Child Care, the Other Education System

Abstract

Introduction

Have you heard the story about the man who lost his keys on his way home one night? His searching attracted the attention of passersby who joined him in his quest. After some time, one of those lending assistance asked him, “Where did you drop the keys?” He replied, “Oh, I dropped them over on that corner.” Surprised by his answer, they asked, “Why are we looking over here?” He shot back, “Because the light is better here!”

Since the public education system is structured around a K–12 model, most of the discussion about innovation occurs under that bright light. Yet any meaningful conversation about school reform must take into account the little-discussed reality that most of a child’s social-emotional and academic capacities are formed in the first five years of life, before he or she ever gets to public school. Anyone who cares about innovative and effective education reform must understand the critical role of the first five years in learning; know the dynamics, constraints and potential of the early child care system; and be willing to dream big about what we can do to make the most of these formative early years.

Recent brain research has confirmed what education professionals and social scientists have known for decades from their own work—that early experiences are foundational to human growth and development. For example, issues of trust and mistrust are formed in the first year of life based on adult responsiveness to the infant’s needs. We have also learned that the brain trims synapses for languages that are not heard or spoken by age three, which means that one can never be a native speaker of a language he or she is not exposed to before that time.

Of course, children’s early experiences are vastly different from one another, and we know that those growing up in poverty are at much greater risk for school failure. Landmark research conducted by Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley (2003)showed that, by age three, children from privileged families have heard 30 million more words than children from underprivileged families. Longitudinal data on 42 families examined what accounted for enormous differences in rates of vocabulary growth. Follow-up data indicated that the measures of accomplishment of three-year-olds predicted third-grade school achievement.