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From: pc@hplabsb.UUCP (Patricia Collins)
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: early brainwashing
Message-ID: <2040@hplabsb.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Jan-84 14:05:11 EST
Article-I.D.: hplabsb.2040
Posted: Fri Jan 20 14:05:11 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Jan-84 09:09:18 EST
Organization: Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto CA
Lines: 24


	A friend whose young child attends a cooperative playschool
told me she was there to hear the following:

	As the children were preparing for a game of Farmer-in-the-Dell,
one of the little girls asked if she could be first.  The teacher said
no, because a boy had to be the farmer!   This is supposed to be a very
progressive playschool.  My friend later explained to the teacher and
the school's director that not only was it unfair to restrict such
participation on the basis of sex, but that women and girls have been 
farmers for as long as there has been farming!

	Daycare and preschools can be wonderful experiences for little
ones.  However, left to operate without regular input from parents, it
is obvious that they can provide environments which are not healthy
(lying to children about what jobs are open to them is unhealthy, in
my book).  It's probably not possible to know all that goes on in your
child's classroom, but you can keep informed about policies and
philosophies with regular teacher/careprovider contact.

						Patricia Collins
						hplabs