Many people have reservations about the importance of pre-kindergarten
education. This was clearly manifest in 2006 when the California
legislature unsuccessfully attempted to pass a law that would make
pre-school education mandatory for all children. Many Californians did
not agree with the importance of using tax payer funds to fund mandatory
pre-school programs, including parents desiring to educate their
children themselves.
Research has
show that children enrolled in Head Start programs benefit by receiving
formal education before kindergarten. According to some studies,
children enrolled in these programs are more behaved and have higher IQ
scores upon enrolling kindergarten than their peers without formal
education. Likewise, it was shown that children enrolled in Head Start
programs learned quicker than children not enrolled in these programs.
Critics of pre-kindergarten education claim the differences between
children enrolled in pre-school programs and children not receiving
formal education are only discernible during kindergarten, first, and
second grade. During subsequent years, children who've not received
formal education prior to kindergarten test at the same level and behave
like their peers with pre-kindergarten formal education. Therefore,
Head Start children may be at an advantage for a couple of years, but
after that, their classmates perform at similar levels. Another major
problem with Head Start programs is that children qualifying for these
programs usually come from families living below poverty-line, so these
programs are not readily available for children from all backgrounds.
However, children can receive formal education in other ways other than
Head Start programs, including daycare and parents teaching their young
children. Even though children in daycare programs can develop
intellectually, children benefit most when parents stay at home with
their children and educate them.
Most childhood education specialists claim that young children learn
best when they're not pushed too hard, they have an opportunity to
interact with their peers, and their parents and instructors treat them
kindly. Likewise, children learn best when instruction and educational
activities are only a small portion of their days. This is especially
true of children enrolled in pre-school programs since it's not good for
young children to be separated from their parents for extended periods
of time. Children usually do not benefit in programs with inexperienced
teachers and large classroom sizes.
Children taught at an early age usually benefit in the following ways:
improved social skills, less or no need for special education
instruction during subsequent school years, better grades, and enhanced
attention spans. Likewise, some researchers have concluded that young
children enrolled in pre-school programs usually graduate from high
school, attend college, have fewer behavioral problems, and do not
become involved with crime in their adolescent and young adult years.
The research detailing these benefits was completed during the 80's. In
addition to benefiting children experiencing normal development, it was
also shown that children with learning or other physical disabilities
benefit immensely from pre-kindergarten education. Also, children with
parents highly involved in their pre-kindergarten education do not
experience the same positive results from Head Start programs as
children coming from homes where it's not as much an emphasis. Children
taught how to speak a second language during their early developmental
years are also in a better position to learn English at a young age.
Many people do not feel the government should determine whether children
should be required to receive formal pre-kindergarten education. One
reason for this is children who are educated by their parents during
their early developmental years experience the same benefits as children
enrolled in pre-school programs, especially children receiving a lot of
attention from parents. Parents deciding to educate their young
children themselves should utilize creative ideas and activities when
educating them.
No matter the differences in opinion about formal pre-kindergarten
education, children benefit from receiving some type of education during
their early developmental years. However, there is not one-size fits
all instruction best suited for all children. While some children
benefit immensely from pre-school, it may not be the best educational
setting for other children. In most cases, children benefit most by
receiving educational instruction from their parents. Parents must
evaluate a child's unique personality before determining which program
is best suited for a child since not all programs benefit children the
same way.
The Value of Early Childhood Education
Most children begin receiving formal education during kindergarten.
Recent scientific research has proven that learning and mental
development begin immediately after birth. During the first three years
of a child's life, essential brain and neural development occurs.
Therefore, children greatly benefit by receiving education before
kindergarten.
Since kindergarten begin around the ages of 5 to 6 for most children,
after major brain development occurs, parents should begin educating
children at younger ages.
Many parents begin educating their children during these important
developmental years. However, many parents neglect to take the time to
educate their young children. Many factors can contribute to this, such
as long work schedules and ignorance about the importance of educating
children at a young age.
Unfortunately, not only are children negatively affected by not being
educated at early ages, but the negative affects often reverberate
through society. A study conducted by the Abecedarian (ABC) Project
evaluated two groups of children for an extended period of time, those
with formal pre-school education and those not receiving any formal
education. According to their findings, children with formal education
scored higher on reading tests during subsequent school years. It was
also shown that the children who did not receive any formal education in
their pre-kindergarten years were more likely to struggle with
substance abuse and delinquent behaviors in their early adult years.
The conclusions drawn from most research about early childhood education
are that individuals and societies greatly benefit, in terms of social,
economic, and other benefits, from it. Greater emphasis placed on early
education is one strategy to alleviate substance abuse and criminal
behavior that plagues many adolescents and young adults. The economic
benefits, for example, can be immense when emphasis is placed on early
childhood education.
Recent research from the National Association of State Boards of
Education found that it is futile to establish federal educational goals
without pre-kindergarten education programs.
The United Way is an organization that works to improve pre-kindergarten
education. As a result, it's involved in a national campaign known as Born Learning,
a campaign designed to encourage parents to begin educating children at
a young age. The United Way works with parents who feel unprepared or
unable to effectively educate their young children. For example, since
children have low attention spans, parents are encouraged to use
everyday routine activities to teach children valuable lessons, such as
asking a child to go into a room and retrieve a specified amount of
items. This helps young children become familiar with numbers and learn
to count. Other activities, such as having children identify the colors
and shapes of objects, is another effective activity to educate them.
Improving the pre-kindergarten education of children is one step that
can be taken to improve a society economically and socially. It has been
shown that children should begin to receive education before
kindergarten since children experience substantial brain development
during these early years.