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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
BY ISOLDE RAFTERY, Columbian staff writer

The baby wasn’t even a day old, but Dr. Andrew Meltzoff was convinced it would try to imitate him.

Dressed in white hospital garb, Meltzoff — a professor at the University of Washington who studies brain development — stuck his tongue out at the infant.

The baby’s eyes crossed in concentration, and then she stuck out her own, tiny tongue.

Meltzoff opened his mouth wide. Again, the baby girl focused before opening her mouth.

Thus Meltzoff coined “born learning,” a term that has been used in early education campaigns around Washington state. Birth-to-five, Meltzoff said, are the years when people learn most.

Meltzoff’s experiment with the infant was photographed and projected onto a large screen at the Hilton Vancouver Washington on Tuesday. He was the keynote speaker for a luncheon to raise money for the Clark County Early Learning Fund.

“What do we do with this research?” he asked the large group, which included local philanthropists Dave and Patricia Nierenberg and early education advocates

Rick and Sarah Melching. “We form partnerships.”

Washington state started pushing early education about two years ago, with the formation of the Department of Early Learning and Thrive by Five. Clark County started much earlier, in 2001, with a meeting of about 400 people. At the time, the county’s slogan was “Every moment counts.”

In Clark County, more than half of kindergartners arrive unprepared for school, said Rick Melching, the former superintendent of Evergreen Public Schools.

Bill Weismann of SELF (Support­ for Early Learning and Families) said that two projects are in the works: starting visits to the homes of new parents in Hazel Dell and Orchards, and a “read and play” program for preschool-aged children based at elementary schools in the same area.

Phil McGuiness, a pediatrician at the Vancouver Clinic, said parents should “get down on their hands and knees” to interact with their children. It’s not about drowning them in activities, McGuiness said, but reading to them and scolding them reasonably. 

But McGuiness said that so many parents feel guilty for feeling as though they don’t provide enough.

“If a child is in a loving and supportive environment, they will learn,” McGuiness said. “We want families to feel good about time with their children.”

Isolde Raftery can be reached at 360-759-8047 or isolde.raftery@columbian.com.