Greg Bales

A Harsh Critique Of Federally Funded Pre-K

Here’s what Farran’s research says is the status quo for federally funded preschool in Tennessee:

• The biggest chunk of the day, 25 percent, was spent in transition time: lining up for lunch, snacks, bathroom visits and switching between activities.
• By far the most common learning activity, between 20 and 25 percent of the time, was whole-group instruction.
  Centers, or choice time, happened less than 15 percent of the time.
• Kids had outdoor play or gym visits just 3 to 4 percent of the time—15 minutes in an eight-hour day. In many classrooms, students never had a chance to run and play at all.

Fifteen minutes outside or in the gym for four-year-olds to run and, more importantly, play?! That’s the murder of early childhood, not its education.

“A Harsh Critique Of Federally Funded Pre-K” by Anya Kamenetz for NPR