The American dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each.”[1] However, the American public education system prevents such equality from ever becoming achievable because of the lack of universal pre-kindergarten in the United States. Children from underprivileged socioeconomic families often experience particular difficulties at school. They enter school with fewer academic skills than their more advantaged peers, and they often lag behind in their cognitive development during the later school years. Because these skills are less developed in their early ages, the school readiness gap for these children is greater than for children from families with a higher socio-economic status. These delayed developments then continue to hinder students in subsequent school years.
Landmark child development studies have found that by age three, children of wealthier families are better educated. These children have heard and understand more words than children of poorer families; giving them distinct advantages in school.[2] Because richer parents tend to have higher education and professionalize in more diverse fields, children acquire a larger vocabulary base. On average, they hear 30 million more words over three years than children from low-income households.1 Further findings found in a study done by Anne Fernald, at Stanford University, “showed that at 18 months children from wealthier homes could identify pictures of simple words they knew — “dog” or “ball” — much faster than children from low-income families. By age 2, the study found, affluent children had learned 30 percent more words in the intervening months than the children from low-income homes.”1 Both of these studies paint the picture of how wide the education gap can be for children coming from poorer families.
Less wealthy families and their children are trapped in this predicament because of the costs of childcare. Families only have two options without universal pre-K – stay at home and care for the children or pay for childcare out of pocket. Neither option allows for families to move up socioeconomically. In today’s society option one may no longer be a viable choice because many families rely on two incomes to pay bills.[3] However, women tend to cut back hours to care for the children. Unfortunately, this puts them at an economic disadvantage in the long run. This may be the reason for the persistent gender wage gap – “10.5 percent of the differences in men’s and women’s earnings can be attributed to labor-force experience.”2
For option two: “day care costs for middle-class New Yorkers can easily equal from $25,000 to $30,000 per child. In New York, childcare is the single greatest expense among low-income families in the city, surpassing both food and housing.”[4] And private pre-K costs can run up to $30,000 at well-proclaimed schools.[5] A 2011 report has shown that a mother with a five-year-old child ends up spending between twenty and forty-two percent of her total income on childcare.2 (See Appendix A)
The benefits incorporated in a universal pre-kindergarten program can bridge the educational gap found in this country. Children’s education will no longer depend on parents’ socioeconomic status. All children, no matter how rich or poor, whether black or white, will receive equal, adequate educations. The era of children’s education suffering because of parental burdens must end.
[1] Adams, J. T. (1931). The Epic of America. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.
[2] Rich, M. (2013, October 21). Language-Gap Study Bolsters a Push for Pre-K.
[3] Glynn,, S., Farrell, J., & Wu, N. (2013, May 8). The Importance of Preschool and Child Care for Working Mothers.
[4] Quart, A. (2013, August 17). Crushed by the Cost of Child Care.
[5] Sangha, S. (2011, December 17). The Pre-K Underground.
This post was written by a student enrolled in the Capstone Seminar course in the undergraduate program in public policy at Hunter College. Any opinions expressed here are solely those of the student.
