Iowa's Preschool Program. Babysitter or Necessity?
Seniors and Volunteers Could Fix Problem
The House wants to base preschool on whether or not you can afford to pay for it. Many generations have managed to survive without going to preschool. Would it make better sense if we substituted the word babysitting for preschool? Instead of parents paying for babysitters, they have the state pay for preschool. Works out well for the parents. What are kids 4 years of age learning in preschool? Colors, shapes, tying shoes, numbers, ABCs and how to get along with others? Didn't we all learn that at home before starting kindergarten without the aid of preschool?
Saving Iowa $60 million dollars is huge. What can we do to satisfy both sides of this preschool debate? Could we pare down red tape and regulations? Could we use the one big untapped resource that every community has? Could we enlist our senior citizens and folks who have the time and desire to help kids? I think we could.
Run the background checks, write gas vouchers, use the same building or class rooms that are for preschoolers now and let citizens teach or babysit the kids. Seniors can teach colors, shapes, tying of shoes, ABCs and the like to kids. Or, they can keep the kids busy and safe like a babysitter would. Its called using your resources and its also called volunteering. If parents absolutely have to have their kids in preschool, let them pay the gas for someone else to watch and maybe teach them. Teaching kids preschool hardly falls under academic genius.
Its easy to demand programs when you are using other people's money. The taxpayers have their hands full and to demand free preschool for kids is selfish. Let Iowa lead the way in good old common sense. We may find out that this system does as much for Senior health and well-being as it does for the kids. Preschool by any other name? Babysitting.
Published by Sherry Tomfeld
Gardening and food preservation are her passion, she has been doing both for 30 years.Working thousands of head of hogs, raising cattle, goats and chickens to being lead cook in a 90 resident nursing home. S... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentSince pre school is not manditory why are the resources spent educating the children of illegal aliens and paying for translators to be in the classroom at tax payer expense? If translators are needed shouldn't those that need this be expected to split the cost of this service since it is so costly and at a time when the citizen children are facing cuts for their education. They want yo be here to improve themselves why can't they support some of their needs? They need to be held accountable for something other than breaking down our doors.
Wow! With full disclosure, I am a certified Paraeducator at a preschool in Iowa, I am also the niece of this article's author. I am no babysitter. Some of the kids I work with have no one. I am a nurse, a mother, a cook, a friend and a teacher to these children. Have you seen what passes as private babysitters or daycare? It's not pretty! I'm lucky, my son's daycare provider is great, not everyone is that blessed. You want seniors to take care of the children? Great. What happens when a kid has a melt down and starts kicking? I don't want Grandma getting knocked out! Or when a dad desides to come take his kids back from his ex wife? Does Grandpa have training in how to restrain people? Not to mention we are also CPR certified and take classes to stay up to date on the latest teaching methods. You don't want to use tax dollars, fine, but don't axe the program. And I do not "demand programs with other peoples money." I PAY TAXES!
Very well written article. I agree with you on using other resources such as seniors and others volunteering to teach preschool children when single parents or both parents must work outside the home. However, to cut out preschools completely would also lead to loss of jobs and increase the unemployment rate.
Very good article.
I agree with this very well written article, My granddaughter was sent to preschool, She was way ahead of what they did there. She was bored. Then she went to Kindergarten and again did the same things as preschool. More boredom.....Now she is going to first grade and again knows what they teach there, What a waste of time and taxpayers money,
My daughter had taught her her letters, how to read, how to use sign language, know her colors all before she by the time she was one and then added on to her education by learning how to solve puzzles . So she learned it all and more and she is only 5 now.
(still having sign-in problems and had to type this comment twice!) I can see both sides of this. Tax money needs to be better spent and your ideas could work if people worked together to pull it off. With more single parent families and both parents needing to work out of the home, there often isn't as much opportunity to teach the kids everything they need to learn at home. It would be nice if one parent could always be at home to teach the kids. But I understand that state budgets are tight as well and other solutions need to be considered. Nice job on this.
The children of poor working, or dysfunctional families ,many who do not speak English, need quality preschool education not babysitting if they are to succeed later in elementary school Not all children have responsible babysitters to teach them at home. Simplistic article. Check out Head Start and learn about the curriculum and skills children need to succeed later in school. Earl childhood education is wise use of tax payer money.
Well done!