FIX CURRENT SCHOOL PROGRAMS FIRST

The Governor's Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education is putting the finishing touches on a new report. Their recommendations on beefed up early childhood education will be a priority of the governor during the current legislative session.

The commission's main recommendations range from expanding local child-care options to increased monitoring and reporting on the care of children.

Missouri has long been in the business of promoting early childhood education. The Parents as Teachers program -- started under then Gov. Christopher Bond -- has been a model program for the rest of the nation.

But what happens when these brilliant 5-year-olds enter public schools with goofy curriculums where the basics have gone out the window? It's here the state falls short.

Legislators should focus more on improving the educational system in place than expanding to preschoolers. Let parents remain the first teachers, and let bureaucrats focus on real improvements for Missouri's public schools instead of creating bureaucratic nannies for young Missourians.