>>I heard a really interesting story on the radio last night. It's too early to see the long-term benefits, but this program seems to be having good short-term results, if the story they told is typical (and I know it well might not be)...

Looks like a great program.

Seems to me that everybody in this forum is privileged compared to some in society. Often we really have no idea of the conditions they face so even the most "obvious" proposals can amount to little more than "let them eat cake". Alternatively we can support programs like this that might seem ludicrous in homes like ours, but fill a need in places where kids are taught not to express themselves but to shut the ^^&&^ up, where there is TV but no books or crayons and where the only exposure to reading and learning comes from school where kids who can barely speak or manipulate a puzzle are behind from day 1.