The tragedy of what is happening in Afghanistan is pretty much directing our concerns right now, but let’s not let the plans for public pre-school drop from our focus. If we do, the government control of our kids at ages three and four could be almost as great a disaster as letting the Taliban take over Afghanistan.
In a USA Today article, it says, “Preschool doesn’t cause better long-term outcomes — it predicts them. . . .The biggest differences usually reported — for school attendance and high school graduation rates — point clearly to parents, not preschool, as the cause. Common sense suggests that parents who voluntarily send their children to school for an entire year when they are 3 or 4 years old are more likely to ensure that their children have good attendance and graduate from high school on time.” The writer includes the opinion, “I’m from Texas and here’s my advice for Democrats: Go for it. What do you have to lose?”
Let me repeat that question, but directed at you parents: What do you have to lose? And turning the question around, what do you have to gain?
To an extent, what your child gains depends on where your family falls on the socio-economic ladder. The higher you are on that ladder, the less benefit your kids will realize. In a National Bureau of Economic Research paper 10452, the authors came to this conclusion: “We find that prekindergarten increases reading and mathematics skills at school entry, but also increases behavioral problems and reduces self-control. Furthermore, the effects of prekindergarten on skills largely dissipate by the spring of first grade, although the behavioral effects do not.” (Emphasis mine.)
Here are some of the most relevant data from a highly respected report on “Effects of the Tennessee Prekindergarten Program on children’s achievement and behavior through third grade.”
State investments in pre-k are most often justified by the expectation of long-term effects. . . . [T]wo model programs – Perry Preschool, mounted in the 1960s, and Abecedarian, begun in the 1970s. . . . would cost more than any state currently allocates – $20,000 per child per year in today’s dollars to implement Perry and $16,000–$40,000 for Abecedarian. (Emphasis mine.)
It is important to know that the Tennessee Voluntary Pre-k program required a state-licensed teacher endorsed for early childhood education and paid on the same scale as K-12 teachers. A CDA or early childhood associate degree was preferred for educational assistants assigned to each classroom, but not required.
Compare that to what President Biden is planning. “All employees in participating pre-K programs and
Head Start will earn at least $15 per hour, and those with comparable qualifications will receive compensation commensurate with that of kindergarten teachers.” No requirements stated, just that if one has some sort of qualification they will be paid commensurately.
The same report cited a Head Start impact study:
The 4-year-old children admitted to Head Start made greater gains across the pre-k year than nonparticipating children on measures of language and literacy, although not on math. However, by the end of kindergarten the control children had caught up on most achievement outcomes; subsequent positive effects for Head Start participants were found on only one achievement measure at the end of 1st grade and another at the end of 3rd grade. . . .
The positive short-term effects found in the Head Start study are consistent with those found for state pre-k programs. The mixed and null effects found thereafter in this methodologically strong study, however, raise questions about the expectation of substantial long-term benefits that has largely motivated investments in public pre-k.
The government report from the Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation, titled, “Third Grade Follow-up to the Head Start Impact Study: Final Report,” stated almost the same results.
So why are some proponents of this government pre-k program saying this? According to Clive R. Belfield, an economist at Queens College, City University of New York, “The kids do much better in K-12, and that carries over into adulthood. The parents are in a much better place to work too. The effects from a lot of studies are very strong: big benefits measured in dollars.” Studies do not show what he is claiming.
Back to the question, what do you have to lose? Ask why they want your kids’ minds in their hands at this early age. Chapter four of my book Who’s Got Dibs on Your Kids? talks about what is taught in some pre-k and kindergartens. In my post last week I told you about the Woke Baby book. What do you want your three and four-year-olds learning? You must choose your preschool carefully. This may well be the first stage of indoctrination for the government. Remember the Vladimir Lenin quote: “Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.”