A Posting for my 4th grade friends at Rockwell Elementary: Learning Begins at Birth

"Learning Begins at Birth"

Babies and young children think, observe, and reason. They consider evidence, draw conclusions, do experiments, solve problems, and search for the truth. "The Scientist in the Crib". One great memory I have of my childhood is being droven to my elementary school by my maternal grandmother. It was the same school that my uncles and aunt attended as well as many others members of my extended family. My mother would drop me off and continue to work and my grandmother would take over; my mother would continue after school with ensures that I could spell all of the words that were assigned to me that day at school. I also remember talking with my aunt about her experiences at college, which I admired greatly. Finally, I remember the day that my uncle departed and returned home from his activation to support the First Gulf War; experiences such as these helped me develop into the individual that I am today.

I learned from positive childhood experiences, the importance of education, dedication, helping others, and service to our country.

Now, I was very fortunate like ALL of you to have an environment that fostered positive experiences (not saying we did not face challenges at home and away). If you have any question of your environment, consider the harsh environment of the afghani children and people.

In the past five years progress has been made, but Afghanistan still faces many challenges. It has high infant, child and maternal mortality; low immunization; chronic nutritional deficiencies among children; low literacy levels; low school enrollment and high drop-out rates, especially among girls; and difficulty protecting children and promoting their rights.

Can any of us really size up to such grave statistics, We are blessed and fortunate!

Finally Numbers at a Glance,

• One Afghan child in five dies, often of a preventable cause before her or his fifth birthday
• 85% of women give birth at home with untrained attendants
• 30% of healthcare facilities are without female health professionals: doctors, nurses and midwives
• 100,000 teachers are needed in Afghanistan, including some 48,000 new women teachers, if there is to be an essential increase in girls' enrollment and retention in school
• Only one female teacher in three has the required education; some 27,000 current teachers will need support to increase their knowledge and teaching skills
• The vast majority of rural parents do not understand child development. According to a recent Save the Children survey, only 19% of mothers believe play is useful to promote learning and only 4% believe that it readies a child for school; no fathers understood that play helped their children's cognitive development.

Have a great day and be sure to call to thank someone that helped to prevent you from being subject to one of the above statistics!

On top of all of these health, education, and poverty issues, children see war and destruction daily!