The New America Foundation’s Lisa Guernsey has surveyed the latest research on learning and early childhood development for the Washington Post and concluded that “American public education is out of whack.” This has been true for quite a while, but Guernsey’s piece outlines just how little has been done to address the problem.
Guernsey explains that American schools essentially ignore student development and achievement until after third grade despite the regular appearance of books and studies stressing the importance of a student’s earliest years (birth to age 8). Guernsey’s radical proposal is to “give all American children – especially those in poor circumstances — exposure to language-rich and cognitively stimulating environments in their earliest years.” Yes: give all students a content-rich education beginning in kindergarten. That’d be a good start.
James Elias