

After completing your final draft, the key to success is to practice. Present your speech out loud in front of a mirror, your family, friends, and basically, anyone who will listen. Not only will the feedback of others help you to make your speech better, but you’ll become more confident in your presentation skills and may even be able to commit your speech to memory.

Hopefully, these ideas have inspired you to write a powerful, unique persuasive speech. With the perfect topic, plenty of practice, and a boost of self-confidence, we know you’ll impress your audience with a remarkable speech!

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Teaching Students About Tribes: Enhancing Cultural Awareness and Understanding

Teaching students about age of bruce springsteen, teaching students about hotel pennsylvania: a journey through time and hospitality, teaching students about the stanley cup finals: a lesson in hockey history and culture, teaching students about xavier: renegade angel – an exploration into surreal animation, teaching students about flashdance cast: a creative approach to film history, teaching students about hellenistic culture and its impact, teaching students about stokely carmichael: civil rights, black power, and the legacy of a revolutionary, teaching students about blackadder: a timeless educational tool, teaching students about james mccartney: a comprehensive guide, 136 persuasive speech topics for students.

Are you looking for persuasive speech topics to assign to your students? Don’t worry; we have you covered. Check out our list of 136 persuasive speech topics for students.

• Testing products on animals: is it ethical or not?
• Is it right to keep animals in zoos?
• Should we use products made with animal fur?
• Euthanizing stray animals: is it ethical?
• Can a companion or service animal change someone’s life?
• Is it rational to be scared of harmless yet frightening or unusual animals?
• Keeping wild and exotic pets away from their natural habitat. Is it ethical?
• Should we spay pets to control overpopulation?
• Keeping exotic animals at home. Is it good for them?
• Ten ways we can help animals live better
• Personality disorders among teens. Are they easy to identify?
• How our differences make us unique
• Phobias of children, teens, and adults. What are the similarities and differences?
• When is it right to give children medication for mental issues?
• Suicide among teenagers. Is the media affecting it?
• Studying psychology stresses students out
• Peer pressure is the cause of a lot of delinquency during the teenage years
• The importance of people skills
• Are introverts better entrepreneurs?
• How can a mentor affect your success as an entrepreneur?
• Understanding your position in the market. How can it affect your current and future business plan?
• Can social media affect your marketing plan?
• Should you start a business based on your passions?
• Starting a successful business with no money
• The value of unique business ideas
• Using feedback from unhappy customers to enhance your sales
• The importance of delegation
• Employers are asking for their employees’ social media accounts. Is it right or wrong?
• Employers shouldn’t ask questions related to an employee’s personal life
• Life as a teen addicted to technology
• Teachers contribute more to society than a lot of other professions
• Video games promote violence among children and teens
• Are music videos appropriate for children and teens to watch?
• Mental health and well-being should be one of the subjects studied in school
• Kids under 16 years shouldn’t have their own social media accounts
• Exam results shouldn’t be used to label students
• Dealing with bullies. Is it suitable to punish them?
• Are K-12 schools rigorous enough?
• How to overcome shyness
• Which sport should you play to stay fit and healthy?
• How to write the best title for your speech?
• How to overcome your fear of public speaking?
• What is the best way to solve challenging Math problems?
• A migraine is usually overlooked at school or in a workplace
• Alternative medication: The truth and the myths
• Infertility in couples is related to stress and unhealthy lifestyles
• Mental health issues affect the whole society
• The food industry causes obesity
• Everyone should donate blood at least once a year
• How to overcome back pain? Different treatment options
• Using a mouthwash after brushing your teeth is essential for your dental health
• Do cell phones affect our brains?
• Non-smokers should be first on organ transplant lists
• Is biohacking good for your health?
• Diet beverages do not make you lose weight
• How to keep your immune system strong
• How to improve the way your body and brain function
• Social media affects people’s self-image and self-esteem
• Competitive sports teaches us a lot about life
• Who is a hero? What are the qualities of a hero?
• Learning from your mistakes
• Spending time with your grandparents
• Brilliant ways to make money in the 21st century
• Living underwater: A reality or science fiction?
• Texting while driving should be illegal
• Using single-use plastic containers should be banned
• School days should start later in the day
• Immigration laws should be more lenient
• Living with refugees from other countries
• Students should be able to pick their schools
• Parents should be able to pick their child’s schools
• Should human beings control the weather?
• Simple ways to overcome stress
• People who spend their time playing video games are more prone to depression
• Video games can enhance people’s brain functioning
• Children who play video games have faster responses
• How will gaming look ten years from now?
• Virtual reality affects people’s perception
• Living without computers is impossible
• A video game can be the easiest way to teach kids
• Watching people playing video games is as fun as watching sports in person
• Will playing video games cause behavior problems?
• The gaming industry is affecting every aspect of our lives
• Video games are just as popular among adults
• Playing video games with random people online makes you more sociable and outgoing
• Using genetically modified foods is bad for our health
• Using painkillers is not healthy
• The technology revolution is changing life way too fast
• Human beings should depend more on renewable energy
• The power of crystal healing can improve our mental and physical health
• How your diet can cause the onset of different health conditions
• Using supplements should be controlled
• Coming up with guidelines that control STEM cell research
• How can science be used to improve the lives of physically challenged individuals?
• High-school and middle-school students should be trained to do PowerPoint presentations
• Improving students’ presentation skills
• Should uniforms be obligatory in schools?
• Should there be separate classrooms for boys and girls?
• Students sent to boarding schools: A responsibility and a risk
• The possible positive effect of spending a year as an exchange student
• Cell phones shouldn’t be allowed in schools
• Taking a year off school. Can it help you?
• Hilarious games in the class can help shy students get along with others
• Grades: Are they a fair way to evaluate academic performance?
• More political and legal measures should be taken to protect the environment
• Keeping an animal away from its home will affect the environmental balance
• Businesses have a serious obligation towards protecting the environment
• There should be a strict policy against polluting the ocean
• Should there be government policies against the use of disposable diapers?
• Recycling paper is going to save our planet
• Are we taking the right measures to address global warming?
• Can child abuse and traumas lead to future mental disorders?
• Can family history make children more prone to stress and anxiety?
• Should children and teens be worried more about their privacy or safety?
• Can video games be used to educate children and teens?
• Having an older/younger sibling. The perks and the challenges
• Internet censorship for kids, is it a must?
• The problem of governmental spending on biological weapons
• Are we taking the right steps to eliminate cultural sensitivity?
• Obesity in children is related to living a fast-paced life. What is the role of the parents
• Getting and renewing a driving license: Is one test per lifetime enough?
• Should smokers pay a health tax?
• Is the government spending too much on the military sector?
• Can writing a journal help you become a better person?
• Reality shows affect people’s mental health
• Song lyrics affect our lives in several ways
• Should an artist comply with the rules set by society while working on a project?
• Can action movies cause stress and anxiety?
• Reading inspirational and humorous quotes improves your mood
• Why reading an informational article in a list form is easier
• Studying religion is motivational
• How do we overcome conflicts and arguments between people who believe in different religions?
• Should religion be allowed in schools?
• Scriptures from the Bible can help people renew their belief
• Current vs. ancient interpretations of the Bible: Which is more factual?
• Children should be allowed to choose their religion

Bonus: How can companies like Prepaway diversify their companies?

Ph.D. vs. Ed.D., Which One is Right ...

120 debate topics for high and middle ....

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136 Persuasive Speech Topics for Students

Are you looking for persuasive speech topics to assign to your students? Don’t worry; we have you covered. Check out our list of 136 persuasive speech topics for students.

• Testing products on animals: is it ethical or not?
• Is it right to keep animals in zoos?
• Should we use products made with animal fur?
• Euthanizing stray animals: is it ethical?
• Can a companion or service animal change someone’s life?
• Is it rational to be scared of harmless yet frightening or unusual animals?
• Keeping wild and exotic pets away from their natural habitat. Is it ethical?
• Should we spay pets to control overpopulation?
• Keeping exotic animals at home. Is it good for them?
• Ten ways we can help animals live better
• Personality disorders among teens. Are they easy to identify?
• How our differences make us unique
• Phobias of children, teens, and adults. What are the similarities and differences?
• When is it right to give children medication for mental issues?
• Suicide among teenagers. Is the media affecting it?
• Studying psychology stresses students out
• Peer pressure is the cause of a lot of delinquency during the teenage years
• The importance of people skills
• Are introverts better entrepreneurs?
• How can a mentor affect your success as an entrepreneur?
• Understanding your position in the market. How can it affect your current and future business plan?
• Can social media affect your marketing plan?
• Should you start a business based on your passions?
• Starting a successful business with no money
• The value of unique business ideas
• Using feedback from unhappy customers to enhance your sales
• The importance of delegation
• Employers are asking for their employees’ social media accounts. Is it right or wrong?
• Employers shouldn’t ask questions related to an employee’s personal life
• Life as a teen addicted to technology
• Teachers contribute more to society than a lot of other professions
• Video games promote violence among children and teens
• Are music videos appropriate for children and teens to watch?
• Mental health and well-being should be one of the subjects studied in school
• Kids under 16 years shouldn’t have their own social media accounts
• Exam results shouldn’t be used to label students
• Dealing with bullies. Is it suitable to punish them?
• Are K-12 schools rigorous enough?
• How to overcome shyness
• Which sport should you play to stay fit and healthy?
• How to write the best title for your speech?
• How to overcome your fear of public speaking?
• What is the best way to solve challenging Math problems?
• A migraine is usually overlooked at school or in a workplace
• Alternative medication: The truth and the myths
• Infertility in couples is related to stress and unhealthy lifestyles
• Mental health issues affect the whole society
• The food industry causes obesity
• Everyone should donate blood at least once a year
• How to overcome back pain? Different treatment options
• Using a mouthwash after brushing your teeth is essential for your dental health
• Do cell phones affect our brains?
• Non-smokers should be first on organ transplant lists
• Is biohacking good for your health?
• Diet beverages do not make you lose weight
• How to keep your immune system strong
• How to improve the way your body and brain function
• Social media affects people’s self-image and self-esteem
• Competitive sports teaches us a lot about life
• Who is a hero? What are the qualities of a hero?
• Learning from your mistakes
• Spending time with your grandparents
• Brilliant ways to make money in the 21st century
• Living underwater: A reality or science fiction?
• Texting while driving should be illegal
• Using single-use plastic containers should be banned
• School days should start later in the day
• Immigration laws should be more lenient
• Living with refugees from other countries
• Students should be able to pick their schools
• Parents should be able to pick their child’s schools
• Should human beings control the weather?
• Simple ways to overcome stress
• People who spend their time playing video games are more prone to depression
• Video games can enhance people’s brain functioning
• Children who play video games have faster responses
• How will gaming look ten years from now?
• Virtual reality affects people’s perception
• Living without computers is impossible
• A video game can be the easiest way to teach kids
• Watching people playing video games is as fun as watching sports in person
• Will playing video games cause behavior problems?
• The gaming industry is affecting every aspect of our lives
• Video games are just as popular among adults
• Playing video games with random people online makes you more sociable and outgoing
• Using genetically modified foods is bad for our health
• Using painkillers is not healthy
• The technology revolution is changing life way too fast
• Human beings should depend more on renewable energy
• The power of crystal healing can improve our mental and physical health
• How your diet can cause the onset of different health conditions
• Using supplements should be controlled
• Coming up with guidelines that control STEM cell research
• How can science be used to improve the lives of physically challenged individuals?
• High-school and middle-school students should be trained to do PowerPoint presentations
• Improving students’ presentation skills
• Should uniforms be obligatory in schools?
• Should there be separate classrooms for boys and girls?
• Students sent to boarding schools: A responsibility and a risk
• The possible positive effect of spending a year as an exchange student
• Cell phones shouldn’t be allowed in schools
• Taking a year off school. Can it help you?
• Hilarious games in the class can help shy students get along with others
• Grades: Are they a fair way to evaluate academic performance?
• More political and legal measures should be taken to protect the environment
• Keeping an animal away from its home will affect the environmental balance
• Businesses have a serious obligation towards protecting the environment
• There should be a strict policy against polluting the ocean
• Should there be government policies against the use of disposable diapers?
• Recycling paper is going to save our planet
• Are we taking the right measures to address global warming?
• Can child abuse and traumas lead to future mental disorders?
• Can family history make children more prone to stress and anxiety?
• Should children and teens be worried more about their privacy or safety?
• Can video games be used to educate children and teens?
• Having an older/younger sibling. The perks and the challenges
• Internet censorship for kids, is it a must?
• The problem of governmental spending on biological weapons
• Are we taking the right steps to eliminate cultural sensitivity?
• Obesity in children is related to living a fast-paced life. What is the role of the parents
• Getting and renewing a driving license: Is one test per lifetime enough?
• Should smokers pay a health tax?
• Is the government spending too much on the military sector?
• Can writing a journal help you become a better person?
• Reality shows affect people’s mental health
• Song lyrics affect our lives in several ways
• Should an artist comply with the rules set by society while working on a project?
• Can action movies cause stress and anxiety?
• Reading inspirational and humorous quotes improves your mood
• Why reading an informational article in a list form is easier
• Studying religion is motivational
• How do we overcome conflicts and arguments between people who believe in different religions?
• Should religion be allowed in schools?
• Scriptures from the Bible can help people renew their belief
• Current vs. ancient interpretations of the Bible: Which is more factual?
• Children should be allowed to choose their religion

Bonus: How can companies like Prepaway diversify their companies?

Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

60 Persuasive Essay Topics

Needs persuasive essay topics and prompts? We’ve got 60 persuasive essay topics that will give students an opportunity to craft persuasive essays and/or arguments for oral debate. Our persuasive essay topics are designed to spark critical thinking and can be modified for students in elementary, middle and high school. They are grouped by topic for easy student and teacher reference. Feel free to print the entire list of persuasive essay topics for plenty of inspiration for your next persuasive or argumentative essay assignment!

Society and Culture Persuasive Essay Topics

Have humans become too dependent on technology?

• Persuasive Essay Topic: Who contributes more to modern society: teachers or doctors?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should gaming and casinos be legalized in all states?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Is the use of pesticides in farming worth the health risks?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Is the idea of the “American Dream” still attainable in today’s society?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should parents be held accountable/responsible for what their children post on social media websites?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should corporations be required to engage in responsible citizenship, including environmental accountability?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Is the Electoral College system still effective?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Are zoos important and necessary sources of conservation and research or outdated displays of exotic animals?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What means of producing electricity has the least harmful impact on the environment?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should the government be required to provide health insurance to all its citizens?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should the drinking age be lowered?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should guaranteeing medical care to all citizens be a responsibility of the government?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Does the general population have the right to access information about the private lives of politicians?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should there be mandatory water rationing during drought conditions?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should there be a reinstatement of the military draft?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Who was the most effective American president?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Who is the most effective current political leader outside of America?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should there be body scanners at airports to detect weapons?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Is it more effective to volunteer your time or to donate your money to a cause you support?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should corporations be allowed to collect an individual’s personal data from social media sources without their consent?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Are current methods of discouraging cyberbullying and harassment effective?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should the government have access to tracking information through our mobile devices?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Who should bear the responsibility for making change in a society: individual citizens or elected officials?

Schools and Education Essay and Speech Topics

• Persuasive Essay Topic: Are private school vouchers helping our society to provide a quality education for all?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What is more effective: coed education or single-gender schools?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Do colleges put too much stock in standardized test scores?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should students be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each morning at school?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What role should current events play in a child’s school curriculum?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What is the impact of school uniforms?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Does extended recess time have a positive impact on student health and learning?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should sign language be taught to all students as a second language?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should high schools have a later start time?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should schools ban the use of cell phones by students during school hours?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What is the impact of assigning nightly homework to students?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: During which grade should students begin to receive homework assignments?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What is the role social media should have in the school environment?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What is more effective, a year-round school calendar or a traditional nine-month calendar?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should school officials be allowed to search students’ lockers and personal possessions?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should students be grouped by age or by ability in school classrooms?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What is the most important subject taught in school?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Are there any academic benefits to the study of video games?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Are current methods of school discipline effective?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should higher education be free for all admitted students?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Are standardized tests an accurate measure of student learning or ability?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What are the most effective ways to curb school bullying?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Is a college degree a requirement for success in life?

Personal Choices and Personal Values Essay and Speech Topics

• Persuasive Essay Topic: Which makes a better pet, a dog or a cat?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Have reality television shows changed people’s television viewing habits?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What is the best book you have ever read, and why was it so good?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Is it better to give or to receive?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Is it still important to teach manners and etiquette to children?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: When should children be permitted to have their own cell phones?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: If you won the lottery and could only donate the money to charity, which cause would you choose and why?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Which lifestyle is more conducive to a happy life, urban living or country living?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Should children be limited to the number of hours they are allowed to play video games every week?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: If you could time travel, would it be better to visit the past or the future?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Is it better to be a night owl or an early bird?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: Do opposites really attract?
• Persuasive Essay Topic: What is more important: earning a large salary or doing work that benefits other people?

Looking for more essay topics? Compare and Contrast Essay Topics Descriptive Essay Topics Cause and Effect Essay Topics Narrative Essay Topics