Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion NYT opinion: No (rich) child left behind

Having a background in early childhood educ, the author's point resonated with me and was hopeful. He's pointing out what we know -- the gains in those early years are irreplaceable. And he's calling us to do something different, because the strategies used during k-12 aren't cutting it.

If we're only concerned about our child(ren), then it's enough that we're making choices to prepare them. But if we're concerned about everyone's children, then we need to advocate for systems that help them all succeed, which brings me to another of his (the author's) points....

2) "investments in early childhood education pay very high societal dividends."
And he mentions maternity/paternity leave and other key interventions that we could choose to provide.

Working with teen moms, I've known new moms who are back to work days after giving birth, working long hours to bring home minimal income, because they have no options. And think about the gentrification in many of our cities -- workers with the longest commutes in those areas are often those earning the lowest wages, with kids spending the longest hours in childcare.

What if we not only helped parents parent well, gave them paid parental leave as in other developed countries, and also made all childcare amazing? That's what I took away from the article. So far to go!