I read “Beyond Babysitting” by Cornelia Grumman, in the latest issue of Ms. (Winter 2009, http://www.msmagazine.com/) concerning the importance of early education and Barrack Obama’s intention to support and encourage more of it. It turns out that living in an abusive/neglectful situation in the first few years of your life can stunt the development of your brain. Negativity and contempt in the first few years of life will stunt the child’s brain (not to mention psychological health), unlike positive and encouraging communication. So, great, my poisonous relatives have stunted my brain, on top of everything else. Of course, if they hadn’t themselves been so thoroughly fucked up from an early age, they wouldn’t have put so much effort into stunting me. The article emphasizes how in the years before kindergarten, children should not just be watched over but should also be educated. That’s, of course, if a kid gets enough attention for people to notice. Grumman educated herself by visiting various childcare programs and seeing indeed a wide variety, from a daycare center where toddlers crawl around on the floor with no adults interacting with them, to centers called Educare where they have full-time teachers and attention. Wow.

Barrack Obama is putting emphasis on early learning, but he needs encouragement. Lots of encouragement. Grumman further says:

“Support is broad but weak for Obama’s ambitious early childhood agenda, so the president must be willing to use the bully pulpit to raise a sense of urgency and intensity around the issue. He could start by committing to make at least four speeches a year about early education, and visit sites that showcase the kinds of programs he seeks to build (p. 45).”

I’m thinking it’s time to send a message about this to Obama using the online form at www.whitehouse.gov .