Pre-School for All

This is the entry that I have pondered for well over six months. Back then, it was becoming more evident that should Terry Branstad be elected governor of the Great State of Iowa, there was a very good chance that the best change in public education since the ruling of Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, was going to be changed, and not for the better. At least that is my opinion. At first my intent was to write a scathing indictment of Mr. Branstad, but I thought better of it and not knowing how the election would turn out, figured I would just wait. Why waste time and energy, and work myself all up, when it was not necessarily a reality.

Once elected, I thought once more about ripping into the ridiculous idea of chopping up the very positive step that has been taken to help ALL kids in our state and to give them a solid start to their education. But then I thought, you know what, the Democrats are still in control of the Senate and with Mr. Gronstal in charge there, it won’t be a rubber stamp that any of these drastic cuts to education will take place.

As we sit waiting for something to happen, it appears that nothing will happen. If the Senate does not act, things stay the same, which is okay as far as I am concerned, though it is quite troubling to think what the future will bring. The pre-school program is in my opinion, the best thing that has happened in public education in at least the last twenty-five years. There is no question that youngsters will be better prepared for elementary school if they have access to quality pre-school. Those who can afford top-quality private pre-school can still send their children to those facilities, just like they can send them to private schools when they are older. Everyone else can send their children to quality pre-schools that have oversight by the Department of Education and higher standards for teachers and the curriculum that is taught.

Why is this so important? To put it bluntly, because of the current structure of the American family. Many young families are not raising children the same as we were raised. We have far too many young children being born to unwed mothers who have little education and little means to provide for their child. We see four and five year olds showing up at our schoolhouse doors having never been read to and not potty trained. Some cannot count to ten or have any idea what the first three letters of the alphabet are. We also have youngsters in two parent homes where both parents work. They don’t have that contact with a mom during the day when so much of that important nurturing happens. The bottom line is that we have a generation of children that need pre-school if they are going to have a chance. And, more important, the bar is being raised so that our nation can compete, making this a critical situation.

Another reason it is so important, and I am not singling out anyone with this, some of our private pre-schools are not very good. They just aren’t. In many respects they are no more than childcare. I have been to Head Start programs where I wonder who is in charge of the circus. The great thing about our voluntary program in Iowa right now is that those communities that have them have quality, regulated programs for their children. We cannot lose this.