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]This is a great point:

Unexpectedly, another big benefit soon emerged: My son was learning much more at preschool than he had at day care. That’s because — surprise, surprise — his public-school teachers are exponentially better educated and (see any causality here?) far better compensated. The average starting salary for a D.C.P.S. elementary-school teacher, even at the early-childhood level, is just over $50,000. The average salary of a day-care provider is $19,300.[/quote]

Interestingly, though, OSSE DC has found that children coming from community-based child care scored better in several areas: language development, social-emotional development, and cognitive development, as compared to children who went to DCPS or charter schools for preschool. I learned this at a meeting I attended there over the summer. They weren't exactly yelling it from the mountaintop, but I saw it plain as day in a handout/PowerPoint I was given.[/quote]

Interesting.
 
Yes, when I saw the subject of this post, I thought the article was going to be about the wonderful outcomes since universal preschool has been implemented. But the article is really just about how awesome it is to get free childcare, isn't it? Oh, yes, and the age-old argument that 3 year olds are learning more because they're not being cared by dumb people, which could inspire a discussion of what 3 year olds really NEED to be learning.

Why don't we subsidize SAHMs, or grandmothers? Why don't we subsidize community childcare providers? Why, since across the board, children of 1st generation immigrants have the best educational outcomes, don't we subsidize 1st generation immigrants to run childcare centers? (NEVER gonna happen, if we look at one of the key points of early schooling, which is to socialize our children into a culture in which, ironically, working hard and valuing studies are not as prized.) Why don't we place value in people who care for young children, and provide special funds for their continuing development, unless they have advanced degrees and work in something we call "school"? Why don't we value things like community relationships and family bonds as much as we do the needs of parents to work and children ultimately to work as well?[/quote]

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