I don't support univeral public (taxpayer-funded) preschool, because for many young children, the ideal environment is to stay home with their mothers, who spend a little time teaching them directly and a lot of time giving them various learning experiences. Society should not subsidize preschool over the stay-at-home alternative.
Umm. I'm not really sure why mothers are the only or best ones to stay at home with their kids. I know a couple stay at home dads who are wonderful parents. Their kids seem very happy and very well-adjusted. And I don't see anything wrong with daycare or preschool that allows both parents to work.
In fact, many parents have no choice. Not to mention that some kids are better off in school or preschool because of suboptimal home environments.
Bostonian, mandating that kids should stay at home with their moms is just as dictatorial as mandating that kids should go to universal preschool. It strikes me as odd that you advocate for different educational options for gifted students, yet fail to see that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work with adults ("Moms and only moms must stay home with their kids until age 5") any more than it does for schoolkids.
We put our bright girl with a January birthday in preschool at age 2y8mo, and she has done fine. She will be 3y8mo this September, and we will put her in a preschool class with 4-year-olds.
Hmm. Why did you put your daughter in preschool if she'd be better off at home with mom?
Val
