An Argument for Preschool

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/8/185438/7845/186/433066

RON PAUL'S RACIST NEWSLETTERS REVEALED. and he ADMITS IT!

i agree. We need to pay all teachers a salary commensurate with their responsibilities and experience. I teach in a major university while working on a doctorate in teacher education. I see dedicated bright students come through this program every day. I cannot help but wonder which ones of them will continue in teaching and which ones will burn out. It comes down to this: If we value our children, we value those who work with them. That can include teachers as well as stay at home parents. We need to take a long hard look at our values in this country.

As an educator in a public school, I hope that we're not dissillusioned by the notion that paying Pre-K educators a comparable wage to that of public educators would allow them to live a comfortable life. Both my wife and I are middle school teachers and we're scraping to get by on our combined salaries. Teachers are leaving the profession left and right. I know that I personally made a better living answering customer service lines for the phone company than I do as a teacher. The entire system, Pre-K to graduation, needs an economic overhaul. As a parent of a 3 year old, I'm facing the Pre-K debate myself. The recommendation around here is that children actually take 2 years of Pre-K. The explanation is that they'll be better prepared for the high stakes world of NCLB. God help us.

I believe that there is a way to combine the best of worlds. As a mother of a 4 year old who will be entering kindergarten this fall, I beleive that preschool does, like the author mention, help children adjust to the routine and social aspects that pre-school provides. As a student in the CA credential program who will begin student teaching in the spring, I also believe that early preschool should be less about skills and drills and more about hands on learning. I believe that this is what all early grade learning should look like. It's not enough for kids to know HOW to multiply, but they need to understand why and when to multiply. I have had the luxury of taking my daughter to a good preschool in the morning and then bringing her home in the afternoon to receive that loving one on one attention from a parent. In the absence of of that luxury, affordable, quality preschool should be available to all parents.

jerelmcdonald, can you please provide sources for your claims? I'm not familiar with any reputable studies that have found such a strong negative correlation with any type of preschool.

The importance of pre-school, like the importance of school, or after-school activities, of volunteering, of community activism, and of cultural involvement in general, is because we as humans are social animals. In order to live happy, healthy lives, we *need* to be properly socialized. What they are recommending in this article is situation where a child can learn to share, to play with others, to coordinate and cooperate, and to learn group dynamics, respect for classmates and teachers, and how to interact with people outside the immediate family who may look or act or speak differently. All of this provides a solid groundwork basis for more advanced education and future learning.

I largely disagree with this article. It fails to mention that pre-school is actually associated with more negative outcomes when compared to a child at home with a loving parent. Of course in today's world where parents don't want to or can't stay home with their children, preschool is going to be better than being left at a baby-sitting service. But preschool is associated with higher levels of anti-social behavior and greater incidents of illnesses when compared to staying home with a parent.

I largely disagree with this article. It fails to mention that pre-school is actually associated with more negative outcomes when compared to a child at home with a loving parent. Of course in today's world where parents don't want to or can't stay home with their children, preschool is going to be better than being left at a baby-sitting service. But preschool is associated with higher levels of anti-social behavior and greater incidents of illnesses when compared to staying home with a parent.

I largely disagree with this article. It fails to mention that pre-school is actually associated with more negative outcomes when compared to a child at home with a loving parent. Of course in today's world where parents don't want to or can't stay home with their children, preschool is going to be better than being left at a baby-sitting service. But preschool is associated with higher levels of anti-social behavior and greater incidents of illnesses when compared to staying home with a parent.

Disappointed to see that there is no mention of the importance of teacher qualifications and the home-school relationship. i do not say partnership because it shouldn't be an equal balance. Home bears the most responsibility for a child's education and for placing emphasis on the importance of education.
Teachers in many preschool programs have minimal qualifications to teach young children and are often payed very little making it almost impossible for persons who are qualified to teach and make a decent living.

I wholeheartedly agree with this article but am dissappointed to see that there is no mention of teacher qualifications. While there are plenty of preschool programs out t here, very few have the qualified staff to make the program a quality program. There is also no mention of the importance of home-school relationship. The "school" program should enhance the home experience not be the sole source of education.

And a continuation of my previous post after I let my 4 yr old help me with the typing. We practiced letters.
Children will learn from your example whether they are in preschool or not. Education simply begins in the home and should end in the home. Public schooling, if that is what you choose, should be a help but not a crutch. Public schools can only teach so much. Children really do learn from their parents. Preschool will not change that.

Having been a preschool teacher and Director of a Center, I think preschool is a good idea but NOT a necessity. Any parent can teach their children the basics in the home. Let your children help you with chores. They learn sequencing (cognitive). Have a play group (social). Love them when they are hurt, let them be frustrated teach them to share and be nice (emotional). Children will learn from YOUR example. They will learn from your example whterhr they are in preschool or not.TTTTTThey will learn how to

I am concerned that professionals and others are having more and more influence and parents less and less influence on the lives of children. Granted some parents aren't a good influence, but good parents are often so busy making a living they have no time or energy to rear their own children. If one parent was paid a living wage, the other could spend time with the kids. I was lucky to have a mom who spent time reading with us and playing table games, such as dominos or cards, and I did well in almost every subject. Mom took me to the library when I was in second grade and introduced me to the Bobbsey Twins books, which I then read. My younger siblings weren't so lucky as Mom had to go to work during my senior year in high school. However, she gave me such a good "Head Start" that I eventually earned a B.A., M.Div., and D.Min. degrees. I'm not against Pre-K education but think we need to rearrange society so parents have more time and energy for parenting, and kids need more quality time with their parents.

I just need to interject quickly about how most Preschool programs do not require the teachers to have a degree: As a former Preschool teacher, then Director of a Program, these programs cannot afford to pay college-educated Early Childhook Education teachers the salaries they want (and deserve) unless they charge the parents more. These teachers worked while attending college or simply out of a desire to make the difference in the life of a child... for $7-$10 an hour. Turnover in preschool and daycare programs are high because the teachers simply cannot afford to live on that pay and survive. They finish their degrees and teach in public school or leave the field altogether. Needless to say, if I wanted to quit my current job in the legal field and return to teaching preschool, my family would suffer and we would not be able to afford our mortgage.
Funding should be put in place to compensate the teachers salary above and beyond what the preschool or daycare can budget to pay them. Good teachers have been lost due to poor salaries, and that does affect the foundation for our kids. Bottom line: if you want early education teachers with degrees, be ready to pay a whole lot more for your preschool program.

Here are some stark realities -- children living in poverty (who are disproportionally represented among children of color) are all too often beginning their educational careers without being ready for kindergarten. They then are being warehoused into schools with overburdened teaching staffs. Because of NCLB and its attendant district and state policies, often these children are taught using scripted materials that connect to standardized tests. They don't live in print rich environments and are not given access to that in schools either, due to the use of basal texts and teacher proof materials such as Chicago's DISTAR curriculum. Their schooling doesn't make them excited about learning, nor does their home environment generally support it.
That said, these children need to experience learning through play in a well structured, caring environment. They would benefit greatly from the types of rich child-centered pre-schools that are generally available to their wealthier peers. If that is what these pre-K government proposed programs turn out to be, then all is well. If they only push for higher test scores and focus on "drill and kill" teaching styles, teacher centered rather than child centered, then there is still no hope that we will really ever have a level playing field for children entering first grade, no matter the hours of seat time a child puts in before entry.

I live in New Jersey and I see alot of low income families benefit from the 3 and 4 year old program, but then again I see it's drawbacks. I have a friend who is a single mother and works 2 jobs to make ends meet and she enrolled her child in the 4 year old pre-school program, but she was put on a waiting list and mean while other kids whose mother does not work were placed in the program!?

This is just another case for goverment intervening in our lives. Let the parents raise the children. Any time Goverment takes over it gets screwed up and waste more tax dollars

As a teacher, I can see politicians doing preschool on the cheap and when it comes time for state mandated test time and the student is not prepared it will all be blamed on the teacher. They will all want to know what went wrong. People, especially politicians do not pay attention to how much education really cost. They may talk the talk but not walk the walk