Since huge numbers of brain synapse connections are made in the first three years, it is reasonable to conclude that any information presented and reinforced during that period will be retained by the child and, as a matter of fact, research that can be found in Brain Trust from Education Week and other references, suggest that a child's peak learning years occur just as all of those synapses are forming. It seems logical that there is a reason for the rapid growth of connections, and that it might be to improve the odds that networks related to input stimulation will be established and retained. That, in turn, might make it possible to impart significant basic knowledge. The idea is reinforced by the fact that many connections are later pruned away if not used.

There is an explosive increase in the number and complexity of neural connections in the first few years, then there is a pruning away of the ones not used. Page 20 of RETHINKING THE BRAIN (order from the Families and Work Institute ) discusses the mechanism of the process: "This is where early experience plays a crucial role. When some kind of stimulus activates a neural pathway, all the synapses that form that pathway receive and store a chemical signal. Repeated activation increases the strength of that signal. When the signal reaches a threshold level ( which varies for different areas), something extraordinary happens to that synapse. It becomes exempt from elimination and retains its protected status into adulthood. Scientists do not yet fully understand the mechanism by which this occurs; they conjecture that the electrical activity produced when neural pathways are activated gives rise to chemical changes that stabilize the synapse. These findings confirm that brain development is a 'use it or lose it' process. As pruning accelerates in the second decade of life, those synapses that have been reinforced by virtue of repeated experience tend to become permanent; the synapses that were not used often enough in the early years tend to be eliminated. In this way the experiences positive or negative that young children have in the first years of life influence how their brains will be wired as adults."

Wonder what would happen if a child were provided with enough appropriate, repetitive stimulation to cause the networks to be used rather than pruned? Is it possible for a 3-year-old to possess the rote-memory knowledge of a 3rd grader? Is is possible that a large part of the education we now provide children can more efficiently be provided before they are 10? Is it possible that we aren't even getting close to taking advantage of the intellectual capabilities of our children? Is it possible that the brain is capable of reorganizing itself if stimulated very early in a child's life, so that children who are born with diminished capacity can function normally?

Consider the possibility that all of our children might know the letters of the alphabet, the numbers, basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, phonetic key words with spelling, the names of geometric shapes, the names, relative sizes and positions of the planets, all of the states and their capitals, all of the continents and countries of the world, the names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence along with other historical figures, all of the bones and organs of the body, numerous plant and animal names and who knows what else, all before being able to form sentences of more than three words! On average, that happens at around 3 years of age. Consider the difference that will make when a child first enters the doors of a school, especially a child who does not have the advantage of well-educated parents. Like to make a wild guess what the teacher's response will be to a child who already knows the material normally expected of children several years older?

The possibilities might become reality if we take advantage of the things the research teaches us. One important lesson is that the first thing learned is the decoding of sound patterns (sometimes independent of words), with the voice of the mother becoming the most important sound, followed by the father and close family members. That makes the ability to record an important one. It also emphasizes the need to stay with small pieces of information until about 9 months. Balaban, Waxman

The research says that babies are able to correlate those sounds with the images they represent. Pairing of the visual with an attractive aural presentation takes advantage of both the decoding and correlation capabilities.

The resarch says that repetition of stimulation will cause "circuit" connections to be made and remain in place. Being able to repeat an aural/visual stimulation is also important.

The research confirms that babies are capable of learning and retaining what they have learned. It seems very probable that the various tables, objects, phonetic key words lists, etc. can be learned while a child is still a baby.

A Super Start system takes advantage of the research by allowing a person to record a voice on a computer's disk and play it back with images the voice describes. The best voice is that of a parent since a baby is greatly attracted to that particular sound. Super Start permits the repetition of the material as long as the computer has power, since repetition enhances learning in anyone, including babies.

Since babies are in the business of learning small bits of information, the material provided in the package is very basic. It's what most of us would considered to be information that should be committed to rote memory. Some of Super Start's images are:

• upper, lower and combined upper and lower case letters
• the numbers 0 through 9
• addition, subtraction, subtraction with no negatives, multiplication, multiplication with no duplication, division and division with no remainders
• text files to extend the list of numbers to 100
• text files containing over 5000 basic phonetic key words
• the names of the states and their capitals
• the signers of the Declaration of Independence
• text files with the names of the presidents
• the names of the months
• names of the days
• graphics script files of a house, a tree, a circle, a square, a rectangle and a triangle in the DOS version, and graphics file capabilities in the Windows version, millions of which are downloadable from the Internet

The DOS version is also capable of making paper images of all of its screen images. They can be hung up around the house to provide additional stimulation. Babies are known to like high-contrast images such as those produced by Super Start, and the paper images are generated directly from the screen images. Older kids can even use them as flash-cards to practice their school work. It is emphasized that this is mostly for self-practice. The images should not be used as flash-cards with the very young. It subjects them to too much pressure. Windows has its own capability of printing graphics, so it's not included in the Windows version of Super Start.

Older kids will also like the fact that they can record their voices on the computer and play them back. With the DOS version, they can not only play them back normally, but at different speeds and backwards if they wish.

The DOS version of Super Start can make banners. Great for celebrating achievements.

The research has shown that babies respond best to high-contrast images. For that reason, the built-in images are presented using a stark, black/white format. The fonts are automatically scaled to cause the images to fill as much of the screen as possible.

All of the DOS files, along with many of the Windows version files, can be viewed on the detail page.

Text and graphics script files can be easily written by anyone using a text editor. They expand the possibilities to virtually any image desired. The result is an extremely flexible, inexpensive or free system that will display what the user wants it to display, in the order dictated, and do so with no need to attend to it as long as it has power.

Super Start lets you provide variety and an attractive voice to keep a baby interested in order to initiate the "wiring" of neural networks, and repetition to enhance the prospects that they will remain once established.

The precautions that should be taken when using Super Start will be discussed next.