To my surprise, I had a hard time finding blogs relating to the preschool reform bill package that I will be following throughout the semester. After some thorough searching, (and false alarms AKA thinking that I found a related blog, only to click and be redirected to an explicit site!) I found the perfect blog to respond to. The blog defined the difference between preschool and childcare. Apparently, many people assume the preschool setting to be similar to a daycare setting. A new light shed on the topic for me was that those who oppose universal preschool programs argue that the benefits of preschool "fade-out" through the students elementary school years. I prefer to think that children build off of the foundations that they have laid down in preschool, rather than their progress simply disappearing. The blog also explained that children progress in ways that cannot be measured in preschool. Typically, preschool success is measured through test scores. However, the blog points out that children develop social skills and self-confidence in the educational environment; these successes cannot be measured. Lastly, by reading this I have become aware of a precaution I must take as I argue in support of the CA preschool reform bill package: Do not exaggerate the benefits of preschool!
Attached is the link to the blog that I responded to.
http://www.newamerica.net/blog/early-ed-watch/2008/protect-our-kids-preschool-hype-6702
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1 comment:
Neat blog! I think that its interesting how they realize the success of preschools with test scores. I wonder if they test the preschool students or simply base their evaluations on older children.
Good post! :]
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