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Invest in Kids Early and Long
May 3, 2007
If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.
-Rachel Carson
-Rachel Carson
"Our study looked at the impact of investing in boys, the most troubled teenage demographic, and especially at boys born to low-achieving white mothers. We found that without additional skill-building investments, most at-risk boys will falter. Only about two in five boys, we determined, would graduate from high school, fewer than five percent would enroll in college, and more than 40 percent would wind up convicted of crimes or on probation.
"Boys who had the benefit of a comprehensive preschool program fared better. They were more likely to graduate from high school and go on to college �" and considerably less likely to be convicted of crimes or go on welfare. But the unexpected finding was that at-risk boys were easily most successful when investment was sustained into the teenage years. Under that scenario, more than nine in ten boys graduated from high school, and nearly 40 percent attended college. Only about 10 percent of the boys would be convicted of crimes �" and just 2 percent would end up on welfare....
"Too often, government officials design programs for children as if they lived their lives in silos, as if each stage of a child's life were independent of the other, unconnected to what came before or what lies ahead. It's time for policymakers now to look beyond the silos, to begin recognizing that consistent, cost-effective investment in children and youths can pay for itself...."
Fortune Cookie Philosophy for Sale
Exchange's newest Out of the Box Training Kit, "Fortune Cookie Philosophy: Using Motivation Effectively with Young Children," is now available for review and purchase.
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ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
Recycled Plastic Play Systems!
Play Mart celebrates 25 years creating safe, environmentally-friendly and fun playground equipment. New Early-childhood products for 2007!
Play Mart celebrates 25 years creating safe, environmentally-friendly and fun playground equipment. New Early-childhood products for 2007!
Comments (3)
Displaying All 3 CommentsPITC, WestEd
Ventura, CA, United States
Recently I was asked to talk to a Community College class on Advocacy - this article helped to make one of my points: ie, we can't be advocates for EVERYTHING OR EVERYBODY......so we have to choose where and how we can best use our passions and talents. When I hear of child development majors searching for topics to "advocate" about, I think one of them should propose a thesis tracking preschool boys of all colors from preschool to high school, perhaps to college to test this hypothosis. Just because we are in the early childhood field does not mean we couldn't make a big contribution to the value of higher education --given our knowledge about the first part of it. Any takers?
Brodheadsville, PA, United States
This was a very interesting article one of my concerns is if this study was done on boys of low- achieving black mothers. The results of the study that was done was scary and leads me to believe even more the importance of early childhood education. Also that early childhood educators have to always remember it's about the whole child their homelife and everything. Whatever it takes to make sure children get through their school years safe, secure and accomplished.
West Family Day Care
Somerville, MA, United States
This research sounds critical. I hope that good family child care programs will be considered supportive of children's development as public funding is considered. The great potential of family child care is to support children and families for many years. In my program, I currently have two children who have been with me and together from age 1 through age 12. This continuity of care is still working. We are experiencing adolescence together, just as we did toddlerhood, dealing with snitching and potential gangs and weapons on a whole new level, but with years of knowing and caring to back up our conversations. Please think creatively about how important relationships are in children's lives for their success longterm.
Maria West, family child care provider
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