It is a pleasure to present Growing Young Minds: How Museums and Libraries Create Lifelong Learners. This report issues a call to action: Now is the time for policy makers and practitioners to fully use the capacity of libraries and museums in their early learning efforts. This is critical because we must work together to reach the all-too-many children who are still left...
Read MoreFar too often, children, and particularly low-income children, show up for school already behind, lacking the cognitive and social-emotional tools in their toolbox that make them ready to learn. In this highly competitive world, where education increasingly means greater security, falling behind so early in life can lead to disastrous consequences. Educators do their best to bolster children’s skills once they...
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“If we don’t apply what we know to helping our kids…are we really going to be able to attain the American dream?” With these words, Hillary Clinton set the theme of personal commitment to quality early childhood education at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) America conference. Through her Too Small to Fail partnership with Next Generation, Clinton’s leadership and engagement...
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Imagine a 4-year-old. Now imagine a 4-year-old doing math. What comes to mind? Perhaps you see brightly colored numerals scattered on a rug next to where your conjured child is playing, and you hear the sound of her emboldened voice as she counts, “3, 4, 5, 6.” Maybe you picture an adult lingering nearby asking a question, “How many blue blocks...
Read MoreGiven that the youngest schoolchildren are part of the touch-screen generation, the question of whether they're too wet behind the ears for online learning has shifted to a more complex concern: making sure the technology they're using in school is developmentally appropriate. In the Kyrene school district in Tempe, Ariz., which serves 18,000 students in kindergarten through 8th grade, educators first...
Read MoreAfter 27 years teaching kindergarten, Frances Judd is used to noise, so the combination coffee/bike repair shop where we met to talk was no challenge. Judd retired from the classroom recently and now uses her experience as a teacher and toy designer to develop Mrs. Judd’s Games, mobile apps that foster early learning. I interviewed Judd to discuss how she structured her...
Read MoreMost parents are not all that worried about the role of technology in their children’s lives. And they are more likely to rely on books and analog activities than digital devices to keep their children busy. Those are the conclusions of a new survey released this week. Based on a nationally representative survey of more than 2,300 parents of children...
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