"Cooperative Nursery Schools, a microcosm of the larger world"

by Lita Eskin

It was as I visited nursery schools for Rebecca in New York City, that I first formulated my thoughts on what I wished from a school. No, my daughter wasn't "simply an absorbent mind" as I heard at one place - she was a whole person. No, I didn't believe another school knew what was best, I could simply leave her at their doorstep and they'd do the right thing. Yes, I wanted to be involved; yes, I also wanted to learn, to further my understanding of being a good parent. Yes, I wanted a place where we both felt comfortable, and where all areas of her development would be addressed.

...Parent cooperatives provide the rich and happy environment that preschool children need for optimum development. The characterizing element is the parents' cooperation, not only in the organization and business end but, under trained guidance, in the education of the children. Through such participation, parents gain some of the training most of us need in our basic vocation-that of guiding our children.

With the collaboration of the many individuals that make up the parent body, bills are paid...officers are elected, and [emails are sent] with snow day information and illness alerts. Each parent serves as an assistant to the teacher in the classroom on a regular schedule. Every parent-father and/or mother-is responsible for a small piece of the effort. The small parts create the whole.

The benefit to children is immeasurable. What a clear message it sends-your parents consider your education important! They want to be involved. And adult collaboration is a concrete example that working together is important and rewarding. There is a growing awareness that more and more children are failing to develop the skills they need to live together in peace and to resolve their conflicts in nonviolent ways (Levin 1994), Seeing their own parents in collaborative situations in their own school brings to them, in the clearest, the value of verbal problem solving and cooperation.

...Besides daily school activities, there are social activities to be enjoyed--...parent meetings with interesting speakers, fun days which include the whole family. What evolves is a strong sense of extended family. Parents become friends.

Many question the future of cooperative schools. As more and more families have two working parents, and time is more pressured that ever, will there continue to be parents willing and able to devote time and energy to their children's early education? I believe there will be. I believe the cooperative school is just what we need more of. It is rare, in education, to find such all-involving cooperative efforts. The cooperative nursery school stands as a model for what can be accomplished when true collaboration is in effect.

References
Levin, Diane E., Ph.D. 1994 Teaching young children in violent times; building a peacable classroom. Cambridge, MA: Educators for Social Responsibility.
Taylor, Katherine Whiteside. 1954. Parent cooperative nursery schools. New York: Teachers College Publication, Columbia University.

Lita Eskin has her BA in Anthropology from Columbia University and her M.Ed in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street.

New York State Association for the Education of Young Children Reporter, Fall 1996.