Thoughts on Week of the Young Child

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Apr
11

It is hard to believe that this week (April 11 – 17) is 2010’s Week of the Young Child, as it seems that it was only yesterday that we celebrated this last year.  For those of you that are not familiar with this event, it is a weeklong opportunity to focus on the importance of early childhood education and acknowledge the important role that teachers play in the lives of their children.

Specifically, the goals of the Week of the Young Child are to:

• Promote early literacy and learning
• Recognize and thank teachers for the important work they do
• Influence public policy in your community, in your state, and nationally

With these important goals in mind, it is disheartening to see how issues related to the status of children, particularly young children, receive considerable lip service, but relatively limited support in terms of the financial commitments needed to ensure that children have the opportunity to enter school ready to learn and succeed. Even as the economy shows some signs of recovery, state legislators look to cuts in supporting early childhood education programs.

In states such as California, Georgia, and Arizona, the options are not about whether there will be cuts, but rather by how much. Fortunately, some states such as Pennsylvania have attempted to maintain their commitments to early childhood education, but there remain significant gaps between the number of children who need services and the funds available to meet their needs.

On the Federal level, the $10 billion hoped for in the Early Learning Challenge Funds, which were at the heart of President Obama’s support for early childhood education, may have been lost in the debate over health care despite a July 2009 statement by the Department of Education stating that, “President Barack Obama believes that we cannot afford to short-change the early learning needs of our youngest children. America’s economic competitiveness depends on providing a high-quality learning environment for every child – from birth through age 5 – to get the early start needed to succeed in school and in life.” I hope that this will not be the case.

Despite these setbacks, or perhaps because of them, it is more important now than ever to advocate for the importance of investing in our children’s future.  Our children cannot vote, and the only voice they have is yours.

Supporting quality early childhood education and educational opportunities for all children are issues that can cut across party lines.  If our future generations are to have even a chance at addressing the challenges they will inherit from us, from our national debt to a fragile environment, they will need the knowledge, skills and judgment that are built from a strong educational foundation.

Our generation’s legacy to them should not be the problems we have passed on, but the solutions we have created and the investments we have made in their future.  The Week of the Young Child is an opportunity to enhance this resolve.