The Federal government has devoted substantial resources in enhancing early childhood education for over eight decades. The federal government affects the early childhood education through various policies that are ratified and enacted by the legislative bodies including the Congress and the Senate. In-depth analysis of the multiple policies that have been formulated shows a direct connection with the different issues facing the society at that particular moment. For instance, the federal government formulated policies that were intended to mitigate the early childhood education before and after Second World War. The policies created by the federal government respond to the emerging issues that affect the lives of vulnerable people in the society such as women and children ( Pianta & Sheridan, 2015 ).
The US is an individualistic society where many people believe that raising the children should be immune from government interference ( Barth, Barth, & Barth, 2017 ). However, over the years, the federal government contributes to the litany of efforts that aims at improving the welfare of children. Social issues such as poverty and inequality have pushed the government to find ways of mitigating the problems. The federal government considers the power of education as an effective tool for alleviating poverty and enhancing equality. As such, the federal government has plowed in billions of dollars in collaboration with other stakeholders to fund the early childhood education programs.
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Research shows the inter-relationship between childhood education and social issues. For instance, poverty, low parental education, and single motherhood affect how the concept of education in the children ( Barth, Barth, & Barth, 2017 ). The federal government is working relentlessly to alleviate the problems that directly or indirectly affect early childhood education. Evidently, early childhood education is a concept that is solved through financial investment and special considerations in related policies such as health care policies. Some of the funds that are sponsored by the Federal government include Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), Head Start, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The establishment of these funds is premised on the need to increase equal opportunity for all families in the US ( Barth, Barth, & Barth, 2017 ).
The division of church and state is an approach that is predicated on the constitutional provisions. The First Amendment of the US Constitution limits the power of the Congress in matters relating to establishment and prohibition of religious organizations. In simple terms, the US Constitution recognizes and protects freedom of religion. Perhaps the influence of government on the religion is better explained in the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom that was created in 1779 and ratified in 1786 ( Pfeffer, 2018 ). The law espoused the independence of government from religious organizations. As such, both the federal government and the religious organization act as two independent entities with diverse philosophies and political inclinations.
Issues relating to religion and the state have been raised in the courts where various parties seek legal redress for controversial and conflicting religious problems ( Sorauf, 2015 ). In most lawsuits, the states have always absolved themselves from taking partisan positions. Two issues that emerge in the concept of state and church are religious discrimination and freedom of religion. Whereas the US has failed to recognize itself with any particular religious foundations, some countries are aligned to a particular religion ( Sorauf, 2015 ). In such countries, people from other religious affiliations maybe mistreated and discriminated. The separation of Church and the State in the context of the US can be analyzed from the perspective of education. The independence of religious organization has led to the establishment of schools whose ideals are based on specific religious organizations such as Catholics schools, Anglican schools, and many others. The schools are quite discriminative while admitting students, a fact that affects diversity and religious cohesiveness in the society.
Considering the future of the society and the entire nation, I am pleased with the federal policies on early childhood education. The federal government should continue investing in early childhood education by appropriating sufficient funds to cater to the needs of the growing population. Conversely, the autonomy of church and state works effectively in promoting peace and tranquility in the society. A state should avoid politics of religion, which may lead to radicalization and affect all sectors on the society including education adversely.
References
Barth, R. P., Barth, R. P., & Barth, R. P. (2017). The child welfare challenge: Policy, practice, and research . Routledge.
Pfeffer, L. (2018). Church, State, and Freedom: Revised Edition . Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Pianta, R. C., & Sheridan, S. M. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of early childhood education . Guilford Publications.
Sorauf, F. J. (2015). The wall of separation: The constitutional politics of church and state . Princeton University Press.
