Pre-school for kids: does it really work?

[viper37]

Only french text, here:
Text

Kids are going to school at 3-4 years old.  They have homework to do, they learn to read & write, they learn maths & english second language.
It costs 125$/month for one kid.

Parents say they are convinced they are doing the best thing for their kids, helping get a leg up in "real" school.  I have my doubts.

I remain unconvinced that you'll turn ordinary kids into geniuses by getting them in schools younger than usual.

Has there been any kind of studies on this?  I know stimulating a kid is good.  Teaching them words, numbers, reading simple phrases when they 4-5 years old, almost in kindergarden.  But full time school, with homeworks?  At 3 or 4 years old?  Shouldn't kids play when they're young, enjoy their time? 

[Razgovory]

I went to Pre-school, and look how far I came!  I could read before I entered Kindergarten but couldn't tell left from right or tie my shoe until I was teenager.

[Eddie Teach]

I went to pre-school as well. They didn't teach me how to tie my shoes and tell left from right either, but fortunately my parents filled in that gap while I was still a child. 

[MadImmortalMan]

My guess is it's a complete waste. But at least you don't need a babysitter.

[viper37]

My guess is it's a complete waste. But at least you don't need a babysitter.

it's Quebec.  We have state sponsored baby-sitters

[Ideologue]

My guess is it's a complete waste. But at least you don't need a babysitter.

it's Quebec.  We have state sponsored baby-sitters

Really?  That's pretty awesome.  Kudos, Quebec.

[derspiess]

I remain unconvinced that you'll turn ordinary kids into geniuses by getting them in schools younger than usual.

It won't, obviously.  But if the kid is capable of learning some of these things at an early age, why not teach them? 

I've had my 3.5 year old in pre-school for a couple months now & he clearly benefits from it.  He's learning some things that I wouldn't have thought to teach him myself and he is getting some needed socialization.  He's in the 4 to 4.5 year old class and seems to be doing fine.  If he can handle it, I'd like to keep him on an accelerated learning track as long as possible.

The class runs 5 days/week and we only have him in there 3 days, so they send the other 2 days of work home with him as optional homework.  I usually make him do the homework, though frankly it's as much for my benefit to watch him learn as it is for his to learn the stuff.

Should kids be playing at ages 3 & 4?  Yeah, but it's not like a few hours of pre-school is going to leave them with no playing time.  And at my kid's school, they build enough fun stuff into it to where they feel like they're playing about as much as learning.

I think there are definite long-term benefits to pre-school, but only if the kids continue to be challenged once they start elementary school. 

And $125/month is cheap.

[Malthus]

The major advantage is socialization with other kids.

[The Brain]

Only french text, here:
Text

Kids are going to school at 3-4 years old.  They have homework to do, they learn to read & write, they learn maths & english second language.
It costs 125$/month for one kid.

Parents say they are convinced they are doing the best thing for their kids, helping get a leg up in "real" school.  I have my doubts.

I remain unconvinced that you'll turn ordinary kids into geniuses by getting them in schools younger than usual.

Has there been any kind of studies on this?  I know stimulating a kid is good.  Teaching them words, numbers, reading simple phrases when they 4-5 years old, almost in kindergarden.  But full time school, with homeworks?  At 3 or 4 years old?  Shouldn't kids play when they're young, enjoy their time?

What's the harm?

[viper37]

My guess is it's a complete waste. But at least you don't need a babysitter.

it's Quebec.  We have state sponsored baby-sitters

Really?  That's pretty awesome.  Kudos, Quebec.

7$/day for daycare centers, wich are only available to about 1/3 of the children in the province.

[Razgovory]

Don't take them to one of those satanic preschools where they flush kids down the toilet.

[viper37]

It won't, obviously.  But if the kid is capable of learning some of these things at an early age, why not teach them? 

I was afraid that, in the long term, the kid might lose interest in school, suffer some kind of education burn-out.  I knew a couple of guys to wich it happenned.  They were brainiacs in their early teens, but by the end of highschool they were some fucked up morons.

I don't really know, honestly.  If feel it's kinda like those parents pushing their kids to play hockey hoping he'll turn into an NHL start and be their retirement fund.

I think there are definite long-term benefits to pre-school, but only if the kids continue to be challenged once they start elementary school. 

ah, there's a catch...

And $125/month is cheap.

Everything is cheaper in Quebec, except cars & taxes.

[Drakken]

7$/day for daycare centers, wich are only available to about 1/3 of the children in the province.

"Only" available to a third of the kiddies here? Should be less than that. In fact, it should be for parents who can afford none at all.

What Viper doesn't mention is that wealth is not considered as a threshold of admission, which would weed out the wealthier parents. Thus, parents who can afford sending their kiddies to private daycare clog the system away from those the system was aiming to help in the first place.

After all, why not? We are all equals after all, even when the household income is 100K/year and both parents drive a BMW. So we have the right to 7$/day daycare as much as others after we have to wait in queue six months for an opening. Parents ain't dumb, if they have the choice to park their kids away at 35$/day or at 7$/day, (because let's be honest, it's all about occupying their kids away at a cheap cost while daddy and mommy work) they'll choose the latter and make it worth waiting months for a place.

That is pure Quebec efficiency.

[viper37]

Actually, I do think there's a threshold for wealth.  I remember my cousin not being able to send her kids to the daycare center, she had to find a private, non subsideized one.

I used "only" because the left is quick to pat itself on the back saying it was a good move, giving good results.  Hard to derive any viable stats when 2/3 of the kids don't to to these.

[Ed Anger]

It keeps the twins from burning my house down.