Michigan

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Too Soon?

Debate heats up over teaching Three Rs -- and even foreign languages -- to preschoolers

Shawn D. Lewis | The Detroit News

OCHESTER HILLS -- Josh Hatch squirmed with excitement in his first Spanish class.

"Amarillo," the 3-year-old confidently yelled when his teacher, Roxana Castillo, held up a yellow card and asked the class what color it was. After just a few repetitions from Castillo, Josh's pronunciation -- amar-EE-yo -- was flawless.

Their homework -- yes, homework for 3-year-olds -- included practicing appropriate Spanish words on a sheet with pictures of sketches of parents and siblings.

Josh attends Abiding Presence Preschool in Rochester Hills, where kids between 3 and 5 years old are learning Spanish, along with math, English and socialization skills. They are among a new generation of children whose earliest education is designed to help them navigate a global market. Many parents, teachers and business leaders believe the standard school starting age of 5 is simply too late and that it's never too soon to leap over the competition for entrance into the best schools and on to the most lucrative careers.

But not everyone agrees that pushing toddlers to excel is the way to go.

"I think adults are projecting their own competitive natures onto their children," said child psychologist Sally Bloch of West Bloomfield. "I think it's stupid. What's the rush? We keep speeding them up with no clear benefits. What is the benefit of reading earlier than 5? What's next? Making kids walk earlier? What is the benefit of that? And as far as learning foreign languages, I can see if it is part of a child's rich culture. But if not, I don't think it will pay off."

Dee Dee Herberling of Rochester Hills, whose daughter Meredith, 5, attends Abiding Presence said she believes, however, that earlier education lays the foundation and makes kindergarten easier eventually.

"We lived in Germany for two years and my son, who was 3 at the time, was totally immersed in the German language for six months. He picked it up very quickly," she said.

Not only do younger children pick up languages more quickly, but also they tend to better retain all forms of learning, experts say.

And studies prove it.

The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study, one of the longest-running studies of the effects of preschool education, indicates that children who attended preschool are 30 percent more likely to graduate from high school, less likely to go to jail and more likely to surpass their nonpreschool counterparts in areas such as income and home ownership.

Boy's progress thrills mom

Chris Hayes of Detroit is thrilled with the progress her 4-year-old son is making in his preschool class at MacDowell Elementary School.

"The difference between my 4-year-old and his older brother is remarkable," she said.

"His older brother did not go to preschool, and my youngest son is much farther along than he was at that age.

"I was cooking dinner and I had to turn around and look at him when he said something like, 'Well, actually, Mom …'

The preschool really brought him out of his shyness," she said. "He went in not really knowing anything, and now he knows his ABCs, he can count to 100, and his language skills have really improved, along with his social skills."

Local business leaders say they, too, have a vested interest in quality early education.

Alysia Green, project coordinator for Automation Alley in Troy, believes a strong preschool education system can generate economic rewards.

"One of my responsibilities is work force development," she said. "We want kids to get a proper start and we must build awareness among businesses so we'll be able to draw from a strong, wide pool of candidates so we won't have to go out of state, and that begins with good early childhood education."

But it's not always that easy because preschool can be expensive for parents who don't qualify for Head Start, a federal preschool program, and the state-funded Michigan School Readiness Program.

Sally Anglim of Rochester Hills pays nearly $3,000 annually for her two children to attend Abiding Presence two days a week.

"We're kind of in the low middle range (of preschool prices)," she said. "Some charge close to $2,000 a year for two days a week (per child)."

Standards being established

But the prekindergarten options available to children should be of a good quality, and the governor is doing her part to see that it is.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm last year created the Michigan Early Childhood Investment Corp., which is charged with establishing standards for early childhood development activities to be implemented statewide.

"The way we propose to improve the quality in our programs is through a quality rating system for all regulated child care facilities," said Lindy Buch, director of the Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services at the Michigan Department of Education. "This would allow us to provide a ladder from a minimal level to a highest level and give incentives, rewards and technical assistance helping programs to improve with training and financial incentives."

Comment: To answer why is this important, the answer is, because children want it. There is play and there is learning play. It's all play, so why not make it real?