Author David Kirp Discusses Pre-K Movement with Richard Whitmire
Whatever the issue, advocates can benefit from listening to the perspective of independent observers who have carefully studied their work. In the case of the pre-kindergarten movement, one of those observers is David Kirp, author of The Sandbox Investment: The Preschool Movement and Kids-First Politics. In September 2007, Pre-K Now and The Pew Charitable Trusts invited Kirp to discuss his book and the pre-k movement at a public forum. USA Today editorial writer Richard Whitmire, an experienced education reporter, guided the discussion.
Richard Whitmire asks: There's so much going right in the pre-k movement. What could go wrong? What would be the nightmare?
Question 2
Richard Whitmire asks: The Chicago Child-Parent Centers seem like they could be a blueprint for other state or national pre-k programs, but that program has gone into decline recently. Might that be another nightmare: lacking the will to sustain high quality in the long-run?
Question 3
Richard Whitmire asks: Are you worried that some pre-k supporters – including some policymakers – will oversell the benefits of high-quality pre-k?
Question 4
Richard Whitmire asks: In your book, you are critical of some pre-k programs for placing too much emphasis on early literacy, math, and science skills and not enough of developmental skills like critical thinking and problem-solving. You also say you admire the program headed by Susan Landry in Texas. Does Landry's program, in your opinion, strike the right balance between school-readiness skills and developmental skills?
Question 5
Richard Whitmire asks: A lively debate is taking place about whether publicly-funded pre-k programs should be targeted to certain children or open to all children. What do you think?
Question 6
Richard Whitmire asks: What do you think of what's happening in states like Virginia, where the governor recently scaled back his pre-k proposal from a "for all" program to a more targeted program?
Question 7
Richard Whitmire asks: Building pre-k programs that are open to all children could be even more challenging if we aim to put a pre-k teacher with a bachelor's degree in every classroom. How important do you think bachelor's degrees and teacher training are to program quality? And what are the trade-offs if policymakers spend resources to increase access to pre-k rather than to raise the quality of the teacher workforce?
Question 8
Richard Whitmire asks: Throughout our education system, students are being asked to master skills earlier, and skill-and-drill curricula are becoming more prevalent. Why shouldn't this trend extend into pre-k as well?
Question 9
Richard Whitmire asks: Is there any danger in starting children in a school environment at an earlier age?
Question 10
An audience member asks: Assume that a governor has a number of advocates, including pre-k advocates, coming forward with different education proposals for young children. What advice would you give advocates like me?
Question 11
An audience member asks: What do you think is the next issue that we can make progress on with the momentum generated by pre-k?
Question 12
An audience member asks: How do we sustain quality programs and the movement's momentum as supportive governors and legislators leave office and new ones enter office?
Question 13
An audience member asks: How do you counter or influence decision-makers who may want to swing pre-k programs to a skill-and-drill extreme or an opposite extreme?
Question 14
Richard Whitmire asks: You say that you don't want to end up with a No Preschooler Left Behind program. But, given policymakers continued focus on literacy and math skills, do you really want to take on this fight and oppose a No Child Left Behind's skill-and-drill approach in publicly-funded pre-k?
Question 15
An audience member asks: In researching your book, what did you differences did you notice between pre-k programs that have more or less parent involvement?
Question 16
An audience member asks: What do you take away from the investigation you did in writing your book that makes you hopeful?
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. In September 2007, Pre-K Now and The Pew Charitable Trusts invited Kirp to discuss his book and the pre-k movement at a public forum. USA Today editorial writer Richard Whitmire, an experienced education reporter, guided the discussion.
