First one is free, said the Pusher-man.
The song remains the same, only the face of things change.
8
It's not between "rich" and poor, but between middle class and poor. Granted, I'm a couple decades from raising pre-5s and not in NYC, but in this area, the really poor kids went to Head Start, the REALLY rich kids went to Montessori School and the expensive Segregation Academies. Middle class kids went to Catholic or Lutheran pre-K.
Before age 5, there were a few better, independent day cares. The one in our neighborhood was run by a very forward thinking black business owner. Many of her customers were subsidized Welfare to Work mothers. All of "her kids" came out ready to read, including the kids who were subsidized.
I suspect that online pre-K is among the "better than nothing" options and will be used "in addition to" daycare for working people, not "instead of" other options. Had there been something like that, I certainly would have looked at it for my children. What screen time they got would have been better used learning something than watching SpongeBob.
7
In 1972 I taught pre-school in Spain where it was/is available for 3-6 year-old students, as it is in most all large economy countries. Our neighbor, Mexico provides free preschool - we can’t? There’s “no money”? We can build a wall, incarcerate immigrant children and have a multiple million dollars national holiday parade but have no funds for the children, for our future? Really?
23
I understand that parents who work outside the home and inside the home are very busy. But they can't find fifteen minutes a day to read to their children and teach them the alphabet, counting, and nursery rhymes? How is this computer program better than what the parent or Sesame Street can do? The best feature of nursery school, interacting with other children in a structured setting, is still missmg.
14
@Linda
Yours is a culturally biased judgment.
In the Mexican culture, for instance, adults tell stories to children. We are not read to or taught the alphabet like
white Americans. My parents could not afford preschool but talked to me, told me stories.
Oral storytelling is an incredibly powerful literacy tool that should be acknowledged and encouraged for all fami,ies.
8
@Bonnie Weinstein
That’s a great story behind that slogan, it made an impression on me as a child. Thanks for sharing!
The video word lesson with "lid" is quite similar to a Montessori one, but the key element of a child's development — and a large part of what we have to pay for — is a trained person who knows when the appropriate time is to do what for each child. For instance, how does a child young enough to need to learn letter sounds know what a sentence is? The guide role has to be filled by someone.
7
A large, probably most important part of kindergarten readiness learning school routines, how to get along with others, how to resolve problems, etc, none of which can be taught online. There is no advantage to early teaching of reading. In addition, what percentage of low-income families cannot afford a computer?
8
@Jean Travis
These are all learned at home, which is the centre of a child's world at this age.
1
Oh my. Teaching preschoolers about silent letters is completely inappropriate. Preschoolers in good preschool programs learn the letters of the alphabet and the sound associated with each (and that some letters, like C and G, make two sounds). Preschoolers can also be exposed to early sight words such as "me," "you," "the," "see" but words containing "gh" aren't early sight words. There's so much wrong with the video on silent letters, not the least of which is the creepy music the horrible poem song is set to. Waterford probably should have consulted with people who actually know a thing or two about early childhood education. So unfair that kids are going to have to sit through this nonsense.
27
@Teresa I was part of a contingent from Congress looking at education programs funded by the feds and saw kids dancing, moving around in space, and eschewing reading in K classrooms. It made a real impression upon me.
8
I think it’s an excellent idea as long as actual reading skills are promoted and students are encouraged to read books, whether on a tablet or in print. The idea that every child benefits from social interaction with their peers is not true. My parents sent me to a high-quality preschool and I despised all the other kids and sought quiet corners where I could be alone with my books and toys. My own kids also went to good preschools and though they are more social than I was at their age, I believe they learned much more from the books we read to them than from squabbling with other kids. Too much social interaction can promote conformism; learning on your own is a road to independent thinking. And the idea that “screens” are some sort of poison that will corrupt your child’s brain is ridiculous. It all depends on how they are used.
4
@Mor
No, reading on a tablet is not “an excellent idea”.
The key, for vocabulary, syntax, and overall language development, is to tell stories to children. Literacy research shows that the critical language skills gained by hearing stories is lost when children simply read from an electronic device.
7
Trillion dollar tax cuts for the rich and nothing for the kids. Insanity.
17
"No schools or teachers for you!" This is the thrust of this article promoting Waterford.org online preschools for the poor. This is how sick this system has become. I watched the video supposedly "teaching" letter sounds. What an insult to children! All children need to be around other children their own age in a creative environment, with plenty of play time where children do most of their learning—not being plastered to a screen where they can't interact with other children their age. How arrogant the Waterford company is. And how arrogant are the politicians and so-called educators are who support their program. My mother, Sylvia Weinstein, once coined a phrase in the 1970s during a movement that won free public preschool for all in San Francisco: "It will be a great day when the schools get all the money they need and the Navy has to hold a bake sale to buy a ship."
21
THIS IS HORRIBLE. The worst application of educational technology I have ever seen. However if this is the only preschool
education that some communities want to offer their children, then this is better than nothing.
4
Wow. And TED is paying for this too? Children need preschool not to learn how to read and write, but to learn how to interact with other kids. Color me disgusted.
12
On October 10, 2018, Defending the Early Years (DEY) and Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) co-authored a statement about how online “preschools” deny children the hands-on, face-to-face school experiences that research shows is critical to both early learning and success in later life. By adopting online pre-k, states are harming kids and families for the benefit of private industry. This practice disproportionately impacts children and families in under resourced areas, raising questions about privacy and masking gross financial inequities by inflating statistics that ‘all children’ have access to preschool. Over 100 leading early childhood experts and organizations have signed the position statement. Read the statement here https://dey.org/online-preschool/
- Geralyn Bywater McLaughlin, Co-Director of DEY
10
Created by the Utah legislature? That is a huge red flag. This a way for Mormons (or whatever they want to be called now), to prosthelyze to poor immigrant populations by being in their homes through their computers. Next up, poor kids don’t need to go to school, they can just learn online from a company created by a small religious sect to make millions.
9
As a speech-language pathologist who has worked in early childhood education for 20 years, I can tell you that teaching a preschooler that ‘gh’ is frequently silent in words is developmentally inappropriate.
The whole idea of on-line preschool is absolute garbage, anyway. Children deserve better than this.
29
Stupidest, lazy, and misguided. Tail wagging the dog.
To see the shiny tools as the point, rather than children as the point is just shameful. Learning from others is fundamental to being human.
This lazy, profit-driven quick fix will hurt children, the adults they become, and the society they will need to share, build, and interact within.
The owners and promoters of these programs should put their own kids into these. They won’t, because they themselves want their kids to learn from others and to be part of a community.
Stop giving trillion dollar tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations (which aside from the money, sets the tone of what’s important to us as a national community), and let’s educate all our children as humans.
13
No, no, just no. This is not preschool or even preschool readiness. It’s just another venture looking to suck funds from the public trough.
We always seem to have money to fund tax breaks (most often for the wealthiest) or to fund the defense department and military but when it comes to our kids, all we hear is “we can’t afford it.” It’s all about priorities.
13
The Waterford.org website lists deep-pocked sponsors which means it probably won't run out of funds in the near future. But, the whole concept begs several questions: How will the Waterford nonprofit sustain itself offering free internet connections and tablets/computers across an expanding base of states buying in to this program? What studies is it citing to assert a 15 minute-per-day internet course is sufficient for Kindergarten readiness?
How did millions of preschool aged children of the 1940's 1950's and early 60's learn the rudiments of a preschool curriculum without the benefit of Head Start or private preschools? Answer: We learned at home.
Working parents read to their children, taught them their colors, numbers and home address. We learned to appreciate music because we heard it; we sang songs- making up our own. Children developed their fine and gross motor-skills by learning to tie their shoelaces at home and jump rope and playing with balls in the front yard or a park or field of dirt. Socialization skills were developed because children socialized with other humans: We were Kindergarten-ready. Parent's need to invest themselves first, then look for enhancements.
6
This article assumes that an adult is home with the children. A better use of this time would be to encourage the caretakers to take children to the (free!) programs at the local libraries, and educating the parents on the importance of talking to their children, reading to them, engaging them in the activities of daily life (sorting laundry and talking about the colors, playing with water and measuring cups as mom prepares dinner, looking for shapes at the aisles in the grocery store). The things needed to shape a young brain are not complex and are within reach of everyone, even if the families are poor. Why don’t these organizations use their resources by encouraging parents to do these simple things, which are supported by years of research? Ah, because no one would profit from them. We are effectively perpetuating a two-tiered society.
15
No, this assumes that there is an adult physically present in the vicinity of the child, probably busy themselves, while the parents are at work. That's very different. Chances are, said adult is too busy, old or disabled to actively take care of the kid. Probably doesn't have a car or can't drive,so no "local" library.
In those communities, stereotypes notwithstanding, all able-bodied, not drug addicted adults are extremely busy. No, they do not have the leisure to join whatever free activity someone is offering on the other side of town.
3
A retired teacher, I volunteer at my local library. Invariably, I stop shelving books to stand and glory in the sight of preschoolers enjoying the children's room. I've never seen anybody learn the gh sound there, but I've seen lots of kids learn how to entertain themselves and practice sharing as they dress up in costumes, figure out how to build a wall of cardboard bricks, make meals in the play kitchen, listen to a story, find an appealing book to read there and half a dozen more to take home.
As Kurt Vonnegut noted: So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.
I'd say the America I love still exists in the children's room in my public library.
26
@Susan Ohanian
Yes! And the America I love still exists every time an adult takes the time to listen to a child, play with a child, and encourage a child. Computers aren't a substitute for someone taking an interest in you and making you feel good about yourself.
9
Fowler is a rural poor community in Fresno County- like many other rural agricultural communities in the Southern San Joaquin Valley; high poverty. (I live in one). It is interesting the article didn't mention Fowler's public library on "7th Street" as a resource. Currently it has a full and free summer program for children.
I am troubled by the notion that (another) online-learning program will bridge the gap of learning opportunities and outcomes of poor children.
The whole notion of cradle-to-grave academic immersion may lead us to a world of "Spock's" filled with facts (?) and data- devoid of passion, compassion and joy.
15
No, just no. Kids need interaction with teachers and other children and hands-on activities.
If parents could bring their children to story times and other activities at their local library and bring their kids to a local park for exercise and interaction, that would do a world of good and would be free. Also, Sesame Street is free if you've access to a TV.
19
Sadly, not only does this article omit the argument from early ed experts that such an academic focus is not developmentally appropriate, it totally ignores the reality that these sorts of programs are part of a systematic plan to get data on every kid into a giant unaccountable data base that is driven by the "workforce development" paradigm that dominates K-12 education. The perils of big data are not recognized, let alone appreciated by most folks. Driving academics into pre-school, by whatever means, means that curiosity and creativity will be driven out even earlier than it is by Common Core and standardized test driven schools.
21
This program is not based on brain-based learning science. It’s a nightmare. Look at places with universal preschool, and compare the childrens’ development. Let me just say, the countries with very high literacy levels (which means NOT the US) spend the first six or seven years of a child’s life developing the personal, social, and motor skills necessary to begin the age appropriate curriculum of lower elementary school. And they leave us in the dust on international test comparisons. A four year old brain, with of course some exceptions, does not have the physical structure in place to learn the symbols involved in reading and writing. Ask any kindergarten teacher.
Not to mention the sensorimotor impact of sitting kids down at a machine every day. Love to see the data on the “graduates’” weight, dexterity, social skills, and other measures of school readiness.
19
@Munjoy fan
Unfortunately, there are public school kindergartens where 5 year olds receive letter grades for spelling.
Horror! Kids of the Silicon Valley tycoons are not exposed to screens until way past the lower elementary grades. Middle class and affluent parents hire consultants to week off their children from screens. Instead of investing in quality early education which is proven to have a huge impact on further academic performance these poor children are being prompted and educated by software. Companies like this make big $$$ at the expense of the poor. Early learning is based on play, movements and actual sensual experience and not on software. Parent should find alternatives, such as forming cooperatives.
21
If these kids are already looking at kid programs on tablets, that don't teach them anything, what is the harm of 15 minutes of well done programming that will help them learn about letters, numbers, colors, etc. before they start kindergarten?
5
@Talbot It sounds like a scam. Charging hundreds of dollars per student! Sesame Street is free and teaches about numbers, letter, colors and also social skills.
4
@Talbot
The key words are "well done." The material being presented is not age-appropriate. The parents are being misled into thinking the program is better than what they could do at home after an hour's training by a good pre-school teacher. The town could hire a teacher/consultant to do a brief inservice for the parents, and provide them with appropriate books, etc. to use with their children 15 minutes per day. Better "academic"
result, with added benefit of personal interaction within the family.
3
I am a physician in Utah. My kids have screen time of about one hour per week. My son graduated from Upstart and learned to read using the program, as well as learning math, science, etc. It was an effortless and fun way to learn to read. He also attended a traditional preschool part time, but most of his academic learning was from Upstart. My son just finished 3rd grade and he LOVES to read. He reads books on science, history, biographies of MLK and Einstein, any book he can get his hands on. Upstart opened the whole literary world to him.
What the article doesn’t tell you is that data has shown that kids who complete Upstart have higher proficiency in reading and math; the effect continues into elementary years.
Most of my patients are on Medicaid. The average 5 year old starting school cannot count to 20 or recognize letters—unless they were in preschool or Upstart. Most of my families cannot put their kids in preschool. Kids often start working with their dads in construction during high school, which may be their only realistic career choice. For these kids to succeed in school and have career options, they need better reading skills. Whether or not you like the concept, kids who complete Upstart read earlier and more fluently and are more likely to succeed in school. This article fails to explain the real benefit of Upstart—it gives kids better reading skills. Reading enriches their lives, helps them succeed and ultimately gives kids more options in life.
22
While I understand the skepticism of educators with the Waterford 4-K on-line program, there’s a larger issue here. In states that routinely underfund public education, such as South Carolina, will this program be seen as a way to avoid true state investment in a universal public 4-K program?
I am troubled by an article published in April that stated Waterford planned to use a recently awarded $20 million TED grant in part to lobby state legislators.
Yes, the Waterford program is better than nothing, but it should only be used as a stop gap measure until states commit to funding public full day 4-year-old kindergarten programs, including transportation, for all children in all areas.
I can foresee legislators in my state taking the position “We’ve already done that” to funding statewide 4-K if the Waterford program is implemented. Or use it as an excuse to delay appropriating any more funding for a true statewide 4-K program for any family who wants it.
17
@Doc Student
According to this article, we have Republican legislators, who refuse to raise taxes to pay for preschool, saying that we can't afford real preschool, and this is better than nothing.
7
@Norman, that’s actually one of the key selling points of these for-low-income families tech-dependent pre-school replacement options - it removes pressure on politicians.
If politicians were forced to use only online programs like Upstart for their own children (with no other preschool unless publicly funded), how quickly would they find the money to fund traditional preschools?
11
@Norman yup. And we can’t raise taxes, because they are sooooo bad. This started with the Reagan era and it is getting worse and worse. No money for education, no money for infrastructure, no social safety net, inadequate funding of scientific research, and on and on. Collecting taxes is how the society pays to take care of the things we all use, collectively.
3
Oklahoma - a poor state - has universal pre-k in its public school buildings for 4-year-old's, regardless of income. It runs the same length of time as the public school day. If we can do it, other states can as well.
35
Teaching the "silent GH" concept to 4 year olds isn't even remotely age appropriate . Poor kids need what affluent kids have .. access to blocks, stacking cups, lacing toys, puzzles and lots of music, picture books and art supplies. Kindergarten in this country has turned into a perverse monstrocity... high quality, age appropriate kindergarten is not sitting in your seat 8 hours a day, struggling through academics that are not appropriate for 5 year olds. REALLY good kindergarten, the kind that ignites a love of life and learning, is having all day for playing, napping, learning social skills through play, outdoor play/exercise time and plenty of art, music and dance exploration.
46
Using music to help children develop language learning skills is nothing new. In fact it is the topic of some of the newest research. My own kids grew up with Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. Since I have been singing with children all my life, firmly, I believe in the simplicity and power of music to help kids learn and more importantly to love it! And now that I am a retired elementary teacher, I still sing with kids online no matter where they live.🎼
9
If this program is helping poor children close the gap in preschool learning compared to well-off children, I am all for it.
As a social worker, I served many families who lived 10-15 miles from any town and any Head Start program. Even though their children were likely eligible for Head Start, they had no transportation to get them there. Often there were no books in the home and parents had limited education themselves to the point of being totally or functionally illiterate.
This is a great bridge for those children whose families cannot afford private preschool, which is quite expensive, as I know from my niece, who has an almost-four-year-old.
10
This begs the question: who is Waterford.org out of Utah? Lets pause a moment and forget all the obvious advantages of quality pre-school, or the lack of in many communities. I am not implying this program is questionable, on the surface its admirable.
Let's ask: what is the impact of focused attention on a message (imparted by a non transparent organization)? Without human explanation, no differing perspectives, no one encouraging to ask critical questions which helps the brain develop independent thinking, is this really an alternative to good, well funded public education? Peruse their website and try to find samples of the curriculum. I found the donation page, but no examples of what sort of messaging is included in those 15 minutes.
If we are to have a free and equitable society, we need good public education. Equal access for all.
22
It would seem better for the caregiver to go online and get ideas for children’ Songs and rhymes then interact with the child. Preschool is about sharing, discovery learning through play, not looking at a screen.
14
The article left me totally befuddled on how the program actually works. Is this strictly at at-home program? I doubt it since there are pictures of children in classrooms. Then are there adults in the classrooms to supervise the children? I assume so. Could these same adults also conduct socializing and play activities for the youngsters? I assume so and if not, why not? If computer use is only 15 minutes a day, what goes on the rest of the time? Or is it school and then an extra 15 minutes at home? In my experience, trained aides in pre-schools are a vital part of socializing and play. Teaching activities are left up to a teacher certified in pre-k education. Teachers of course are far more expensive than aides. Is the point of the program to save money by having computers provide the teaching component and leave other activities to aides? From this reporting, I learn various objections and praises, all difficult to evaluate given the highly incomplete description of the actual program in this article.
6
I teach grade two and am horrified by this program. Human interaction is the most important part of preschool! The role of preschool is to help children be around others, to share, to listen, to develop routines. The letter/sound relations don’t need to be taught until K/1.
I am surprised there is no mention on public libraries in this article. Many of them offer free programs that would be much better for low-income families than 15 minutes of screen time a day.
I can’t help but think that this is an example of corporations (in this instance, tech companies) luring taxpayer money away from public institutions (like libraries) and convincing us it is in our best interest and there is no alternative.
37
This isn't preschool it's early literacy training, and judging from this, 'for example, children can listen to a song and watch a video about how “gh” is silent in many words.' geared to much older kids! There is no harm in kids learning their letters before entering school but the idea here is that absent 'high quality preschool' that supposedly every kid not on welfare attends (not) ignores the real issue that puts these kids at disadvantage in reading and socialization. What are the adults doing with these children in their presence all day? The gaps so obvious, longstanding and seemingly impossible to overcome in school, are a result of not being spoken to often and in complete sentences, not being given the opportunity to participate with adult attention, consideration and care in everyday common activities like preparing food, picking up, gardening, going for walks or drives, just living, interacting and conversing with other humans in the process. THAT is early literacy, not screen time.
31
Questions:
1.Is this any better than watching Sesame Street? Is it because it is something you graduate from that it motivates more?
2. What percentage of families can take advantage of this? Someone has to be with the child and not working.
12
First off: this isn’t preschool. This is an early education tool, done in home, once a day.
There is no childcare provided.
Second off: in the context of our dire need to teach 4 year olds to read, something *is* better than nothing. Whether that’s the actual program, the internet access for a year, the free laptop, or the hope given at not being ignored.
Third off: the parents here do care. Parents care about their kids. That doesn’t mean they are able to do all the things for their kids — reading to them, teaching them their colors/numbers/letters, etc. There are a host of reasons that this isn’t feasible for a lot of parents. Giving your kid access to that information by any means is not bad parenting.
Fourth, and last: is this only offered in English? And if so, why? Why not offer it in Spanish as well, at the very least?
9
@Margaret Fox the program does offer language support to participants. As one of the best features, as someone who has used the program in Utah, is that they pair the families with a Family Education Liason. They call and check-in each week with the families, and those calls are done in the preferred language of the families.
My daughter graduated from the program this year - we went to one of the graduation events seen in the pictures, and she is already reading at a first-grade reading level - and didn't miss out of play opportunities.
1
People who have good jobs with tech companies are very careful to send their kids to schools and universities that use as little of what they make as possible. We should have national child care and pre-school for all for free that give everyone access to the quality that these executives buy for their kids.
19
@kate
The "rich kid" option is not available in rural areas. So this Waterford option is superior to "nothing at all."
9
Bravo, Mr. Cardenas. I applaud you doing something that is possible to improve learning outcomes for the children of your town.
9
How about if we all just get a virtual reality headset when we are born and never have to leave the house? Brave new world.
10
This is more about data collection and political expediency than about our children.
In California, at least, student data trails already reach from Kindergarten through grade 12, and our colleges and universities are collecting data on students' jobs after they graduate, ostensibly to see which college majors give the best financial return. They are not conducting a study. They are trying to collect this data for all students.
With universal online preschool, California's children will have an inescapable data trail that reaches from their third birthday. Are these online programs graded? What information will the companies gather? Who gets the data?
Oprah may have famously learned to read at 2, but most children learn in first grade. With Waterford Upstart, they will simply spend more time in front of a colorful, confusing screen. This program is worse than useless. If you want to help preschoolers learn, fill their houses with age-appropriate books and train the parents, not the kids.
24
@bv, actually, nowadays children learn to read in kindergarten. The lesson presented was a standard kindergarten level lesson. Of course, pushing reading down a grade level does mean that more children will not be developmentally ready to learn to read when the material is taught. They thus start behind and, since in the name of equity we are only allowed to teach grade level material, they stay behind.
7
@bv
Data show that this Waterfor program is superior to the "nothing" option. What evidence is there that data are taken on these children? Graduation from pre-school is not a prerequsite for first grade.
I’m so tired of seeing tiny kids glued to screens. Can’t parents take 15 minutes out of their day and read to their children? And teach them their colors? At this stage kids need to learn how to behave around their peers, not to click a button on a screen.
31
@Qui
If this works, then what's to complain about? So far, there is no evidence that Waterford is "bad" for children. And do you really think that kids would not be looking at screens if it weren't for this program.
5
@Qui
I couldn't agree more. My children are young men now, but my wonderful local preschool encouraged play and warned against too much screen time. I took it to heart and only allowed TV on weekends through most of elementary school. On weekdays they could listen to books on CDs and play with Legos to unwind. They both became great independent readers, and amazingly, they're both engineers. I don't know this first hand, but I've read that Silicon Valley parents tend to limit screen time, too. I'm glad I did.
6
This article promotes the use of screens for children for their benefit. Another article in this NYT issue is about the wealthy taking screens away from children for their benefit. It's not the medium so much as the content that is the cause of good or ill.
The worry about screens taking children away from human interaction is valid but we must provide that interaction to fill the void. And if we cannot, then good content is better than the void.
Long ago before computers, I had the problem as a child of filling that void. My parents couldn't always be there but instead of giving me comic books they got a set of encyclopedias. We used them together for a time but soon I poured through them alone learning about fantastical creatures equal to any video game. Back then it was what you read, now it's what you watch. Content is the issue.
8
This is not preschool. This is online prep for reading and elementary school skills. It entirely leaves out what preschool is designed for - an opportunity for the child to do the kind of learning that fits with that developmental stage. That kind of learning happens through experience. Discovery through play is a prime form of learning. So is finding out how to make friends and understand others. None of that happens online.
36
@ellen luborsky
You don't know whether "play" is provided by the Waterford software or not. The question is what effective pre-school experiences can be provided a child. The data are all that matters.
1
Quality... But something is better than nothing in this case. My pre-school education was basically Seseme street. It wasn't too bad but I didn't know the names of the colors when school started...
6
An interactive "Sesame Street" can probably get a lot of kids on the road to literacy.
However, students' privacy needs to be absolute; their personalized (or weakly & reversably anonymized) data cannot be a source of revenue for the app providers. I foresee a generation of children whose every online cognitive action has been stored forever. Employers will have AIs that hire people based on profiles compiled throughout their childhoods.
9
As a pre-K teacher, this model of computer-based learning is worrisome. I always tell my parents the majority of the “academic” part of school for young children happens through osmosis: if you’re in school, you’ll learn your ABCs and 123s through exposure to the environment. I focus a large portion of my curriculum to understanding and navigating social conflict. (Conscious Discipline is an incredible resource!) I agree that play-based learning is a privilege, however I do not think these socially divisive programs are anywhere near what is needed for young children. Screen time is not conducive for sparking creativity or abstract thought, which is critical for young children to develop. I always try to advocate for the child, and this model seems to ignore the most important part of being a 4 year old: social interaction. So many parents neglect to see how imperative it is for 4/5s to engage in unstructured play because it doesn’t necessarily generate tangible outcomes. Play is the work of a child, not screens.
27
@EB
Well, there is no indication that Waterford is harmful to children. And children are given screen time whether there is Waterford or not.
3
@D. Smith A good preschool program does not have much (if any) screen time. However, if the screen time that parents allow their children to view is Youtube or the like, then perhaps Waterford is the better choice. Screen time is NEVER better than quality interaction, movement, relationship building and learning how to take another's perspective and think critically. THAT's what preschool is for.
5
@EB
You're awesome! I hope you are appreciated by your pre-K classes. Thank you for this post.
1
This is pitiful. The AMA warns against the dangers of screen time for young children, so I suppose the fact that it's only fifteen minutes a day is good. But, what sort of care are these children getting the rest of the day? Is pre-school important or can everything they need be taught in fifteen minutes? Why on earth are pre-kindergarten students being taught concepts that are not developmentally appropriate, like the -igh sound? (I know the answer to the last one-- because none of the things they should be learning in pre-school can be taught online.)
40
@Noah
How do you know that the -igh sound for pre-school is not developmentally inappropriate?
The short for the child and the cheap for the legislature sounds like the easy out for the 'universal' preschool push in the U.S. Hopefully Charity Navigator and the IRS 990 also instruct on salaries of the CEO/CFO etc.relative to profit-making and public dollars/grants.
Preschool in all Scandinavian countries, is not only universal, high quality, supports families to work/play, but is also equitable. All students have access to the same well-trained educators, the same nutrition, and the same quality program/curriculum. Oh well, I suppose the U.S. can struggle with the fact that 15 minutes is better than nothing and the kids now know that the 'gh' is silent and cowboys ride horses and wear funny hats. You can do better....
29
In Garfield County (frontier school district - too remote for rural status) our school district invested in Waterford. It has given children here a boost, but as of 3 years ago, GCSD also provides a preschool opportunity in 4 elementary schools as well as finally obtaining Early Intervention in our county. The curriculum for the school based program focuses on science, math, pre literacy and social emotional skills (Connect4Learning) we obtained through 2 grants.
Together these programs provide much needed quality time for our children who live at least an hour (or 3) away from services.
When you are remote, you learn how to communicate remotely and yet with the families and our elementary early educators we make it work. We have Zoom Meetings with our Early Education Department and teaching coaches in Salt Lake (almost 5 hours away) and Waterford reps come to our buildings at least twice a year.
With less than 900 students spread over 5,200 square miles and all our elementary schools are Title I; this combination helps us provide our under 6 population educational opportunities. It isn't perfect (what is?) but we see these children want to use the programs and parents feeling good about enrolling them and participating to "get them ready".
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@HL
This seems to be a wonderful program. It is a very creative use of computer capability, and augurs well for the future of these systems in education.
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@HL
Thank you. So many commenters here have the knee-jerk reaction that "screen-time is bad" without thinking that there could be something that's worse.
@D. Smith
You asked how people objecting to the content of this program know how something in it is "developmentally inappropriate." Any teacher of young children would be incompetent if the inappropriateness of the material being offered to preschoolers in this program didn't jump out at him or her.
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This is really interesting. It sort of assumes that parents or relatives will be around to care for the children since they are not at school. Personally, I think having parents around during the early years is more important than education anyways. So, I think I'm okay with this model.
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Something else to consider... the "independent" study which is linked to the article is not independent. That study was funded through an Independent Innovation Fund grant which is a fund of the federal Department of Education. Upstart receives funds from the Federal Department of Education to run its online program. Huge conflict of interest for the same agency to financially support a program AND pay for a study that happens to support its efficacy. And the organization that conducted the study interestingly does not list any grants it received on its 990 forms (those forms are available on Charity Navigator for calendar years 2012-2016). The lead author of the study also doesn't receive any compensation from the Evaluation and Training Institute which is the nonprofit that conducted the "independent" study and received the federal grant funds (which again, aren't listed on ETI's 990s). A study that is actually independent needs to be conducted before thousands, if not millions, of dollars are spent making kids sit through a program that likely does not do what it purports to do.
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@Teresa
Such a "conflict" happens all the time. It is the responsibility of everyone involved to insure that program evaluations are independent of who funds them.
@D. Smith
What was this evaluation? It sounds like they're teaching to the (age-inappropriate) test, and evaluating the students on the basis of how well they do on the test.
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@D. Smith
Do you have stock in this company?
15 minutes a day? That's the average length of recess. And what about learning real-life socialization skills, which cannot be taught online. All kids deserve more.
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I think that is my point of confusion. What else besides the 15 minutes? Is a classroom teacher providing instruction? Surely, parents do not drop them off for just fifteen minutes, five days a week.
It’s done at home, per the article. It is delivered online.
Um....how is this different than Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers? At least those have loveable and wise characters, but no one pretended that it was "school"
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@HG
The main difference is that Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers were created after extensive research and collaboration with educators and psychologists. Every episode identifies an educational target and hits it. They're way more sophisticated than they look.
Computer K-12 education programs, in my experience, seem to be created by contractors and freelancers who are paid by the hour, with much of the work, such as illustration and programming, farmed out to China and India.
No disrespect for China and India, but you don't get the best work by hiring the lowest bidder (here or anywhere else).
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My thoughts as well especially after watching the word birds. Bring back Mr Rogers!
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Like most ideas in education, often no one knows what works. Kids growing up in the 1950's did not have preschool. Does preschool really improve social skills in a way kindergarten cannot? Does playing with other kids and a loving family environment do just as well? Maybe yes, maybe no. We just don't know.
Another commenter's suggestion that Finland start schooling at 7 is not quite correct. Finland has a substantial early childhood education program: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Finland#Early_childhood_education
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@mjerryfurest
You might want to reread the article at the link you provided which talks about early childhood education in Finland.
They do have universal preschool in Finland; but the children do not learn academics (letters, numbers, etc) in their preschools. From the article you cited: "Instead of formal instruction in reading and math there are lessons on nature, animals, and the “circle of life” and a focus on materials- based learning."
Children in Finland do not have /formal/ reading (or other academic) instruction until they are 7. So that junk on the screens in the American online system is not something they would see, use, (subject their preschoolers to...)
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@mjerryfurest Actually, there are plenty of studies that show what works. The people in power don't want to look too deeply into other systems because we are an outcomes based society. Also, families have changed drastically since I was young. We had neighbor kids to play with, you were told to go outside if you were bored and you made things happen and learned a ton about yourself in the process. The powers that be focus on cognitive skills because they're easy to measure. If we as a nation focused more on learning to be in relationships, communication, curiosity building, problem solving etc. we'd be much better off. As a teacher, every year I see more and more kids who lack empathy and social skills. We double down and teach those skills and things improve. Other countries do it better, Finland, Italy, Sweden. We could learn something, but we choose not to.
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@mjerryfurest
You "just don't know." Researcher have studied these questions for decades.
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Fifteen minutes per day of well-done reading readiness videos, as a replacement for cartoons and cute cat videos, can only be a boon for any child. That's true whether or not the child also attends pre-K.
Let's be clear, though: For all the reasons other commenters have laid out so eloquently, online "preschool" is not pre-school at all. America's kids--*all* our kids--deserve so much better than this.
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Finland’s pupils are Europe’s top testers; they start school at age seven.
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@Charlierf Incorrect. Finland has a substantial early childhood education program: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Finland#Early_childhood_education
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Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) will be crucial when these kids enter the workforce. They'll be competing for jobs with automation and artificial intelligence. SEL is essential and uniquely human.
Unfortunately, SEL is taught mostly in preschool with a smaller emphasis in elementary school. It's taught to manage classroom behavior, which is important, but not as a work skill, which will become essential. There are very few SEL programs in middle school and almost none in high school. Anybody who thinks that many high school students don't need emotional support has never raised one. And what's taught in high school has the biggest impact in the workplace.
You can't teach SEL to individual children sitting at a computer screen. This program, while well-intentioned, has eliminated one of the most important functions of preschool.
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The sample isn’t bad as an “after school” activity for about 15 minutes. But what do the kids do the whole day? This is not a nursery school, and certainly does not provide any of the needs of working parents.
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Preschool so much: It is learning schedules and routines and following them. It is learning to play ,which will later become work, together cooperatively, to share and take turns. It involves learning to clean up and put things in their given place with others. It is learning rules and consequences and that they are apply fairly to all. It is language development through learning to speak one's knowledge, opinion and includes social skills like "thank you", "please", "you're welcome", "excuse me", "I'm sorry". It is about learning about how communities and the homes within them work. It is learning about personal safety and practicing it. It is about movement and enjoying each other in less supervised play while creating one's own games and rules. It is about encouraging creativity in every way. To be done well preschool requires a social group and a knowledgeable leader who is focused and understands the fragile needs of the young as well as our need for socialized children ready to begin formal education. What looks like child's play is actually a very effective way laying the foundation of civilized culture requiring others. Quality preschool is rarely, if at all, about TV, or computers, or devices with screens. If we love ourselves we will fund quality preschool for all. Let's be selfish.
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@Gayle - I am a preschool teacher and I love your excellent description of a quality program. I humorously describe preschool as using the Socratic method of learning, just like Harvard Law School: the children spend the day questioning their surroundings, activities, and topics while they question each other (I merely facilitate this engagement). The tactile experiences are also essential - it's one physics experiment after another with touching and balancing and cause-and-effect and being allowed to drop, spill, and break stuff in a controlled environment. A good teacher makes sure there's a lot of laughter and silliness and that all the classmates have a chance to really get to know each other on their terms. Finally, the most recent and evolving improvement of Early Childhood Education is recognizing special needs physically, emotionally, intellectually, or mentally among the early learners and helping the child who needs early interventions receive those services. The increasing success of early intervention among preschoolers needing developmental help is one of our profession's miracles.
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The mayor is right, "This is too good to be true." While others Times articles are sharing ideas to get our privileged young children off screens, this article is sharing how to get the children of the poor on screens. This is a terrible idea for young children and will short circuit the move for in-school programs which promote social/emotional health. (Teaching 4 years olds the "igh" pattern shows how developmentally inappropriate this technology is.) Also, Waterford sounds suspiciously like what Giridharadas discussed in Winners Take All. Are they connected to a Social Impact Bond hedegefund seeking to get "data" on our toddlers? Let's be careful how we use tech. Remember that many Tech Valley parents send their children to tech-free schools because they know the limitations/dangers of the tech they create.
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@tom mikulka
You have not asked the crucial question "is this better than nothing?" Would these children not have screen time without Waterford? The data say that this is superior to "nothing at all."
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@D. Smith
You keep missing the points people are making. Instead of spending money on something that is "better than nothing," the money could be spent on training and materials so the parents could "do better" at home in fifteen minutes a day.
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I can see how technology might help children learn the alphabet and some other academic skills similar and even better than my kids learned from Sesame Street. But what about the social and emotional development goals of preschool which can only be experienced through interactions with other children and teachers. When we place primacy on the academic components and think it’s an adequate substitute for a high quality preschool experience, we are giving a whole group of kids so much less than they deserve and need for their futures.
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The biggest thing preschool teaches kids is how to be in a classroom, how to listen, share, cooperate, focus, and release energy in appropriate ways. Preschool introduces children to ideas and people unlike themselves and their primary family. And it teaches them the power of curiosity combined with respect.
You can’t get those things online.
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@KKnorp
Apparently they are evaluating these programs by computerized educational achievement tests.
They're programs which are very effective at teaching children how to give the correct answer on computerized educational achievement tests.
The most important benefits of preschool are the lessons, which you list, that can't be measured on computerized educational achievement tests.
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Make America great by providing federally funded universal pre-K - 14 to all whether online or in classrooms. Why waste tax dollars on old school arsenals when the battlefield is cyberspace? The USA can no longer afford to treat education as local matter: it’s a matter of national security.
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The unattainable best has been and continues to be the enemy of the possible.
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For Americans unwilling to pay the level of taxes needed to support quality primary and high school education (sorry I’m talking to you too readers of the NYT) this appears to be a viable option for skills development for children whose care givers don’t have the time/energy, language, skills themselves or inclination to pass on basic skills through one on one support. It is not ideal - but the skills gap in kindergarten, between kids whose parents can afford pre-school and those who can’t is real and sets up children for a life-time or catching up. It would be interesting if this could be developed for other at-risk children around the globe - especially refugees.
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Sooner than you think, for-profit K-12 schools (charters and others) will kill public education in the US.
Millions of our children in low-income cities and rural towns already attend drastically under-funded public schools, thanks to the policy of basing their budgets on local rather than Federal taxes. Soon, the remnants of middle-class American families will watch their own local schools crumble, as the wealthier kids switch to the for-profit schools. As per-pupil funding plummets, the infrastructure of local schools rots and pupil-to-teacher ratios will get worse.
Online schooling, which costs less than charter schools and fancy homeschooling programs, will start to seem the only answer for these barely middle-class kids. All they'll lose is the entire in-person school experience--human interactions with teachers and classmates away from home.
Investors will get rich from privatization, but our children and grandchildren will have poorer lives.
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@MLChadwick
Watch those blackboards turn into giant screens.
Forget about one instructor per thirty students.
Now, one instructor for three million students.
Tenured teachers at high five figure salaries with benefits will soon
be replaced by aides making $11/hr. no benefits to maintain order and
assist younger students with lunch, bathroom, etc...
Taxpayers in overstressed districts will eagerly embrace the new “digital classroom” as a way of capping school budgets.
It’s right around the corner...
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They are failing because we as a nation have decided to let them fail. First starving them of funding and recouces because everyone else is " not our kids". Allowing hedge funds millionaires to gut what's left by selling districts charter schools (private schools public money) and finally telling the poor and special needs kids not even bother to show up. This isn't about survival of the fittest, it's about survival of the richest and the politicians they bought and paid for.
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Charter schools have a lot to answer for, esp for profit operations. There is a huge range of types of charter schools, just like there are public school systems. You can’t lump them all together.
1
No. I can’t think of a single advantage to online preschool.
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