The Orange County Register – Fermin Leal
“The earlier students start learning math, the more likely they will attend college and land in high-demand careers. That’s the message from a conference aimed at promoting prekindergarten education in science, technology, engineering and math, a core commonly referred to as STEM. More than 500 educators, researchers and business leaders from local school districts, UC Irvine, Caltech and other universities and companies are gathering for the Early Childhood Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Conference. The event at the Hilton Hotel in Costa Mesa began Thursday and concludes today. “Early math education has been a critical missing piece of a child’s development,” said event organizer Susan Wood, executive director of the Children’s Center at Caltech. “One of the things we know about young children is that they are a fertile ground for learning.” She said that by the time children start kindergarten, they should know basic concepts of math, including how to count, add and subtract. Children also should understand basic concepts of engineering, including how to assemble structures with building blocks, she said.”(more)