Teaching in the 408: Absurdity in the Pre-School Debate

One less argument against Prop 82
Teaching in the 408 directs our attention to a topic that I hope to spend a lot more time talking about in the coming months: Rob Reiner's Universal PreSchool initiative, Prop 82. Here he knocks down one talking point from the opposition: Absurdity in the Pre-School Debate

the critique [of Prop 82] that seems to get the most play, the one that is consistently repeated, highlighted on edu-blogs and op-eds, is the finding that learning gains demonstrated by poor kids who attend preschool programs begin to fade by grades 3-4. Such claims are repeated here: SjMerc: Preschool reform measure won't close learning gap for poor, although without the usual misguided emphasis.

I keep seeing this. We should not advocate that more poor kids from non-white ethnic groups attend preschool, because 4 years later the academic gains attributable to their attendance in preschool have faded. Four years later.

Who the hell cares what happens four years later? The point of the program is to work toward the goal of ensuring that every kid who enters kindergarten does so with the skills necessary to be successful. In kindergarten.

Point taken.