The Ontario Liberal government will be pushing full day learning for 4 and 5 year olds. They plan implementation in Sept. 2010. There are so many things wrong with this that it is hard to know where to start the criticism.
Four and five year olds are probably best off with a parent. If this isn't possible, let the parents decide which day care is best. The premise that I accept, and apparently our provincial government doesn't, is that parents will make the best choice for their children.
When my wife and I decided to place our daughter in daycare we researched and visited a number of establishments. We chose the one we thought was right that suited our budget. Our decision proved to be correct. We were confident that the daycare knew who the client was: my wife and myself. We were confident that they knew that if we grew displeased with their service that we would replace them. The bottom line is that choice kept our private daycare, and others, honest, responsible, and incented to do good work. Choice worked. They provided a great service. (Peekaboo daycare in Brampton off Kennedy and Sandalwood for anyone interested)
My daughter finished grade one. The experience we as parents had was less than praiseworthy. We were informed significantly less than daycare. The teachers were not their when we dropped off our child (at 7:45) and were long gone by the time we picked her up. We got to see her daily work periodically, not weekly as in daycare. The attitude of the teachers and staff was what you would expect from someone with union backing and very little competition. (Private schools are out of our price range).
Choice is the key. Government run schools crowd out choice except for the top earners of society. Without choice, we have no power.
On a side note, it is very interesting that private establishments such as Kumon, Oxford Learning Center, and others are popping up all over. There is a market for establishments that will supplement your child's education. If our school system was doing a good job, this wouldn't be happening.
I know how full day learning for four and five year olds will go. The Toronto garbage strike provides a strong clue. The staff will have great compensation packages, great benefits, and a Cadillac pension plan and they will still strike or threaten to strike every three or four years.
Full day learning for four and five year olds is a bad idea the deserves to be stopped. Write to your provincial government representative and tell them so.
Right On
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I understand that in Finland they don't start school until age 7. They seem to be doing just fine. By coincidence my son started school at age 3, but we were happy to do it because he really needed to get into a structured environment given the signs of his intellect.
ReplyDeleteI figure that this early full day school stuff is being lobbied by parents who want the government to backdoor subsidize daycare.
Hmmm...much of this post concerns choice for daycare and your experience with poor professional environment at your child's school, but doesn't really talk to the issue at hand which is full day vs half day for JK and K. Our children went through the French Public school board in eastern ontario where full day JK and K has been the norm for some time. Setting aside the uneven delivery of education across the province, the issue is whether children actually do better if in a full day setting from the beginning. Perhaps a follow up post to address that specific issue is needed?
ReplyDeleteYou're right! I resent that the government is forcing itself on the raising of our kids.
ReplyDeleteKindergarten in Ontario is still optional. I know many parents who never sent their kids to either a JK or SK and they found their kids ahead of the kids who attended daycare re: learning and manners.
Where is the opposition on all of this sticking up for the right of choice for parents?
Based on the number of children I see in half-day or alternate full-day junior and senior kindergarten classes, most parent seem happy to have their children attending kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteWhile you seem to advocate choice for day-cares, you don't seem to want parents the choice to send their children to a full-day kindergarten program. As Anonymous 5:30 mentioned, kindergarten is optional. What you do with your own children is up to you. Don't tell other parents that they can't send their children to a full-day kindergarten program.
To Right On,
As for your child's teacher not being at the school super early or staying super late, teachers are required by law to be there 15 minutes before classes start and can leave 15 minutes after the end of the school day. That does not mean that your child's teacher's work is finished. The teacher may have a family of her own and may need to be with her own children. Meanwhile she is marking work and preparing for the next day.
If you wish to speak to the class teacher, contact the office. That teacher should get back to you by the end of the school day or at a time that might be suitable for you. Also, remember that in a primary class, the student-teacher ratio is about 20-1. In a day-care, the ratio is much lower. A day-care person has more time to speak to each parent. A teacher does not. That does not mean that a teacher will not. Far from it, the teacher will want to speak to parents if the child is having learning or behavioural difficulties. Even if the child is doing well, the teacher may wish to speak to the parents once in a while. Also, if a child is in grade-one or two, he or she is becoming an independent learner. Talk to your child about his or her day. Don't expect the teacher to provide all the answers. I hope that if your child goes to university, you won't be barging into the professor's office to complain about not sending work home for you to check.
As for not seeing your child's grade-one work every day compared to the day care stuff, the teacher needs to assess and sometimes evaluate the work so that this information may eventually go into your child's report card. Correct me if I am wrong. I don't think day-cares have legal report cards. At the end of the day, the day-care can send every child's work home. There is no legal requirement to evaluate the work.
Thanks for the comments. I am all for choice. If someone wants to send their children to full or half day kindergarten that should be their choice. Now, if the government enters the picture by subsidizing full day kindergarten, that really skews the choice. Full day kindergarten sounds great but I fear the first comment from unambig is correct. Why pay full cost for private day care when you can get subsidized full day kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to all the private daycare establishments out there. They are going to lose 40% of their clientele (the parents of 4 and 5 year olds.
I can`t believe there isn`t opposition to this as per Skinny Dipper. It is government crowding out the private sector.
Right on