Pre-school education for all!

After the presentation about the importance of early education we had in class today, it got me thinking about how much we prioritize the schooling we have before kindergarten. On edweek.org an article talks about a situation in Idaho where a movement is afoot to change state law to include funding for children less than 5 years old (a.k.a. money for Pre-School programs). The current law prohibits the use of money for public schools for children under 5.

The question is: Should we use money, coming from taxpayers, for a public system of education geared towards children who are not yet in formal public education. A survey done by a group called Kids Count suggests that the public would like to see money go into pre-schooling. I would also agree that the early we get children into the classroom, the better the entire system will be. Despite costing a lot of money, the time we spend in the early years of their development will have exponential returns. Kids Count also says that an early education could save state money by reducing later costs for special education and social services. It is shown that any type of pre-school received by a child better adapts them to any schooling in the future: socially and mentally, so this supports the idea that it will save money over time.

In the end, the responsibility lays on parents to decide whether their child needs education before Kindergarten. I would imagine the idea of free public pre-schooling is very attractive for the working class. It would give an option to have your children in a highly stimulated area of learning while you wouldn’t have to look for a babysitter. I see a trend of starting children their educational process at a younger and younger age.

-KEN RADOMSKI, ED175