Friday, April 6, 2012

Give parents preschool choices

In the latest issue of School Reform News, Ashley Bateman has an interesting story on early childhood education. She quotes Carrie Lukas, managing director of the Independent Women’s Forum:
The problem is not getting children into childcare but to give families the means to keep a parent at home, or encourage a system where money follows the child. Put power in the hands of parents to choose programs that make sense for them rather than a one-size-fits-all government program. ...

The fallacy is that early childhood programs lead to better education outcomes, but unfortunately there’s very little evidence that holds true. And a lot of families make sacrifices to keep kids at home. The value a stay-at-home mom is providing is seen as less when you can put a kid in a building nine-to-five. If other people get subsidized daycare, government is picking one lifestyle choice over another.

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