There is currently a movement underway in Idaho for Pre-K education. I can remember when the first grade was the first grade, the first year your child attended school. Then kindergarten came along, making the first grade the second grade. Now certain factions want the first grade to actually be the third grade. I am sure that the intentions of those striving for Pre-k are noble, but I am not sure it pencils out.
With most families bugets stressed to the breaking point by taxes, health insurance, car insurance, home insurance and insurance to make sure you are insured, I am not sure we can afford the new program. I am also not sure it is needed. The biggest problem with education as far as I can tell, is the non-participation of parents. Just because your youngster starts school at four instead of five, if the parents don't interact, it is not going to help.
The pilot program will cost well over a million dollars for five schools. Not sure how many grade schools there are in the state, but it sounds as if it could get very expensive. Proponents of the new program think that starting the kids earlier, now 14 years from the first day of school to high school graduation, will somehow equip them to perform better two years down the road when they start the first grade.
Opponents of the program say it is simply a baby sitting service with benefits. Some say that it is simply the government wanting to raise our children instead of the familiy raising their offspring. Family is the key. Every great student I have known has had tremendous support from his or her parents. Without parental involvement, this will simply be another exercise in exercise. It will be interesting to see how the proposal fares in the legislature.
