On the Prevalence of Preschool: A Necessary Evil

Early yesterday morning, I saw a Facebook post by Macomb Patch asking if .

I perked up: if there is one subject that can get my wheels turning and my fingers tapping, it’s education. As a former teacher, I feel very passionate about the importance of education ... preschool included.

Here’s the thing: kindergarten is not the same as it was 20 years ago. Students need to know sight words, write his/her name, read, and do *gasp* homework.  That leaves little time to learn how to get along in a classroom for the first time. Taking direction from someone other than a caregiver is a skill as is sharing with other students. The ability to stand in a line and transition between activities in a classroom setting are difficult to learn without actually being in a classroom.

And if kindergarten is going to be all-day, then I think preschool is even more essential.

My husband and I chose to send our daughter (who is now in kindergarten) to preschool even though she knew all the educational objectives for 3- and 4-year-old preschool. To be honest, she was reading by age 4.  However, learning how to thrive in a classroom is not something I could teach my daughter at home.

Was it hard to let her go? Was I sad that she was leaving me (for 2 and a half hours twice a week for the first time ever)?

Of course. 

But she was ready, and my issues with letting her go were not going to get in her way of the natural course of her development. By talking with other mom friends, I know some really wrestle with the decision to send their child or not. They feel their child is too young. They are confident they can teach their child the necessary skills at home. Maybe they are not ready to let go yet. And maybe their child is truly not ready yet, which is totally understandable.

I will say that my daughter’s preschool experience was not ideal. There were snags along the way. She had a tough time going back to school if she was sick or after a vacation. There were cliques of mean girls starting at the tender age of 3 (which could be a whole separate series of posts). My personal favorite was when her teacher told her she couldn’t be a dentist at the graduation ceremony since another
student already chose that. Overall, I don’t think that her teachers connected with and/or appreciated her introvert nature or her ability to read at such a young age.

At first, I did freak out. No one messes with my baby girl! However, that reactive response didn’t really serve anyone. I remember the first time she said that one of the girls in her class was not nice to her. I don’t remember *exactly* what I said, but I do know that I felt quite defensive and overemotional which just pushed my daughter over the edge. I saw this vicious cycle and knew that if we were going to survive a lifetime together, I needed to learn more efficient ways to help her handle these situations and then go vent my mama bear anger somewhere else.

If nothing else, I am thankful that preschool provided a safe, low-risk environment for me to develop a better game face and for my daughter to learn the inner workings of female social circles.

The real world is not an easy place to survive, let alone flourish. But I believe that by sending my kids to preschool, they will be given early opportunities to learn a set of social skills to peacefully, yet confidently navigate through the difficult situations while learning self-awareness in order to be respectful not only of others, but of themselves.

What are your thoughts on preschool? Is it important? Or do you consider unnecessary?

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