If you love your child, and I know you do, it’s time to say “bye bye” to the social pacifier that is free universal preschool.
I understand. It’s tempting. Whether you’re a destitute single mother or an affluent married father, you’re a parent. And parents often feel wiped out. Especially in this economy. Sure, Michelle Obama has christened this the era of a “huge recovery,” but she’s not in the trenches like you—juggling the stress of being a provider and a caregiver for a 4-year-old.
No matter how vulnerable you feel when you hear a certain Disney sing-a-long on repeat, do not buy into the scam of free universal preschool. For, universal pre-K will set back your child. Here’s how:
Reducing your child’s access to you, and a book
Rich or poor, every parent has an opportunity to give their child an academic advantage that is scientifically proven to be more beneficial than the most expensive private school: reading time.
Research shows that children who are read to by their parents will outperform children who are not read to—regardless of other socioeconomic factors. Little Peyton may be dirt poor but if her parents spend time reading to her, she will outperform Little Pricilla whose billionaire parents drop her at a posh preschool and wave goodbye.
Case in point: Dr. Ben Carson. His working single mother, who herself only had a third grade education, insisted that her sons read books. She could not afford books, so her sons read two library books a week and then gave her book reports. She could not read Carson’s report—proof that even an illiterate parent can bring books into their child’s life. The most important factor is the parental-child engagement around books rather than preschool teacher-child engagement. Carson went from the bottom to the top of his class within a year of his mother’s intervention. Additionally, he went on to become a gifted surgeon who pioneered and oversaw the first successful surgical separation of occipital craniopagus twins (fused at the occipital lobe at the back of the skull).
“Big deal! That’s pure anecdotal evidence,” someone could counter. Except we have never had universal preschool in the United States. Which means every successful American in U.S. history to-date is a byproduct of a non-universal pre-K culture.
Hundreds of millions of Americans including Steve Jobs, Taylor Swift, Bill Gates, Ralph Lauren, Mark Zuckerberg rose to success without being pressured to partake in state-sponsored pre-K sing-alongs.
Your Child Would Grow Up in a Culture of Submission
USA Today’s cover story last Tuesday, “Critics say Obama actions subvert states’ power” reveals how the current administration is subverting the 10th Amendment with its push for universal pre-K. The administration is applying unprecedented pressure to state governors and local leaders. We’re “not going to wait around for Congress to act,” Labor Secretary Tom Perez told USA Today. Valerie Jarrett, the president’s right-hand woman, cooed: “we used to sit passively by waiting for elected officials... [Now, we dictate.]”
Read Valerie Jarrett’s lips: if democratic governors like New York’s Andrew Cuomo and Minnesota’s Mark Dayton want to be on the Democratic Party’s “Nice List,” then they better step up to bat for Team Universal Pre-K.
Epidemic Levels of Fraud
“FBI” and “preschool fraud” are not commonly seen together in print. They should be. Across the country, investigations are quietly uncovering a profusion of abuse by taxpayer-subsidized childcare programs. This is relevant for this column because preschool and childcare are often performed simultaneously or at the same facilities. For example, this month, an FBI sting uncovered how a Minneapolis day care center billed the state of Minnesota for “hundreds of hours of care that were never provided—even billing for days when it was closed,” according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Think the FBI sting concerns Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton? Nope. He’s been slurping Valerie Jarrett’s Kool-Aid. Despite bipartisan opposition, Dayton continues to push for $173 million in additional taxpayer funding for public preschool for Minnesota’s 4-year-olds.
Here’s a novel idea: a private entrepreneur should pioneer a 100% voluntary Uber-version of preschool. Instead, the same politicians who take Uber (think Sen. Al Franken, D-MN) are rallying for universal preschool.
My grandmother developed the Uber version of preschool decades ago. Modern politicians are light-years behind—forcing taxpayers to pay for children to spend time away from their own parents.
“I ran my own preschool for the neighborhood. The only requirements were that the children were three years old and able to tie their shoestrings,” my grandmother told me. Her “students” had designated times for fun learning activities such as coloring and nursery rhymes. Participating parents were expected to take turns—each welcoming the group of children into their home on a different morning.
There’s something wrong in America when an 84-year-old grandmother is more forward-thinking than the man whose 2012 presidential campaign slogan was FORWARD.