RE: Question 1: Pre-school support

I do not believe Kindergarten should me mandatory.   There are many children from good homes that choose not to send their children to school because they are not ready to sit still for longer periods of time, especially all day or don't have the fine motor skills etc.  Some kids just need Mom or Dad for a longer period of time.  I am concerned you will be attempting to make teachers surrogate parents who are unable to provide the hugs and kisses that keep them from becoming to harden to the world around them.  Also, I have noticed that the negative socialization, that is schoolyards with minimal supervision and minimal intervention and classrooms with not enough teachers per student or less than qualified teachers.  There is also a reliance on assistant teachers that are not qualified to teach but have taken on a major role in some classrooms.  I think this is the time for parents to teach their kids values and instill virtues, not hammer facts.  Educate the parents on the validity of education, 

I took my daughter out of a ‘desirable' private pre-school with a waiting list for some of these very reasons.   They taught values however the playground was another issue!  I have friends in the public school system that say it is worse and the kids have to be tough to survive.  That is scary at five!