The Most Important Year

This book has taken me a while to read, but it's not because it isn't a great book. In fact, this is a five-star read, a book that I want all parents to pick up, especially those with young children that will soon start school.

I rarely mark up books.  But last night I couldn't help myself. I found so many important thoughts in this book. There was so much research that reaffirmed what I believe about education and what my mother (a kindergarten teacher for nearly thirty years) believed and practiced in her own classroom.

Often I hear parents talk about school. And every one of them has an opinion.  I find this interesting (and sometimes frustrating) as people without any real experience or knowledge of the way education works thinks they are an expert.

Bouffard shares the stories of a few families with young children who are looking for a pre-school.  The options are varied and Bouffard gives research and data that explain the type of education most beneficial to young children. Although preschool lasts for only a few years, it continues to impact the child for years afterward.

A few nuggets from this book include: 

• reading achievement in the earliest years may look like it is only about letters and sounds, but it is not.
• sometimes good behavior is confused with high engagement
• Direct instruction is a really good way to improve test scores and technical skills in the short term, but it's not clear that it is right in the long term.
• there is a lack of self-regulation and social-emotional skills that are critical for kindergarten
• children from professional families hear thirty million more words than their lower-income peers.

This is a book that all parents and educators should read.  And I'd like to hand it off to a few administrators, too.