Preschools focus on social, academic skills
It's no secret that preschools across the nation are changing.
What began as a combination of crayons, sandboxes and puppet shows for 3- to 5-year-olds has evolved into lesson plans filled with reading, writing and mathematics
These skills, once reserved largely for elementary school, have made their way into preschool programs across the nation, including Butler County.
Although researchers debate whether this creates a positive, negative or simply a different approach to childhood development, many educators agree that striking a delicate balance between academics and playtime is essential.
"Some people, for status, want their children to do just curriculum-based learning, but they don't realize that playing is just as important," said Karen Stephansky, director of KinderCare in Cranberry Township.
Because both elements are important, Stephansky said KinderCare equally emphasizes playing and academics.
At the same time, however, she said preschools must adapt to the rising standards of education.
"The change is also good because public school education expects more from kids," Stephansky said.
"We use a research-based curriculum where we emphasize basic reading and writing readiness, poems, chants, basic math," she added.
However, also up for debate is whether the rise of academic demands comes from state education departments or a trend of parents trying to quickly push their child ahead for status, or a combination of the two.
In terms of state-mandated public preschools, the Pennsylvania Department of Education promotes both the trend of advancing literacy and numeracy skills while retaining social skill building.
The guidelines, issued in the department's Early Learning Standards for Pre-Kindergarten redesigned in April 2007, encourage children to initiate play with other children, to cooperate in group activities and to respect others.Also emphasizing the importance of a balance between academics and socializing play is Janet Black, the president of the board of directors for Nixon Preschool, a part of Nixon United Methodist Church in Butler."We focus both on academic and social skills," Black said."There needs to be a balance between the two, because you can push academics all you want, but if the kids can't get along and listen they will never get the academics."Black also said while Nixon Preschool teachers do not have to comply with state certifications because they are a church outreach program, they choose to anyway.Nixon teacher Jennifer McCall has a bachelor's in elementary education with a certification in early childhood education, as is required from nonchurch affiliated, public preschools in Pennsylvania.Many other preschools, public and private, also say a teacher's qualifications are just as important as what is taught."There is a certified teacher in every classroom with a college education," Stephansky said of KinderCare. "They also do an additional 12 to 16 hours a year of training on top of their degree."
Also, all teachers and aides at Tender Tots Preschool, a part of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Butler, have at least bachelor's degrees, while director Karen Oesterling has a master's in early childhood education.While receiving fairly equal time for play and academics, students at Tender Tots are prepared for kindergarten, but with teachers exercising some caution, Oesterling said."Every (elementary) school is different, so we don't want to teach them something one way and have a kindergarten teacher say 'oh no, it's this way," Oesterling said."But, we do get them familiar with numbers, letters and the sounds they make. Each letter gets its own unit where we tie in the letters to words so they get an idea in their head," she added.Teachers at KinderCare and SRU/SGA Preschool and Child Care Center in Slippery Rock on the other hand, dive right into teaching children reading and writing, paralleling what they say kindergartens expect.The SRU/SGA Preschool and Child Care Center, owned by Slippery Rock University's student government association, also bases its programs on self-discovery."We run like a Montessori preschool, most of our things are hands on and involve either small or large groups," said Katie Stanley, the preschool's assistant director.That preschool, like Nixon and Tender Tots preschools, focus on teaching children number and letter sounds, but do so under state standards, as it is nationally accredited and state licensed, Stanley said.
