Evening star., 1955-09-18
BY MosBY GRANT

IL he was definitely on edge.
But 1t was not until shortly
after noon, when q series Of
private school buses began dis
gorging the local Davy Crockett
set. that he realized the source
Of his nervous complaint--the
absolute quiet.
In the morning hours, Rural
Woods had been swept rs bare
Of its younger children as
though the Pied Piper had
marched through playing the
Howdy Doody song. Az In
many suburban communities.
the young. young fry had been
or srouping-it-up In local
nurseries and ndergartens-
. fairly widespread phenom-
enon which some authorities
claim has both its benefits
and problems.
No survey IL available as to
why parents send their little
folks on to preschool school.
Infantile delinquency is not
one of the major problems in
Rural Woods. and there has
been no organized effort to get
Junior out Of the streets and
back yards. An informal check
with the neighnors turned UP o
variety Of answers. ranging
from the candid assertion that
1t was just nice to have the
youngsters out Of the way
while the heavy housework was
undertaken. to the hope the
child would learn some social
responsibility and to channel
his or her energies into useful.
If not remunerativs. pursuits.
A casual survey Of the
urchins themselves indicates .
good many get to nursery
school just because they cry,
loudly and often, that all their
little friends are going.
Five Approaches in Arse
Nursery schools where
guided play is more or less the
curriculum. are by no means
new. though their rise in mum.
ber and size appears to be cor
related with increase in the
number Of mothers who work
and the decrease In available
domestic help. kindergarten.
as . means Of actively prepar-
ing the child for his entry into
formal schooling, have been q
part Of many State school sys-
TENS for many decades. The
peculiar problems faced by
local parents do not stem from
the fact they are dealing with
q series of innovations. but
that within the Greater WASH
ington area there are five dis
tinct systems Of preschool
education-each Of the four
counties around the city, as
well as the District. having IT.
own approach-or lack Of it
to the training Of the very
young.
Both the District and Mont
gomery County have we'll
founded kindergarten systems
as o part of their public
schooling. Some 1000 kinder
gartners are registered in the
District. some 5000 in Mont
gomery. The Districts Rec
reation Department has ex-
perimented with . nursery
school. but lack Of space has
forced . halt-perhaps tenn
porary--to that program.
Prince Georges Plan
In the past two years. or
20. Prince Georges County has
come up with q program to
help Junior adjust his little
psyche to the world about him
by establishing . working re-
lationship with cooperative
kindergartens --- where moth
ers take an actual part in the
training and supervision OF
the school. Upon application,
co-operatives can receive the
services Of the county super
visor, train personnel in the
county's educational work.
shops, and receive supplies at
cost. Wherever possible, pub
lie facilities are made avail
able to the co-operatfves. and
the program, embracing some
l,400 children. appears 10
have met with q good measure
Of success.
II is on the Virginia side Of
the river that parents begin
to find caution signs raised.
All Of Maryland's schools.
private as well as public. come
under the supervision of the
State Board Of Education.
Not SO in Virginia. Arlington
County has regulated its pri-
vate nurseries, kindergartens
and child care centers for the
past II years, under the su-
pervision Of a county child
care counselor. Fairfax's pri-
vate preschool facilities. on
the other hand, are . sprawl
ing, unregulated chaos. which
were described to this re-
porter by o Fairfax education
ofYicial as a handicap to the
.o,,ukx, (Nh31drovn artariv1w