Letter to the GCEL
Robin Zukoski, Executive Director, GCEL
PO Box 40011
Olympia, WA
98504-0011
July 27, 1999
Dear Commission Members,
Governor Locke formed the Commission on
Early Learning on the premise that brain research proves that early childhood brain
development is contingent on early childhood experiences during what is termed
'windows of learning'— "these earliest stages set the stage for the
rest of that child's life…" the Commission contends on the web site. Scientific findings and empirical data
do not support this claim.
Here is an example of the weakness of
this research. The Synaptogenesis, the basis for the "golden opportunity
of learning" claim, shows that the synaptic density is present in young
children and concludes that it allows children to learn quickly. However, neuroscience proves that it is
not the density, but the pattern of synaptic connections that form neural
circuitry which support the brain's learning function and these patterns of
connections continue to form right through the second decade of life, thus
negating the "window of learning" claim.
The Commission states, in the preamble
of their newly approved Children's Bill of
Rights, that parents have a …
golden opportunity to
mold the child's brain, calling for a rich child care environment without undue
academic stress during the early years.
This is overstated and dangerous, to
quote John Bruer, a specialist in cognitive science
and the philosophy of science,
It's a bridge too
far … this brain research is pseudo-science and is serving a political
agenda, not children and families.
This "window of learning"
brain research is the foundation of the Children's Bill of Rights, and the very
existence of the Commission of Early Learning. Both threaten the family and the
Constitutional rights of parents to raise their own children
"unmolested" by the state.
Sincerely,
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