04/14/2009

Concerns about Pre-K Movement

In his book, Standardized Childhood: The Political and Cultural Struggle over Early Education (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2007) Bruce Fuller voices strong concerns about the trend for states to adapt Pre-K initiatives funding through public school systems.  Sociologist Fuller traveled the country to understand the ideologies of childhood and the raw political forces at play. In his book he details how progressives earnestly seek to extend the rigors of public schooling down into the lives of very young children. Fuller then illuminates the stiff resistance from those who hold less trust in government solutions and more faith in nonprofits and local groups in contributing to the upbringing of young children.

Fuller expresses alarm that small circle of “born–again preschool advocates” are forming powerful political alliances with teacher unions and other interests to move young children into school–based programs. seeking to create a more standard, state-run preschool system. For young children already facing the rigors of play dates and harried parents juggling the strains of work and family, Fuller observes, government is moving in to standardize childhood. Child care and early education already form a $54 billion industry nationwide, and the new preschool advocates aim to add yet another layer, proposing that we “leave no toddler behind,” lobbying for state–run systems that would corral all young children into standardized preschools. Traveling to states that are advancing this “brave new world” of child rearing, Fuller also observes that· requiring all preschool teachers to have a four–year bachelor’s degree is well intentioned, but yields no discernible benefits for children and drives away teachers who have sorely needed bilingual skills.

Standardized Childhood calls for a strong public investment in preschools that remain rooted in neighborhoods and are focused on children who empirically benefit the most—those from low–income families. The government can progressively allocate greater support without running one–size–fits–all preschools. Bruce Fuller powerfully illuminates culturally rooted variations on how young children learn, and challenges political leaders to nurture forms of early education that are responsive to America’s rainbow of families—rather than trying to standardize childhood.

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