As per usual, Madison is seeking a return to Leninism, this time through that grossly unnecessary, money-sucking institution we call education. That’s right, the dirty commies at the Madison Metropolitan School Board have decided to implement four-year old kindergarten for the 2011-2012 school year. Though the board was deadlocked 3-3 on whether to implement the free, public 4K in 2010-2011, members voted 5-1 to go ahead with it for the following year.
Despite the fact that, according to Article X of the state constitution, education is required to be “free to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years,” the comments section to yesterday’s Wisconsin State Journal article detailing the plan is filled with allegations of socialism, and outcries against the disgusting notion of paying an extra $40 for someone else’s children to receive the education they are legally entitled to receive.
While individualistic greed and ignorance of the law is to be expected, what is more alarming is the complete lack of understanding of something that should be drilled into our heads by now: not everyone is born with the same opportunities. Yes, believe it or not, some children have access to better education, resources and living conditions than others. This is why early education is important. Honestly, this conversation has been going on for quite a while now, and it can be easily summed up: since America is supposed to be a meritocracy, policies should aim to make it such that underprivileged groups are at least given the chance to pursue the plethora of possibilities for success that is the Home of the Free’s claim to fame.
The achievement gap between middle- and upper-class white students and low-income and minority students has been widely documented, as has the link between family and cultural background and student achievement. To claim there are no benefits to early childhood education is preposterous and contrary to evidence. A recent RAND study, as well as countless other research studies before it, show effective preschool can help mitigate the achievement gap by making kids more prepared to enter school. To ignore the need to equalize education across racial and socioeconomic lines is not only detrimental to children’s futures but is also dangerous in that it places the blame for academic underachievement squarely on the shoulders of individuals, neglecting the fact that not everyone is automatically given the same chance to succeed.
That said, it is also important to note that Madison faced a 15 percent cut in state-sponsored school funds for the current school year, as well as for 2010-2011, which helps explain the resistance to the increase in property taxes that will be needed to help fund the 4K program. While these financial concerns, especially during the current economic recession, are understandable, the early education program is likely to have a positive effect on district funds within two years of its implementation. In the first year of the program, only one-third of students enrolled in 4K will be counted for purposes of state funding provision. In the second year, however, that number will shift to two-thirds, and in the third year will count all enrolled students. Because Madison is allocated less state funding for education in virtue of its high property taxes, this will help the city be eligible for more public funds.
Keeping all this in mind, we should applaud a program that has the potential to help underprivileged students in a highly segregated school district. Students who are more prepared for school will do better in school, and will in turn create a more high-performing workforce, which is therefore more likely to strengthen our not-so-hot economy. Which, whether or not you care about the education of your neighbor’s children, is in your interest.
Hannah Shtein ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in philosophy.
