August 29, 2011
So I was driving home the other day when I heard this NPR story about how fierce the competition is for Manhattanites to get their children into elite preschools. These preschools can cost parents between $20,000-$30,000 per year! Apparently, it is so competitive to get into some of these preschools that parents can become quite bent-out-of-shape during the interview process. It’s as if the parent is trying to get their kiddo into a coveted college…as if getting into the “right” preschool is going to make-or-break their child.
As a parent of three children (boys ages 8, 4, and 4 weeks), I realize that there is a lot of pressure in trying to do what is best for our kids. However, I do believe it can get out-of-hand sometimes…bordering on ridiculous.
Let’s take a more critical look at these “elite” preschools, for instance. A common mistake that we all make in life is thinking that correlation equals causation. That is, just because many students from some of these elite preschools go on to other prestigious prep schools and colleges does not mean that the preschool necessarily caused this outcome.
For instance, I could give a trivia test to 1000 people of all ages and show that there is a significant relationship between the size of a person’s toe and their score on my trivia test. Would that mean that big toes were responsible for people doing well on my trivia test? Of course not! Bigger toes generally mean that the person is older (not a young kiddo). Thus, the accumulated knowledge that comes with age (which is correlated with size) is what helped the person do better on my hypothetical trivia test.
Similarly, these elite preschools go through quite a rigorous and lengthy application process. Many of them require IQ tests, interviews, observations, etc. In effect, these preschools are selecting the “best candidates” for success at their preschool. This includes that the parents are involved, supportive, and (probably) emotionally stable. Parents who attempt to enroll their kids into such preschools are very likely to be highly educated, affluent, and achievement-oriented. The kiddos who are allowed into these schools are most likely very bright, motivated, socially adept, and well-behaved from the start.
Thus, these elite preschools have a very stacked deck with regards to getting positive educational outcomes from the students who are enrolled. Arguably (I’m playing Devil’s advocate a little by going here), teachers at these schools probably don’t need to be near as effective…or work as hard…to get positive educational outcomes in comparison to teachers in lower socioeconomic schools who are able to get positive educational outcomes from their children. Did you ever see the movie Stand and Deliver in which a mathematics teacher in a poor Hispanic high school was able to get his students to pass advanced placement calculus? Now that’s impressive!
So, I don’t doubt that many of these elite preschools are quite impressive with wonderful teachers using some of the most innovative, empirically-supported educational methods out there. Still, I think we need to keep our perspective. There are many factors involved in our kids’ “success” in life. A particular school or teacher is not going to make-or-break or children’s future. (Okay, I realize there are some horror stories out there, but let’s stick to the realm of “good enough”). The law of diminishing returns enters at some point, and we need to keep focused on the factors that are most important to our children’s success in life. I’m going to be doing several more posts on this topic, so please stay tuned!
Filed under Educational Support, Happiness & Well-Being, Parenting