Next up - how about Pre-Pre-K schooling...

 

 

"And where are the simple joys of childhood?"

In the paper this morning, the Governor seems to have had quite a bit of time to think over the weekend. And not only think, but also spend wads of cash. If he is not planning on raising the gas tax, he is thinking about pouring more money into education. This time around it is Pre-K. For every 4 year old in the state. And it is going to cost a bundle. 

But the fruit on the tree is way too sweet, way too tempting for Progressive Democrats. What fruit? The almost $2B surplus. Even though most of us know the surplus resulted from an OVERCHARGING of taxes and should be returned to the people, Progressives do not see it that way. It is now THEIR money, and theirs to spend. So our Progressive Governor wants almost $250M of it to spend on a program that many do not think has any value.

So what is true and what is fuzzy on Pre-K? Now that we have instituted all day kindergarten for all students in the state, the next logical step in a preparation grade for kindergarten - in other words, Pre-K.

Studies have shown that Pre-K does help students get ready for kindergarten. That is a big "Duh!" - of course it would. However, where it gets fuzzy is gauging the long term benefits. Some studies show that by the second grade the difference between students who have had Pre-K and students who have not are almost negligible.

So just like with global warming (sorry - climate change) where the science and the proof are unsettled, Progressives want us to charge ahead full steam ahead anyway. Who in the world could support such a program that some don't think has any long term benefits? Why the all powerful teacher unions of course. Not just locally, but nationally also.

If we implement this and have our little darlings start all day schooling at 4 years old, it will just be a matter of time before some bright light wants more. "This is not fair! We have some children starting Pre-K who are not yet prepared. We need Pre-Pre-K!" And the beat will go on.

What I am the most concerned about (and I have addressed in previous articles) are twofold: 1) That we teach SOLID curriculum. Not something goofy like Common Core. Fact based learning, not feeling based learning. 2) We need longer school days, longer school years, and more school years. I have no problem with the addition of 13th and 14th grade to help prepare students for our global economy. Countries with emerging economies are going to school longer than our kids. With the right curriculum, these added two years could pay huge benefits.

I am fully expecting our House Republicans to tell the Governor, "Nice try" and then move on to return the surplus to the tax payers. Our education budget is bloated with fat. With the right tune-up, we could have better results without spending one more dime. In fact if we ran our education department like a business, we could have longer school days and years, get better results, and spend quite a bit less than we are now.