Jim Goodnight, the CEO of SAS, cares about education. He has invested in education by "developing teaching and school administration courseware, helping seed schools with computers and other interactive learning tools, starting a prep school that ingrains those tools, and pushing for education reforms at the state and national levels," as noted in Information Week. Goodnight, like others, recognizes the perils of an unqualified workforce. The real question is: Are there even more strategic places to put the weight, wisdom and investment of heavy hitters like Goodnight?
Paradigm shift in education reform
It is time for the education debate to shift. For too long it has focused nearly exclusively on better teachers and more resources. In fact, it would be hard to do more here than has been done. Teach for America recruits top graduates from Ivy League schools - arguably some of the brightest, most motivated and best connected graduates in the world - to work in neediest schools, but struggles with retention. The funding picture is even more dramatic:
Since 1985, real federal spending on K–12 education has increased by 138 percent. On a per-student basis, federal spending on K–12 education has tripled since 1970. Yet, long-term measures of American students' academic achievement have not seen similar increases. (Heritage Foundation)
Quality teachers and funding are important, but they aren't the whole story.
The Parenting Paradigm
It is hard to find an investment that has a better ROI than helping parents to understand and engage their children during early childhood: $4 to $7 in savings for each $1 spent. Why is that investment so effective? The reasons are numerous:
- Cultural: Parents set the horizons of possibility for their children by the opportunities and encouragement they provide.
- Scientific: The vast majority of brain growth occurs before a child's fifth birthday, and is activity dependent. Parent engagement predicts a child's intelligence test scores and verbal ability, as well as social development and school performance.
- Public health: Parents set the trajectory of a child's health through nutrition habits, oral hygiene, and activity levels.
- Sociological: Children who are diagnosed for delays and receive early intervention before age 3 have dramatically better outcomes than those who are diagnosed and treated later.
- Societal: When parents take responsibility for nurture from birth, they become partners in education throughout the educational process.
Business Investment
So, if I could bend Jim Goodnight's ear, what would I say? I applaud your investment in education, and your commitment to reform. So why not look for creative ways to engage and inspire parents of young children? Why not look for paradigm-shifting movements like the Harlem Children's Zone, that start from birth (and have outstanding metrics)? Why not look for ways to leverage technology like tumblon to inform and inspire the parents who stand to gain the most from it? Why not look for creative ways to use existing infrastructure like computer labs in schools, libraries and community centers to foster early childhood parenting? Instead of moving the chairs around the room, why not knock out the walls?
