Free Essay Describing the Importance of Preschool

The earliest years of a child's life are crucial to forecasting ultimate success in school and life. Recent findings pointing to the significance of the first three years in brain development have serious implications for education. Mainly, these early learning experiences are critical in determining aspects for emotional and intellectual development. Additionally, experiences during this stage extensively affect physical and neurological developments that drive biological, physiological and social responses throughout the human lifespan (Bakken, Brown, & Downing, 2017). Thus, they will ultimately influence how well a child will perform in school. This paper focuses on the importance of early education for children, with an emphasis on cultural norms and societal trends. Children deserve to get off to a good start in life. Their early experience at home, in the neighborhood, and in early education programs such as pre-kindergarten and kindergarten all influence how successful they will be later in life.

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The Importance of Preschool

Early childhood education is one of the most essential phases in a child's life. Quality childhood initiatives provide children with the tools they require to learn social, behavioral, and learning skills at their pace, in ways they can understand. However, it is crucial to understand that children should have access and be given an education that is appropriate for their age (Bakken et al., 2017). Moreover, at each developmental stage, children learn differently. For preschoolers, who are at the phase of making choices and taking initiative, it is essential to engage in activities in which they learn to think critically and communicate about their choices both in writing and verbally.

Broad research has examined preschool education's long-term effects availing information on effects into an elementary school and beyond. First, preschool education can enhance the learning and development of young children, which improves their odds of excelling in school. A study by Bakken et al. (2017) established that preschool education has significant lasting effects on cognitive abilities, social behavior, and school progress including grade repetition, high school graduation, and special education placement. In support of this, Elango, Garcia, Heckman, & Hojman (2015) recorded that quality early childhood programs reduces grade repetition, the number of children placed in special education and increases high school graduation rates. Additionally, children exposed to preschool education programs tend to demonstrate high levels of school achievement and better social adjustment and are less likely to exhibit later delinquency and antisocial behavior.

Second, outdoor play is a common phenomenon in preschool in addition to learning. There are two fundamental reasons why outdoor play is crucial for young children in early childhood programs and schools. One, numerous of the developmental tasks that children must attain such as risk-taking, exploring, the absorption of vast amounts of basic knowledge, and fine and gross motor development can be most effectively learned through outdoor play (Bento & Dias, 2017). Additionally, today's culture is taking the outdoor play away from young children through the excessive computer and TV use, busy and tired parents, mobile phone games, unsafe neighborhoods, academic standards that foster more and more developmentally inappropriate academics into early childhood programs, and elimination of school recess. According to Bento and Dias (2017), preschools should encourage outdoor play because the physical exercise is healthy and crucial to their development. Moreover, children who engage in many physical activities at school tend to engage in activities that are more energetic at home and shun sedentary lifestyles. Furthermore, physical exercise is essential in fighting the obesity crisis in America.

Finally, preschool education helps children grow into responsible adults since it contributes largely to their social and emotional development. In particular, it reduces crime and delinquency, lowers rates of teen pregnancy, leads to greater employment and higher wages as adults, and contributes to more stable families. For example, according to Elango et al. (2015), Chicago children who did not attend early childhood education programs were 70% more likely to be arrested for the violent crime by age 18 than their peers who had attended. Similarly, North Carolina children who attended preschool were 26% less likely to become teen parents than their peers who did not attend. Additionally, adults in Michigan who attended preschool as children were more likely to be employed and had a 33% higher average income than their peers who did not attend (Elango et al., 2015).

Based on this analysis of the benefits preschool has on children, this paper proposes that the school district should offer preschool on the campus. Additionally, it recommends that preschool teachers should be trained to understand and nurture the cultural orientations of children in the program. Moreover, culture is crucial to help children learn the temperaments and behaviors preferred or discouraged in their society. Likewise, it recommends that the program should incorporate well-planned choices of educational materials and subjects, and their implementation carried out in a variety of ways that meets the individual needs of each child.

Conclusion

To conclude, early education programs bring numerous benefits to children that contribute positively to who they become later in life. In particular, early learning experiences are critical in determining aspects for emotional and intellectual development. Additionally, preschool has significant lasting effects on cognitive abilities, social behavior, and school progress including grade repetition, high school graduation, and special education placement. While in the long term, it helps children grow into responsible adults since it contributes largely to their social and emotional development. Therefore, this paper proposes that the district should offer preschool on the campus.

References

Bakken, L., Brown, N., & Downing, B. (2017). Early childhood education: The long-term benefits. Journal of research in Childhood Education, 31(2), 255-269.

Bento, G., & Dias, G. (2017). The importance of outdoor play for young children's healthy development. Porto Biomedical Journal, 2(5), 157-160.

Elango, S., Garcia, J. L., Heckman, J. J., & Hojman, A. (2015). Early childhood education (No. w21766). National Bureau of Economic Research.