VPK
I was approached by an older woman, asking whether or not the boys went to preschool. When I said no, she assumed that it was because we couldn’t afford to send them to a private preschool. She mentioned that there was voluntary pre-kindergarten run by the state. Isn’t all preschool voluntary? And how the heck did preschool become an issue of the state? I remember voting “no” on this whole “VPK” thing. Apparently, you didn’t.
Public preschool is putting private preschool out of business. Replacing thriving businesses that provide jobs and tax revenue is bad for the state’s economy and reduces educational and childcare options. Like Head Start, the state scared parents into thinking that if their child doesn’t go to preschool, he will fall behind and never succeed. Institutionalizing tiny citizens is not a prescription for success.
On the contrary, VPK is a prescription for stress. Too early a separation from their parents and a policy to learn math, language arts, science, and social studies harmful to preschool-aged children. Accountability will be required in the form of testing. This kind of academic stress takes a physical toll on young children, reducing tolerance to viral and bacterial infections that result in chronic childhood illnesses. VPK will actually make your children sick!
And let’s not ever underestimate the interests of drug companies in public preschool. Preschoolers will be tested, and funding of preschools will be based on test results. What happens when a little kid doesn’t test well? Will a small child’s inability to focus be diagnosed as ADD? Stress, depression, and bad behavior are common problems for institutionalized tikes that can all be remedied with drugs. Sure, one advantage of VPK is that children will be identified at a younger age as having “special needs” and get “intervention” sooner.
State preschools are artificial environments where children’s time is managed for the purpose of crowd control. Actions and behavior are continuously monitored and judged. Individual needs are diminished or neglected for the sake of group management. A child’s curiosity and questions can only be dealt with when it is convenient for the instructor, and interest in anything has a time limit because, “we have to move on to the next group activity.” Natural body rhythms are ignored and artificial ones imposed in the form of circle time, free time, nap time, snack time, and potty time. A little kid in that environment learns quickly that trusting his own instincts and impulses is wrong – and should be ignored. A tiny kid must submit and surrender the self, so that self-identity, self-interest, self-direction, and self-confidence may not be discovered or explored. Children are forced through persuasion, rewards, and coercion to comply with an authority that does not have their individual best interests at heart.
HOME is a child’s best preschool. Little kids deserve a secure place to spend their days where they are encouraged to learn – especially in the first five years of life, when their brains are growing rapidly. Since the beginning of humanity, parents have provided a safe place, a natural routine, a stimulating environment, nutritious food, and loving interaction. Children become happy, capable learners, fully prepared to successfully tackle academics and life skills when they are developmentally ready to do so. Learning at home with loving parents (who may also thoughtfully use appropriate private preschool programs in their community) is a better model for the healthy development of young children than any state preschool could ever be.
Apparently, all this goes out the window when you see the cute, happy logo that the state drew up.
