Is All-Day Kindergarten An Economic Fix?
All-day kindergarten: what a silly solution. We must be fools to even consider its merit. If the economy is lagging and education is the reason, the finger needs to be pointed at the changes in education that grew out of the 1960s and the work-to-rule unionization of teachers — the public education system itself. If education is the solution, the improved product will not begin hitting the streets for years — and it will never be the result of government programs as only the market can solve the education issue.FULL ARTICLE
Comments (11)
David St. Hubbins
The push for all day Kindergarten is two-fold:
1st. The teachers union wants your kids earlier and longer.
2nd. Parents want free day care.
This has absolutely nothing to do with education, so analyzing it in that framework is a waste of time.
Published: September 14, 2006 8:53 AM
Mario
The attraction to voters for all-day kindergarten is that it acts as de facto government-sponsored day care, which is far more controversial. Under the guise of school taxes (which, though bad and unjust, is largely accepted by the general public as being "necessary") money can be taken from some and rerouted for the convenience of those with children. Politicians, meanwhile, avoid the obvious criticism by portraying themselves as working to give kids a fighting chance in the global market.
Published: September 14, 2006 9:39 AM
Paul Marks
Yes disguised day care - with all the destruction of family life that this means ("but both parents have to work" - when then cut taxes so that both parents do not have to work).
As for the financial costs, ignored of course (Bastiat - what is seen and what is it not seen). If the benefits of a project outweigh the costs then convincing people to voluntarily fund it should not be impossible - if the threat of violence (taxation) has to be used to finance something then the costs of the project outweigh the benefits.
Published: September 14, 2006 11:07 AM
Warren
It is a fact that children are ready to learn by the age of three. You think all day Kindergarten is a feel good initiative? Why not all day K-4, i.e. have children begin school at age 4?
In an economy that is squeezing the middle class and forcing mom and dad to work, our children are better off in a school setting than day care.
Passionate teachers and children ready to learn is the antidote to competition from our Asian and European counterparts.
I agree that government schools are not the answer, but until the charter movement picks up steam, I am afraid the state and all its regulatory standards will have to become more flexible and efficient meeting its objectives.
Published: September 14, 2006 12:00 PM
David Spellman
Yup, its state-supported daycare. Our affluent middle class community just went to all-day kindergarten because it was less hassle for care arrangements. My wife is trying to figure out how our youngest can qualify for pre-school even though he doesn't manifest any of the deficiencies needed. (If you get the impression that my wife clashes with me on social and political issues, you would be underestimating the rancor. I would like to do homeschool, she is a public school teacher.)
Published: September 14, 2006 12:14 PM
David Spellman
Who is this Warren guy? How did he find his way to mises.org? This is a libertarian website. We don't believe in government coercion, regulation, or state-supported crime.
If you want to put your kids in school, it is up to you to find passionate teachers and a curriculum that appeals to you. It doesn't matter how wonderful the state controlled schools might be, they are immoral because they are paid for by taxes and require attendance.
The reason our society is collapsing into ashes is because of people who say "Well, it may not be the best, but it is what we have and we should learn to live with it." Dig your own grave, but don't demand that I dig mine.
Published: September 14, 2006 12:29 PM
Sione
How imbecilic are parents these days?
Would you really send your innocent young children into an institution where you do not know the parents of the other children? Where you do not know what those people are like? Where you do not know their values or qualities as people?
Can you justify sending your children to an institution where you do not know the "teachers" and staff? Where you do not know what they will expose your children to? Where you are uncertain of the values they espouse or even the values they live by?
What exactly are your children going to be exposed to? What exactly will they be "taught"? (state run schools never can tell you the answer to this, so one would surmise the same goes for a state run kindergarten).
A person who is baby-sitting or caring for your children in your absence is your agent. You need to be in complete control of what goes on. After all these are your children we are talking about.
Home schooling is the only answer for early childhood that I've come across. That way you choose who to expose the children to and who to exclude 100%. YOU get to evaluate the teachers before they spend ANY time with your children. In my case I choose who teaches them music, history, mathematics, literature, languages, and so on. I also get to ensure that the children that they play with are OK and are attended to by parents who are decent and who actually can be bothered with all the effort of looking out for their own kids.
Parents who dump their children into those state run junior penitentiaries are to be despised for the lazy, incompetent brutes they are. They never should have kids in the first place.
As for the politicians, all they are doing is exploiting the stupid and manufacturing another generation of stupid. More gear meat for the machine. Is that what you really want for your children?
Sione
Published: September 14, 2006 4:11 PM
Sione Vatu
And I get to determine what ideas and values and knowledge my children learn about.
Sione
Published: September 14, 2006 8:25 PM
65cxv
It's a pretty sad situation. Inflation makes it so people have to work more to support themselves, giving them much less time with their children. They get taxed for the schools their kids are raised in, and never have much of a chance to challenge it.
Published: September 15, 2006 3:42 AM
billwald
The purpose of the govt school system is to free up the parents so they can work, to keep the kids off the streets, to provide workers for the local job market, and to keep the voters dependant upon the govt. In other words, it is very successful.
Published: September 16, 2006 12:36 PM
cybema
I think we are all aware that the teacher's union and the redistributionists love this idea.
Is the entire public school system a case of Marxist economics--that the value of all produce is the result of the labor--do we spend all this money on education because the skills of the worker drive the value of all produce? Obviously, the role of capital and technological advances that capital enables are vastly deemphasized realtive to labor's value. Give me comments on this theory.
Published: September 25, 2006 9:08 PM