Public Policy Opinion -- Free

Public Policy Opinion -- Free Preschool

Few would argue against the proposition that education is one of the most important functions that our society provides for individuals. It is the primary means through which those not necessarily born into privilege and opportunity can nevertheless rise above their meager beginnings and achieve their fullest potential in life. It is precisely for this reason that the nation has maintained a public education system for almost two hundred years. Public education is available from the first year of elementary school through high school and even through higher education in publicly-funded colleges and universities.

Curiously there is no equivalent for public education at the preschool level, despite the fact that quality preschool attendance is known to improve learning and both cognitive and social functioning in subsequent grades. To the extent that preschool attendance is associated with better performance in the first year of formal academic studies and earlier literacy, the availability of preschool substantially on the basis of financial circumstances already reduces the opportunities of some students relative to others. Simply from the perspective of the long-term, large-scale benefits to society of improving the academic performance and development of so many children, it would seem to be just as important to provide free public preschool as it is to provide free public school in general.

Many thousands of young American families experience the most difficult and emotionally trying times of their entire lives during the first few years of parenthood. Most couples underestimate the difficulties and challenges of caring for infants and toddlers. First-year parents, especially, tend to have unrealistic expectations about the types and magnitude of changes they will have to make to their own lives just to be good responsible parents. Many couples who choose to have several children then find themselves caring simultaneously for infants, toddlers, and small children. Having to meet all of their respective needs simultaneously is tremendously stressful for parents.

Today, we understand that parents who are highly stressed, especially chronically, are simply not as likely to do their best job as parents as they would under less stress. Fetuses in-utero are particularly susceptible to physiological effects of hormonal changes that correspond to stress and anxiety. It is probably safe to say that children raised by parents who are perpetually on the verge of physical and emotional burnout and who are continually overwhelmed by their responsibilities do not have the same experiences in childhood as their counterparts raised by parents who are not under high stress for much of their children's formative years. In all likelihood, the amount of money necessary to extend public education to preschool would be substantially less than the many direct and indirect expenses attributable to the behavior and choices of millions of adults who were raised by stressed out parents.