Early learning

Educators say the potential success of today's young students is largely dependent on their preparation before they start kindergarten, and there are statistics to back that up. So school districts across the country are gearing up to provide more opportunities for preschoolers to be exposed to basic concepts that will serve them well as students. But the root problem -- the involvement of parents in a young child's life -- may be harder to tackle.

In the Cape Girardeau School District, 25 percent of children entering kindergarten do not have basic skills such as being able to differentiate colors. Twenty percent of Central High School freshmen won't graduate. Missouri Assessment Program scores of black students and low-income students in the district are about the same as the scores of special-education students.

The school district has responded by starting its first preschool program. And the United Way of Southeast Missouri has made early childhood needs a target of special programs. Success by 6 aims to help child-care providers. A new program being introduced this month called Born Learning aims to make parents more aware of the importance of reading, singing and playing with children.

Programs that emphasize parental involvement are likely to have the most success. Parents as Teachers is one program that comes to mind.

For many parents, it is instinct, a background of educational success and the security of a job and a stable home environment that lead to adequate early learning for their children. But what about those parents who struggled with their own schooling, don't have jobs and put little effort into making sure their children are prepared for school?

The breakdown of the family unit in the last 50 years has had a far-reaching impact, and it is being felt most in our public schools, which gradually have been turned into fix-it institutions where every social ill is supposed to remedied -- at a huge price -- while teachers teach and students learn.

Reversing a half-century of social shift won't be easy. And finding ways to involve those who are affected most may be a critical component of this effort.