Senator Clinton has raised a very crucial issue in It Takes a Village. The issue concerns parents, school, society, neighborhood,
and the nation. I agree it really takes a village to nurture children. This is not an idyllic dream but a proven fact grounded in reality that the analogical village is the place where common good of every member and especially children lie. Therein lies the future of children; and therein lies the future of village. That is where we need to invest for the future. As she points out the village will raise the child with or without parents. Mrs. Clinton has offered us her vision of the future of the children of America. What she has offered us is not an either/or option: She doesn’t say either parents raise the children or the village does it. On the contrary she favors an inclusive role for all based on communal participation, which is truly the strength that the nation can garner to its best advantage. This message is important because it concerns the future of America and the future of our children; it is also because it is a vision of a
better world. She says, “The African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” summed up for me the commonplace conclusion that, like it or not, we are living in an interdependent world where what our children hear, see, feel, and learn will affect how they grow up and who they turn out to be. The five years since 9/11 have reinforced one of my main points: How children are raised anywhere can impact our lives and our children's futures” (Clinton. p.xii, 2006)
The ‘bio-psycho-social’ model can be apprehended as a model, thesis or approach in medicine according to which BPS or Biological, Psychological and Social factors together play a significant role in human functioning in context of disease or illness. The model by analogy can be applied to address a social problem in a social setting, when the social issue is addressed from multiple perspectives. Senator Clinton seems to apply this model almost throughout the range of issues she discusses in her book. One application of this approach may be found in the family-friendly work policies being adopted by the corporations. She finds it one of the most hopeful signs. “One of the most hopeful signs I have seen is the growing interest of the business community in assisting employees with child care. Businesses are recognizing that when employees miss work to stay home with sick children, the bottom line suffers too. The Du Pont Company was one of the first large companies to institute work-family programs such as job sharing and subsidized emergency child care. A study of employees confirmed the view that family-friendly policies are a good business practice. On October 31, 1995, I hosted an event at the White House honoring 21 companies in the American Business Collaboration for Quality Dependent Care that have pledged to contribute $100 million for child and dependent care in 56 cities. All the companies participating believe in our theme: Doing together what none of us can afford to do alone” (p.220-221, 1996)
Mrs. Clinton has raised a large number of issues that directly or indirectly affect our children. She appears to be highly critical of drugs, violence, crime, illegitimacy, plight of American
education, unemployment, no-fault divorce laws among many more other issues. She offers a solution to the problem associated with adequate day care facilities in the French model of day care. She would like the same model replicated here. In yet another instance, she opines that raising kids is a full-time job involving kitchen work, dropping the child to school, ensuring safe return of children, laundry, paying bills and the list goes on. She would like the state to pass flex-time law (she says her husband wants to pass flex-time law) that will give the parents the option to take over-time pay in extra cash or extra cash. She also mentions a bill signed by President that might enable 25 million Americans to retain their health insurance even when they switch jobs or lose jobs. She wants the government to take the next step that might help unemployed Americans and their kids to keep health insurance for six months after losing jobs.
Mrs. Clinton has advocated evidence based policy and practice in her approach to educational reforms. She speaks out her conviction in favor of early education because studies suggest that early education affects things from IQ to life long earnings. She says, “New research in childhood development establishes that a child's environment affects everything from IQ to future behavior patterns. These studies confirm the importance of breast-feeding infants, of setting aside time for family meals, and of empowering parents to shield their children from predatory marketing and the violent and sexually explicit media that contribute to aggressive behavior, early sexual experimentation, obesity, and depression. The case for quality early childhood education and programs like Head Start is stronger than ever, and we should expand them.
However, I also see inherent danger in this approach. On education, for instance, it is widely recognized that at the primary stage the nation should play little role in comparison to the local community and neighborhood roles. Finally, in conclusion we find the book It Takes a Village extremely useful in offering a vision to the better world.