What we need is to make America a magnet for new jobs by investing in manufacturing, and energy, and better roads and bridges and schools. We've got to make sure hard work is rewarded with a wage that you can live on and raise a family on.
We need to make sure that we've got shared responsibility for giving every American the chance to earn the skills and education that they need for a really competitive, global job market.
As I said on Tuesday night, that education has to start at the earliest possible age. And that's what you have realized here in Decatur. (Applause.) Study after study shows that the earlier a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road. But here's the thing: We are not doing enough to give all of our kids that chance. The kids we saw today that I had a chance to spend time with in Mary's classroom, they're some of the lucky ones -- because fewer than 3 in 10 four-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program.
Most middle-class parents can't afford a few hundred bucks a week for private preschool. And for the poor children who need it the most, the lack of access to a great preschool education can have an impact on their entire lives. And we all pay a price for that. And as I said, this is not speculation. Study after study shows the achievement gap starts off very young. Kids who, when they go into kindergarten, their first day, if they already have a lot fewer vocabulary words, they don't know their numbers and their shapes and have the capacity for focus, they're going to be behind that first day. And it's very hard for them to catch up over time.
【奥巴马总统就美国儿童学前教育问题发表演讲】相关文章:
★ 儿童节英语演讲稿
最新
2019-11-14
2019-11-09
2019-11-09
2019-11-08
2019-11-08
2019-11-07