Discussion 1

An Early Childhood Educator consists of someone who creates activities and/or experiences that are intended to affect developmental changes in children prior to their entry into elementary school. An Early childhood program includes any type of educational program that serves children in the preschool years and is designed to improve later school performance.

Academic achievement, of course, is one of the main benefits of early childhood learning. Children who attend early-learning programs demonstrate higher levels of school achievement and better social adjustment than those who have no formal early education. They’re less likely to repeat a grade or be placed in special education classes, since learning issues can be identified and mediated early. Children who have had formal early-learning experiences are also more likely to graduate from high school.

“There’s an explosion of activity in the first five years of life, more profound than any future years,” says Rhian Evans Allvin, executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. “If we can capitalize on that and maximize the support and learning opportunities, then we really stand a good chance of setting young children on a trajectory of success” (Skarda,2014).

“Research has shown that much of what you need to succeed in life is established before you enter kindergarten. During that time, the human brain undergoes rapid development; it’s a period when a child builds cognitive skills — the foundation for reading, math, science and academics — as well as character skills, social-emotional growth, gross-motor skills and executive functioning, which includes everything from impulse control to problem solving” (Skarda, 2014).

References

Skarda, E. (2014, July). Ask the Experts: How Can We Fix Early Childhood Education? Retrieved from http://nationswell.com/ask-experts-can-fix-early-childhood-education/#ixzz4IlGGq0nc