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Show Head Start Day Care Center Receives Recognition group of 15 children were sitting in a circle happily matching colored blocks, when a big, husky black man announced that it was snack time. But, want all the brown kids to get up first, then the blacks and then the whites," he said. Four Mexican-Americachildren and a A four-year-ol- d I n Negro boy got up with the first group. Another fair Negro child sat looking very confused when the black children light-skinne- d got up. He and Mexican-Ameri- can a little got up for their snacks with the white and group. A Mexican-Ameri- can a tawny-skinnewhite child were still sitting, looking at their arms and wondering what color they were after all the other children had left the room. want these children to know what color they are now and be proud of it," said Ed Owens, director of the Central City Head Start Day Care Center in Salt Lake City. He conducted this experiment to find out if the girl d I children recognized their skin color and, if so, how they reacted to it. Some of the kids jumped up proudly with their color group, while others didn't really know how to react or even what color they were. A black child came into my office later, put her arm on my wooden desk and said, 'Look, I'm the same color as this brown." "We don't want to hurt them with the reality of their race, but we want them to know what they are and feel good about it. Racial -- awareness as much a part of one's as anything, and we are trying to build positive images in every child in our care is self-imag- e at the center, said Owens. "I've been called black all my life and will be for the rest of my life. think it's beautiful and I want these kids to feel the same way about their color, no matter what it is." I Racial identity and pride are stressed heavily by all members of the ethnically mixed staff at the Day Care Center, which is like a little United Nations. At present, about half of the 62 children enrolled here are black, but usually there is an ethnic balance of black, Mexican-Americaand white children. A Navajo Indian child and a Japanese-America- n are also cared for at the center n which is located in specially designed day care facilties in a city-owne- multi-purpos- d community center at 615 South 3rd East. Because of its unique racial representation, the Center was awarded a two-yea- pre-scho- went through the Community Action Program, the Center's sponsoring agency. The Center, which is funded annually by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare with $79,000, was chosen as one of ten day care centers in the country to receive an OEO demonstration grant. They were selected after a basic study of 150 centers throughout the country and a complete evaluation of 20 of them by Abt Associates of Cambridge, Mass. The Center stresses exposure to all the cultures in the world and attempts to teach the children to live happily together. The use of ethnic materials is incorporated throughout the curriculum, which is developed around three areas of growth: intellectual, physical and self-imag- The e. teachers are trained to make each child feel like an important human being and this enables the child to build self-imag- a positive e. A head teacher, an assistant or guidance teacher and a teacher's aide rotate duties in each of the four classrooms of 15 r three to olds. "The mother who five-yea- teacher is is a something new or has cut. also praise them I a a new hair lot when they do something good. When r demonstration grant of $1 46,000 by the Office of Economic Opportunity's Office of Program Development last September to develop an ethnic curriculum for children. This grant emotional to feel positive. always try to make a child feel good by noticing if he is wearing I e head not professionally trained, and she is proof that a degree isn't necessary to work with small children," said Director Owens, who encourages career development among the staff because he prefers to promote from within. Mrs. Betty Benns only has a high school education plus a few accredited workshop courses in child development at the University of Utah, but she has a philosophy that deals with reality: "Education is where it's at, but if you were raised with 10 children like was, you don't think about college. You think about eating. I learned from my I childhood that the most important thing to teach a very young child from a poor family is tell them they misbehave, didn't like what they did and explain why. We never give them physical punishment." The parents, who are all e people, want their children to have a good education and the day care staff strives to I I low-incom- teach them whatever their parents want them to learn. The Center was established in the first e and place because welfare parents needed day care for their children. In 1967, the CAP for Economic Opportunity of Salt Lake City surveyed the needs of poor people in the area and found that day care would free many of them for work or job training. The Center, which opened on October 1 of that year, only accepts children of parents low-incom- Photos by Roger Taylor who seek employment or training, with the exception of a families. few multi-probleParents are also encouraged to become closely involved with the Center. I jwSrofc-- I m Owens feels that parental involvement, is a with time. He sees the pre-schoole- rs im&Mm without working waste of -- 'h'A parents continuing to work with the youngsters at home in the evenings to further what they have learned during the day. The parents are represented on the Center's advisory board which consists of 1 2 people and 12 professional people and meeting once a month. (Excerpts reprinted from Opportunity Magazine. See next issue for second part which will deal with parents and their role low-incom- in e the Day Care program.) Wm0f |