Beginnings in the Education System

An editorial by Luisa Gonzalez

The most fundamental stage in the learning process of an individual is found in the early stages
of life, where language and communication skills, physical development through playing and
psychosocial aspects of children are developed through a partnership between parents and the
chosen pre-kindergarten program. Despite this, there are many issues directly affecting childrens
reception to these factors in this stage and have, according to the Center for American Progress,
ultimately led to a nationwide set-back in the enrollment of children in pre-k programs with only
69% of 4 year olds and 50% of 3 year olds leaving America far behind other countries (Herman,
J., Post S., OHalloran, S. 2013). Failure from educational programs to effectively target the
needs of each child is one of the many issues reflected in the discouragement from parents to
enroll their children in such programs.
No individual should be subject to disadvantages in
such early stages in their life. Several plans of action
must be taken by communities to end the multiple
disadvantages that children are daily exposed to. The
lack of programs to target childrens needs, visually
represented in the image at the right, followed by
socio-economical disadvantages among schooling
programs, failure in fairness or equity and inclusion
within the programs, hostile or ineffective
environments in which children interact, and the lack of parent-teacher relationships must end in
order to improve our education system and offer every child in the nation a quality education.
Reducing school failure pays off for both society and individuals. It can also contribute to
economic growth and social development (OECD Article Equity and Equality in education). If
children are the future of our communities, our country and the world, why shouldnt we invest
in the quality of our education systems? It is a given that we will later in life reap from what we
sow in lifes endless repercussions.

As described in Gordon and Brownes book, Beginnings and Beyond: Foundations in Early
Childhood Education, early educations main focus is on the development on the body, the mind
and the heart and soul. A childs effective reception to the teachings in this stage of life is directly
linked with the positive development of the basic social skills and self-development that will
shape an individuals behavior and his or her reasoning, learning and interacting abilities. The
table on the left is a visual representation of statistics gathered by the Center of Public Education
to demonstrate and emphasize the short and long term positive effects that pre-k education has on
individuals. According to this CPE study, aside from all positive factors previously listed, highquality pre-k programs also provide substantial cost savings to federal, state, and local
governments.
Through extensive research and the time period in which I have studied the aspects of early
education, I strongly believe that providing our children with quality education will benefit
everyone in the long run, and will significantly reduce issues in our society. The initial time and
monetary investments to tackle this problem is quite a challenge, yet it is unquestionably
important that we do in brevity for the common good of everyone. Children deserve to get a
good start in life, and we are the ones who must provide the tools and opportunities for them to
do so. Realizing the importance of this stage is the first step to achieve an improved educational
system and would be ideally followed by multiple investments, monetary, time wise and
educational, for us to deliver quality educational systems affordable to every child in the nation.
Investing in our children is equivalent to investing in our future.

Cited Sources
Chrisianne Gayl & The Center for Public Education (2008) The Research on Pre-K.
Image retrieved from: https://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Prekindergarten/Pre-Kindergarten
Gonzalez, L. (November, 2015) Community Problem Report: Early Education:
Importance, Issues and Solutions. Paper written for the course RWS 1301 at the University of
Texas at El Paso.
Gordon, A.M & Browne, K.W. (2014) Beginnings and Beyond: Foundations in Early
Childhood Education. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cenage Learning. CALL#: LB1139.23,G663
2014
Herman, J., Post, S., OHalloran, S., (May 3, 2013) The United States is Far Behind
Other Countries. Retrieved from:
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/report/2013/05/02/62054/the-united-statesis-far-behind-other-countries-on-pre-k/
Lawrence Turner (N/D) Image Retrieved from: http://www.uniquedesign.net/library/control.html
OECD (2012), Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and
Schools, OECD Publishing, Paris.