Conference Coordinator Dr. Carol Ann Johnson opened the 5-hour event in the C.W. Pettigrew Center auditorium by warning an audience of nearly 130 child care providers, government agency representatives, Extension personnel and concerned citizens that the nation's communities face many problems. Problems in our village or community touch all of us and our families, either directly or indirectly. If the setting is unhealthy, then the child is likely to grow up unhealthily. Strong families are very important, she continued, and share certain characteristics such as the commitment to happiness for family members, an expressed appreciation for each other and doing positive things together. Strong families also maintain open communications, have a positive outlook on life, teach and practice forgiveness and laugh together.
Unhappy homes affect the whole child negatively.
Since teachers play an important role in providing children quality experiences, she continued, they must be well-educated and able to offer developmentally appropriate experiences for all the children in their care. As they have children coming from dysfunctional families, they must be able to plan experiences that meet those demonstrated needs. They need a planner to coordinate the kinds of services that will enable them to address those needs and raise and help children to be able to thrive and not just survive. But, she cautioned, teachers cannot do what they are mandated to do alone. They must incorporate other players.