Early childhood on NYT Op Ed page

As we break for lunch during a training on a holistic, child-centered approach to early childhood programs, I was thrilled to read Nicholas Kristof's piece today, "How to Raise Our I.Q.". He writes,

"Professor Nisbett strongly advocates intensive early childhood education because of its proven ability to raise I.Q. and improve long-term outcomes. The Milwaukee Project, for example, took African-American children considered at risk for mental retardation and assigned them randomly either to a control group that received no help or to a group that enjoyed intensive day care and education from 6 months of age until they left to enter first grade.

By age 5, the children in the program averaged an I.Q. of 110, compared with 83 for children in the control group. Even years later in adolescence, those children were still 10 points ahead in I.Q."

At TYO, we're working to provide just such intensive early childhood programs. We certainly have a ways to go in terms of extending our reach below 4 years to the especially delicate 0-4, or better, conception - 4 years, period. In addition, due to limited resources, we are not able to offer long-term or full-time programs for our target population. We are working to develop the best quality intervention for as many children in the city as possible.

On that note, I should get back to the next phase of our day: simulating child-driven learning through play!