PRE-SCHOOL IN NC
The Charlotte Observer has a surprisingly balanced piece on the “need” for kids to go to jail pre-school.
Experts estimate that at least 75 percent of all children will have some sort of preschool experience, including day care, before they start kindergarten.
But is it all worth it? Is preschool even necessary? Does it provide a jumpstart to kindergarten?
…Indeed, there’s little research showing whether attending preschool or staying at home with mom makes a long-term difference in how well children do in secondary school. Any advantage a preschool child may have in kindergarten — understanding circle time, knowing how to sit quietly, socializing in a large group — usually vanishes by second grade, experts say.
…The pressure to enroll in preschool is intense. “In this area, if you don’t go to preschool, people think you’re insane,” said Shelly Ramminger, a University City mother with four children, ages 4 to 14. “I really think mothers in this area put way too much pressure on themselves to put their children in the right preschool.”
I guess homeschooling is not so common in Charlotte.
4 Responses to “PRE-SCHOOL IN NC”
![]() Comment by Gene January 25th, 2005 at 2:26 pm |
There is a public service announcement running in our area where actors are dressed up in police uniforms and reciting lines stating that preschool attendence reduces the odds a child will be involved in committing crimes. I find that a little hard to believe considering kids who wouldn’t dare commit a crime alone, find their crime partners and “friends” who coax them into trying drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and outright crime, at school for the most part. |
![]() Comment by Sarah January 25th, 2005 at 5:51 pm |
Preschool was the last bit of school I more or less totally enjoyed. I had to go somewhere, as all of my parents and stepparents worked full time (I got dropped off at 5am and picked up around 6pm)… it was the last time when the kids weren’t actually running a creepy Lord of the Flies type deal underneath the teachers’ noses. Also, I didn’t have to sit with a different group of kids for academic stuff, which started in kindergarten (I was sent to the first grade classroom for math and writing). However, preschool is more or less just glorified day care, and pretty much everyone knows that… if you can stay home with your 4 year old, it doesn’t make sense to send them away every single day (I can see the need for irregular babysitting, though… I’ve got too many younger siblings to not understand the need for alone time). |
![]() Comment by Stephanie January 25th, 2005 at 6:13 pm |
This weekend, I overheard two moms of 3-ish year olds discussing pre-schools. They judged one program as “better” than another because it had homework once a week and the other program had none. The homework they discussed was something like practicing writing one letter. Um, don’t you do that with your kids while they’re drawing and stuff? Luckily, my husband sees pre-school as daycare, so I won’t get any flack (from him) when my kid doesn’t go. |
![]() Comment by Andrea January 26th, 2005 at 8:45 am |
There’s no way in hell I’d ever consider sending my 4 year old to preschool. Even if we hadn’t been homeschooling for so long. |