22. Head Start, Early Childhood Development, and Unions

In this episode of The Regular People Podcast I'm joined by Leslie. Leslie has a degree in Early Childhood Education and Development and works for a Head Start program. We discuss (in order): a bit about Leslie, Leslie’s job working for a Head Start program, how low-income families need to somehow have open schedules to participate in Head Start, necessary social/emotional skills, speaking skills and tracking a child’s progress through Head Start, teaching children vs teaching adults and how our view of responsibility shifts as kids get older, play and its purpose, does the Head Start program work?, whether just giving people money would be more effective, how hard is it to sign up for Head Start?, incompetent managers and the Peter Principle, the difference between the Head Start program and agencies that provide Head Start services, labor power and unions, the difficulty of forming unions, automation and the future of work, having a general strike, halbwissen and the bidirectional teaching relationship, Reaganomics and monopolies, the popularity of socialism, the benefits of being in a union, and Leslie’s book recommendations. Books to read: Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor by Steven Greenhouse A Troublemaker’s Handbook: How to Fight Back Where You Work - And Win! By Dan La Botz Understanding Socialism by Richard D. Wolff Authors to check out: Richard D. Wolff Robert Reich Documentaries to watch: Inequality for All Saving Capitalism