tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post124381976893621951..comments2024-03-28T00:11:33.489-04:00Comments on bensozia: Links 1 October 2021Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-46209130230963227912021-10-01T19:56:17.812-04:002021-10-01T19:56:17.812-04:00G. V. says, " preschool helps children get us...G. V. says, " preschool helps children get used to the idea of being away from home for a decent chunk of the day; it helps them get used to schedules and routines; it helps them socialize with other children and with adult educators; etc. Many children aged three to five wouldn't have much chance to develop such skills otherwise."<br /><br />ABSOLUTELY!! The difficulty is in measuring these outcomes effectively.<br /><br />Also, I would like to see studies that show specifically the effect of pre-K on academic proficiency for the most impoverished/deprived students, e.g. homeless kids.<br /><br />Your point about the variability of pre-K programs is also significant: how many pre-K programs are introductions to "academics" vs simply supervised play? (NOT knocking the latter by any means, but we cannot expect such activity to contribute to academic achievement.)pootrsoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05975929246429466067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-7327544003162203882021-10-01T11:10:55.144-04:002021-10-01T11:10:55.144-04:00Review of the evidence on whether pre-K raises ele...<i>Review of the evidence on whether pre-K raises elementary school achievement, not positive.</i><br /><br />Given how wildly uneven and varied the content of pre-K is, I wonder at how representative their data and conclusions actually are.<br /><br />That said, I thought we had all realized at this point that the primary role of the early American "education" system is to serve as a daycare? It does impart some knowledge, to be sure, but it seems quite clear that most of the time, it's just a way to keep children occupied so parents can leave the home to go to work. Didn't the pandemic make that painfully clear to most people by now?<br /><br />Pre-K itself might not raise elementary school achievement, but I <i>highly</i> doubt that's what most parents want from it - rather, they want to not have to devote so much time to constantly supervising their children, so the parents themselves can have something more like a normal daily routine, sooner in the child's life, rather than waiting several years until formal school commences.<br /><br />Also, there's a lot more to school than just grades - preschool helps children get used to the idea of being away from home for a decent chunk of the day; it helps them get used to schedules and routines; it helps them socialize with other children and with adult educators; etc. Many children aged three to five wouldn't have much chance to develop such skills otherwise.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.com