Should State Governments provide preschool for all?

Part of President elect Obama’s campaign platform was support for states to provide voluntary, universal preschool. Many studies have shown that kids who go to preschool are more likely to learn to read early and are more likely to succeed in kindergarten and beyond, since the first five years of a child’s life are crucial in learning. Therefore, this seems like a good idea to me. What do you think? Does anyone come from a state where preschool is available free to all, such as Oklahoma or Alabama?

What Is High-Quality preschool?

In a high-quality preschool program, learning is taking place. Children are engaged in small groups reading books, building interesting structures with blocks, and determining what sinks and what floats at the water table. Teachers ask questions, reward successes and guide learning. The room has a sense of purpose, organization, and excitement. High-quality preschool can be found in many settings: schools, faith-based centers, Head Start Programs, and public and private childcare centers. However, without a commitment from states to building and supporting high-quality systems, families often struggle to find well-designed programs that prepare their children for kindergarten, elementary school, and beyond. Research shows that children who attend high-quality preschool programs perform better in school and throughout life. They have more advanced language and math skills and enter kindergarten with an understanding of the classroom environment. The following link can help Parents Identify a High Quality Preschool. http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/identify.preschool.5.html

Today’s Kindergarten Is Yesterday’s First Grade

The problem we encounter with today's educational system is that preschool has really replaced what kindergarten used to be and now Kindergarten is what 1st grade used to be, educationally. So, even though we can say that children should be taught at home so they can get play dates and be kids etc, the realities of the situation are, that the children who haven't gone to preschool or haven't had exposure to letters, numbers, colors, shapes etc before Kindergarten are really behind before they even get started.