The aroma of freshly baked cookies was in the air Monday evening when I walked in the door at my parents' house.

I left work a little early so I could drive down to Clemson for some extra time visiting with my cousin Darcy and her two young daughters. Darcy drove down from Connecticut last week to spend several days visiting my parents.

I was immediately transported back to my childhood when I used to help my mother bake cookies in the kitchen. If I was really lucky, I was allowed to lick the cookie dough from the beaters once the mixing bowl was left in the sink.

This memory from my childhood was replayed when Darcy's daughter Elliott, 3, helped my mother bake oatmeal cookies following a busy day visiting the children's museum in Greenville. The cookies were cooling on racks on the kitchen counter when I walked in the room.

I noticed the cookie jar was empty.

The cookie jar is one of the most contested areas in a kitchen when it's full.

It was always tricky growing up to remove cookies without being given away by the sound of my hands clanging against the cookie jar. I got busted taking cookies far more often than I ever got away with satisfying my sweet tooth.

I did not share any information with Elliott about the hazards of reaching into cookie jars or eating raw cookie dough. She is already wise beyond her years and has this whole cookie deal down to a science.

"My dad's a cookie monster," Elliott told me. "I'm a cookie monster, too."

These are the priceless moments young children have a way of sharing with parents every day. The early years in school are vitally important as a predictor of future success.

Unfortunately, some children start kindergarten already behind their classmates because they have not had the same life experiences and opportunities to learn at home.

Our education system could suffer unless a serious effort is made to address the public school funding issues created by an outdated tax structure in South Carolina that does not provide adequate revenue to meet our state's needs.

My hope is state lawmakers will be willing to make the politically unpopular decisions necessary to achieve the true reform necessary for this state's economic prosperity. Our children's future depends on it.

While it is not the sole indicator, poverty is another issue schools must overcome in helping students become successful early in their education career. Luther Vaughan and Mary Bramlett elementaries are examples of county schools where more than 95 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunches.

Italian educator Dr. Maria Montessori began to direct a small school in Rome for "challenged" youth in 1900. Her education philosophy was children have everything they need inside themselves to learn and grow.

The Montessori education movement began moving into South Carolina public schools in the mid-1990s.

Cherokee County is one of 16 school districts where there are Montessori classes. The school district presently has five schools offering the multi-age education programs focused on teaching students to learn independently.

Montessori offers another education option besides holding a student back in school. Students retained at least one grade have a higher risk of dropping out of school later in life.

Students with a college degree earned $987 a week in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A student without a high school diploma earned $428 a week.

These statistics are one example of how education impacts the economy. This is why South Carolina has focused so much energy in recent years on School-To- Work programs and improving high school graduation rates.

The Cherokee County School District has started a graduation assistance program this school year. The district has assigned teachers and school administrators to work individually with at-risk students to help them graduate from high school.

About 120 students will participate in the graduation program this year.

The school district has also started an "Alive at 25" defensive driving program in partnership with the South Carolina Highway Patrol. The program's goal is to help teenage drivers realize how bad decisions — such as speeding, alcohol use, or distractions from passengers and talking on a cell phone — could have tragic consequences on their lives.

Whether a young child or an adult, learning is a lifelong process which never stops.

One of my former college professors liked to say, "It's a sorry day when you don't learn something new."

No one is ever sorry about learning or stealing cookies from the cookie jar. You just hope you don't get caught.

Scott Powell (spowell@gaffneyledger.com) covers education issues for The Gaffney Ledger.