tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post3486735429011149056..comments2023-11-03T04:00:24.785-04:00Comments on Kentucky School News and Commentary: Commish Focuses on Early Ed, Partnerships, StandardsRichard Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-47477899023987418102010-02-09T12:56:05.744-05:002010-02-09T12:56:05.744-05:00Cost effective?
Well, it's certainly costly, ...Cost effective?<br /><br />Well, it's certainly costly, but I think it is a worth while investment.<br /><br />Economists are always counting the costs of the undereducated on our society. Most seem to think that we save money in the long run.... avoiding incarceration....less spent on social programs.....close achievement gaps...<br /><br />I agree that head start does not seem to show the best results. I get the sense there is a lot of focus on the kids' social needs rather than a more rigorous academic approach - so far as I can tell. (I have little expertise on head start - other than sitting in on a few meetings and, of course, the reports.) But if we can level the playing field to a greater extent before kindergarten, I do not see a downside.<br /><br />If we could maintain the gains we see in elementary, through middle and high school, we'd all be singing a different song.<br /><br />The problem as I see it is that we have preschool opportunities for the rich and poor, but not the working poor. Arguably, this is the segment of society we ought to most want to support - those who have shown a willingness to work everyday, but at low wages, which prevent them from affording private preschools, while they are denied public preschools. That's a lot of kids whose parents generally value education, whose kids might be able to pull themselves up if they got off to a better start.<br /><br />But you know, sometimes we have to put down the reports and think about what we know about our own kids. (I can't remember. You've got kids, right?) <br /><br />How long did you wait before thinking about the educational needs of your kids and grandkids? I'll bet you thought about it, and began planning for them before they were born.<br /><br />Why? Because you know in your heart how important it is for a kid to get started off right.Richard Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-57199071461654963162010-02-08T09:13:01.676-05:002010-02-08T09:13:01.676-05:00I am really having problems deciding if the presch...I am really having problems deciding if the preschool programs are truly a cost-effective way to go.<br /><br />Here's why: I keep seeing reports that Head Start studies persistently show this major preschool program's effects don't survive past the first few years in elementary school. <br /><br />That could point to problems with elementary schools, or it could point to something deficient in the Head Start preschool program -- something that just doesn't show up until a bit later in children's lives.<br /><br />I would like to hear others' comments on this really confusing problem because I am not against programs that really work, and on the surface it would seem that the persistent Head Start findings just don't make sense -- but those findings are persistent, and they are "out there."Richard Inneshttp://www.bluegrasspolicy-blog.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com