We’re talking about children as young as 4 years old who don’t have the opportunity to participate in high-quality preschool. As a result, many start school without the pre-literacy and pre-math skills that form the foundation for academic success, and with behavioral issues that make it difficult for them to interact well with other kids in the classroom. Many then struggle in the early grades and continue to fall behind and eventually drop out of school before turning to crime. . . . Participation in high-quality preschool puts kids on a different path. . . . [emphasis supplied]I don't know about you, but this does not sound like anything our sheriffs wrote . . . but I could be wrong. The language used sounds suspiciously similar to that in Congressman Hanna's announcement a few days ago.
But that is not the interesting part.
The sheriffs cite a slickly-produced report called "I'm The Guy You Pay Later" which makes the simple argument to pay for preschool education now or pay to incarcerate people later. The report comes from a group calling itself Fight Crime: Invest in Kids .
Who funds this "national, bipartisan, non-profit, anti-crime organization?"
"Major funding for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is provided by: Alliance for Early Success • The California Education Policy Fund • The California Endowment • The California Wellness Foundation • Annie E. Casey Foundation • Robert Sterling Clark Foundation • Early Childhood Investment Corporation • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • The Grable Foundation • Grand Victoria Foundation • The George Gund Foundation • Hagedorn Foundation • Irving Harris Foundation • Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation • W.K. Kellogg Foundation • The Kresge Foundation • McCormick Foundation • Ohio Children’s Foundation • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation • William Penn Foundation • The Pew Charitable Trusts • Pritzker Early Childhood Foundation • Rauch Foundation • Dr. Scholl Foundation • W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation."Of course, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation stands out because it is one of the key players behind the "Common Core." We are all just finding out how "well-researched" that was! This seems to be more of the same. How clever, though, to get local law enforcement behind extending federal control over our schools.
It's not about education or crime-prevention, folks. It's about cradle-to-grave federal control over your children. . . or should I say control by our national elites.
It's too bad that our local sheriffs seemed to have been sucked into this power play.
2 comments:
There are quite a few things we can do to reduce crime. We do not need to rely on programs based on research that has not been resoundingly conclusive. Of the two most cited studies of the effects of Pre School on crime, the Perry and the Abecedarian studies, the latter didn't find any reductions in crime by age 40. Much more effective were increased street lighting , targeting gangs, implementing better police tactics and especially raising the price of alcochol. I imagine one would want to ask the policemen pushing this if before more tax money is asked of us for Pre School programs, have they reorganized their operations to best fight crime.
Here's a summary of things that have been studied to reduce crime:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/22/lead-abatement-alcohol-taxes-and-10-other-ways-to-reduce-the-crime-rate-without-annoying-the-nra/
And like you, Strike, I wonder who is really behind this campaign for more Pre School programs. Follow the money, I suppose. The use of police for private causes has a shady history, of course. That fellow on the phone asking for a donation and telling you he was authorized by your local police or fire department might actually have been. The outfit scamming you promised the department a half penny on the dollar if their name could be used.
Don't read too much into this. Our elected officials are nit the brightest bulbs in the lamps and latch onto all of the sound good stuff. How else can one explain Head Start which study after study has shown does not make a difference in educational or social achievement.
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