People a lot smarter than me have done a good job responding to the now infamous Wall Street Journal op-ed that made a mockery of years of early childhood research. I’ve often wondered while reading the letters to the editor of many a newspaper why there is such a contrast in tone and substance between critics and advocates on any given issue:
From Sarah Urahn (Pew) and Libby Doggett’s (Pre-K Now) response in the Journal:
A summary of 123 preschool studies spanning 40 years, forthcoming in Teachers College Record, finds significant and long-lasting effects; the more rigorous the study, the larger the impacts. Few other educational reform measures have been scrutinized more intensively.
And from the opposing side:
The left has long held to the notion that parents are bad for kids. The left consistently chips away at parental authority and control — that is the ideology behind its opposition to vouchers; it’s not just about jobs.
The Tulsa Initiative Blog 