Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Article about long term effects of preschool on IQ

it seems like the best thing you can do is keep kids away from their stressful families as much as possible?

Universal high-quality preschool is one of the best investments society can make.

I am concerned that preschool education has become like organic food -- a creed in which adherents place faith based on selective consideration of evidence and without weighing costs against benefits. The result may be the overselling of generic preschool education as a societal good and a concomitant lack of attention to the differential impact of different types of preschool experience on different categories of children. So just as some but not all foods grown under some but not all organic conditions may be worth their price because of their extra nutritional benefits and lower environmental impacts, some but not all children exposed to some but not all preschool programs may experience lasting benefits. And because preschool education like organic food is expensive, it pays to know what works best, for whom, under what circumstances.

WRT Headstart in particular, the model of training disadvantaged parents to teach Headstart classes may benefit from some re-working, as the minimal training involved means that children in Headstart are largely taught by the individuals using the same disadvantaged parenting that they already receive at home.

Let families keep more of the money they earn and decide if they want to send their children to daycare/preschool or instead keep them at home with a parent or relative.