KCTS Connects Special: The Learning Curve

Early Childhood Learning

Thursday, November 20, 2003 at 7:00 p.m.

Email this story to a friend

Watch video (Requires Real Player)
Part 1: Broadband | Dial-Up
Part 2: Broadband | Dial-Up

By the time a child is three years old, their brain development is nearly complete—which makes their early learning experiences critical. This special pre-taped edition of KCTS Connects explores the fascinating world of early learning, from birth to age five. The program reveals what the latest research says about children's brain development, how nurturing a child's emotional well-being affects the ability to learn, and what parents can do to help their children prepare for learning. Hosted by KCTS Connects' Enrique Cerna, the special also looks at the political and financial issues impacting early childhood education—including the Bush administration's efforts to overhaul Head Start and how they could affect federally funded preschools in Washington state.

Appearing in the program are local pediatrician and early learning expert Dr. Danette Glassy; University of Washington child development expert Dr. Colleen Huebner; Larry MacMillan, director of Highline Head Start, a publicly funded preschool south of Seattle; prominent Seattle psychologist and author Dr. John Gottman; James Hunt, former governor of North Carolina, who established a comprehensive early childhood program in his state; Washington state's First Lady, Mona Locke, board chair of the Foundation for Early Learning; John Bancroft, executive director of the Puget Sound Educational Service District's Head Start program; and Debra R. Sullivan, Ph.D., president of the Seattle-based Praxis Institute for Early Childhood Education.

KCTS Connects Special Edition: The Learning Curve is the third of four KCTS Connects specials being produced for The Learning Curve. Previous KCTS Connects Learning Curve specials have examined the ramifications of the federal "No Child Left Behind" Act for education in Washington state, and efforts to help teachers improve their classroom skills.

Please see KCTS Connects website on KCTS.org for related links and articles.