Montesecrets - Latest Comments in Universal Pre-K…Is this good or bad?

Re: Universal Pre-K…Is this good or bad?

evenspor — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 08:57:04 -0000

That's what happens. When the government pays for it, they take control over it. They would continue to allow private preschools, just like they continue to allow private upper-level schools, but those would be the ones parents would have to continute to pay for. So the ones who really need the help would be the ones who are going to the government-run low quality program. The ones attending your fancy montessori school would continue to be from better-off families.

I'm afraid my opinions come from talking to actual parents. I am not talking about parents who have to both work to make ends meet. Almost all stay-at-home moms I know who send their children to preschool do so because they want a few hours a week to themselves. This is now considered a normal, expected and deserved part of our society.

I do believe Head Start is a good thing, for those children who really need it. There are children who do and who benefit from it. Most don't, though.

My opinons about government-run schooling come from talking to parents of those students and public educators as well. The more regulations the government tries to put on public schools, the worse the education becomes, as the teachers are forced to focus more on test taking and less on actual learning. I have yet to meet a public school teacher or parent who likes NCLB, and so far the additions Obama has suggested are more along the same line.

Re: Universal Pre-K…Is this good or bad?

Montesecrets — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:08:57 -0000

As I said before, I support Universal Pre-K under certain criteria. The government is under new direction, and perhaps I'm being an idealist when I say this, but I think the US would be in a much better position down the road if they were to invest in Early Childhood education.

Not every parent is fortunate enough to stay at home with their child. I do agree that there are some parents who believe that preschool is daycare but on the other hand, there are a lot of parents who value Early Childhood education and would like to see their child attend a quality school. In a perfect world, one parent would work, while the other one would stay at home and watch the kids. But, unfortunately, that's not how it is in today. Some people can't dedicate as much time as they'd like towards their child's education because they are working 3 jobs and trying to survive. If we could provide access to quality education, we could fill up this gap.

That's what Montessori did with her Casa dei Bambini! She gave children access to education, and look what happened? She made miracles.

If Universal Pre-K means that the government will have COMPLETE control over Preschools (private and public), then I might have to think twice about my position. If the government were to pay for children to go to preschools (Montessori included) and still allow the schools to maintain their identity, then HELL YEAH I'm for Universal Pre-k.

Re: Universal Pre-K…Is this good or bad?

evenspor — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:46:47 -0000

If parents were more involved in their children's education, they wouldn't need preschool. For most parents preschool=daycare.

I'm also a little suprised to hear a montessorian who thinks it's a good idea to give the government more control over preschools. They've done such a poor job "fixing' public schools, why would you want them in charge of preschool too?