Techdirt. Stories filed under "preschool" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "preschool"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:00:00 PST DailyDirt: Big Data On Kid Development Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101208/11452312191/dailydirt-big-data-kid-development.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101208/11452312191/dailydirt-big-data-kid-development.shtml
  • Measuring the difference between heart rates when a baby inhales and exhales could lead to predictive indicators for whether or not that kid will overcome poverty. For "sensitive" babies, where the difference is large, a stable environment may have a greater effect on the child's future well-being. [url]
  • Preschool seems to be important for disadvantaged kids, but the benefits for middle class kids are not as clear. So flip a coin, tiger-moms, but some economists might have a good argument for government funded access to preschool for at-risk toddlers. [url]
  • The 7 Up documentary began in 1964 and followed seven year old kids from different economic backgrounds as they grew up. The latest installment, 56 Up checks in on these people now as they face retirement (or not) -- and presents a fascinating snapshot of society. [url]
    • If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101208/11452312191     Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:27:59 PDT Mom Sues Preschool, Claiming It Didn't Prepare Her 4-Year-Old For The Ivy Leagues Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110316/17202813521/mom-sues-preschool-claiming-it-didnt-prepare-her-4-year-old-ivy-leagues.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110316/17202813521/mom-sues-preschool-claiming-it-didnt-prepare-her-4-year-old-ivy-leagues.shtml sued the York Avenue Preschool, claiming her "very smart" 4-year-old was not properly prepared for the private schools of New York, and this could harm her chances of getting into an Ivy League college down the road. Her lawyer, Mathew Paulose, appears to have an interesting definition of "theft":
    "This is about a theft where a business advertises as one thing and is actually another... They're nabbing $19,000 and making a run for it."
    Of course, that's not even close to what's happening, and it's hardly "theft." Perhaps there's an argument that the school overstated its claims, but that's not "theft." Even looking deeper into the complaint, Impresscia's big concern seems to be that the 4-year-olds had to spend time with 2-year-olds, and had to spend time learning about shapes and colors. Apparently, her daughter is all over that. I'm struggling to see how that hurts a child's educational ability, but what do I know? I guess I didn't attend the right pre-school (and my Ivy League degrees must be mistakes).

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    ]]>     this-can't-be-serious http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110316/17202813521     Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:50:00 PDT California Pre-Schoolers Getting Tracking Devices Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100827/04101210794.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100827/04101210794.shtml that contain an RFID tag, which will track the kids whereabouts at all times. The claim is it will even track "whether they've eaten or not," though I'm not quite sure how that works. The idea is that this will "free up teachers and administrators who previously had to note on paper files when a child was absent or had eaten." While I'm generally all for technology that makes processes more efficient, I'm not quite sure it makes sense to go full-on Big Brother here. Aren't there better technological solutions for tracking attendance and food intake. What about having the kid (or their parents) sign them in via a computer check-in (which is what I do with my kid)? As a parent, frankly, I don't think I'd be comfortable with a preschool tagging my kid with a tracking device.

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    ]]>     let-the-computer-watch-'em http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100827/04101210794