Mandatory Preschool

As the sensible Robert Ehrlich once illustrated, “Experts tell us that 90% of all brain development occurs by the age of five. If we don’t begin thinking about education in the early years, our children are at risk of falling behind by the time they start Kindergarten” (1). Preschool should be universal in America. Preschool programs available in America today are subpar. Experts agree that attending preschool produces numerous benefits for children, and that preschool is where the achievement gap begins to form.

Preschool is the period of time before a child enters elementary school. The importance of preschool and whether or not it is necessary before starting kindergarten has been debated. From firsthand experience I have been able to see students who have attended preschool, and who have not. The differences between these two types of students are astonishing. Preschool can give a child a number of benefits, such as social skills with peers, academic advantages, cognitive skills and more.

Preschool programs are designed specifically to make sure that children are ready for kindergarten and will be able to succeed in school by third grade. All preschool programs have three characteristics in common. They are governed by high program standards, are open to 3 and 4 year–olds, and focus on school readiness. The term universal preschool means that preschool programs are available to any child in a given state, regardless of family income, children’s abilities, or any other factors (Colker). Like Kindergarten in most states, the concept of the Universal Preschool Movement is to have a voluntary program, unlike compulsory elementary.

The article Preschool is For Real by Julie Poppe is based on how we should create high quality preschool. It states that over the years funding for early childhood education has went up and enrollment has increased as well. Teachers today have a lot of responsibility when it comes to teaching preschool. They need to making learning fun and simple, but they also need to follow state guidelines and curriculum. With preschool becoming more popular, states are changing their curriculum. Many researchers have found that preschool is incredibly important to young children but only if the program is of high quality. Poor quality can actually have a negative effect on the children. They article outlines what it means to be a high quality preschool

The current state of California’s state-level preschool program (the California State Preschool Program, or CSPP) is currently underperforming, given the population they are serving. Despite California having the 9th highest per-capita income of all states (and being home to some of the highest income counties in the U.S.), the CSPP only manages to achieve six out of the ten outcomes for preschool effectiveness as outlined by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). In addition, the newly established California Transitional Kindergarten program achieves a mere two out of ten, which ranks it as one of the lowest early education programs in the entire country. The CSPP achieves fewer outcomes than much (on average)

While many people don't realize the importance of a preschool education, preschools Frisco TX know how important the skills learned in preschool are to a child's development. They learn speech, reading, fine motor skills and more. Every moment of play a child participates in during preschool is a lesson.

Did you know that if your child doesn't go to preschool your child is 25 percent more likely to drop out of school, 40 percent more likely to become a teen parent, and 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime? My aunt did not go to preschool therefore, she had to be held back in kindergarten twice because it was her first time being in a school environment, and so she didn’t know how to act or how to pay attention at the age 5, that’s just insane. She also became a teen parent, causing her to drop out of school at the age 17 so that she had to take care of her baby. All children should be required to go to preschool because it helps with brain development, child behavior development, and it can be cheaper (Five Surprising Facts

Just think about this one tiny effect. Imagine that you are about to start school at the age of five, and once you arrive you see that kids around you are more prepared, confident, and eager to learn. These young smiley five year old faces don’t make you happy. In fact, this makes you depressed, and saddened. Early education, also known as preschool is of vital importance. Preschool or an early educational establishment is a group of people offering early childhood education, before the age five. They offer enriching courses for children, and help prepare them for the transition into elementary school. Children who use the opportunity of an early education have a huge advantage. On the other hand, children who don’t enter preschools seem to lack in certain areas, and lag behind. Many children in our country do not attend preschool at the age of three or four, and directly enter kindergarten without the early learning opportunity. This issue of a less advantage situation could eventually lead to a bigger disadvantage when it comes to learning. Many parents aren’t willing to send their children to preschool in their early years as it is over expensive and unnecessary for a three year old to enter school. I, on the other hand, disagree with these people. If children learn from early on, there won’t be any need to worry about others who have advantages. I believe that early education should be mandatory, and since many people can’t afford preschools, public school districts should have their own preschool grade for all younger students.

There is increasing facts that kids get to learn a lot after going to preschool. They become to learn about alphabets, numbers, and shapes. In addition to this, they gain knowledge about how to socialize like sharing thoughts, foods & things, being friendly with other children and include in a group of children.

Early childhood education has many benefits and there is the potential for many significant outcomes if universal preschools were put into place. Some feel that children who start kindergarten without previously attended preschool sometimes lack certain skills such as social and communication skills and an inability to follow routines. There were also studies done that found attending preschool could help to close the achievement gap in the grade school years. A child’s first few years of life are most important, and they absorb the most during those years. By providing universal preschool, all children would be benefiting, especially those who are in at-risk families or part of the lower class. As a society, we have a responsibility to help the children in our communities and provide them with the education they need in order to help them succeed in life.

“Research shows that young children’s earliest learning experiences can have powerful long-term effects on their cognitive and emotional development, school achievement, and later life outcomes” (Mead, 2012). The literature reveals that a strong collection of research exists that indicates children who attend high-quality preschool programs have better health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes than those who do not

The article by Erika Christakis, informs future teachers and parents how preschool today may not be benefiting their children as much as they thought. She talks about how preschool has changed drastically over the years as well as kindergarten. She states that “kindergarten may be the new first grade”. Her statement shows how children today are expected more then they were years ago in all grades, especially preschool and at such a young age. Many think this is helping our children or will benefit them in the future if they know more as a child but this may not be the case. The article talks about multiple studies done throughout America to children are learning and how school curriculum changing affects children. A studied showed that children

Early childhood education is one of the most important policy topics out there. Research has proven that the early years in childhood is a critical period for opportunity to develop a child’s full potential; as well as form academic, social, and cognitive skills that determine not only success in school but also their entire life (The White House). The right to a free, public education is guaranteed to all children in the United States. Early education is voluntary, and therefore some children are not given the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Early experiences are critical for a child’s development. According to the U.S Department of Education “there are 2.5 million children here in the U.S that does not have access to preschool.” Not everyone can afford

A primary purpose of preschool intervention programs is generally to assist at-risk students before they experience academic challenges, through enhancing foundation skills necessary for subsequent academic success. Basic literacy skills, pro social behaviors, and socio emotional development are often emphasized in pre-school programs. By enhancing skills for academic success through preschool programs, retention maybe prevented (p.52)