Glenn Grothman: still short-sheeting 4 year olds.

Hi everyone,

There he goes again, cutting off children from programs what would help them compete in the global economy.

Maybe Glenn wants our next generation to be poor and dependent on China and India?

[I was going for sarcasm but, the more I think about it, the more that last sentence looks like a mere restatement of mundane fact.]


Anyway, I posted a note about this back in December but Glenn's still at it:

Wisconsin Radio Network: An attack on 4-year old kindergarten:

Friday, February 15, 2008, 3:46 PM
by John Colbert, WIBA

A state legislator hopes to halt new spending on what he calls a 'dubious' education program.

Republican State Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) wants to put the brakes on new spending for 4-year-old kindergarten classes. He says the state is in a fiscal crisis, yet it continues to encourage more and more districts to set up those programs. Grothman says that could cost the state an extra $13 million next year.

Grothman questions the academic justification of putting young children in those programs. He's doubtful of their effectiveness.

Academic justification? Um, so, studies by state school systems and a couple of major universities are doubtful?

Lawyers only believe what their clients pay them to believe. Maybe this applies to lawyers who become state senators.

Here's what I said last time. Follow the links for the justifications Glenn, apparently, is unwilling to examine.

It always helps when you know what you're talking about.

I just Googled up a swamp full of data and longitudinal studies by universities and the Federal Government Accounting Office.

The National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University has been keeping track of 5 states worth of pre-K education. They've noted good results.

The state of Tennessee thinks it's a great idea and the GAO's data from Oklahoma and Georgia suggest we might think about ramping up as well.

Maybe Glenn doesn't want our pre-schooler students to be as well prepared as they are in Tennessee, Oklahoma, or Georgia.

Maybe he wants us to be the new Oakies, migrating with our cows across the dustbowl of Midwestern manufacturing, hoping for a better life in Georgia.

It took me 5 minutes to find all that stuff. What's keeping Glenn?

hiho
Mpeterson