Helped by state funding, preschool enrollments are booming, writes Greg Toppo in USA Today. Starting school at four has become the norm.
If you’re a 4-year-old in America, it’s a safe bet you’re in school. The past 20 years have seen a quiet but steady rise in the number of children in preschool. The most recent federal statistics show that more than 1 million children were enrolled in public programs in 2005, up 63% from 1995. The rise far outpaces that of public school enrollment, up 10%.
States are financing preschool in hopes of preparing children, especially the disadvantaged, to succeed in school.
But many programs are “pretty mediocre,” says Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. The institute says 75% of 4-year-olds now attend some sort of preschool.
Disadvantaged children benefit from preschools with teachers trained to help kids develop their language skills. “Mediocre” isn’t enough to make a difference.
Preschool is hot in India too, writes Sara Mead on Early Ed Watch.
Is there any correlation to households with two working parents between now and then? My guess is that state-funded pre-school programs are booming because they are essentially “free” child care. Try passing some sort of comprehensive child care program and see how far you get. Now call it education reform.
Where I live, Jeff’s guess is exactly right. Daycare isn’t free; Free Pre-K is. That’s the main reason the children are now in “preschool” at 4.
How many years before there are calls for pre-preschool programs?
But so many mothers - even stay-home moms - have come to think the kids need to be in a classroom that early to “get ahead.” Too many women lack confidence that they are competent to prepare their children for school. Pre-preschool? I think it’s already here. I know 3 year olds in “readiness” classes.
Actually, too many people discount that the parent themselves are the first teachers. I think that pre-school is very important for social development, but the fact is, that those parents who believe that schooling starts at 4 and not at birth are deluding themselves. As a teacher who has taught 3-12 grades, you find so many parents convinced that it is not their job to teach, it is only the school’s. But we all know that true learning begins far before the student enters the classroom. School may start at 4 for some, but learning begins far before that. As always, thanks for your article.
What is the definition of “public program”? Does that include parochial pre-schools? (In this area of KS, church-run pre-schools/parents’ day out programs are heavily populated.)
I think some of this is a result of the fact that many children spend their life from infancy in a daycare setting. Since they are away from home anyway, parents are requiring a “pre-school curriculum” in the daycare setting. And, as mentioned above, if that is funded by the state and subsidizes/replaces daycare expenses, that is an added bonus for parents.
//As a teacher who has taught 3-12 grades, you find so many parents convinced that it is not their job to teach, it is only the school’s. But we all know that true learning begins far before the student enters the classroom. //
I’m a homeschooling mom and I’ve got to tell you I’ve had the exact same annoyance with a lot of parents. They abdicate their responsibility to educate to the schools and don’t recognize their own role in teaching.
Too many parents do not sing to their children either! Or read to them, play with them, etc!