Do You Think Preschool Is Necessary?

I don't think it really matters if a kid goes to pre-school or not. I went and when I got to grade school I knew kids who went and kids who didn't, and I could never tell the difference.

I kind of figured it was pretty obvious that we homeschool. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

thepossiblepolice wrote:

Suzi wrote:A friend has her grandson in pre-school. She has to walk him there , sit through the class and walk him home again. No small walk. She gets there with him, and there is one kid that runs around hitting everyone. Turns out he is the teachers grandson, so nothing is said. One by one mothers who I am sure are busy have dropped out. So there's 2 kids left, the hitter and my friends grandson. When the hitter starts in again , she says "Come on Rider, lets go", and they leave. Why is the school system paying for a teacher for one kid?

That's crazy! It's a public school? Everywhere that I've ever been, the kids whose parents were there were actually kept on a stricter leash than the kids whose parents weren't there...Of course a grandma is different.

Yep public school, tiny community. I would be willing to bet the pre-school teacher hasn't any real training.

2xy wrote:

thepossiblepolice wrote:The preschool as daycare thing is valid for a lot of them. The preschool that we go to though is absolutely not. For one thing, every day 3 parents have to volunteer, and it only lasts 3 hours. It's all about socializing kids and exposing them to things that they aren't normally exposed to in a developmentally appropriate setting.

Then again, it's for four year olds. I honestly can't say enough good things about co-op preschool, I've learned so much there and my kids have as well.

I'm not trying to argue, but just because something is a positive experience doesn't mean it's necessary. KWIM? There are lots of things in life that can have a positive effect; but that doesn't mean there is a negative effect if those things are skipped. You can get an equally positive effect in another manner.

I have two sons, 19 and 15. 19yo attended school from grades K-2. 15yo has never been to school. Their experiences are DIFFERENT than that of their schooled counterparts, but it doesn't mean they are less valid. I daresay they have more time to socialize than kids do in school, and when they were little it was awesome to go to the zoo or museum on a Wednesday morning when it's not crowded and gross.

Oh I don't think school is at all necessary and if I were a more patient person I'd consider unschooling even.

But, I do think that kids who are going to public school for kindergarten benefit enough from a quality preschool that the ones who don't are seen as "behind". That doesn't make it necessary but it does make it something that I wouldn't want my kids to miss.

i went to preschool and all my brothers and sisters did. i dont think it is "necessary" but what can it hurt? No expert on parenting cuz i dont have any kids but i will say tho that it is probably best if the preschool if theyre gonna go is in the same school they will be going to kindergarten at.

thepossiblepolice wrote:Oh I don't think school is at all necessary and if I were a more patient person I'd consider unschooling even.

But, I do think that kids who are going to public school for kindergarten benefit enough from a quality preschool that the ones who don't are seen as "behind". That doesn't make it necessary but it does make it something that I wouldn't want my kids to miss.

I guess personal experiences will affect the way a person views the issue. I didn't go to preschool and neither did my oldest son, but we both entered school far ahead of most of the other kids. I could read fluently and write in cursive when I went to school. DS could read, write fairly well, and was doing math on about a 2nd grade level in Kindergarten. He read Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone when he was 6yo. And then I have a friend who has two kids, 13 months apart, who both went to preschool and one was held back for K and the other was held back for 1st grade.

At this point we (my family) are pretty much unschoolers. I say "pretty much" because radical unschoolers wouldn't consider us to be unschooling.

Robbie, I truly believe that small children should be learning through play and exploration and not at desks. Some preschools and even grade schools are/were good at fostering imaginative play. But all this "no child left behind" garbage has everyone focusing on scores and red tape rather than creating great thinkers.

2xy wrote:

thepossiblepolice wrote:Oh I don't think school is at all necessary and if I were a more patient person I'd consider unschooling even.

But, I do think that kids who are going to public school for kindergarten benefit enough from a quality preschool that the ones who don't are seen as "behind". That doesn't make it necessary but it does make it something that I wouldn't want my kids to miss.

I guess personal experiences will affect the way a person views the issue. I didn't go to preschool and neither did my oldest son, but we both entered school far ahead of most of the other kids. I could read fluently and write in cursive when I went to school. DS could read, write fairly well, and was doing math on about a 2nd grade level in Kindergarten. He read Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone when he was 6yo. And then I have a friend who has two kids, 13 months apart, who both went to preschool and one was held back for K and the other was held back for 1st grade.

At this point we (my family) are pretty much unschoolers. I say "pretty much" because radical unschoolers wouldn't consider us to be unschooling.

Robbie, I truly believe that small children should be learning through play and exploration and not at desks. Some preschools and even grade schools are/were good at fostering imaginative play. But all this "no child left behind" garbage has everyone focusing on scores and red tape rather than creating great thinkers.

I agree with you here.

I agree too, I've got a book called What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten?, I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, I really should, but the author does mention that there are kindergarteners who are worked so hard these days because of the mandatory standardized test scores that everybody has to bring up at all costs, that these 5 year olds are suffering from nervous breakdowns because of all the work and the pressure. Exactly how in the HELL is that supposed to benefit the children any?

Supernova wrote:I agree too, I've got a book called What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten?, I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, I really should, but the author does mention that there are kindergarteners who are worked so hard these days because of the mandatory standardized test scores that everybody has to bring up at all costs, that these 5 year olds are suffering from nervous breakdowns because of all the work and the pressure. Exactly how in the HELL is that supposed to benefit the children any?

It doesn't. I don't think ANYONE believes that it is good for the kids. I think that they think it's justified to keep the school running and not lose funding though. I don't agree with it at all, and I'm glad that our school would rather be labeled "failing" than provide a less than great real education. When they could be cramming for the test, they are instead taking field trips to see plays and go to the zoo, and they use music and visual arts to reinforce what the kids are learning in math and reading...It's not all about rote memorization of facts for the test...

But if they lose all their funding because they don't make AYP for 3 years in a row then that's going to suck.

That law needs to change, IMO.

2xy wrote:I kind of figured it was pretty obvious that we homeschool. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Ah, that makes more sense, so did we.

thepossiblepolice wrote:But, I do think that kids who are going to public school for kindergarten benefit enough from a quality preschool that the ones who don't are seen as "behind". That doesn't make it necessary but it does make it something that I wouldn't want my kids to miss.

You're right; those kids are seen as behind. Key word being SEEN. My 1st Grade teacher SAW me as behind, but we proved her wrong time and time again. Who cares how the kids are SEEN? If they are not behind, they will quickly shut up anybody who thinks they are. And honestly, I think Preschool makes kids fall behind more than it lifts them up. So the heck with being seen as behind. Maybe those teachers are just facing the wrong way and thus the kids they see as behind are really the ones who are ahead.