EarlyStories keeps a sharp eye out for trends and issues in early childhood education, but every now and then comes across something we hadn't really thought about before. In this case, we stumbled upon a column and almost dismissed it as a cute and folksy item in a local newspaper. But then the idea moved beyond heartwarming and made a lot of sense: senior citizens, with children long grown, pushing for an investment in early childhood education as a way of looking out for future generations.

The author, Shirley Caudill, is a former newspaper editor/publisher and longtime freelance columnist who has lived in Kentucky for 40 years, and belongs to an organization called "Seniors4Kids. She makes the following argument in the Times Tribune:

".....the first five years are imperative to give a child a heads-up in the learning process..so that our youth will be prepared to compete in the adult world. We don’t want the next generation to remain low on the totem pole in education. A head start is so important!"

If more senior citizens felt this way, journalists wouldn't spend as much time as they do covering school budget battles where taxpayers without kids or whose children have grown consistently vote down school budgets.

For more on Kentucky's pre-school program, check out Pre-K Now or NIEER., both of which post detailed profiles of the state's pre-kindergarten progress.