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| No | 61% | 211 votes | Total: 348 votes | |
| Yes | 39% | 137 votes |
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Add to FavoritesUniversal preschool, or preschool that is available to all children, benefits working parents, providing them with free daycare in a stable environment. There are disadvantages to this type of program, and, in many cases, these outweigh the benefits. Perhaps the best way to illustrate these drawbacks it to spend a day with a three-year-old we will call Tyke.
This morning Tyke will toddle out of his house, sporting his coat and backpack. Today his mom has him by the hand, and she will lift him onto the first step of the bus. Some days Tyke will kiss Mom goodbye and tell her he loves her, but today the little guy wants to stay at home with Mom. He wants to play with his own toys, and he doesn't feel like being around a lot of people, and so he clings to her and cries. We all have those days, but Tyke is only three. He doesn't understand that the world sometimes require you to go whether you feel like it or not.
Smiling but rattled, Mom goes back home to get ready for work. Throughout the day, she will think about the crying child she left at the bus, and she will feel guilty. She will chastise herself for her lack of parenting time and for not allowing her child simply to be a child. She promises to make it up to him every day of his childhood and she does, catering to his every whim.
Meanwhile, back on the bus, Tyke, encumbered by his coat and backpack, has climbed onto a seat that is too high for him, but he manages to get situated. His fellow passengers are preschoolers, kindergartners, and primary students. One of the third graders is using language Tyke doesn't hear at home. Given the knowledge of today's children, one day he may hear a great deal more.
Eventually, the bus arrives at school, and Tyke is greeted by a new teacher, Miss C. Miss A left last month, and Miss B has followed in her footsteps. Like the turnover rate among preschool teachers, the stress level is high. Unfortunately, the funding and the pay are low, and just when the children get used to one teacher, she is replaced by another.
Tyke finally gets to the classroom along with nineteen other kids an average-sized group. He is lucky to have a state that mandates a maximum class size. Many do not.
Once Tyke is herded into his classroom, he will learn group skills. His individuality and rate and mode of learning will be set aside. There is no time here to allow for a developing personality.
Miss C is not trained in age-appropriate teaching methods and plans pencil and paper activities for which her students' fine motor skills are not yet developed. Someday the state will become more concerned with preschool academics, and they will require teachers to have bachelors' degrees. Eventually there will be state-mandated testing, and Miss C's plans won't seem out-of-place. But year after year children will struggle with illegible handwriting, and no one will understand why.
As the day moves along, Tyke's class takes a restroom break no easy task with such a large group of three-year-olds. When one child takes too long, Miss C investigates. The girl, waving a pair of soiled underwear, meets the teacher just inside the bathroom door.
At midday, some of the students go home. Tyke is an all-day student, and after lunch, he rolls out his mat for a nap. When he wakes, he experiences an afternoon much like his morning. He is still only part of the group.
When the day is over, Tyke toddles back to the bus. As he sits in his seat by the window, he plans his evening. He can't wait to play with his train and his trucks. Tired after a long and busy day, he dreams of his toys, and he slowly drifts off to sleep.
Tyke's travels take him past several bus stops. One by one students leave, but no one notices him. Until the driver receives a radio call about the child, he doesn't notice that the boy has missed his stop. Tyke finally gets back to the place where he started his day, unaware of the commotion he has caused. His grandma is there to meet him. She picks him up and carries him to the house.
Once home, the child climbs onto a kitchen chair, and Grandma puts a plate of cookies on the table. While she pours his milk, Tyke goes to sleep.
So, the next time you stop for a school bus, and you see a toddler climb on board, remember Tyke. What will he become? Will he be spoiled? Will he be a creative individual with a unique perspective on life - a leader rather than a follower? Will he have difficulty forming lasting attachments? Will he view school as an exciting place to learn, or will he burn out before he graduates from high school? Remember Tyke, and then look at the child getting on the bus. Consider the day that lies ahead of him, and ask yourself, "Is preschool really worth it?"
Learn more about this author, Rebecca Thornberry.
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Yes
Voluntary Pre-K programs have already proven to be a great success in many states. Universal Pre-K would be a huge advance for our country.
Pre-K recognizes the the majority of children's capacity for brain development occurs during our early learning years.
Early literacy and early math numeracy is vital to a life-long ability to learn and perform competently in academics and in life skills.
Families, especially the working poor and struggling classes, depend on early learning options in order to work. Organized Pre-K is the best solution to this need.
Early learning is a highly advanced practice, and children deserve access to its benefits instead of simply being cared for by babysitters.
*What do Pre-Kindergarten Programs focus on to create success for school readiness?*
Pre K programs must focus on two central priorities, the establishment of consistently enforced quality standards and the coordination of diverse systems including public schools and private care centers.
QUALITY STANDARDS
The most important priority for continued successful implementation of Universal or Voluntary Pre Kindergarten Education Program (UPK/VPK) is establishing and assuring defined quality standards at every level of the program.
It is essential that the program maintain standards for every level of programming, including school readiness indicators for students, satisfaction indicators for parents, educational criteria for teachers and administrators, curriculum standards, quality standards and policy directives for programs, community involvement standards for coalitions, and integrated contract monitoring standards throughout the system. All of these quality standards systems should interrelate and should transfer into meaningful information for policymakers, funders, and program stakeholders.
Quality that is discernable through data is a primary expectation of early intervention programs. National directives from private funders and from governmental agencies hold out that Pre-K programs must "meet quality benchmarks associated with improving children's outcomes, such as highly-trained teachers." 1 Setting and attaining quality benchmarks will lead to consistency and measurable outcome improvements.
High-quality preschool is a considerable investment for states to make. In order to maintain the public support that is needed to expand the program, quality measures must show improvements in school readiness rates, and in the quality of family and community life. In all, quality standards are the most important priority for the advancement UPK/ VPK Programs.
SYSTEM COORDINATION
System coordination affects both the funding and the policies that provide for early childhood educational services, so it also is a high priority for the success of the UPK/VPK Programs.
Funding is the cornerstone of programming, and VPK services are dependent on coordinated funding to advance teachers' educational levels, to advance pay and working conditions, to improve quality and to provide access for all eligible families. Coordinated funding is also necessary to maintain system consistency and quality through technical assistance and services for coalitions, partnership agencies and community member.
Programs for early learning, however, is delivered through a complex matrix of federal, state and local mechanisms. Federal funds and services are distributed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education, to Head Start programs and through private day care providers. School districts also receive funds for pre-K programs.
Parents must be able to continue to choose whether to use at home care, care from relatives, school district classes, private child care programs, or religious facilities. All of these types of programs must be available in Pre-K, and Pre-K standards and payment systems have to work in all systems.
Coordination is key. All UPK/VPK programs must be carefully resourced so that children and families benefit from quality care.
UNIVERSAL PRE-K INCREASES CHILD OUTCOMES
1) An overwhelming amount of research shows that Pre-K improves children's school readiness, literacy, health and social/emotional development.
2) Pre-K helps working families support early learning for their children.
3) Pre-K raises the standard of all early learning/child care programs.
4) Pre-K allows Kindergarten skills to develop quickly, allowing children to progress to more challenging work.
5) Pre-K creates stronger communities who are dedicated to serving families with young children.
In all, Universal Pre-K would be a tremendous asset to our country.
Learn more about this author, Eva Smart.
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