Friday, May 25, 2007
What about headstart?
Sometimes I have delayed reactions. This is one of them. Hillary recently said that she thought all children should attend preschool or day care because of the richness of experience and interaction and education that are provided there. This has been rolling around in the middle area of my consciousness because something bothered me but I wasn't sure what. I'll give her points for putting preschool and preparedness into the discussion, but I get stuck after that. I'm not a hundred percent sure all children should be in day care, for one thing. Is it "day care" as long as there are one or two other children there too? Well, I'm not sure that daily interaction with other kids is all she meant nor all that matters. And if there has to be some teaching or structure, then what about Project Headstart and why didn't she mention it and explain any differences? Isn't Headstart exactly what she's talking about? Are there problems getting all children into it? If so, then why not fix those rather than dream up another government project when one already exists that's earned almost unanimous praise? Am I missing something?

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Permalink | | posted by jau at 11:53 AM


2 more:
Blogger Barb the Evil Genius — at 12:43 PM, May 25, 2007:
It was my impression that Headstart is only for lower income families, who couldn't afford preschool for their kids. So that way, they're covered if they want preschool, and the people who can afford preschool for their kids, can send them to preschool. However, I believe there have been studies showing that any advantage Headstart gives is gone by about the third grade, so how effective is it?

I believe the problem is: some parents still can choose which preschool to send their children to by virtue of being able to afford it. People like Hillary would prefer to start enforced doctrination for all, at a young age. She is a socialist, after all.

I definitely do *not* believe every child should be in day care. We've made the personal choice for our family to keep our kids out of day care, and sacrificed a lot for it. Other families are free to make their own choices. Just let it remain a choice.
 

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Blogger DADvocate — at 2:04 PM, May 25, 2007:
What little kids really need is more time with their parents. A stay at home parent is probably best. Years ago, when my oldest son was a toddler, I read in Parents, I beleive, magazine that young children who spent time with their parents doing typical household activities learned more than children that were given instruction.

I know I learned a lot from my mother as a child, gardening, cooking, first aid, crafts, etc. Plus, it helps emotional development a lot.
 

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