Re: [UnschoolingDiscussion] defending educational experts / preschool
Betsy
**so they can continue to press for government
funded (and eventually compulsory) school for children younger than the
age of five.**
I also see this coming and think it's a lousy idea. I don't want
taxpayers to subsidize this for every child, even when the parents can
afford it and/or the kids don't want to go. Even if there isn't
"enough" childcare available and even if it is expensive, I like the
fact that it is diverse; people who use it can pick a program that they
find appealing (e.g Montessori preschool). To drive existing daycares
and preschools out of business and supply one generic government school
experience for 3 and 4 year olds is really a crappy idea.
(And while I've got the word "crappy" in mind can I link this with the
potty-training thread? Is it likely to be mandatory to start government
schooling at age 3 and to be potty trained at that age without
exception? Good grief.)
Also, of course, I think kids benefit from spending lots of time with
loving parents at home or in the world. Let's dump the ingrained idea
that love and comfort "spoil" children and make them too weak for life's
struggles and battles. Arrrgggghhh!
Any ideas how to effectively fight against the universal preschool push?
Betsy
funded (and eventually compulsory) school for children younger than the
age of five.**
I also see this coming and think it's a lousy idea. I don't want
taxpayers to subsidize this for every child, even when the parents can
afford it and/or the kids don't want to go. Even if there isn't
"enough" childcare available and even if it is expensive, I like the
fact that it is diverse; people who use it can pick a program that they
find appealing (e.g Montessori preschool). To drive existing daycares
and preschools out of business and supply one generic government school
experience for 3 and 4 year olds is really a crappy idea.
(And while I've got the word "crappy" in mind can I link this with the
potty-training thread? Is it likely to be mandatory to start government
schooling at age 3 and to be potty trained at that age without
exception? Good grief.)
Also, of course, I think kids benefit from spending lots of time with
loving parents at home or in the world. Let's dump the ingrained idea
that love and comfort "spoil" children and make them too weak for life's
struggles and battles. Arrrgggghhh!
Any ideas how to effectively fight against the universal preschool push?
Betsy
melissa4123
--- In [email protected], Betsy <ecsamhill@e...>
wrote:
<<Any ideas how to effectively fight against the universal preschool
push?
Betsy>>
I have no answer to your question but, I do think that I remember
this having come up some time ago. Before we moved from CA (I have
yet to hear them in NV yet but....you never know) there were
commercials on both tv and radio that start out with a grown man in
some wonderful job. He says I could never have this job if I didn't
go to college. Then I could never have gone to college if I didn't
graduate from high school. I could never have graduated from high
school if I didn't do well in junior high and so on until he's a 4
or 5 year old child saying that he could never have gone as far in
life if he hand't gone to pre-school! UNBELIEVABLE!! So...my child
has to go to pre-school before he/she can get a good job that they
like?! Are you kidding me? What's next? pre-pre-school?
Melissa
wrote:
<<Any ideas how to effectively fight against the universal preschool
push?
Betsy>>
I have no answer to your question but, I do think that I remember
this having come up some time ago. Before we moved from CA (I have
yet to hear them in NV yet but....you never know) there were
commercials on both tv and radio that start out with a grown man in
some wonderful job. He says I could never have this job if I didn't
go to college. Then I could never have gone to college if I didn't
graduate from high school. I could never have graduated from high
school if I didn't do well in junior high and so on until he's a 4
or 5 year old child saying that he could never have gone as far in
life if he hand't gone to pre-school! UNBELIEVABLE!! So...my child
has to go to pre-school before he/she can get a good job that they
like?! Are you kidding me? What's next? pre-pre-school?
Melissa
Robyn Coburn
<<Any ideas how to effectively fight against the universal preschool push?>>
Keep unschooling!
Seriously though, in CA one of the local proponents of making kindergarten,
rather than 1st grade, the school starting age, is/was actually my local
representative. At one time some of the members of my group were all for
going to see him and talk about the proposed legislation. I didn't care to
go, and some other members felt it was like inviting trouble with the local
DOE. At the time there was increased paranoia in CA due to a memo being
circulated about hs being illegal (it's not of course). However I believe
that the push for this one year early, is entirely to do with an extra year
of free child care for the large population of economically struggling
families in much of this electorate, and almost nothing to do with education
advantages. These are children who are already in childcare of varying
quality - and much of it is overcrowded and overpriced. The affluent have
nannies, not group daycare. Some schools offer paid kindergarten.
I don't want preschool, but many people would like the financial relief.
Robyn L. Coburn
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Keep unschooling!
Seriously though, in CA one of the local proponents of making kindergarten,
rather than 1st grade, the school starting age, is/was actually my local
representative. At one time some of the members of my group were all for
going to see him and talk about the proposed legislation. I didn't care to
go, and some other members felt it was like inviting trouble with the local
DOE. At the time there was increased paranoia in CA due to a memo being
circulated about hs being illegal (it's not of course). However I believe
that the push for this one year early, is entirely to do with an extra year
of free child care for the large population of economically struggling
families in much of this electorate, and almost nothing to do with education
advantages. These are children who are already in childcare of varying
quality - and much of it is overcrowded and overpriced. The affluent have
nannies, not group daycare. Some schools offer paid kindergarten.
I don't want preschool, but many people would like the financial relief.
Robyn L. Coburn
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
J. Stauffer
<<<<Any ideas how to effectively fight against the universal preschool
I think by getting out in public, talking with people about how we live,
etc., we lay the ground work for alternatives in people's minds.
We are in the local small feedstore fairly regularly. The man who runs it
has adult children but not much contact with small ones. When we come in,
the kids (all 5 of them) love to climb up on the counter stools to tell him
what we need, they talk to him about the animals or 4-H or hunting or
whatever. He ALWAYS has candy for them.....so at Halloween, we took a big
bag for him.
Anyway, the kids were gone to grandma's this last week and I went in the
feedstore. Carl asked about the kids and I told him they were gone. He
said "I have to ask, how do you do it? Don't get me wrong the kids are
always very nice here, very polite but when they get home......they have to
be going in a thousand different directions? How do you do it?"
I replied "I drink lots of herbal tea and simply let them go."
Carl kind of grinned and said "That might be an idea." Then he went back in
the back to get something else I needed.
Carl came back out and said laughingly, "Now that I think about it....it is
probably a really good idea."
Julie S.
> push?>>>>******************************************
I think by getting out in public, talking with people about how we live,
etc., we lay the ground work for alternatives in people's minds.
We are in the local small feedstore fairly regularly. The man who runs it
has adult children but not much contact with small ones. When we come in,
the kids (all 5 of them) love to climb up on the counter stools to tell him
what we need, they talk to him about the animals or 4-H or hunting or
whatever. He ALWAYS has candy for them.....so at Halloween, we took a big
bag for him.
Anyway, the kids were gone to grandma's this last week and I went in the
feedstore. Carl asked about the kids and I told him they were gone. He
said "I have to ask, how do you do it? Don't get me wrong the kids are
always very nice here, very polite but when they get home......they have to
be going in a thousand different directions? How do you do it?"
I replied "I drink lots of herbal tea and simply let them go."
Carl kind of grinned and said "That might be an idea." Then he went back in
the back to get something else I needed.
Carl came back out and said laughingly, "Now that I think about it....it is
probably a really good idea."
Julie S.
----- Original Message -----
From: "melissa4123" <melissa4123@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: [UnschoolingDiscussion] defending educational experts /
preschool
> --- In [email protected], Betsy <ecsamhill@e...>
> wrote:
> <<>
> Betsy>>
>
> I have no answer to your question but, I do think that I remember
> this having come up some time ago. Before we moved from CA (I have
> yet to hear them in NV yet but....you never know) there were
> commercials on both tv and radio that start out with a grown man in
> some wonderful job. He says I could never have this job if I didn't
> go to college. Then I could never have gone to college if I didn't
> graduate from high school. I could never have graduated from high
> school if I didn't do well in junior high and so on until he's a 4
> or 5 year old child saying that he could never have gone as far in
> life if he hand't gone to pre-school! UNBELIEVABLE!! So...my child
> has to go to pre-school before he/she can get a good job that they
> like?! Are you kidding me? What's next? pre-pre-school?
>
> Melissa
>
>
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