President Obama Recognizes Importance of Science and Math In Education

Just last week, President Obama announced a $250 million funding package new and innovative public-private partnerships with companies, universities, foundations, and government agencies to reward and encourage outstanding educators in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). In addition, the President honored over 100 outstanding mathematics and science educators for excellence in teaching and mentoring. In his remarks, President Obama acknowledged the critical role of educators in shaping the success of the next generation to address critical issues that will shape our future.

“The quality of  math and science teachers is the most important single factor influencing whether students will succeed or fail in science, technology, engineering and math,” President Obama said. “Passionate educators with issue expertise can make all the difference, enabling hands-on learning that truly engages students—including girls and underrepresented minorities—and preparing them to tackle the grand challenges of the 21st century such as increasing energy independence, improving people’s health, protecting the environment, and strengthening national security.”

There is no doubt that passionate educators play a significant role in promoting a love of science and mathematics in young children. But with all due respect to the President, as parents, our role is even more significant in starting our children off on the road to scientific literacy. A love of science can be nurtured and developed in very young children, capitalizing on their natural curiosity about themselves and the world around them. Basic scientific skills such as observation, prediction, and classification can be promoted by encouraging children to ask questions, describe the world around them, make predictions, and even just spending time outdoors observing nature.

The November 2009 edition of Young Children, the Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, focused on ways to promote an interest in science in our youngest learners, whether in school or at home. Supplemental programs for children such as the Science Adventures program that is offered at KinderCare Learning Centers and in partnership with many school districts further develop children’s inquiry skills and their natural interest in the world around them.

As our society wrestles with complex issues such as climate change and national security, we need an informed citizenry who can ensure that we make critical decisions based on facts, not rhetoric. And if we are to continue to lead the world in technology and innovation, we must ensure that our children are prepared to meet this challenge. Recognizing and rewarding outstanding STEM educators is an important step in this process as they partner with you to develop your child’s natural curiosity–the key ingredient to developing the inquiry skills needed to unlock the next generation of young scientists.

NAEYC Conference Recognizes 2009 Early Childhood Educators and The Importance of Their Work

This was another week in Washington, DC, attending the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  Approximately 20,000 educators, policy makers, researchers, and children’s advocates attended the conference this year. The sessions were wide-ranging from national policy discussions to practical tips for teachers.

There were two highlights for me. The first was the opening keynote by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. On Wednesday night, he addressed a packed crowd to talk about the importance of early childhood education and some efforts by the Obama Administration to improve the quality of early care and education. It was particularly significant that this was the first time that a Secretary of Education addressed the NAEYC conference, hopefully signaling a sea change in the way that early care and education is viewed and supported.

His opening comments set the stage for his speech, reaffirming that a child’s earliest years deserve special attention and focus.:

“This is a unique moment in time when early learning is no longer an afterthought, but has come into its own and is recognized as the first and most critical stage in human development. Today we have a special opportunity to build a bigger, better coordinated system of early care and education. It is time to transform early learning from a system of uneven quality and access into a system that truly and consistently prepares children for success in school and in life. And it is time to learn from the success of high-quality programs—even as we take on the challenge of raising the bar for early learning programs in the 21st century.”

The other highlight, which was of more personal significance to me, was the opportunity to participate in an Awards Ceremony honoring the 2009 recipients of the Knowledge Universe Early Childhood Educator Awards.

This amazing initiative, which I’ve mentioned before, is sponsored by Knowledge Universe to recognize and reward 5 outstanding early childhood educators, who exemplify the best of the best among the over 30,000 early childhood education teachers in KinderCare, CCLC, and Knowledge Beginnings programs around the United States. 

Teachers are secretly nominated by the supervisors based on factors such as the quality of the classroom environment; their relationships with children, families, and their peers; the use of appropriate teaching practices, and their leadership. Classroom visits are conducted to ensure that these teachers meet the highest standards of excellence on all dimensions. The actual award is given in a surprise visit to the center, and recipients receive $10,000 and are invited to the annual NAEYC conference. Our 2009 Early Childhood Educators are:

Given that the conference was held in Washington, DC this year, each of the award winners spent time on Capital Hill, meeting with their Congressional representatives and staff, and they also had the opportunity for a private tour of the Capital and the West Wing of the White House.

These outstanding educators represented a range of programs, serving a range of children of different ages and backgrounds, but they all shared a powerful commitment to the children and families. Spending time with them was humbling and inspirational.

While Secretary Duncan talked about raising the bar for early learning programs, they have already set the highest standard for themselves, their peers, and the children they serve. They do not need a proclamation to provide exceptional care and education; they already do it from their hearts and their minds, using their talents, education, and experience to prepare the next generation for the future that awaits them.

I salute the award winners and early childhood educators everywhere for the important work they do, every day, on behalf of all of us.