Reply to New York Times on the miracles of Universal Pre-K in DC

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Reply to "New York Times on the miracles of Universal Pre-K in DC"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Can anyone else back up the point flagged by 20:22? We just went from pricey daycare to pre-k, and I've kind of assumed the educational side would be similar-to-worse, because I'm comparing the pricey daycare more to private school. But maybe that's totally offbase?

Time will tell, somewhat, but I'm curious what others' experiences are...[/quote]

This is EXACTLY why foks get so adversarial on the Preschool thread.  Preschool and DayCare are COMPLETELY different. [b] Preschool is a very enriching environment with actual teachers and standards.  Daycare is just babysitting, maybe at the nicer ones with some learning thrown in.[/b] [/quote]

I highly suggest that if you have the time to get adversarial about this, you do a little research about child development, the human brain, and what leads to successful outcomes first.

Yes, for children in families (usually very low-income) where parents spend little time with their children, don't have books around the house, can't take kids outside, and resort to television most of the time, early "preschool" with opportunities for exposure to an "enriching environment" is important.

But otherwise, any GOOD preschool teacher will tell you that the most important thing for kids at this age is plenty of opportunity for free, unstructured play. In many parts of the world (including parts of Europe, Japan, and Waldorf schools in our own country), kids aren't exposed to academics until Grade 1. For some reason, the most affluent and educated among us-- the ones who need be least concerned-- seem to feel that if our kids don't master their skills EARLY, they'll fall behind. Unfortunately, skills like letter recognition and reading, following directions to create art projects and play games as told, and such often replace the kind of interactions and play that help kids develop into creative, curious citizens.

"Just babysitting," my friend-- childcare-- is what people have been doing quite well from the dawn of civilization. Kids can learn a LOT in a good daycare environment, and I really find the insistence on labeling something "school" and demanding "standards" quite ridiculous. Yes, I send my kids to something called preschool, but honestly, I want it to look more like daycare: teachers who frequently give hugs and affection to the kids; tons of freedom to play; mixed ages so the kids can learn to be helpful to their younger peers and learn from older kids; LOTS of outdoor time; not so many toys or activities that kids aren't forced to use their imaginations. The teachers tell me this is what they want and believe in, too. Heck, KINDERGARTEN teachers tell me this is what kids need. Too bad they're at the mercy of parents who don't know better and schools systems that are set in their ways. [/quote]

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