One of Education Sector’s eight recommendations for presidential candidates to tackle in the coming election is early childhood education. They propose $18.4 billion annually to bring No Child Left Behind to four year olds. It isn’t quite universal preschool, for they set the income limit at $50,000.
At what point in considering scientifically based curricula do we take into account these scientific findings, by the National Institutes of Health:
Children who got quality child care before entering kindergarten had better vocabulary scores in the fifth grade than did youngsters who received lower quality care.Also, the more time that children spent in child care, the more likely their sixth grade teachers were to report problem behavior. Associated Press
Or those which have found that the education level of the teacher does not have that much effect on the learning of the children?
A U.S. study suggests the educational level obtained by preschool teachers is unlikely, by itself, to improve classroom quality or learning. Earthtimes.org
Unhappy with the cost, level of care and availability of child care in Australia, 100,000 eligible workers have done the unthinkable and chosen to stay home to care for their children themselves. What are those selfish Aussies thinking? Don’t they realize the economic impact this will have to their nation?
Labor’s families spokeswoman Jenny Macklin said Australia was missing out on thousands of capable workers because they could not get the child care they needed. News.com.au
And as one commenter notes,
While your children are small, fair enough … but 3 and 4yr olds need a year of preschool before they start school. Ibid.
The report als o cites that the affordability of childcare has dropped 50% since 2001. I would like to see the exact figures on that because I have a feeling a lot of the decreased affordibility or increased cost is at least indirectly related to increased government expenditures in child care.
As far as national standards for licensing goes, when can parents be trusted to decide for themselves that a child care center is inadequate for their child? I’m not saying that states shouldn’t have standards, but the federal government shouldn’t be involved in that. What is Prime Minister Howard thinking, assuming his opposition’s summary of his opinion is correct,
“The Howard Government thinks that parents are being too choosy,” Ms Macklin said. Ibid.
Good on ya, mates. That is what parents are supposed to do. And choosy parents recognize that the best person to care for their child is that child’s parent.
Related Tags: preschool, universal preschool, education, parenting
Principled Discovery is a place to stop and discuss news and information related to faith, family and particularly education. Pour yourself a cup of tea and join the conversation! 
I think it’s every parent’s choice to bring their children to school. If they are confident that their children are ready and mature enough to learn even though they are still young, it will be good to get the children start with preschool.
I agree that it is a parent’s right. If for whatever reason the parent feels they need preschool, that is their business. Parents have made child care arrangements for thousands of years.
But the research thus far indicates that preschool carries with it a cost and the benefits of it appear predominantly in low-income households where the parents lack certain parenting skills.
Nothing occurs in preschool that a parent or other close caretaker cannot do (I used to teach preschool). Children of that age mostly need to know they are loved and have access to a stimulating environment which can be provided by any parent.
That’s right. Forcing a child to enter preschool even if they still need a loving and caring environment provided by their parents is not a wise decision. It’s a lot better if perents fulfill thier children’s necessities emotionally before preschool.
Well, personally, I only have one child. She is three. I cannot for a minute imagine her staying at home with me all day every day. She would be (IS, as a matter of fact) bored out of her mind. I think that preschool every morning, 9 until noon, is a wonderful idea.
In France and in Italy, there is universal kindergarten from age 3 up and I have signed up the Bambina. Real school starts at age 6.
Thank you for stopping by, Caroline. I believe each family has to decide for itself what is right for their children, but I also believe that the statistics show that most children fare better when they stay home longer.
Boredom is an interesting thing…I have never heard that before. Well, I’ve heard parents claim they would be bored out of their minds, but not worry over their children’s boredom. Mine never were and have all been home since birth.
What caught my eye about this article, however, was the notion that parents were being too choosy. That is their job. If you send your kids to preschool for whatever reason, I would hope you would be incredibly choosy.