The hot topic these days seems to be homeschool preschool. Or really we could talk about preschool in general. It doesn’t just have to be within the homeschool arena. There’s more and more talk these days in the education industry about making preschool a mandatory grade level. This isn’t surprising. Just think of all the money that could be made. All the new jobs. The administrative requirements. The regulations. The pharmaceuticals. It’s a cash-cow just waiting to moo.
That’s how kindergarten got started way back when. Kindergarten was supposed to be that preschool year. Now kindergarten is all about reading and writing and advanced calculus, not to mention beginning that all important process of dividing the ranks of children into various predetermined groups that range anywhere from POTENTIAL GENIUS to LEARNING DISABLED to IN DIRE NEED OF MEDICATION AND AN IEP. It is the beginning of the separation of children into the Have’s and the Have-Nots.
Is it any wonder that most parents opt for preschool these days? Wouldn’t you opt for preschool, to give your child the best possible step forward, to basically help them get into the GOOD, SMART, WELL-ADJUSTED GROUP? Because once your kid is classified into a Have-Not position, there’s really no way out.
Oh sure, some parents put their kids into preschool so their kids will have fun, or make friends, but really the vast majority of people are putting their kids into preschool so that they won’t be behind when kindergarten starts.
Doesn’t the system set us up for failure, if it dictates that your child is already behind at the BEGINNING?
And shouldn’t homeschooling consider turning away from that mentality?
For those of you who, like me, have preschoolers in your home, can I suggest that you just play. And just go places. And just eat fruit. And just scribble with crayons. And just nap. And just read the same damn Arthur storybooks over and over again. Or Clifford. Or whatever it is they want to read that you’re so sick of you want to scream.
Let your preschool program be the antithesis of preschool. Or let it be whatever keeps you sane and your preschooler happy while you’re getting schoolwork with older children done. Or let it be a slow and steady course in not waiting until the last possible milisecond before you run to the bathroom to pee.
I’m not telling you to not do preschool. Because just by being with your little ones and doing what you already do, you’re doing preschool. You really are. And so are they.
This gives me the funniest image of all newborns as preschoolers. They are technically pre-school. Imagine us judging their ability to be “successful” babies. ‘I think that sucking technique shows some delay. We’d better put that one in special ed just to be sure she “gets the help she needs.” ‘ Good God. I’d laugh if it didn’t seem possible. I swear, the more we homeschool the sillier the whole industry of school looks.
Katherine’s comment reminds me of a story I read yesterday. The newest trend is Potty Training at Birth. No diapers. Ever. Peeing against trees and in public sinks. How could they think that is a good idea?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070827/ap_on_re_us/diaper_free_babies
In Iowa at least, Kindergarten isn’t yet mandatory. Compulsory (gotta love that word) Attendance Age is 6 at the start of the school year, which is 1st grade. I could say I wasn’t worried about compulsory preschool here, but I think the govt. providing it would be all that it would take. Everyone sends their kids to Kindergarten here anyway, most not knowing they even have a choice. The same would probably go for preschool, if like Kindergarten, it was provided at the local public school building. The cost of preschool is the only thing keeping it from joining the Great Government Daycare that is the public school system.
I think letting an infant or child pee in a sink (public, private, kitchen, bathroom, whatever) could be construed as a health hazard. Yeah, I know, the urine is sterile when it comes out, but STILL….
I saw that article this morning as well. It is definitely ODD. Not something I would do. But way back in prehistoric times I guess you couldn’t just pop in to a Walgreens for a quick pack of Pampers.
I don’t get the argument that it’s great because they don’t have to lug around a diaper bag. I’m pretty sure they’re still lugging around a bag full of extra clothes and toys and burping cloths (unless they make the babies burp over sinks or trash cans or natural streams or something). Diapers or not, babies have GEAR.
Now, if they start making reading Shakespeare while peeing against a tree mandatory for all infants, and then start classifying babies as to how well the babies perform, then I’ll be really worried. But for now, if parents would rather run for it instead of letting a diaper catch the mess, then I guess it’s their right.
And they can have it all to themselves, if you ask me.
But I do have to say, it would be a hell of a lot of fun to watch my mother witness something like that. She’d have a coronary right there on the spot.
The Great Government Daycare….I love that. In Colorado it was the same. Kindergarten was optional. But most everyone did it. Compulsory schooling age was 6.
Here in PA, though, the compulsory school age is 8, believe it or not. Other than the late starting age, though, they’re pretty much the Gestapo of homeschooling regulation. At least I don’t have to report for another year, though.
I did elimination communication (diaper free) with my son and it was great and I’d do it again in a heartbeat if I wasn’t done having kids. I only wish I’d taken it seriously when my daughter was a baby. But that’s ok that people are mocking it. Before I tried it I thought it was hysterically crazy too (though, for the record, most of us still put the baby in diapers, we just don’t rely on them – and now that I’ve done EC, the idea of a baby sitting in urine/poop for even a few minutes grosses me out).
As for the push for preschool, yeah, I don’t get it either. But then I unschool so my opinion is often discounted because I don’t start “real homeschooling” just because the kid turns a certain age. So, therefore, I don’t know what I’m talking about when I say little kids might be better off just playing, LOL!
This is the “hot topic” right now, isn’t it? I’ve just written a post explaining how I “do preschool”, and I’m sure I’ll be talking a lot more about it!
Sara,
I saw your post, and Mother Crone’s. It’s what got me thinking, I guess.
And Shannon, I’m glad to hear from someone with experience in these matters. It just goes to show that there’s about as many ways to potty train as there are to homeschool.
We were out and about today and my husband picked up a couple of school supply lists thinking it would give us a giggle for the ride home. Kind of a “look what we don’t have to buy” game. Anyway, one of the schools had a list for each grade, 1 thru 6 and also a list for “junior K” and “senior K.” The other school list started with a list for 3yo K, then 4yo K, 5yo K, and then on with the 1-8 lists.
I just don’t get it. I guess people go for it figuring that if their kids are in daycare all day anyway, may as well try to teach them something.
Our oldest is 7 now and I am planning on trying to get a bit more serious with him this year, but in all honesty, I just don’t care. As much as he annoys me sometimes, I really enjoy him getting to be a kid and I’m not willing to force him to do school work when there is play to be had.
Anyway, its late now and I’m not sure what my point is other than I’m glad I’m not buying my 3yo a “large backpack, big enough for a 9×12 piece of paper to fit in without being folded, NO WHEELS” for school this year.
Oh man…don’t get me started on supply lists. Urgh.
My oldest is turning 7 next week. I know exactly what you mean by enjoying watching her be a kid. Her rainbow art this afternoon is an excellent case in point.
Oh, we’ll do lessons, sure. But not ALL day long. Nope. No way. Too much play to be had.
I’ve blogged on starting too early, although I didn’t say it with such eloquence. It was more of a rant. I read about the infant training a long time ago but never thought I could do it. Although, I don’t remember it condoning pissing in sinks. Oh well.
It does get younger and younger. I fear that in my lifetime we’ll be expected to enroll our kids in school as soon as they learn to roll over, maybe before then. Play is so, so, so important for little ones. It’s all they really need. We’re fairly structured around here, but that’s to keep me on course. And structure here means after breakfast we’ll read a story, then run around the yard, then paint… Though I’m not opposed to making cookies instead of painting, or staying outside and playing, or packing up and going to the park, or whatever happens. That’s how kids learn the best.
I’m stumbling on this thread a year late, but here’s my two cents anyway. I actually just posted on this topic on my blog. What seems strange to me is all the college-educated parents who are worried about compulsory preschool, and who apparently feel a lot of pressure to send their kids to preschool.
Compulsory preschool is not happening. However, universal preschool should be happening — meaning, preschool should be available to everyone who wants it. Parents like the ones on this thread ARE doing what they need to do, and their children will be just fine in school (should they not be homeschooled). Many parents either don’t or can’t get their children ready to learn, and their children need help.
The achievement gap between children in poverty and children of middle-class families is huge. Children in poverty NEED high quality preschool. They NEED to have the experiences that your children get from you just naturally.
Don’t want to send your child to preschool? Don’t, and I say that as a preschool teacher. But let’s all join together to fight for high-quality preschool for children who will otherwise arrive at kindergarten years behind, and maybe will never catch up.