For Anyone Interested in Education and Public Affairs

Chapter List:

These are the 14 chapters of Building Blocks: Making Children Successful in the Early Years of School:

1. A World of New Beginnings—The reasons why schools should focus on the years from prekindergarten through third grade
2. The Very Early Years—What should happen in the lives of children before they ever reach the classroom
3. Prekindergarten for All—How every child could benefit from being able to attend pre-k starting at the age of three or four
4. A Full Day of Kindergarten—The benefits of full-day kindergarten instead of a half-day program
5. Building a New Structure for Learning—The elements of a solid primary program
6. Literacy—What has to happen to make children fluent readers by the time they reach fourth grade
7. Numeracy—Building a proper foundation for confidence in math
8. A Full Complement of Subjects—The prekindergarten through third grade years must be about more than reading and math
9. Se Habla Espanol . . . and 86 Other Languages—Schools should take steps to deal with the fact that one out of five kindergarteners has immigrant parents
10. Instilling Habits and Dispositions—Success demands the right kind attitude about learning
11. Making Schools Accountable for the Primary Grades—Assessment, properly done, can help children and, done incorrectly, can harm children
12. Teachers: Becoming Early Childhood Experts—Teachers have to understand early development and the needs of students in the primary grades
13. Before and After School—The hours when young children can’t be left alone
14. Facing Realities in Early Education—What has to happen in America