Does anyone know exactly where the cure for cancer or AIDS is? Obviously the answer is no, and it would be acceptable, provided we take advantage of all the resources we have access to to find it. Unfortunately, this is not the case. These resources, however, are not the latest computers or the most advanced biotechnology, but rather the minds of individuals where the genius necessary to produce such objects exists. However, these people are not always as financially fortunate as others. Even if they are fully capable of enrolling in public school and receiving an education, children who are around or below the poverty line are statistically less likely to achieve a level of education as high as their wealthier counterparts (Ferguson et al 702). Given that public school begins at age five and the critical period for child development occurs during the first years of life, the most reasonable explanation for this educational incompetence must lie in the quality or lack of preschool experience. Therefore, I believe that providing additional early education opportunities encompassing all disadvantaged young people can enable more beneficial development for the individual and reverse the effects of poverty, in turn having a positive impact on the labor market of the country. First, we must identify what exactly determines this readiness for school. According to Kagan, “[it] sanctions a fixed level of physical, intellectual, and social development sufficient to enable children to meet specific academic requirements and assimilate the curriculum” (49). This standard is often used to determine whether or not an individual needs special education,...... middle of article ......d Health 12.8 (2007): 701-06. National Institutes of Health. National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2007. Web. November 3, 2013. Isaacs, Julia B. Starting school in a disadvantaged context: the school preparation of poor children. Brookings.edu. The Social Genome Project, March 2012. Web. November 3, 2013. Kagan, Sharon L. “Past, Present, and Future Preparedness: Shaping the Agenda.” Young Children 48.1 (1992): 48-53. Print.Sornson, Robert. “Preventing early school failure.” Preventing early learning failure. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001. 177. Print. “Budgeted Federal Funds for Education, by Educational Level/Goal, Agency, and Program: Selected Fiscal Years, 1970 through 2012.” Budgeted Federal Funds for Education, by Educational Level/Goal, Agency, and Program. Digest of Education Statistics, October 2012. Web. November 4. 2013.