Are we depriving our young children of Education in Preschools and Daycares?

Many Daycares I have been to, or preschools have a learning through play approach. This is the thought of many Early Childhood Practitioners. Children in America, unless privately educated beging learning to read and write at the age of 5. Here is my concern; A child is in their most absorbent, or sensitive period for reading and writing from the ages of 2 and a half to 6 (Maria Montessori). So the question I then ask, is are we starting too late?

Having worked in school, as a Montessori Teacher. I saw first hand the effects and benefits of teaching young children academics and socially acceptable behaviour from a young age. As young as two the children begin to learn and be exposed to numbers and letters. They learn through a stimulating environment. The children are not however forced into anything, however the teacher will give presentations to “spark” the children’s interest. This was all very new to me having previously worked in “learning through play” environments. However, what I observed was that the children were florishing. In a Montessori school, the children’s age groups are mixed and I saw the younger children learning from older children and the older children having great pride in teaching the younger children to complete a Montessori activity in the classroom. I observed children working together, helping each other, turn taking and sharing. The Montessori classroom also has a Peace table, where children can resolve conflicts by each taking turns and speech and having a teacher near by to aid if needed.

After working in the Montessori school, my view of education had immensely changed. My concern is that, in order to improve the education system should we not be starting to educate from a younger age?