In my opinion, it makes more sense, educationally and financially, to pay attention to the child when he or she is 4 years old, not 19. In fact, I think New York should mandate pre-kindergarten for all. I concede, though, that not all the factors in the lagging performance of many children are financial. There are other areas we must address also. Both teachers and parents tend to expect less of some students, and those students perform to meet expectations.
Students acquire real self-esteem by meeting real challenges.
If they fall short, we should continue not only to prod but to encourage. We can't put a dunce cap on them and banish them to a corner. Boards must constantly communicate to parents and teachers both the principles of high standards and the expectation that all students can meet them. It's not unknown for some students to attend a half-dozen different schools during a single school year. This obviously destroys the continuity of instruction and frequently deprives the new teachers of the benefit of having the results of academic, psychological and other tests administered previously.