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Tennessee Senator bashes early childhood education, but working moms disagree


Kindergartners improve their reading skills at Hickory Valley Christian School. (Image: Kiley Thomas)
Kindergartners improve their reading skills at Hickory Valley Christian School. (Image: Kiley Thomas)
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Juggling child care and a job can be difficult for some working mothers.

Now, controversial comments from a Tennessee Senator have some moms feeling misunderstood.

Tennessee Senator Janice Bowling represents parts of Grundy, Marion, and Sequatchie Counties.

At a recent legislative hearing, she suggested mothers stay home and not work rather than funding tax dollars for early child education.

But several working moms and studies suggest those preschool and kindergarten years are vital for kids' success down the line.

Taylor Lyons knows how much time work and parenthood take. She sends her son to preschool because she wants him to gain the academic and social skills she can't teach at home.

Lyons is upset about recent comments from Sen. Bowling criticizing the way parents like Lyons operate.

"My generation, we were encouraged to forgo a career until our children were school aged," said Senator Bowling.

Senator Bowling encourages mothers to stay home and nurture their children.

"Red flags come up that we are facilitating things that have been proven, such as early childhood education, to not be the in the best interest of a child," said Senator Bowling.

But, according to a study by Harvard Graduate School of Education, early childhood education does benefit a kid in the long run.

Researchers discovered kids are less likely to be held back or put in special education. Plus, they're more likely to graduate from high school than kids who didn't have early education opportunities.

When it comes to the possibility of living off a single income, one of Senator Bowling's counties is one of the poorest in Tennessee. That's Grundy County.

Census data shows 40% of households in Grundy County are below the poverty line.

"When you have people living near or below the poverty line, the idea that you would have a choice to be a double or single income family is absurd," said Lyons.

We reached out to Senator Bowling's office several times today to ask why she believes early education is not in the best interest of a child. We are still waiting to hear back.

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