David Brooks speaks to the Economic Club

Nationally-known columnist and political analyst David Brooks says supporting quality early childhood programs is the “biggest and best thing” elected officials can do.

“The investment return on early childhood is higher than the return on any other investment in human capital development that we can make,” Brooks told a sold-out crowd of 650 people at the Economic Club of Grand Rapids luncheon on February 8.

The New York Times columnist spoke about the development of the unconscious mind and how early relationships and experiences impact a child’s long-term success.

“If you’re going to teach this part of the mind, earlier is better,” Brooks said.

Citing a study from the University of Minnesota, Brooks said by age 4, researchers have a 3-in-4 chance of accurately predicting whether a child will graduate from high school.  He lauded programs that are changing those odds, such as preschool and programs in which nurses visit young mothers.

“We’re beginning to see progress in program after program because we’re finally able to use all of this research,” Brooks said.

Brooks is hopeful that will help the country regain the “35-year advantage in education” that he argued has been squandered over the last three decades, jeopardizing the U.S.’s status as the “richest nation.”

He argued that effective programs should be brought to scale and said the public needs to be willing to pay for quality professionals in the early childhood field.  In a line that drew applause from the crowd, Brooks said teaching college physics is neither more difficult nor more important than teaching preschool.

Brooks, based in the nation’s capital, pointed to two barriers that keep elected officials from paying more attention to early childhood development:  a political cycle more focused on the next election than on long-term benefits and Washington D.C.’s “machismo culture.”  Despite the compelling research, politicians would rather “talk about guns and banks” he said.

When asked what supporters can do to make investments in children a higher priority for elected officials, Brooks encouraged the crowd to keep talking about the issue and said social movements can be incredibly powerful.

“In politics right now, we’re not fighting arguments; we’re fighting inattention.”

First Steps partnered with the Washington, D.C.-based Committee for Economic Development to sponsor Brooks’ speech.   Amway President Doug DeVos, Co-chair of the First Steps Commission, introduced Brooks.  CED President Charles Kolb also spoke, and told the crowd, “We’ve been at this for 40 years, and we’re going to stay at it until it’s a national priority.”