OK, everybody feel guilty now so the state can spend millions on pre-school without us raising a squawk:
Gov. Mitch Daniels and Republican lawmakers want teachers and schools evaluated on student performance and parents to have more options, but experts say preschools and other early childhood learning have more impact on success in the classroom.
The Indianapolis Star reported Thursday that Indiana is one of just eight states that spend no state dollars on preschool programs, and two-thirds of states require children to start school earlier than Indiana's standard age of 7.
"Of all the things you could do, preschool probably has the largest impact on school success," said Steve Barnett of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
"Experts agree," you see, so shut up about how your money is being spent. This story pretends that there is no disagreement about the effectiveness of preschool. But there is disagreement -- some say preschool is not effective, some even say it can be harmful. See here and here and here, for example. I think new insights about how the brain works and some research into early education do show enough to keep discussing preschool, but the "debate is not over," as some like to insist it is on subjects near to their hearts.
