Kind of disagree. My kid learned to read at home and it helps me broaden his horizons from just road repair to also include mushrooms, culinary, season-themed stories and (sometimes) other stuff. It does mean that I buy him lots of books and some of them go unopened, but at least he has some interests that we can pursue when he’s sick and has to stay indoors. I certainly wouldn’t be able to count on school to teach him to enjoy reading.
Your example isn’t one of preschool being effective but one of parents teaching their children being effective. It’s plausible that you get less of that kind of parent/child interaction when children spend a lot of time in preschool.
I was answering the “it is not about preschool, it is about developmental milestones” part; and I meant that whether preschool fails at doing something it should (have the kids learn to read), and then later kids do read anyway, it doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits from having them learn earlier. Parents should not hope that preschool gives their kids some advantage in further “academic achievments”, parents should be interested in the real stuff. Find their own parameters and evaluate them. People already do it, they just don’t want to own up to it.
BTW, having the kid in preschool did lessen our interaction, which made it easier to interact.
And preschool might suck as a hammer, but it sucks much less as a measuring stick.
Kind of disagree. My kid learned to read at home and it helps me broaden his horizons from just road repair to also include mushrooms, culinary, season-themed stories and (sometimes) other stuff. It does mean that I buy him lots of books and some of them go unopened, but at least he has some interests that we can pursue when he’s sick and has to stay indoors. I certainly wouldn’t be able to count on school to teach him to enjoy reading.
Your example isn’t one of preschool being effective but one of parents teaching their children being effective. It’s plausible that you get less of that kind of parent/child interaction when children spend a lot of time in preschool.
I was answering the “it is not about preschool, it is about developmental milestones” part; and I meant that whether preschool fails at doing something it should (have the kids learn to read), and then later kids do read anyway, it doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits from having them learn earlier. Parents should not hope that preschool gives their kids some advantage in further “academic achievments”, parents should be interested in the real stuff. Find their own parameters and evaluate them. People already do it, they just don’t want to own up to it.
BTW, having the kid in preschool did lessen our interaction, which made it easier to interact.
And preschool might suck as a hammer, but it sucks much less as a measuring stick.