Preschool: Pros and Cons of Early Education
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Text by Emily K. Alberts
The times they are a-changing. “Back in my day,” as my Mom would say, “kids didn’t go to school at all until we were six years old! We stayed home and played with other kids in the neighborhood. We got to just be kids.” Nowadays the push for education starts early. Parents feel pressured to enroll their kids in preschool as early as possible, partly because the rosy days of kids running freely around the neighborhood have given way to a more “indoorsy” generation of youngsters. They can be outfitted with iPads and airpods before they can even speak, and having a parent who can afford to stay home is becoming more rare by the day. But another reason for pushing children out of the nest sooner is because parents think children need to get ahead, lest they fall behind. The budding societal pressure for youngsters to have the alphabet memorized has parents thinking their toddlers need to divide and multiply if they’re ever going to make it in today’s competitive economy. But what does the data say? Preschool does provide an opportunity to prepare 40
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kids for the atmosphere of learning: structure, routine, patience. It may give them a leg up on “falling into the fold” of kindergarten, and soften the chasm between the comfort of home and the rigor of school. However, academically speaking, any “leg up” on academics is not even noticeable beyond the second grade. Children who did not attend preschool catch up quickly and close the gap.
Special Early Childhood Programs Still, some parents feel the need to provide a dualincome household and enroll their kids early, moreso as an affordable alternative to daycare or hiring a nanny, than as a scholastic advantage. While there are various programs in place to support struggling families who need childcare prior to the start of kindergarten (Head Start, for example), the Virginia Preschool Initiative was created in 1994 to serve atrisk 4-year-olds who are not being served by Head Start. For these at-risk children, preschool is vital. It is a March/Apri l
2022
