As a public kindergarten educator, I work with children from all types of living conditions. I have seen children greatly benefit from a pre-kindergarten or pre-school education. I have also encountered children who were very successful and never attended either program.
My school has a pre-kindergarten program. I presently have children in my class that attended the program. I also have children in my class that attended a private pre-school. Some of the children are at the top of my class and some are not. There are children in my class that will succeed no matter what type of education they receive. Their parents are very devoted and ensure that the child is receiving the skills that he/she needs. These children would likely not have any greater benefit academically by having attended a pre-kindergarten or pre-school program.
On the other hand, I have children in my class that would have not received any basic education skills had they not attended a pre-kindergarten program. These children are only receiving help and instruction from school. They receive no additional support from home.
So how does one decide what is best for a whole when the whole is as diverse as one group of twenty five-year-old children can be different? I do not think that the decision can be made for the whole group of children. Pre-kindergarten and pre-school are good. I appreciate them. My daughter will attend a pre-school two days a week next year. However could I stay home with her, she would not attend the school. I feel very capable of teaching her any skill that she will need to begin kindergarten. Some children with stay-at-home moms need pre-school for the structure and social environment. Parents know their child’s needs. Therefore, I feel that parents should have choice in whether their child attends pre-kindergarten or not.
Another issue that interferes with my complete support for mandatory pre-kindergarten or pre-school is the fact that my school is sitting with large numbers in our primary grade classrooms. Should our education system be adding more to our plates when we are not adequately handling what is already there? I feel that our state money and efforts should be placed on lowering the numbers in our existing classrooms and updating our instructional materials. Perhaps if we were able to give more intense one on one instruction in our kindergarten and primary grades, we would better be able to accommodate all students regardless of what skills they possess when they enter the school.
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