Posted on 02/15/2013 8:58:50 AM PST by ExxonPatrolUs
Proponents of President Obama’s universal prekindergarten proposal make a strong case for the potential benefits of such a plan. Studies of about 100 low-income kids enrolled in two pricey and intensive preschool projects in the 1960s and 1970s found the children, while not experiencing any permanen IQ improvement, developed life skills that meant they were more likely as adults to hold a job, own a home, and stay out of jail than counterparts in a control group.
More recently studies of broader, statewide pre-K programs, particularly in Oklahoma provide some further evidence of effectiveness, though the results are certainly not ,without dispute. Russ Whitehurst of Brookings call them “thin empirical gruel” that shouldn’t “satisfy policymakers who want to practice evidence-based education.” And in The Wall Street Journal, Maria Fitzpatrick, professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University, cautions “results show that only some children gain—disadvantaged children, particularly those in rural areas—and that the effects fade out over time.”
So where does that leave us? Is it worth spending $100 billion over a decade on an education program whose benefits might prove transitory? What’s the downside of a implementing a broad, quality program with well-trained teachers and small class size — other than failure? Well, wasting $100 billion is not an insignificant downside. And once the program is in place, politicians will be tempted to expand it further, creating another unaffordable middle-class entitlement.
Moreover, since the federal funds are likely to be funneled through public schools, the pre-K plan represents a further retreat from school choice. Lindsey Burke of the Heritage Foundation worries about a crowding out effect and a resulting “reduction in private preschool programs, including faith-based providers and non-profit preschools, [that]will result in diminished parental choice and control in education. Universal preschool will limit choice for parents because it will be difficult for private preschools to compete with highly subsidized or free government-supported programs.”
Educator Chester Finn, in a 2009 Washington Post piece, recommends that instead of a pre-K program for all, policymakers should focus on the following:
1. Delivering intensive, targeted education services — preferably starting at birth and including parents as well as children — to the relative handful of children (one or two of every 10 babies) who would truly be unready to succeed in school without heavy-duty interventions. Most are children of poor, young, single mothers, often of color, who themselves have little education.
2. Redeploying pre-K funds and revamping existing programs, beginning with Head Start, to emphasize the cognitive side of kindergarten preparation (e.g., pre-literacy skills such as letters, sounds and shapes) and judging the effectiveness of such programs by the readiness of their graduates.
3. Beefing up school-reform efforts so that the classrooms poor children enter have high standards, knowledgeable teachers, coherent curriculums and the ability to tailor instruction to children’s readiness levels — and to accumulate gains from year to year rather than dissipate and squander them.
There might be a compromise to be had on this issue.
Next step they’ll have us all on kibbutz where the children are taken from their mothers right after birth and raised by surrogate mothers and the real mothers are sent directly back to work for the good of the state.
He is going for more control and brainwashing, he wants to be dictator
Looking at how wonderful Headstart was, this should be amazing.
The kids are easier to indoctrinate the younger they are. He has a plan.. and he is executing his plan unopposed.
Public school, modeled after Soviet Russia and Red China.
No room here for family or mother/father teaching in the preschool years. Just indoctrination by the state at a younger and younger age while the “family” structure takes another blow.
When I was a,child, the school district didn’t have kindergarten. I was still 5 years old when everyone else in class was 6, so I had to play catchup at first, but eventually I did all right. Of course, I had parents who actively encouraged education and teachers who taught instead of indoctrinated.
My point is, if a child doesn’t have support for education in the home and teachers who actually teach, starting children early is not going to make a difference.
The headline had me at too much. Too soon means it is a valid program at some point, thus negating the question.
There is not a single credible study which demonstrates any advantage to children after third grade.
Yes, there is some evidence that these pre-school kids start out ahead of kids who do not go to pre-school but by the third grade, no difference.
“developed life skills”
BS. You do not “develop” any life skills, whatever those are, in preschool. It’s daycare.
Preschool programs had nothing to do with the lifelong success of these children. Dad and (or) Mom being a role model and parenting had everything to do with it. Whether the parents were dedicated enough to send their children to preschool or just everyday being a role model is what made the difference, not the stupid program.
And the last thing I needed to do with my son at 3 or 4 is put him in a regimented program. He needed to be a boy, doing boy things.
Ability to tailor instruction to children’s readiness levels.
Programing via the feds.
We had kindygarden, and it was worthless. Nothing but Rousseauan, progressive, German, Deweyan nonsense. Although I remember they took us to a piazza joint and let us toss our own dough, which was fun. I recall preschool, just barely. It was run by a Lutheran church, which is different. Though we were Catholic, which I can’t explain except to say it was only a couple blocks away from my house.
No real education started until 1st grade, which is when they bothered to teach reading. 2nd grade started times tables, I think, third cursive, and so on. 1st through 7th could probably be taught in a year, if you were really motivated.
First thing out, the Narcissistic Little Marxist Bastard robs our children and grandchildren of their futures, now he wants to rob them of their innocence and freedom.
What an evil sonovabitch!
Tublecane~:” BS. You do not “develop” any life skills, whatever those are, in preschool. It’s daycare.”
Quite true ! It is daycare
According to the fluff-libturd Huffington Post yesterday , there are also empathy and disciplinary problems in future grades.
According to the piece , what is needed is maternal physical and emotional contact.
Also , it will swell the numbers of school union members when the number of members is declining .
Furthermore , it will increase ‘entitlements’ and deepen the national debt.
Sounds like they are just going down their checklist for the implementation of their Marxist utopia.
Do they actually think that we will not at some point get sick and tired of their crap and cram all this stuff down their throats? We are fortunate they are working so quickly.
When Ronald Reagan won in 1980, these Marxist Utopians were royally pi$$ed. Ronnie threw a HUGE monkey wrench into their happy dreams.
I think they are due for another, bigger pi$$ing contest.
“Too much too soon”???? When is it EVER time for more government control over their employers and their employers’ kids? I didn’t realize there was a schedule for tyranny, and as long as you do it according to the schedule, it doesn’t reek to high heaven.
We actually had no free public kindergarten when I was that age, so I started with first grade. Sounds like I didn't miss much.
No real education started until 1st grade, which is when they bothered to teach reading. 2nd grade started times tables, I think, third cursive, and so on. 1st through 7th could probably be taught in a year, if you were really motivated.
I could read by the time I got there, and we did cursive in second and by third we were on exponents, so I think you're probably right.
it’s blatantly unconstitutional!
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