Billions of dollars for 0-5 education?

(This painting is entitled Preschool Paint by Susan Beauchemin and can be found at DailyPainters.com.)

Here is an interesting article from The Washington Post.

An excerpt:

President Obama has pledged to spend $10 billion more a year on "zero to five" education, and his 2010 budget makes a $2 billion "down payment" on that commitment. (Billions more are already in the "stimulus" package.) Any number of congressional leaders want more preschool, as do dozens of governors. Not to mention the National Education Association and the megabucks Pew Charitable Trusts, which is underwriting national and state-level advocacy campaigns on behalf of universal pre-kindergarten. At least three states are already on board.

Underlying all this activity and interest is the proposition that government -- state and federal -- should pay for at least a year of preschool for every American 4-year-old. One rationale is to boost overall educational achievement. Another is to close school-readiness gaps between the haves and have-nots.

Almost nobody is against it. Yet everybody should pause before embracing it.

I don't know why anyone continues to support the "zero to five" education initiatives - like Head Start. I've always thought the Head Start program sounds more like government-subsidized daycare, so why don't they call it what it really is instead of getting the NEA involved? Someone I know worked in the grocery store business for many years. During the last couple of years working in a small-town grocery, there were some ladies who came in from the local school to buy supplies. One of the supplies on their list was baby formula. My mom asked why Head Start was buying baby formula, and they told her that they take babies as early as six weeks old. Why? There is already government-subsidized daycare. If they want to improve it, I'm all for providing a safe, nourturing environment for babies and toddlers. I know there are a lot of single moms out there who need a good place to leave their children while they work.

Maybe I'm just a cynic. I don't know of a valid reason that the NEA would care to be involved in what is basically daycare. (I said "valid" reason...I believe I know the reason, but it's not valid.)
The Washington Post article makes some good points and gives some myths that people believe about preschool programs. I recommend reading the full article at the link above.

Source: The Washington Post

(H/T Edspresso)