Moms of Daycare/Preschoolers: Standardized Education?

I do care that the director and head teachers have early education degrees. I also looked for a preschool which emphasize play rather than sitting and copying. DS will be in school long enough. Right now he is a child and they learn by playing.

No on the "stars" because in my experience standardized early education curricula usually look like a lot of papers and seat work and they've got 13 years of school for that. I would rather a place where the director understands that learning comes through play, where they kids are up and moving around for most of the day, where there is ample opportunity to play with sand/rice, water, clay, finger paints, scissors, pipe cleaners, gluing wiggly eyes on things, etc. Lots of music, dancing, and reading books while sprawled out on the floor. Plenty of time to go outside and play on a play structure pretending to be pirates and princess, doctors and cooks, etc. So a "Star" system would be of no value to me unless the department who designed actually managed to break free of seat work and embraced learning through play.

While I don't care whether or not all of the teachers have EE degrees, I do care that the director and lead teachers do. A home daycare is totally different but for a center, I want a highly educated director who hires and trains excellent teachers, and educated teachers who can help train teachers who don't have a degree and ensure best practices for those who come in with years of experience but no formal education.

First I need to say that I have homeschooled to avoid the standardization and teaching only to pass a test. That being said I do think that if I am paying someone to teach my children they should have a degree AND years of experience doing so. I also think that some standards among preschools would benefit the kids. My DD did go to 2 different preschools and then we homeschooled from k-2 and she's leaving me to go to school in a little over a week for 3rd grade :( The more expensive preschool didn't seem to teach her as much as the less expensive program I put her in the next year, and actually she learned very different things. I would think that it would only benefit kids if they were learning the same things regardless of where they went to school in order to ensure that they really were ready for first grade. Not all parents are able, or aware that they need to pick up the slack and do so much work at home if their kids are in preschool programs.

If my choice is between a teacher with a degree, but no experience, or one with experience but no degree, I'm going to go with the one with experience and no degree.

But, I don't have to worry about it, because my children attend a Waldorf school where all that standardization doesn't exist. : )

Its not that important. No, I would not pay more for preschool or daycare with a lot of stars simply because I couldn't afford it. I'm not sure that would be the best choice any ways. I was just an average student so I'm not sure that sending me somewhere with a lot of "stars" would have done any good. Therefore, I'm not sure I believe that a place is necessarily better for my child just because it meets certain requirements from the state. I want a teacher whose good at what they do. the degree doesn't matter.

I hate the word standardized. I call it dumbing down our kids. If your school does a great job preparing kids for the next level successfully that is all I care for. And the only way to know this is by word of mouth from other parents who kids have already been through the system not some system created by the government. The OAT's are a joke. My daughter missed 3 years of school being sick and she still passed the OGT. A degree does not guarantee a good teacher. It would be based on parent's feedback on how good the teacher is.

I want a teacher with an early education degree, otherwise I would have kept them home and homeschooled them, same with my little guy when he starts preschool in a year. Experience comes over time but I want the teacher to have the knowledge of how a child learns and how to promote it. I also feel that some standards of teaching are beneficial and necessary even in preschool, definitely when preparing a child in Pre-K for kindergarten.

At this point I would rather a teacher with an Early Education degree and experience with children. Now that kindergarten has changed so much and is so intense I don't think it is fair to a child to send them in without strong base skills behind them. I have an almost 5 year old that is starting a new pre K daycare tomorrow. I tried the more family oriented day care center and know I am realizing this was not going to prepare him for kindergarten. His birthday is 9/16 and I considered having him tested to go this year, then some health issues arised and I chose to wait. I am so glad I did. I am not saying I necessarily agree with the standardized teaching, but unfortunately that is what the government has put into place in our school systems so I believe that is what the children need to be prepared for when they enter kindergarten. The center he is starting is teaching the same curriculum as the school system he will enter next fall, but they still have free play and other actities. I am hopeful this will help prepare him for kindergarten next year.
A.

I would say at this point, that the stars really do not mean much. We are pulling our daughter out of a local 3-star program because things there are so chaotic. They have teacher turn over every 6-8 months and it just is difficult to feel like my children are learning things there. I know they had to pass criteria, but honetly, I think it really must not be that tough or must be about ratios. I think there are excellent schools that don't have the stars to back it up, and programs with stars that quite frankly shouldn't have them.

My daughter is 18 and starting college so my thoughts may be totally outdated. When my daughter was in pre-school (we didn't call it Pre-K here and then) I took responsibility for most of her learning and my step mother coming in a close second so she could teach her in Spanish. Preschool was so minimal in hours per week, I wasn't really concerned. Her teachers were degreed as well as very experienced though.

I think it's a good data point, but certainly shouldn't be the ONLY data point. If I found a great preschool without stars, but with great teacher, families and a system I liked, that would be great with me. I just have to add that I've always thought it was strange that 3 stars was the highest rating. We are so used to hotels, restaurants, etc., having 4 or 5 stars, that 3 stars seems at first glance to be not that impressive. When I pass a banner on a school that touts 2 stars, I have to laugh because it seems so mediocre even though I know it is good. I just feel like the general public may not. I know it's not super relevant to the discussion, but just wanted to pipe in.

I care about the standardization. I like the star program and would prefer to send my kids to a 2 or 3 star program. I don't care about a degree. As long the teacher cares about my child so that my child's first school experience is a positive one I would be happy. Degrees are no substitute for experience. I looked at a lot of programs for my daughter. The ones that participated in the star program seemed better to me.

Having had 3 very disappointing experiences with private daycare, it was important to me that the preschool my children attended was accreditied. NAEYC. I know that only the institutions that are accredited by this outside agency get the highest number of stars. A school that would refuse such a program to me would be an indication that they had something to hide. I know that it is a tedious process but you are saying to the public that you provide quality services and are willing to stand up to outside scrutiny to prove it. I used to volunteer at the school my children attended and as such had to go through an extensive backgroung check to do so. I felt comforted that the school was so thourough on their checks.

I had used private childcare and even though they seemed like quality places when I checked them out, experience proved different.