Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday's Topic
For years there has been talk in our state that funding for Headstart and Pre-School will be dropped or drastically cut. Some view these as a "must" for a good start to education and socialization and others view Headstart and Pre-School as "cheaper than daycare option". Do you think that these programs are essential for children or no? Your thoughts?
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I used to think that Preschool was silly, just an expensive sort of play time for kids... However, two things changed my mind about it. One was the fact that I got a job working as a preschool teacher for a 4 year old class, and the other was when my son started Kindergarten last year. Teaching at the preschool was great, but it was a lot of work, as there is a lot of pressure on kids to know more than ever, before starting Kindergarten. And then, when my son started Kindergarten last year, I realized even more, just how important it was! Kindergarten was insanely challenging. His teacher told us quite a few times throughout the year, that it was more like first grade. SO, all in all, I personally feel that preschool is very important for preparing kids for the challenges that they will face in Kindergarten. (we live in New York, and kindergarten is full day, 5 days a week)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think preschoolers need to be at home with mom and dad. I wonder how many of our emotional disorders and learning disabilities are rooted in being in "school" too early. On the education level - there is nothing taught in preschool that mom and dad can't teach in daily play.
ReplyDeleteAnd honestly - I haven't seen us turning out very many geniuses since we started putting kids into school earlier. In fact, we might be getting dumber.
Preschool is another way for the devil to pull our chldren from their parents and homes. Children need to be loved, cherished, and shaped by their parents and not government funded preschools.
ReplyDeleteI think Head Start and Preschool are extremely important. Without these programs, too many children would be light years behind their peers when they start kindergarten. My kids are adults now, but when they were young, we paid to send them to Nursery School a couple of times a week. They loved it and it was well worth the cost (which was not cheap). If funds are cut, then most people will find private preschools. Children from poor families will suffer and I don't think that is right.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they should be tax payer supported. In our state (FL) they kids who seem to get these "free" slots are from middle and upper level income families.
ReplyDeleteMy kids went to preschool 3 days a week, 3 hours a day at age 4. But we paid for it. J
First I have to say that I'm shocked that so many people are against preschool! I had no idea, to tell the truth. I was raised by my parents, who worked and left me with my grandparents while my mom was at school (Kindergarten teacher). I went to part-day preschool at a church and any beliefs I have that are different than others on here are certainly not the result of what I learned in preschool.
ReplyDeleteBut more importantly, some of the above comments seem to gloss over the fact that in some families, parents cannot afford to stay home with their kids. Specifically, single-parent families where the mom works just to feed her kids and keep a roof over their heads. Those are the families that are primarily served by Head Start and government-assisted daycare.
This question was about Head Start, not about preschool in general. So to answer the question, I think that Head Start is absolutely important and not a "cheaper than daycare" option. Having personally known many children who went to Head Start, I can say that the experience is truly a blessing for them. The alternative is often staying at a poorly-run daycare or sitting at home with an elderly relative who will put them in front of the TV all day. These aren't kids that can afford high-quality educational daycare or private preschool facilities, and their parents don't have the resources (and sometimes not the education) to give their children during the day what they're going to get out of HS.
I work along side an early head start program. The families that come to my program LOVE their children. HOWEVER, they have very limited parenting skills for a variety of reasons. WITHOUT Head Start, their children will start kindergarten FAR behind their peers. The time these children are IN school {Head Start} are some of the only times in their day that they have a consistent routine with teachers who LOVE on them the whole time. To take that away from these children...well, I can't even imagine to think what would happen!
ReplyDeleteThe comment, "Preschool is another way for the devil to pull our chldren from their parents and homes." MUST have been made in UTTER ignorance. I have to believe that this commenter has not worked with low-income families with little to no parenting skills {many times they are lacking parenting skills because they were not raised with good role models}. Please understand that not all families are the same and some families NEED help and WANT help for their children to succeed and one of the only ways for them to make it is through programs like Head Start.
Ugg...sorry if that is harsh but I have a heart for early childhood and get REALLY scared when I think about the possibility of head start losing funding.