NYT: Research Finds a High Rate of Expulsions in Preschool

[DeepModem Mom]

Research Finds a High Rate of Expulsions in Preschool
By TAMAR LEWIN
Published: May 17, 2005


So what if typical 3-year-olds are just out of diapers, still take a daily nap and can't tie their shoes? They are plenty old enough to be expelled, the first national study of expulsion rates in prekindergarten programs has found.

In fact, preschool children are three times as likely to be expelled as children in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to the new study, by researchers from the Yale Child Study Center.

"No one wants to hear about 3- and 4-year-olds' being expelled from preschool, but it happens rather frequently," said the study's chief author, Walter S. Gilliam.

Although preschool expulsion rates varied widely by state and type of setting, the study found that on average, boys were expelled at 4.5 times the rate of girls, African-Americans at twice the rate of Latinos and Caucasians, and 4-year-olds at 1.5 times the rate of 3-year-olds. Expulsion rates were lowest in preschool classrooms in public schools and Head Start, and highest in faith-affiliated centers, for-profit child care and other community-based child-care settings.

"What the data tells us, as does the show 'Supernanny,' is that there are a lot of out-of-control kids out there," said Karen Hill-Scott, a California expert on children's development and their readiness for school....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/education/17expel.html

[fortyfeetunder]

1. Looks like the cops are going to get some more action

:sarcasm: for all the handcuffing of those toddler delinquents!

[evlbstrd]

2. Could this be in any way connected to

the coming psych testing requirements under NCLB? Building the case, as in WMD? My god, this is chemical castration (as a society) at its worst!

[mia]

3. Preschool advocate talks out of both sides of her mouth

"My take-away from this report is that teachers need more support," said Libby Doggett, executive director of Pre-K Now, which advocates for universal voluntary preschool."


This is what she said, but this is what she believes.

Statement from Libby Doggett, Ph. D., Praising Gov. Jeb Bush’s Veto

Friday, July 09, 2004

"On behalf of the Trust for Early Education, a Pew Pre-Kindergarten Project, I wish to commend Florida governor Jeb Bush’s courageous veto of HB 821. While the legislation would have provided pre-kindergarten for all Florida’s four-year-olds, it didn’t include the quality standards necessary to ensure all children enter school ready to succeed.

Governor Bush’s veto sends a resounding message to the children of his state, their parents, and elected officials: the promise made to Florida’s children in the ballot initiative for a high quality pre-kindergarten system will be kept.

We strongly urge Governor Bush and Lt. Governor Toni Jennings to continue to lead on this issue and work with the legislature to create a high quality pre-kindergarten system which calls for a phasing in of bachelor’s degrees for teachers, low teacher-child ratios, age-appropriate curricula, and meaningful family involvement."

http://www.trustforearlyed.org/new.aspx?idCat=0&strCat=&strSearch=&id=38


I've been a preschool teacher in Florida for most of my life - the last 10 years in Public Schools. I've never seen or heard of a preschooler expelled from a public school.

It happened occasionally when I worked in private schools. Parents who didn't require that their children follow the school rules were invited to take their money elsewhere.

[Horse with no Name]

10. Libby Doggett is a Democrat

Her hubby is Lloyd Doggett--Representative of Texas. One of the best house Reps we have.
Very very good people.
They are very pro-children.
So without seeing all of the facts in full context --I'd have to say that Mrs. Doggett was acting in the best interests of the children. Although I did read further down string that these expulsions are more in the private/parochial sector than in the public school sector.
As far as siding with Jeb?
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. This may be one issue he was correct on.

[lostnfound]

4. Maybe data MIGHT be telling them that expectations are out of control

She says it's because of "out-of-control kids". Many of the "preschool flunkies" may just be kids who need more 1-on-1 attention during this time of their lives.

Not blaming the teachers. Wonder how many of their moms resent leaving them at school everyday (or leaving them for SO LONG every day) because they have to go off to work.

[Hekate]

5. Huge pressure to conform

In my opinion, what the data tells us is that publicly funded programs (i.e. Head Start and public schools) seem to know know more about how to handle immature human beings -- babies! Could be they're just willing to begin at the beginning with little ones who act out. In addition, "faith based" and "for profit" institutions can pick and choose whomever they damn well please, and maybe the emphasis is on strict conformity from an early age.

I'm a great believer in teaching children manners and boundaries, sharing and "using your words," right along with potty training and hand-washing. It's our job to civilize them as well as feed them, and we don't do them any favors by not teaching them how to play nicely with others -- it only leads to rejection experiences. There are parents out there who can't seem to get that, for whatever reason, and it cuts across income lines. Head Start for all would be a good idea, especially in light of the number of working mothers and the cost of day care.

Hekate

[funflower]

6. 2 of my kids went to preschool and 1 didn't

Preschool was fun but didn't make any difference in terms of their socialization or academic skills.

The question of whether we ought to provide public preschools should be analyzed in terms of addressing the need for quality childcare not providing some sort of "edge" to kids who attend.

[Hekate]

9. I've heard of parents registering their kids before birth...

...so they can get in to the "right" preschool. That is, the feeder school for the exclusive grade school that leads to the prestigious high school that leads to the Ivy League.

Too rich for my blood!

When my two children were small, all I wanted was quality affordable day care while I worked to support them. When my ex lost his job and I lost my child-support, my rent plus child-care exactly equaled my take-home pay, and I really had to scramble to find a subsidy. I didn't even know the right words to use, much less where to go; I felt like a beggar.

They were at the "Y" preschool for awhile, where the book-keeper for the preschool made a point of telling me that my kids were the only ones getting financial help (the "Y" has funds), which I knew was a lie because I could read the papers on her desk upside down. (Summer camp in elementary school was great for them, though, and I always asked for a partial campership.) One early babysitter was an out of work primary school teacher who ended up waiting many months for the County to send her their share of what she was charging me. At Thanksgiving, she still hadn't been paid for September. And so it went -- all my excellent plans for my children to have "care giver stability" went up in smoke.

When things got better, I made it my mission to tell every struggling mother I met where she could go for help. Unfortunately, most of my information is now years out of date -- but not my feelings on the subject.

During WW II, when American women were pressed into service in defense plants, child care centers were available around the clock. When the soldiers came home, the women were fired and the nurseries closed for good. By the time I was old enough to read Life magazine, that sort of thing was supposedly something only the Soviet Union did, because (according to the US) they forced women to work and they wanted childhood indoctrination to start at the earliest possible age.

As with so much else for the public good, this country has the means, but not the will, to make quality child care available to all. The French think so highly of early childhood education that I've heard their preschool teachers have to have a Master's degree, and are paid accordingly. Our preschool teachers are supposed to have 12 ECE units at the community college level, and turnover is high due to low pay and lack of benefits. Scratch a conservative and you'll see vestiges of the old US/USSR dichotomy, with the added religious knock of how mommies really should be home-schooling, too. They never have supported Head Start, even though it is a program that (when funded adequately) actually works.

I support the notion of universal preschool/Head Start, beefing up our public school system, and after-school programs to keep the latchkey kids off the street. True story -- ask people this: When do boys get into trouble with the law? When do girls get pregnant? Usual answers would be to come up with an age in years. Actual answer to both questions: Between 3:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon. Latchkey kids.

Hekate

[Sugarbleus]

11. Excellent Read Hekate!!

You spelled it out nicely. BTW, haven't seen you in here lately..good to see you again.

SB :hi:

[Hekate]

12. Hello back atcha, Sugarbleus!

:hi:

Hekate

[dmr]

8. Oh boy, do I agree with you Hekate

My son is now 16, but when he turned 3, I took him from child care to pre-school. I was so fortunate because I was able to enroll him in a pre-school at a local college. College students who were enrolled in elementary school education, or psychology had to do rotations through the program.

It was a diverse program whose main objective was to teach the children an entire package of social skills. There were children there from all walks of life, racially and physically. There was a blind child, a child who had no arms, etc. They learned about sharing, to being polite, being able to express themselves, personal boundaries, so on and so forth. The school was fun. They played games, sang songs, were read to, painted, cooked, played outside. While the children did learn their ABCs and simple things like that, the school put a major focus on imagination, allowing the children to be children.

During the summer, the school closed for two weeks. I enrolled my son temporarily in a pre-school near my home. This school's focus was on learning. The kids were kinda like little robots. Each day I would always get a bad report on my son for being 'unruly'. If you knew my son, you would laugh at that. They blamed his regular pre-school. They didn't like it when my son spoke up if he felt troubled or in defense of another child. Needless to say, I took my son out of that school rather quickly. The school did tell me that they were under a lot of pressure from parents to give their kids a head start toward elementary school.

When the college reopened, my son ran into the arms of his teachers.
When I spoke with the college about my son's experience at the other day care, the staff told me that in reality, there is a big difference between the two types of education when they reach elementary school. By the time they complete kindergarten or first grade, the difference is in social skills, and being able to cope; not whether they can read, write or have better math skills.

Our country is robbing our children from the wonderment of an imaginative childhood. How sad is that?

[wildeyed]

13. My daughter is in a similar program.

It is an experiential learning program- the kids learn through experience and self-guided exploration, not through rote and memory.

There is a strong emphasis on social skills, as well. One of the standard operating procedures; providing fewer tools than there are kids who want to participate in an activity. It forces the children to learn to negotiate and share.

I am not aware of anyone being expelled from our preschool, ever. I think a few have left by mutual agreement, but only a few. There have been occasional problems with a few older, very aggressive boys, but the school's answer to that seems to be to bump them up into the next higher age group. It gives the aggressive kids more challenge and people their own size to pick on.

I dunno, maybe it is just that my kids preschool attracts a peace loving crowd, but I can't imagine kids being expelled. Makes me more grateful than ever to have found it.

[electricray]

7. Something that I don't think is addressed in this study...

is the unrealistic expectations put on 3 and 4 year olds. Busy parents who fear more and more for their own futures let alone their children's tend to expect that they grow up "right now". " I'm sorry little one, I don't have time to let you be little. You need to behave so Mommy and Daddy can rush off to a thankless task that we only bind ourselves to out of fear."

Kids play and yell and sing and dance and freak out from time to time. It is part of the learning process. If a school claims to be an environment for a child to grow, it ought to provide guidance when the growth enters a tenuous stage. To just cut a kid out of the loop simply because s/he knocks another kid on his/her ass is a fundamental misunderstanding of childhood social dynamics.

I don't like this article at all because it simply gives statistics with very little situational context. What kind of warning did theparents get? How about the kids? Is the support structure for a kid who is failing socially the same in Head Start as in private for-profit programs? What kind of support structures are there and iare there studies being done on the succesful ones? This article is just another opportunity for Ma and Pa Neverhome to pat themselves on the back because they don't hear a peep out of their kid's school. I tend to believe that when a kid is disciplined in such a final manner that it is not neccesarily an irreconcilable difference but more a failure of an educational institution to recognize a students particular needs and individuality.