At a recent U.S. Senate hearing titled "The State of the American Child", Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., called for the formation of a national commission dedicated to finding ways to improve the lives of children in this country. This came as a result of a 2007 report by Unicef that found the U.S. ranked LAST among 24 "economically advanced" countries in childhood poverty.
From the report: "The true measure of a nation's standing is how well it attends to it's children -- their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialization, and their sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies into which they are born."
Yet another strong argument for early literacy skills development, especially for children living in poverty, so that they may break the cycle and grow to be successful, educated adults.
Comments
Childhood Poverty
I just watched and listened to a webinar this morning from Zero to Three. One of the first slides said that of all the children ages three and under in the United States, 44% live in proverty or low-income families. I knew the number was high, but did not know it was this appalling amount. Another slide said that not all children are equally ready to learn because of their prior (or lack of) experiences. This was a very informational webinar. The slides and other information should be up on their website in about a week. I think you will find it interesting. It will be available at: www.zeroththree.org/literacywebinar
Vicky