Is preschool worth it?

Question

I wanted to know if you believe preschool is worth your child(ren)s time, your money and if its all cracked up to be. I have 3 children. My first went to a preschool for 2 weeks. I pulled him out when I did a surprise visit to find the kids running around while 2 teachers where ignoring the children. Not to mention I found out that the "teachers" did not have a degree when the director said they did. I never put him back in another and he is now in 5th and is advance classes and reads at a 9th grade level. My second child never went to preschool, needed a little help with reading in school. Now in 2nd he makes A&B's and reads at a 3rd grade level. My last child went to a preschool for 9months, 3days a week for 4 hours a day. It was a Christian preschool that everyone highly recommended. Going into 1st she has to take a reading class, continue with speech and I got her tested for learning disabilities which came back negative. So tell me, what’s your opinion or experience.

Answer 1

Preschool is bad for kids. It's pedagogically at odds with how kids learn. Kids are harmed from separation from mom before ages 3 - 5. Learning is supposed to take place within the context of a one on one relationship. A teacher doesn't need a degree, for goodness sakes. I do have a bachelor's degree in Psych, so I can freely homeschool our kids, which we do. We unschool. no curriculum, no structure, just enjoyment and pursuit of learning in all forms, places, and times. They score off the top of standardized testing, but more importantly, they are passionate to learn.

I did take my sister's daughter to preschool and pick her up and frankly, I was appalled at how things are 'dumbed down' for kids, how boys are treated (very badly), how horribly reading is taught, how consumerism and cliques start up so early.

The 'socialization" of preschool is almost all negative - teaching kids early on their place in the pecking order. You don't need to stand in line as a 4 year old to learn to stand in line as a 10 year old - tho I'll unschool our kids through college; they seem to have learned to stand in line already. Ugh, what a horrible purpose for preschool - to learn how to 'act right' in regular school. Ugh. I can't stand schools - the whole mentality is awful - tho it's hard to realize that until you escape it!


All in all, significant separation from mom before 5 years is bad for the child's intellect and emotional health and preschools are the worst of the worst. (There are some really creative and wonderful programs, but these are rare - just some run by hippies in Austin and such....)

Answer 2

You could look for a preschool classroom that includes children with special needs. Many of these classrooms need 'peers' (so called typically developing children) in the classroom and give a much discounted rate. The advantage of this is that you get a teacher who has a masters degree and is earning a teachers salary which gives much more stability and consistency to a preschool classroom. The staff and the quality of the classroom will generally be better than most other preschools, and where I live, it costs 50 dollars a month for 2-3 days at 2h15m day. Also, these classrooms are just about everywhere as federal law says that children 3-5 with special needs must be served, so many communities have these classrooms run by the school district, the dept of human services, the county, or some other agency.

Answer 3

Both of my children went to a small private preschool and I think it was worth every cent. My daughter is in third grade, reading at the latter-half of sixth grade level and acing math (when she's not bored with it). My son just started kindergarten, so I really can't compare levels there.

I can tell you it all depends on the environment. Neither of my kid's preschool classes had more than 8 kids, so there was plenty of individual attention and interaction. The teacher was everything I could have wanted (obviously I sent 2 kids to her school).

It sounds like you have 3 very normal children. Not all kids learn at the same rate, in the same way, or show the same potential. Just because your youngest is struggling right now, does not mean that she won't hit her stride in a couple of months or years. Give it some time, maybe you've got a budding genius and don't know it ;)

Answer 4

Is Preschool Worth It

Answer 5

Preschool was a positive and beneficial experience for my child. Not only does it prepare them for school, it eases you and your child fears of separation. My daughter loves school so much because of it! Because of preschool, she is a more confident child, and has excelled greatly. Socially she is great with other kids, and she very mindful of following orders. I feel you will hold your child back if you don't expose them to some form of early education; now a days Kindergarten is more than just coloring within the lines. Kindergarten children enter school with huge expectations from their teachers, and the fundamentals are all taught in preschool. And look around if you don't want spend money for preschool, the public school systems should have preschool classes available. Good luck, and sorry for the bad experience. I would have done the same thing by pulling my child out, but to make sure it doesn't happen you should have reported the 'teachers' and had them fired. My daughter's preschool was at a public school system and they didn't tolerate that kind of nonsense. It was very structured and nurturing.

Answer 6

My daughter started going to school when she was 2 years old cuz we both are deaf ... I went to the school a few times for a surprise visits and the teachers were wonderful in helping kids get ready for everything even it was just 3 x a week for 2 hours a day ... Now shes going into 6th grade and has a very high vocabulary only if I can get her to read and write more!

I did put her in a different pre-school when we re-located and pulled her out in 2 weeks becuz she was coming home with lots of lice. I even informed the teachers and made a surprise visit that day I pulled her out of school when I found out the teachers were all talking and the kids were all running around and throwing toys. I thought no way my daughter is going to stay there.

My mom did the same thing when I was a little girl trying to have me mainstreamed at pre-school with hearing children but when my mom did that surprise visit and I was way in the corner when other kids were sitting at the table together.

I recommend parents to do a lot of surprise visits ...

Answer 7

I have no children but I have life experience. I think that preschool should be worth the time and money because sometimes a child can have speech problems, be a little slower and a little behind as a result of preschool. I think, in your first kid's case maybe the children had playtime or something (and the teacher stepped in the hall to talk to another teacher for ten min(s). & you walked in as they were beginning to talk but I'm not trying to make excuses for anyone) and I think you should have took them out of that place if the teachers didn't have degrees after being lied to but you shouldn't hold a grudge against all preschools because of what one corrupt school did. I'm glad to hear about how great children are doing despite the obvious but I do think that children go further when they complete all their grade levels.

Answer 8

I loved our preschool. Just any preschool maybe not, but a good one gives your kids a step up. Also, my 3 year old was so shy until I put him in a child's day out program 2x a week. It got him used to being around other kids.

I had my daughter in the same program 2x a week before kindergarten. I think it helped a lot because I'm not great at teaching. I'd rather play or do arts and crafts and they helped make sure she was ready for kindergarten with all her letters, colors, and numbers.

My child is in the gifted program now and probably would have done fine anyway, but I'm glad I did it.

Answer 9

Being a teacher (Kindergarten for 14 years) I would say YES! Of course, that would also come with the speculation that you checked out the preschool, (visited, surprise visits, volunteered to help etc) According to your description, you did that. I would also remind you (I am certain you already know this) that all children learn differently and mature at different rates. What one child may pick up on quickly, your others might not.
Preschool, is good for both the parent(s) and child(ren) as it helps with separation anxiety, introduces new people and so on. For children at this age, it also begins to prepare him/her to social interaction, following directions and a sequential order of events. Other positive aspects to preschool is that it teaches children how to color, hold a pencil, cut with scissors, glue, learn songs, finger plays, create an interest for books and so on. I am not saying that a child cannot learn these things at home, a child can. However, I feel it better prepares both the child and the parent(s) when it comes time to send their child(ren) off to school.

Answer 10

I personally went to preschool myself and my grades in school were outstanding. When my older children were born I kept them home because logically I was an at home parent and there was no need to spend extra money. I look back on them as adults now and I see that they were academically oriented through school, yes, but socially they were slightly delayed and still to this day I don't see my older children being as socially active as my younger kids. My two youngest went through preschool because by then I was a working parent and really it was more or less a daycare situation or preschool I had to choose from. They both are extremely social and highly intelligent and I believe the combination will excel them greatly! My suggestion: If you can afford it, do it. It won't hurt and it definitely will pave the way for kindergarten rules and guidelines so why not? Prayers =)

Answer 11

I think preschool was worth it for me, but honestly preschool does not have a direct effect upon the child's level of understanding and education in life.
I'm a senior in high school, I've taken college level classes and I got a 4 (pretty good, not perfect) on an AP test I took last summer. So what? Someone else who answered this sounds like he's doing as well as me, probably better and he hadn't gone to preschool.
Preschool really isn't for serious teaching anyway, it's for getting kids interacting with each other and learning letters and simple things like that. It's not the end of the world if you decide not to send your kid to preschool either, 100 years ago most kids didn't go to school until seven or so.
As far as the incident with having the "teachers" who didn't have a degree and weren't doing anything, you will find them in any grade level, rarely at high school level, but my mom can attest to having a horrible experience with my older brother's first grade teacher who called him dumb because he stuttered. Then in seventh grade I had a very bad experience with my science teacher.
The bottom line: no school is perfect, no teacher is perfect. Also, today's over achieving attitude is highly overrated, it depends upon the child and their abilities, not your aspirations for them, as well meaning as you may be.