Success in Public Schools?

Is bringing educational standards to younger and younger ages really
helping our students achieve success in the public schools or is it
just another failed idea to improve our education system? It seems that

toto...

There is a conflict here between those who advocate *natural growth*
of children and those who would advocate *concerted cultivation* of
children. Imo, the early years are really better suited to natural
growth with exposure to many kinds of academic skills, but with
teachers who use play based methods for this exposure. Children
should explore using hands-on materials with guidance from adults
who understand the concepts, but who also understand child
development and scaffolding.

Note that hot house plants are not as well-developed as plants which
are grown in the natural environment. The same is true with children.

If we want children to continue to love learning as the grow, we need
to remember to meet them where they are and to encourage them
without pushing them.

students in early education classes lose valuable opportunities to
develop social skills, motor skills, and cognitive skills because these
early education classes are now focusing more on academic achievement
and eliminating free choice and imaginative play in order to seem more

toto...

Obviously, some early education programs are better than others.
I have worked in many preschools and they have not eliminated
free play or imaginative play yet though the pressure is high to do
developmentally inappropriate activities in most schools. This is
particularly true in public school headstart and preK programs.

credible. Also, does academic instruction at these young ages actually
help improve our failing public schools?

toto...

Which failing public schools? This generalization always makes me
grimace. The public schools where my children went are NOT failing.
There are some children even in those schools who are not getting
a decent education, but by and large, this very large public school
educates the kids well. Many of the problems with individual
districts have more to do with the demographics of the district than
with the schools themselves. Public schools, despite their good
intentions, cannot remedy societal problems that prevent children
from learning.