Preschool is a privilege, not an entitlement.
The plans being set in motion to promote state funded preschool are not designed to succeed.
Pre-kindergarten will only produce lasting change when it is offered to disadvantaged families willing to invest their labor so the child is prepared for school, and the family is invested in and able to support the child’s growth.
Research confirms pre-K boosts scores initially but, sadly, benefits do not last beyond early school years.
Edward Zigler, a founder of Head Start, confirmed family and life experiences have far greater impact than school. Several studies of successful pre-K programs show each involved significant family interaction with the school.
Supporting pre-K is politically, not research-, based. Politicians want to say they support education for children, but their rhetoric extrapolates results from successful programs, hoping Hawaii will have the same results without the same family investment.
A burgeoning market for products like Baby Einstein, Your Baby Can Read and Hooked on Phonics recognizes that young children’s brains develop through stimulation. Some parents know this instinctively, providing stimulation through conversation, play and reading books.
Unfortunately, this does not come naturally to all parents. Some do all they can to put bread on the table. Parents in dysfunctional families do not know how to care for themselves, let alone the high needs of a child.
Children’s minds are malleable. Adults are responsible to ensure they are positively influenced.
Perceptions formed in childhood about self, others and the world shape children’s future life choices.
My experience working with women in prison indicated the negative childhood messages that they received shaped who they became and their choices.
Children spending hours in front of a TV or enduring tension and harsh words in a family struggling to cope will develop different perceptions of themselves than children whose parents play, read and talk with them.
A significant focus in successful preschool is partnership with parents.
Social-work educator Katherine Dunlap published research in 1996 thatdescribed a program that emphasized empowering parents. Caregivers at a low-income housing project self selected based on their willingness to meet the requirement of participation. The caregivers both provided and received services.
Besides working in the classroom, caregivers planned, determined policy and identified areas of need where they received training.
Meetings with the intention of promoting growth for the adults involved a time to reflect and adjust as needed.
The caregivers learned and practiced new parenting skills and were either employed or returned to school after the program.
Behavioral experts J.M. Pascoe and J.A. Earp, in research published in 1984 in the American Journal of Public Health, showed that a mother’s perception of support affects her responsiveness to and stimulation of her child. Empowered parents will be more responsive to their children and nurture the benefits gained in preschool. They will be equipped to better influence not only one child but also the child’s siblings.
The effects of strengthening the parent will have long-term impact on the family and can play a part in breaking the cycle of poverty.
Trainedparents can take more responsibility for their lives and make a difference in their family.
Changed families will better support their children as they move beyond preschool. Changed families will produce real return on investment in reduced welfare dependency and lower crime, as well as increased earnings for both the caregiver and children. This will change our community.
Universal preschool offers minimal lasting benefit at too great a cost. Focus resources on what works.
Limiting preschool to only those families willing to invest themselves will limit the overall expense.
Preschool is not an entitlement. It is a privilege.
