1:14 p.m., June 22, 2009----The University of Delaware's Roberta Michnick Golinkoff went to Capitol Hill recently to spread the word that toddlers represent the economic stimulus of the future and what the CEOs of 2059 need today is more time to play.

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Golinkoff, the H. Rodney Sharp Professor in the School of Education, joined other early education experts at a briefing before Congress last month titled “Rethinking Pre-K and Kindergarten Education.”

Their aim was to convince congressional leaders that academic instruction in kindergarten has changed for the worse in the past decade, shifting toward stiff, test-driven programs. Golinkoff's research focuses on the importance of tearing down these barriers and allowing children to learn through play.

“How are we going to continue maintaining our economic pre-eminence if we are not nurturing flexible and creative thinking in kids?” Golinkoff asked the audience. “We need to empower the next generation of inventors, entrepreneurs and designers. And we have to allow this to take place in our schools.”

She said countries like China and Singapore are already changing their education systems to encourage play in schools. To some it might sound counterintuitive to allow children this freedom in an educational setting. Golinkoff notes children learn by doing, and play allows them to take risks and fail. Encouraging play, she said, amounts to an investment with long-term returns.

“Children are our human capital,” she said. “They are our future.”

Golinkoff is co-author of the book, A Mandate for Playful Learning: Presenting the Evidence.