Smart bombs: The smart money

Wednesday’s paper had an article about five Spokane schools in low-income areas that have gone to all-day kindergarten. The main reason this isn’t the norm is tied to shortsighted budgeting, because academic research clearly shows the benefits of longer educational exposure for children. In fact, recent research shows that all-day kindergarten coupled with preschool reaps even more benefits for low-income children and in the long run can return up to $10 for every dollar invested.

But if it’s a short-term economic choice between all-day kindergarten and high quality preschools, a University of Minnesota study shows that preschool is the best choice. Professors Arthur Reynolds and Judy Temple report in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine that 22- to 24-year-olds who attended public preschools in Chicago have generally outpaced their peers who attended all-day kindergarten. The Chicago Longitudinal Study began in 1986 and has been tracking the progress of the same groups of kids ever since. The latest report shows that the preschool students were more likely to attend college, work full-time and have health insurance. They were less likely to be arrested for violent crimes, suffer from depressive disorders and need disability assistance.

Wednesday’s article also indicated that a hurdle to expanding all-day kindergarten is the lack of classrooms. It’s interesting that when prisons reach capacity, we simply build more. But with early education, we find excuses for limiting enrollment.

Operation Total Perspective. There’s been a surge of assessments about the war in Iraq. Here are the headlines on a recent trio.

“Congressional Research Service: Iraq near collapse”

“Jones Commission: U.S. needs smaller footprint”

“GAO: Iraq misses most benchmarks”

Just some homework I thought I’d assign in advance of next week’s congressional testimony by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

Back draft. In the Aug. 28 Newsweek, Marine Cpl. Mark Finelli, who fought in Iraq, advocates for a return to the draft, without all the deferments available during the Vietnam War. He says the United States cannot achieve its goals in Iraq with the current size and make-up of the military, noting, “While America’s bravest are in the military, America’s brightest are not.”

He goes on to say: “It takes six to seven soldiers to support one infantryman in combat. So, you are basically asking 30,000 or so ‘grunts’ to secure a nation of 26 million.”

I sympathize with his point about how so few have been asked to sacrifice for war, but I suspect that if a return to the draft were imminent, it would be the beginning of the end to the war.