Report: Increasing Number Of U.S. Toddlers Attending Online Preschool

[Katashi_itto]

?6396
WASHINGTON—Saying the option is revolutionizing the way the nation’s 3- and 4-year-olds prepare for the grade school years ahead, a Department of Education report released Thursday confirmed that an increasing number of U.S. toddlers are now attending online preschool.

“We found that a growing number of American toddlers are eschewing the traditional brick-and-mortar preschools in favor of sitting down in front of a computer screen for four hours a day and furthering their early psychosocial development in a virtual environment,” said the report’s author, Dr. Stephen Forrest, who said that the affordability and flexibility characteristic of online pre-primary education are what make the option most appealing, allowing young children to learn their shapes and colors on a schedule that works best for them.

“With access to their Show-And-Tell message boards, recess timers, and live webcams of class turtle tanks, most toddlers are finding that they can receive the same experience of traditional preschooling from the comfort of their parents’ living room or home office. In addition, most cited the ability to listen to their teacher’s recordings of story time at their own pace as a significant benefit of choosing an online nursery school.” Forrest added that, despite their increasing popularity, many parents remain unconvinced that online preschools provide the same academic benefits as actually hearing an instructor name farm animals and imitate their noises in person.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/report-increasing-number-of-us-toddlers-attending,37145/

[handmade34]

1. fine line

[drray23]

2. that is ridiculous

In my opinion, a significant part of having your toddler in preschool is to get them used to interact with other people besides their family. That is how they learn social interactions and acquire friendships., learn to cope with conflict and the like. If we put our kids in front of a computer at 3yr old and call it education we are going to raise a generation of antisocial misfits.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Um, that's FOR-PROFIT online preschools, right ?

What could possibly go wrong ?

[marmar]

4. It's the Onion.

[HappyMe]

5. Yes, it is.

It wouldn't surprise me if this started happening though.

[Arugula Latte]

6. Ahh, crap. Missed the satire at first read.