Basic education begins at birth

The Legislature should be challenged for not bringing our educational infrastructure out of the early 20th century and into the 21st century.

“It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.” This is a pretty clear statement in our state Constitution.

Basic education begins at birth, not age 5.

Now, it is not practical to expect the state to formally educate babies and young toddlers. The state should strongly support ECEAP and Head Start programs so any interested parent can obtain the knowledge needed to stimulate and prepare their children for preschool at age 3. The state must stop ignoring the science and research indicating that 3 and 4 are the ages when children are most receptive to learning language skills.

Newspapers and other media are not fulfilling their responsibility to inform the public and chastise the Legislature for failing their constitutional responsibilities to our children.

Our educational system’s problems are not going to improve significantly until the state develops and implements a plan to provide every child a quality pre-K education so students are prepared to take full advantage of the kindergarten opportunity.

The eventual benefits more than outweigh the extra costs incurred in the near term. The plan must include adequate salaries for teachers.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Basic education begins at birth."