蜜桃影视

Top Takeaways is a series of recaps from important conversations, town halls, webinars and virtual events about early learning.

In 1983, , 鈥淎merica needs more education power.鈥� Nearly 40 years later, this theme held true as experts and elected officials of both parties came together July 22 for the 鈥檚 annual event, Disrupted: From Crisis to Innovation. The increasingly rare spirit of bipartisanship pervaded the summit, with speakers championing solutions to rev up American education power. Here are our takeaways from the event鈥檚 early learning remarks.

1. The pandemic鈥檚 consequences are still with us. Infection rates aren鈥檛 as low as they could be, and even assuming widespread vaccination and the eventual end of the pandemic, the after-effects will linger. Javaid Siddiqi, president and CEO of the Hunt Institute, warned that the social and emotional consequences of the pandemic are still not fully understood. that children from communities already beset by poverty, racism and other factors felt the most severe impact. Delaware鈥檚 Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long used the metaphor of the 鈥渋nvisible backpack鈥� to describe the range of challenges that weigh children down en route to the first day of kindergarten. She reminded viewers that the crises of past 18 months piled upon existing crises such as the opioid epidemic; she said federal relief dollars can make a difference鈥攁s long as the funding is targeted strategically.

2. Look for silver linings. The pandemic is a wake-up call. When child care centers closed, it became impossible to ignore how vital they are to economy and productivity, which might explain the from voters for early learning and care policy proposals. The past 18 months also saw accelerated broadband investment, thanks to programs such as and that made progress on closing the digital divide. (.) The momentum of these trends鈥攁s well as increased government funding鈥攎ight position the U.S. to better serve our youngest children in the future. More than one panelist noted that homebound parents spent far more time with their children than they normally did. There were also countless examples across the country of communities coming together to serve emergency food needs.

3. Public and private sectors should seize the moment. Ellen Galinsky, chief science officer of the Bezos Family Foundation, said now is the time to maintaining an opportunity mindset rather than an adversity mindset. It鈥檚 easy to look around and see inequities and dangerous trends, but there is also unprecedented willingness to experiment and innovate. Businesses, advocates, schools and faith-based organizations can join forces to break down silos and build enduring systems in states and municipalities. Galinsky expressed appreciation for endeavors like the , which incorporates brain science into all its programming. (Connecticut recently became the

4. Children are always learning. Amid widespread lamentation over learning loss, this fact is easy to forget. Children learn from the adults around them, from their peers and from the media they consume. Whether they鈥檙e in formal or informal learning environments, children are constantly learning new information鈥攏ot all of it reading or math. Many experts contend social emotional learning (some of which are built on executive function skills) will be increasingly valuable as today鈥檚 children come of age in an uncertain world. The capacity for attention, reflection, critical thinking and empathy may be harder to measure than literacy and arithmetic, but society cannot thrive without these attributes present in our citizenry.

5. It鈥檚 time to move from 鈥渨hole child鈥� to 鈥渨hole community.鈥� Putting a spin on James Carville鈥檚 famous quip from the 1992 presidential election鈥�It鈥檚 the economy, stupid鈥擥alinsky asserted that when it comes to early childhood development, It鈥檚 the relationships, stupid. Children aren鈥檛 just computers to program. They鈥檙e individuals with complex emotions, and within every classroom there鈥檚 a diversity of abilities鈥攎ore so in fall 2021 than ever before. Children thrive in healthy family environments and those environments depend on robust community ecosystems. Siddiqi phrased the objective as addressing root causes rather than just closing gaps. Hall-Long underscored the importance of the social determinants of health in creating the most fertile circumstances for education and career advancement鈥攖he kind of 鈥渆ducation power鈥� Reagan called for in the 1980s.

Disclosure: The Bezos Family Foundation provides financial support to Early Learning Nation.

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.