Mandatory preschool?
PHOENIX - Momentum is quietly building in the state for the next big thing in education: preschool for Arizona children younger than 5.
Education advocates are pushing for the requirement, citing research that shows very young children can absorb high-level skills much earlier than once believed. They also say mandatory preschool could close the learning gap between rich and poor students, and even raise the state's reputation, brought down by national test scores and a high dropout rate.
The goal is to help every child-care center decrease the time kids spend sitting in plastic swings, listening to music or watching television and increase the time spent on focused lesson plans to recognize shapes and letters and count 1-2-3 crackers for their afternoon snack.
Gov. Janet Napolitano has always made education for the state's youngest children one of her top priorities. But many Republican lawmakers are still debating the merits of the state paying for full-day kindergarten. Preschool isn't even on their agenda.
Critics worry mandatory preschool could put child-care centers out of business and are not convinced lesson plans for babies and toddlers are a good thing.
Both advocates and critics worry about the cost.
Last year, there were 531,000 infants to 5-year-olds in Arizona. Thirty percent of them lived in poverty, and 60 percent of their parents worked.
Wealthier working parents can spend $700 or more a month to send a child to a private preschool with degreed teachers, small classes and individual learning goals for children ages 1 to 3.
For children whose parents have low incomes, there are government-funded preschools, where teachers are trained to help kids catch up with their peers by the time they reach kindergarten. But only about 37,600 children participate in those programs.
The bulk of Arizona's working families make due with the closest and cheapest child care. For the lucky ones, that means a grandparent. For most, it's a child-care center nearest to work or home
There's no doubt in my mind that so called "preschool" age children "can absorb high-level skills much earlier than once believed." Any homeschool parent can vouch for this.
The operative word in this article is "mandatory." The administrators of failed public schools now think they can rectify their failures in education by getting an earlier start on our kids. How arrogantly specious of them to make such an assumption.
Parents need to realize that infants and preschool kids DO suck up (and process) information like sponges and this is the most important time parents have to work and bond with their kids. It's also the worst time to turn them over to day care facilities or, heaven forbid, mandatory government indoctrination centers.
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