Thursday, August 14, 2008

Begich on education

I got an e-mail about Mark Begich's education plan today, and I am now more a supporter than ever. I was in the early childhood field for several years, and he hit the best points of what needs to happen with American and Alaskan education. Highlights:

- No more "No Child Left Behind!": This has been a train wreck from te beginning, with no hope of getting out.

- Universal, voluntary pre-k: Absolutely. I don't know that I would have supported this so much had I not been required to go through a few dozen trainings that show study after study after study about just how important those first few years are, and what a difference it can make to begin an early childhood program.

- Building on Head Start: This was addressed under the pre-k part, but I was happy to see it. Indian Head Start's in particular got hammered pretty hard under new regs for Head Start.

- Explanding Native education opportunities: Native education - from preschool to college - is addressed at several points.

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