Opportunity Cost Of Early Childhood Education Essay

Improved Essays
Introduction What are the opportunity costs of not providing an excellent early education? Even though the importance of early childhood learning may appear obvious to everyone who has witnessed the effortlessness with which growing up multilingually helps children to speak multiple languages fluently later in life, the beginning of children’s efforts in public education are somehow vague; some children do not visit even pre-school, others already start out learning in pre-kindergarten. This text will act as a point of reference about the opportunity cost of not providing an excellent childhood education, or conversely, the external benefits of educating someone else’s children. It will serve as a contributing source to the ongoing societal discussion about how much education is necessary to create an informed society and to embolden individual children to find their own way in life, which requires a basic level of education. While the importance of higher education can be disputed, the conclusion from the following text is that if one wants to reduce education, early childhood education should come last.
Opportunity cost and early education If in any given situation more than one choice is available, the “opportunity cost” is the cost incurred by
…show more content…
Experts estimate that by 2050, excellent early childhood education will have yielded $304.7 billion in benefits—$81.6 billion in taxes and government benefits, $108.4 billion in better career possibilities, and $114.7 billion in savings from reduced crime rate and better public health (Lynch & Vaghul, 2015). Therefore, an excellent early childhood education has multiple benefits, the impact of which cannot be overstated; it is as much a benefit to society as it is a societal duty, as never again will the human brain be so efficient in learning new items than during early

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    When Early Childhood Educators are well-compensated, there will be more incentive for highly-qualified staff to remain in the field. These staff will be able to build strong relationships with children and families, which will benefit the community as a whole because children in successful programs such as High Scope have been shown to be less likely to opt for welfare or participate in criminal activity later in life (Johnson,…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Spending two and half hours in each classroom, I learned a great deal about early childhood education from ages birth through eight, and the effort and skills that it takes to create a stimulating learning environment. For my infant, toddler, and preschool observations, I spent my hours at the CCC Childcare Center located in our college while for my kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade observations, I spent my time at Casey Park Elementary School. During my observations at the CCC Childcare Center, I learned plenty about the methods and practices that go into early education before primary grades. The preschool classroom really stood out to me because the centers in the classroom were very open ended and filled with lots of manipulative for…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    They believe that children need to be at home with their parents, and that parents are the best teachers for small children. This paper will argue that free preschool allows children from all backgrounds to get the experience and support they need to be successful in school. Homeschool parents believe that they are the best teachers for their children. The Exploring Homeschooling website states: “Parents can teach preschool at home--and do a much…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Introduction This essay will be an informative, critical and thoughtful reflection on past learning experience in the program and what these reflections inspire me on my future as an early childhood educator. Two highlighted learning experiences will be described in relation to corresponding teaching standards. And there will be reflective discussions on how to support chidlren’s learning and needs (especially special/additional needs) and how to build positive relationships with colleagues and families more effectively. Having learned in early childhood education field for almost two years, there are two experiences that impressed me most and made me think deeply. • Working with children with special/additional needs…

    • 1715 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Society’s high standards do not make the path to success any easier for children. So the better prepared a child is, the better chances of children succeeding in their education and life. Having early education experiences sets children up for academic success because it gives them time in a structured educational environment before entering kindergarten. Early education improves the lives of children, ultimately leading to academic success, so regardless of income all children have a right to a free preschool program. As a society, we should do what works best for our children and make sure that they do not start their educational path…

    • 1234 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    (americanprogress.org) *Italy and Sweden have pre school programs that are almost entirely publicly funded. Hence, the reason behind their quality universal childhood programs as well as quality education. (americanprogress.org) * If we invest in our kids at an earlier age, they are less likely to fail or repeat a grade or fail to complete high school.…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Long Term Effects of Early Childhood Programs on Cognitive and School Outcomes". The Future of Children. 5 (3): 25–50. doi:10.2307/1602366. Two other studies in the Consortium for Longitudinal Studies reported effects on IQ of about 1/2 standard deviation, gone by age…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Thus, it is essentially required for children to attend preschool or an early start program before kindergarten. Enrolling them in preschool is an excellent opportunity for children, but if only it did not require the parents to empty their wallets. Children should all be granted the same educational opportunity that is not dependent on what their parent’s income allows them in order to advance their education, create a successful future, and by allocating providing an education for all social classes. Dayton, Ohio has noted…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Discussion Essay 1: Opportunity Cost Mary Woodbury Hooper describes opportunity cost as, “...the value of an option that was not chosen in a choice between two or more mutually exclusive options. Opportunity cost measures the value of a missed opportunity...”(“Opportunity Cost”). To explain, in my family we choose to make our own yogurt instead of buying it from the store. Buying yogurt from the store would be the opportunity cost in this example. Buying the yogurt is the next best alternative to making the yogurt, or the missed opportunity.…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Opportunity cost is defined as what must be given up in order to do or obtain something; the highest-valued alternative that must be foregone; for example, the opportunity cost of taking the final exam may be missing out on a trip to Bermuda (Getzen, 2013). The New Oxford American Dictionary defines it as "the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. " Opportunity cost is a key concept in economics, and has been described as expressing "the basic relationship between scarcity and choice (Buchanan, 2008). Opportunity costs play a role in decision-making to ensure that scarce resources are utilized efficiently. Opportunity cost is not only monetary or financial but can be associated with loss of time, experiences…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As they mature, they can use their skills and creativity to convey new ideas to the world. Starting a child’s education at a younger age is crucial due to how the child’s brain develops. Scientific findings show that children are learning and developing their brains from their mother’s womb. Babies are absorbing their mother 's language while in the womb. This is where Early Childhood Education…

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The author of The Importance of Early Childhood Poverty, Greg Duncan who is a professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine, writes that economists view, “…families with greater economic resources as being better able to purchase or produce important ‘inputs’ into their young children’s development (e.g., nutritious meals; enriched home learning environments and child care settings outside the home; safe and stimulating neighborhood environments)” (Duncan 90). These “inputs” are all vital to the development of children and their academic success. Nutritious meals especially because when children are young, if they are not getting the nutrients they need for their brain to develop they will already be at a disadvantage going into school. This lack of nutrition does not only affect the brain.…

    • 2162 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1) What is the definition of " opportunity cost”? Give an example (2 points). Opportunity cost is the best alternative someone gives up after making a choice. An example of this can be skipping breakfast to get some extra minutes of sleep.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    4. Expanded Educational Production: O = f(C, R, I, N, P, Z) i) Student Characteristics (C): This includes family income, parent’s education, home environment, health, etc. ii) School Resources (R): This includes per-student spending, student/teacher ratio, class size, quality of classroom teacher, educational equipment. iii)…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    . What is inflation risk? Inflation is the rise or fall of a price by a certain time. It could something right now then be raised tomorrow or fall tomorrow.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Decent Essays