And who says that the military isn't on top of things?

[Sancho]

One of the weirdest reports I've ever read as a reason for preschool education: so that we'll have good soldiers in 20 years to fight wars?!

A military study shows that 75% of recruits are NOT READY for service, and the main problem is early childhood education. The ex Secretary of the Army was on CSPAN citing the report. He said that a dollar of early education saved eighteen dollars later.


http://d15h7vkr8e4okv.cloudfront.net/NATPR1109.pdf

-snip-

Major General Comstock said that he believes the early education of young children should be an area of bipartisan agreement.
“I’m a lifelong political conservative, and I believe that government should intervene on a limited and targeted basis,” Major General Comstock said. “Early education is not conservative common sense or liberal common sense—it’s just plain common
Reaching the most at-risk kids helps increase graduation rates and cut crime, so early education is a matter of national security.”
While the military is currently meeting recruitment goals due in part to the severe economic recession, the retired leaders said the challenge of finding quality recruits will return when the economy recovers.
“The armed services are meeting recruitment targets in 2009, but those of us who have served in command roles are worried about the trends we see. Our national security in the year 2030 is absolutely dependent on what’s going on in pre-kindergarten today. We urge Congress to take action on this issue this year,” Rear Admiral Barnett said.
The retired admirals and generals cited evidence from prominent research studies showing that children who benefit from early childhood education are significantly more likely to graduate from high school and avoid crime as adults.
For several decades, researchers followed children who attended Chicago’s Child-Parent Center (CPC) early education program. By the age of 18, children left out of the program were 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime than those who attended. By age 20, participants in the early education program were 29 percent more likely to have graduated from high school.
“Commanders in the field have to trust that our soldiers will respect authority, work within the rules and know the difference between right and wrong,” Maj. Gen. Kelley said. “Early learning opportunities help instill the qualities that make better citizens, better workers and better candidates for uniformed service.”
Many states have made substantial progress in providing early education services to young children. However, more than half of all states are reaching only 30 percent or less of their four-year-old children through state and federal programs. Ten states serve 20 percent or less of the four-year-olds in their state. Nationally, the federally-funded preschool program Head Start serves only half of at-risk kids, and Early Head Start serves less than five percent of infants and toddlers from eligible low- income families.
“The role of an admiral or a general is to look over the horizon, identify future problems and pinpoint the best way to overcome these challenges,” Brig. Gen. Douglass said. “The research shows today’s kids need early education, so let’s put that into practice now.”
Congress is now considering a new initiative, the Early Learning Challenge Fund, designed to help states provide more at-risk kids with access to quality early learning programs. The proposal will provide grants to the states of $1 billion a year for up to ten years to improve the quality of early childhood development programs and expand access to more at-risk kids. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in September that included support for the Early Learning Challenge Fund, and it is awaiting deliberation in the Senate.
“Imagine ten young people walking into a recruiter’s office and seven of them getting turned away. We cannot allow today’s dropout crisis to become a national security crisis,” former Under Secretary of the Army Joe Reeder said. “Starting with early education will make sure young people have a foundation that will prepare them for whatever path they choose, including the defense of our nation.”

[mopinko]

1. i agree. shook my head when i saw that one.

not that early childhood isn't an investment we should all be able to get behind, but :crazy:

[Jokerman]

2. No cannon fodder left behind? n/t

[Hangingon]

3. If kids are nor educationally prepared for the military...

what are they ready for? Getting past the "knee jerk" anti-military cannon fodder BS, we need to drop the politics and work on improving education.

[Sal Minella]

4. How humane, to see these unsupported young lives as potential wrenches

in the works of our smooth-running war machine.

No wonder the Powers That Be want to force poor women to have as many unwanted babies as possible -- if you have to process 30 young people to get 10 fit for the military's maw, the obvious answer is to put contraceptives and abortion access out of reach of the poor.

[BeFree]

5. EMPIRE, anyone?

That's their job. They have their orders. And they get paid handsomely.