Investing is a major way in which people work to assure themselves a safe and prosperous future. And, of course, they want the best return for their money, even if it takes a while.

So it puzzles me a great deal when I look at how we invest our dollars when it comes to our children, not only in our schools, but in our early education programs. Statistics on the benefits of early child care are overwhelmingly positive with regard to return on investment. According to numerous extensive studies, children who participate in high quality Early Childhood Education programs tend to have higher language and math skills, less need for special or remedial education and higher high school graduation rates. As a result of this, they go on to be citizens who have higher employment and earning as adults, pay higher taxes, depend less on welfare and engage in fewer criminal acts.
So, it is surprising that with all the information available regarding the positive return on investment yielded by early childhood education, far more money is spent on prisons than on pre-schools. Of course, we don’t seem to have too much of a problem deciding that prisons are important. After all, we’ve got to make sure criminals are put far away from our loved ones and our stuff. But what if they never became criminals in the first place? Pre-school seems to be a pretty good investment toward that end.

Consider this: The average prison guard makes $21 an hour, plus benefits. Other than a clean record and a high school diploma, there are no specific requirements. Pre-school teachers, on the other hand, must have credentials from an accredited college, must continually update their credentials by taking classes, and are responsible for the very earliest education of our most significant national resource: Our children. And for this, they are paid between $8 and $9 an hour, with rarely any benefits or vacation pay.

This seems so odd to me.

I mean, if we’re looking at where to invest our money, why isn’t it put where it will do the most good, and where it could eventually curb, if not eliminate, the need for spending at the other end of the spectrum?

Perhaps our investment strategies need to change. Maybe we need to really look at the bottom line, and decide where we’ll get the best return on our investment dollars. Pre-school is definitely something we need to invest in heavily, so that the children of the future will have the tools to create a great future for themselves and their communities.

(Rubin for the Napa Child Care Planning Council.)