– Leaning begins much earlier than age 5, a good reason why public school must focus on the very first years. Science has shown that the optimal period of human brain development is between zero to five. A better coordination is needed between preschool and elementary school programs in order to take full advantage of this crucial window of opportunity. What happens at this time will have a determining impact on future learning abilities and achievements of a child.

– So early childhood education should not be seen as a simple work support for parents, but instead as a critical element of education and an investment for the long term. Many children entering the public school system at 5 or 6 years of age encounter insurmountable road blocks. Society is desperately in need of a coordinated program of study for 2 to 5-year-old children. California students, for example, are falling behind on many educational standards. The causes of this dramatic achievement gap however take root long before the start of kindergarten.

Early Childhood Education (Reuters)

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