Tiffany and Briana live a few miles from each other, but their lives are worlds apart. Briana is not smarter than Tiffany, but her advantages make her more ready to enter school and to learn. While there is no question that demographics are not destiny, Tiffany's mother is racked by a feeling that there is no way to escape the poverty that grinds down her hopes and dreams and to give her daughter better chances for her life.
We recently wrote about the opportunity for our community to take the heart, grit and grind that have come to define our civic psyche and tap into them to fight for the future of every child in our community. There is no title more important that we can win than this one, because as champions for children, we are in fact winning a better future for Memphis and Shelby County.
Don't put away those Grizzlies' yellow growl towels just yet. We need to bring that same level of energy, determination, and civic pride to improve the lives of the youngest children in Memphis. Imagine what we could get done with everyone cheering on early childhood programs.
There is no longer any argument about the value of Pre-K in Memphis and Shelby County. The challenge now is to fund it adequately so that every child can benefit from it. A year ago this month, we wrote that Memphis and Shelby County had reached the tipping point on early child development. Unfortunately, there are signs now that we may tip in the wrong direction
We've all heard the parable that no one nearing the end of life wishes he or she had spent more time at work. Here, at The Urban Child Institute, we have a similar parable, but we say no one nears the end of life and says: "I wish I hadn't given so much attention to my children."
If we were publishing a visual dictionary, we know what we would put beside the word, "trusting." It would be the picture of a young child. Nothing is more important to infants and toddlers than relationships with nurturing, loving people, both inside and outside the family. In fact, that is how they define the world and what it has to offer.