Education and Child-Care (continued)
Curriculums vary greatly between schools and districts, and high numbers
of mobile children interfere with teachers' ability to organize and deliver
instruction. Children who move often are two and a half times more likely
to need to repeat a grade than children who do not move.
Changing schools is hard on children emotionally, too. Children are more
likely to drop out of school if they change schools four or more times.
The Migrant Head Start Program, a federally subsidized educational program,
has proven to be very beneficial to children who move frequently. `But,
as with most programs, the need outweighs the resources.
However, there is some hope in recent years. Despite the deep emotional
ties and traditions that bind the farmworker family, it appears that more
students are now being allowed to stay behind in school when other family
members migrate. Educators who work with migrant children say that 55 percent
of migrant children graduate nationwide, compared with only 45 percent just
a few years ago.
The economic pressure on migrant children to drop out is also intense.
The Department of Labor has found that most seasonal agricultural workers
are married and/or have children. The family's poverty dictates that all
able family members work. In fact, agriculture is the only industry that
allows workers under the age of 16.
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets age 12 as the legal limit for farm
work, with exemptions available for children as young as 10 or 11. Studies
have shown that many children under age 12 continue to do farm work. A 1988
survey of parents who were hired farmworkers in six states found that about
a third of the parents interviewed had children working in the fields. When
children work in the fields, occupational injury presents an even more significant
risk than for adults because of their lack of experience. A 1990 study of
migrant children working on farms in western New York showed that one third
of the children had been injured while working during the past year.
Even when children do not work, they may be at risk. Because child care
facilities are rarely available, many farmworker children are present in
the fields and thus are exposed to pesticides on plants and in the dirt.
Children have a smaller body mass than adults and their metabolisms differ
from those of adults. As a result, it is thought that the consequences of
pesticide exposure may be more severe for children.
The migrant lifestyle imposes both physical and mental stresses on children
and families. Comparisons on the east coast between the health status of
migrant children and children from the general population show that migrant
children are almost three times more likely to be reported in fair or poor
health.
Additionally, differences in the acculturation levels of parents and
children place a strain on the family. Due to their superior English language
fluency, some migrant children refer to themselves as negotiators for their
parents, a role requiring skills well beyond those expected for a child's
age.
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