What do you think about Universal preschool for all 4 year old? What are the pros and cons about this prop?

Question

What do you think about early exposure to letters and numbers. Of course this has got to be through play not through flash cards or drills. Early exposure is important. Some parents don't have the child development knowledge to stimulate their childs learning. I know some kindergardeners that hold the pencil with their whole hand. This tells me they didn't have that exposure to activities that support small motor development. In kindergarden children are expected to write their names, letters and numbers. By the end of the year. I'v seen teacher use flash cards to do this. Poor children, you should see the look on their faces. They are turned off to learning. Do you think preschool prepares children for kindergarten?

Answer 1

Cost is way too high (if you pay preK teachers with 4 yr teaching degrees what public school teachers get paid). Kids already are getting academics shoved at them at too early of an age. Even when they can't (or won't) follow basic directions, we at Head Start push literacy instead of the 'old school' skills that teach following directions. And then, states have cut special ed preschool for preschoolers that have severe behavior issues, citing that the cost is too high and the kids should be served in a regular setting (they mean for cheaper, truthfully). (and I am talking about the chair throwers, cussing, back talking, hitting four yr old kids). If we can't serve preschoolers now that have problems, why would we ever consider universal pre-K. Take care of the needed areas first. I am required to administer proficiency tests, have open houses, conferences, and follow a state PreK curriculum standard in my lessons. About the same as the Kindergarten teacher. Will all preschools in a universal program do the same? require 4 yr degrees in teaching??

Answer 2

Universal Pre-K does not mean putting 4 year olds in a school setting. It simply means you are assuring all 4 yr olds regardless of income, ethnicity, etc. get a chance to go to preschool. Research shows that it's mostly white, middle to upper class children that get pre-k services and minority and lower income children do not which is believed to add to the achievement gap that is seen between these groups as children get older. How the universal pre-k program is set up is entirely up to the state. So I guess some states could make them "little schools" but thats really not what it was meant to do. I've worked in this arena in 3 different states and their universals were not little schools more like Head Starts with attitude. On the con side (if you want to put it this way) would be tax payers have to pay for it but if you think about it you'll pay more down the road when these children fall behind and/or drop out.

Answer 3

I don't see any pros except for free daycare for parents.

First con? Children who are four are too young to have daily academics forced on them. It wasn't until kindergarten became universal that adhd became such a popular diagnosis. Cause? Too many children forced to sit for too long when not developmentally ready.

Another con? It divides families even more than they already are, and emphasizes the current public school belief that only teachers are appropriate for raising children.

Another con? Already mentioned is the financial drain it would provide to the department of education in each state. Barely struggling, it would force schools to subtract from educational programs where they are necessary, in higher grades, to essentially provide social time for four year olds.

These are the three main things I can think of. My three daughters were in preK programs. They learned absolutely nothing essential that they had not already learned at home. I opted to keep my younger boys out of the program, and then out of school altogether.

Answer 4

Well, first I agree that children should be able to be children because once you are an adult, fun time is a distant memory for the majority of the time. On the other hand though, I think that more parents need to incorporate learning in to the time they spend with their children...this mean ACTUALLY SPENDING TIME WITH YOUR KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not just putting them in front of the TV and letting cable raise your child. I could read and write before I started grade K, I even started school a year earlier than the rest of my peers- my mother had to pay for me to be tested but it was worth it in her eyes because I was ready, I loved to learn at that age because my parents started with me from a young age, motor skills, proper speech, writing, and it was fun. At that time my mother was a stay at home mom and my father was around and he worked. The same went for both my younger siblings, even though the youngest did not like school, but we all were VERY well prepared when we started. I think that Universal preschool is a good idea to think about in reagrds that even though they may still be children, these children are going to be adults sooner than we can imagine and we want them to be prepared as best as possible for the world or else they will get passed up. I did not go to preschool like I said because I had my preschool at home but other children are not always so fortunate. My daughter is 4 now and she was in daycare / preschool and I will say that out of the four facilites I tried, Kindercare was the best- she learned ALOT there and still had ample play time. Now my father watches her for me and if I had to say where she learned the most from, I would say my parents. I work full time and go to school so I do spend time with her every free moment but it is great to have such a supportive backup team like my parents who will make sure that she is learning what she needs to know. As for children being forced to learn at too early an age- it is NEVER too young to start learning. There are high school students who STILL at the age of 16 can not sit still long enough to learn something. I do not think 4year olds should have 8hours of school but perhaps three, spaced apart. Most of all though, I think family needs to step up and take charge instead of expecting the state or department of education to do it. No one is going to watch over you child like you will yourself- I feel that way about babysitters, teachers, learning, anything.

***For the record I am a minority so no, not all minorities are in need of a school to help raise their children. I personally do not think color should even matter here. If you are going to do it then have the Universal Pre school for any and everyone. ***

Answer 5

The only children who have been shown to benefit from preschool are those who have single moms with "low social-economic" status. No other child benefits from preschool (alas, we have lots of kids in our culture with no dad and a mom who can't be bothered to give what's needed - but lets focus on changing that problem for the long term.)

Preschool is bad for most kids because separation from mom is bad for kids under age 5/6 (even those with single moms.) Preschool is stupid for kids because we know that the model of preschool learning doesn't match learning which matches the needs NEEDS needs of children under 5 - learning occurs in the context of a warm, trusting one on one relationship (ie with mommy.)

Universal Preschool represents money wrongly spent and children wrongly educated.

Answer 6

I really dont think kids should start school until age 5-Kindergarden.They will be in school for atleast 13 years with long hours in class and how many hours doing homework?Let them just be kids for their first five years of life!