Margaret McMillian’s Ideas For Supporting Young Children And Their Families

Margaret McMillian’s Work in Childhood Education

Margaret McMillian’s ideas for supporting young children and their families will be elaborated in this essay. The essay will critically discuss the relevance of her ideas in the present context of childhood services. McMillian is widely known due to her work with children in nursery schools and the efforts she took to enhance all aspects of childhood education. She is regarded as the founder of several childhood education campaigns and also acted as an advocate for young children, where she talked about their needs and preferences, with the aim of promoting their physical and mental wellbeing, an integral component of effective learning. She was a pioneer of the nursery school and took all possible efforts for lobbying for the 1906 Provision of Schools Meals Act. She worked in the deprived districts of Bradford and Deptford and agitated several reforms that were aimed at bringing about improvements in the health of young children.

She was born to Jean and James McMillan in Westchester County, on 20 July 1860 and emigrated to the US in 1840. They were two sisters, Rachael McMillian (1859-1917) and Margaret McMillian (1860-1931) who devoted their life to working as social reformers, who dealt with complex property related issues that arose during the time of Industrial Revolution. Following the death of their youngest sister and father in 1865, they were taken by their mother back to the family in Inverness. They moved to London in late 1880s, during which Margert gradually developed the skills of an orator and a writer, for the labour movement. During McMillian’s visit to the Bradford school, her attention was drawn towards the ill health of the children and the poor health status that they were currently in (McMillian’s, 2013). She observed many children being neglected on a regular basis that made her call for meetings to propose strategies that would help address the basic needs of the children (Trueman, Adlington and Marriot, 1990). Adults were found to be insensible towards the neglect and torture that were being made towards the children. With the assistance of the schoold medical officer in Bradford, she conducted the first medical scrutiny of the elementary school children, residing in Britain. McMillian also worked with such families while engaging in a battle for the benefits of the affected children (Trueman, Adlington and Marriot, 1990). A report was published, which was followed by a subsequent development of campaigns for the local authorities to improve ventilation, install bathrooms and supply free meals to all school children. This campaign was loosely based on the Bradford Cinderella Club program that focused on providing warm meals to the underprivileged children. The sisters were also found active in the political filed and Margaret was soon the candidate for the Independent Labour Party for the Bradford School Board. Following her election in 1894, she began to use her power to control what occurred in the Bradford schools and also started publishing several pamphlets and booklets on the subjects of child labour and early childhood. The campaigns designed by her were widespread within the city and led to the result that Bradford was the first school board to offer free medical inspection, meals and bathes to children in the poor areas.

The Importance of Supporting Children’s Health and Wellbeing

McMillian considered helping the vulnerable children and their families of utmost importance that aligned with her objective to improve poverty mediated poor health (Moriarty, 1998). Poverty plays a crucial role in negatively affecting the growth, development and learning ability of all children. It is also responsible for weakening the body’s immune system, thereby increasing its likelihood of acquiring infections. Thus, a child raised in a poor family finds it extremely difficult to acknowledge the things taught in classrooms, in addition to remaining starved. Children belonging to poverty stricken families often spend time in searching for food, in place of reading or sleeping that often results in their death (Jack P. Shonkoff, 2009). McMillian identified a healthy body as a prerequisite for a healthy mind frame. Thus, social welfare and health education is an essential aspect that needs to be addressed in nursery schools (Bradburn, 1976). McMillian advocated for the need of medical inspection, school meals, regular baths and treatment at schools. Steps that encompassed a balanced diet and hygiene, were considered essential strategies that would enhance the overall health and wellbeing of the children (Bardburn, 1989). Thus, McMillian was successful in drawing the government’s attention to the needs of the children and helped her in bringing about changes in the misery faced by them due to lack of knowledge and poverty. However, several arguments were put forth in this context (Platt, 2005; Hendrick, 1997). The government considered such children as threats to the society. Regulating the undisciplined and disadvantaged children created trouble for the economic objective of the society that focused on breeding a race incapable of presenting challenges to the twentieth century (Hendrick, 1998, p39). The government considered the children as puppets controlled by their parents, without any freedom. Significant improvements have been observed in current years where the children have received support from several organisations such as, the NSPCC and sure start local programs (Pugh, and Duffy, 2014).

McMillian’s recommendations are now being followed in schools and nurseries. Children are made to follow balanced and nutritious diet, required for their growth and development. Most nurseries and schools have medical rooms, where trained staff provide treatment to injured children. However, regular bathing is still not followed in nurseries since parents are expected to be aware of the basic hygiene that should be followed at home. Moreover, it is expected that all families have access to clean water for bathing and other purpose. This made me believe that in current times, all children have an increased awareness of aspects related to their growth and development. Had not McMillian advocated for the rights of the children, no improvements would have occurred in their learning environment.

The Significance of Open-Air Nurseries and Outdoor Play

She also reinforced the need of designing open-air nursery. The children used to live in the slum before these changes. Most children and their families, in Britain were poverty stricken in the 19^th century. The environment was dreary, overcrowded and desolate, thereby did not favour the growth of the children (Giardiello, 2014:55). McMillian promoted contact of children with nature by practicing gardening in the nursery schools and also included several animals such as, cats, mice, chicken and goats in the garden. Never having come in contact with such animals, this was a new experience for the children them (Trueman, Adlington and Marriot, 1990). Contact with the outdoor environment plays an important role in shaping the learning years and enhances freedom. Regardless of the age, children often require freedom and personal space, just like the basic necessities of water and air, especially those belonging to the age group 1-7 years (McMillan 1919:27). Providing care and protection to saplings often make the children grow up into responsible and caring individuals as adults (Froebel 1888). A sense of responsibility, confidence and self-esteem is also enforced by contact with animals in the early years. This builds a sense of freedom that promotes the physical and cognitive development of a child. Outdoor play environment act as the perfect setting that stimulates the mental and physical health of a child, in addition to allowing the helping the children to exercise their choice and opinions (Moriarty, 1998; Lowndes, 1960). Poverty forced several children to work in factories, in place of attending schools (Derevenski, 2000). The open-air nursery promoted by McMillian engaged the children in self-directed play that allowed them to discover their hobbies and skills, that had never been realised (Bruce, 2012). McMillian held the view that state infant schools educated underdeveloped children. However, such children failed to develop their aptitude or intellectual skills, owing to their problems in remembering and learning lessons (Bardburn, 1998). I consider this to be a direct manifestation of less educational provisions and care for five year aged children.

Her views are relevant in the present scenario in creating a better understanding of the potential benefits that outdoor play exerts on the learning and development of a child. Outdoor environment are generally considered safe by children, where they feel empowered to take up necessary risks and challenges, according to their capacities (Parker-Rees, Leeson Willan and Savage, 2011). She promoted the fact that children should always be brave and adventurous (McMillan, 1919:28). Hence, outdoor spaces are imperative for allowing them to play in a free manner, by providing them an actual experience that would enable development of knowledge about the setting. These spaces have also proved effective in promoting independence and resilience of the children.

Collaboration between Schools and Families for Child Development

The relationship between a child and his/her family also plays a crucial role in the growth and development, by affecting sufferings and enjoyment, thereby influencing their life choices (McMillan, 1973). McMillian also recognised the importance of educating mothers for promoting the development of children (Moriarty, 1998). This was encouraged by introduction of the mother’s club where women were invited for socialising, which in turn would help them gain self-esteem and confidence. These meetings were held each week, where the mothers would gather for chorus, tea parties, lectures and speeches on chid education, diet, hygiene and sleep (McMillan, 1919:133). She also invited eminent personalities such as, Lady Astor and Walter da la Mare for speaking to the mothers on the issues faced by the children (Bardburn, 1976). I hold the belief that these meetings proved beneficial in intimidating the mothers who were working. However, those belonging to lower socio-economic strata of the society did not welcome the approach. McMillian also believed in reinforcing partnership and collaboration between the school and home, for creating a safeguarding atmosphere for the children.

This still holds relevance in the current scenario since the schools and nurseries emphasise on cooperative efforts by the teachers and families, which influence their wellbeing and education. Her values and works have also helped parents gain a sound understanding of the importance of these factors for child education (Bardburn, 1976). These factors have been considered for developing a two-way communication between the parents and teachers to address needs of the children in an easy manner (Johnston and Nahmad-Williams. 2009).

Thus it can be concluded that the social reformer McMillian invested in supporting and developing the lives of young children and their family members, and also upheld a better future for them, with the aim of benefiting and educating the vulnerable population. Together with her sister, Margaret McMillan tirelessly campaigned to ameliorate the intellectual and physical welfare of the economically and socially deprived children, residing in overcrowded city dwellings. She held the idea that placing a focus on the poor health and lack of education among children, holding meetings with mothers, providing additional support to children staying in poverty and developing nursery schools where the children interact with nature have the potential of exerting significant influence on their overall health and wellbeing, thereby enhancing the learning process. The open air nursery schools opened by Margaret had large beautiful gardens with classrooms with balconies and windows that made the places airy and light. Her work brought about an establishment of several school medical services and meal services. This has an emphasis in current practice since most nursery schools now have the provision of regular meals, sleep times and adequate spaces for the children to play and run. These changes were also found to affect the parents and the choices made by them. The approaches were quite advanced and in sync with the current world scenario. Thus, it can be concluded that her works in the domain of child education and poverty has rightly led to her recognition as a children’s champion owing to the fact that she placed an emphasis on the profits of childcare provision, in their continuous struggle against poverty. Failure to effectively implement the changes proposed by McMillian would have resulted in a poor education system.