Clark -- Universal Preschool Plans

[Bread and Circus]

I don't know if this is a dupe or if Clark's plans
mirror that of another candidate's. I just thought I
would post this so DU'ers have a little more info
on Clark's proposals

http://www.clark04.com/issues/preschool/

Wes Clark's $70 billion Universal Preschool Plan will expand preschool opportunities to all children so that they enter school prepared to succeed. This is the first step in a broader educational agenda that will increase the focus on reading in the early grades, improve K-12 education, expand college opportunity, and enhance training. Wes Clark's Universal Preschool Plan would provide grants to states that accept his challenge to make high-quality, voluntary preschool available to all four-year-olds and a growing number of three-year-olds. Specifically, Wes Clark's three-part Universal Preschool Plan would....


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Thanks for reading folks.

[Bread and Circus]

1. Oh, seeing as how some used to make fun of Clark's blank...

"on the issues" section.....I would hope some would
take another look. Some interesting nuggets are to be found.
It is also laid out is a pretty clear, concise manner.

http://clark04.com/issues/

[bryant69]

2. Phonics?

How does Clark feel about this vital issue, that I don't understand myself, but seems so important to the Christian Right.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Mistress Quickly]

5. actually phonics works

and but good.

At least in our case.

[democratreformed]

9. Alternate view

Phonics are good, but my son had difficulty. He attends a very small Christian school. This year they changed curriculum and the teacher has been working very hard with him on sight words. She said some people just can't learn to read with phonics alone. I have heard this before from some special-ed teachers.

For us, a combination of phonics and sight reading seems to be working well right now.

[LWolf]

12. Actually,

the benefits from phonics are quite limited in scope.

Phonics are one important tool in teaching decoding. That's why it is useful with the first steps in beginning to read. It's usefulness wears out pretty quickly once a child knows the sounds and can blend them together, though. Phonics has been shown to be effective in the first year or two of reading instruction for many students.

Proficient readers don't use phonics. We know what the words look like; we don't sound them out. We recognize them as we read. They are all "sight" words. Some children thrive on phonics; some thrive on learning whole words at a time. It depends on how their brains are wired. I personally learned to read with the "whole word" method. Many people my age did. Dick, Jane, Sally, and Spot. Running and running repeatedly until we recognized those words on sight. There is no one-size-fits-all method for teaching reading. Which is why we always have some kids "left behind." Because there is always "one right way to teach reading" in fashion at the moment which works for some but not all. Suggestions that we use more than one method, or that we tailor instruction to individual need, are shouted down in support of current dogma.

[Ilsa]

3. As long as preschool education is designed

with the preschooler's developmental needs in mind, I don't think it's a problem, and be a great help to families and for the children.

My own child attends a school district program that includes three and four year olds who attend until three pm. I pick my child up at 2pm. Any longer, and it is just too much for him. Even the teacher complained that sometimes these programs place the parents' needs or the school districts' needs over the needs of the children.

[Yupster]

11. Agree Ilsa

for respomsible parents who work with their kids on reading at home, there's no reason to rush them into school.

We skipped P-3, and went to halfday K-4 just because we were using a private school and we didn't want kiddo to start out too far behind. Otherwise, I would have preferred to wait until k-5.

I don't see the benefit of rushing kids to school at age three. Assuming the parents are responsible that is.

With irresponsible parents, I guess sending them to school the day after they're born would be better than leaving them with irresponsible parents, but hopefully that's a small minority. I think a lot of parents do see preschool as a way to meet their baby-sitting needs more than the kids' needs.

[Bread and Circus]

4. Other candidates have focused on preschool as well....

Which is a good thing.

I think Dean has some good detail in his plans -- folks
should check all the candidates' websites out. Some
have really good issues sections, some not so much.
A few have really focused on preschool, and some have
kind of left it untouched.

I encourage anyone to add links and clips to preschool
issues of their candidate's plans to this thread.

[phillybri]

7. I've heard Kerry talk about this as well...

:dem:

[ClintonTyree]

6. Without a balanced budget.............

all of these things sound nice, but unless we get the budget under comtrol, none of them will float. The government must stop hemoraging money before new intitiatives can begin.
We must get Bushit out of office, stop the give aways to Corporate America, start a tax system that is fair to all, trim Pentagon waste and yes, even social programs such as Medicare and Social Security must be overhauled (not in the Republican manner) before taking on new federally funded programs.
I'm all for this type of PreSchool Plan, but we have to be practical as well.

[Bread and Circus]

13. Very True...

I think it is interesting to go through and read
all of the proposals of the different candidates though.

Many of the issues and responses are very similar.

[spindoctor]

8. Kucinich and the pre-kindergarten Act

<snip>

In the 107th and 108th Congresses, Kucinich introduced the Universal Pre-Kindergarten Act, a bill to create a free, universal, and voluntary pre-kindergarten program for 3-5 year old children across the county. Universal pre-kindergarten would revolutionize America's commitment to early childhood education and change the nature of child care provision for the better. The cost of this program is $60 billion per year, which Kucinich plans to pay for by cutting the bloated Pentagon budget by 15 percent.

Pre-kindergarten programs prepare children to meet the challenges of school. Studies show that young children who have access to a quality education benefit with higher academic achievements, increased graduation rates and decreased juvenile delinquency. Nationwide there's a severe shortage of affordable, quality education programs. By providing universal pre-kindergarten, we are ensuring that all of our children are ready for school.

The Universal Pre-Kindergarten Act will provide funding to states to establish universal pre-kindergarten programs that build on existing federal and state pre-kindergarten initiatives. The program is voluntary and will be available free-of-charge to all families who choose to participate. The legislation requires pre-kindergarten programs to meet quality standards of early education and provides resources for the professional development of teachers.

<snip>

If your candidate has a good idea, chances are it came from Kucinich.

[CivilRightsNow]

10. I <3 Kucinich

And yer right, if Clark or Dean do manage to get a truly good idea (IMO), I can always trace it back to Dennis first. Of course, they come up with alot of ideas on their own too. I dont generally like those ideas but.. whatever.

DumpGump did however hit the nail on the head. All these flowery words and campaign promises mean alot less then ever before considering the huge budget crisis we have in the federal and state governments. Until we atleast get a hold on our budget and reign in a shitload of Republicans Gone Wild... this is all a pipe dream. And that isnt going to happen in the next Presidential term. So, I could really care less about things like this. There are a few CORE issues that all candidates need to be addressing and spending the next several months actually fleshing out instead of presenting vague generalities.

[cally]

14. I think Gore had a similar proposal

I think universal pre-school is a great idea. Some children come to K without ever having held a crayon or pencil while others come already knowing their ABCs. The children without pre-school or parents who teach them, start out educationally disadvantaged.