Week Three
Rethinking ECE talked about creating Universal Prekindergarten. From what I read it is a program created by the government to make low income families have the opportunity to send their child to preschool. I have mixed feeling about these programs. I do believe that all children deserve the right to attend a preschool or some type of institution where they have the chance to nurture their development before attending school. I have noticed how stressful it is on the child and the family about getting everyone “kindergarten ready.” During parent teacher conferences the number one concern parents have is if their child will be ready for kindergarten. I always think about how much pressure the children in our center have to get ready for kindergarten but I could not even imagine children just starting school in Kindergarten. I know there must be children that are so far behind already on the first day of school. If we had UPK that would help those children know what is expected and they could get that solid foundation for the rest of their academic career.
On the other hand, I don’t like the idea of UPK because it only reaches a small portion of the population. There are a lot of resources for low-income families and it seems, which has become more prevalent these past months, that the only children that can attend preschool are the high income and low-income families. The middle class families are having the hardest time adjusting to the high cost of childcare. The other thing that I don’t like is the fact that the government would create UPK. This past year has proved that the government (at least our current government) doesn’t hold education to a high value. I would hate to see a UPK created and then shut down because of funding, or shut down every Friday. I feel that a UPK wouldn’t be allowed to have the creativity or the tools to fully benefit the children.
In the New possibilities for ECE the chapter was a reflection on how much influence a teacher has to their class. I have to remember that each class is different and every year what worked for the last class doesn’t work for the next. I have a habit of reading examples of other preschools and getting really motivated and trying it in my own class and not getting the same results. I have to remember that children are different and I have to adjust my teaching to achieve the most out of them and to build them up.
