Why full-day kindergarten is a good idea

Today Ontario's ministry of education announced that more than 800 schools will have full-day kindergarten by the fall of 2011.

In phase two of the province's new early-learning initiative, more than 200 additional schools will offer the program, on top of the 600 to provide full-day kindergarten this coming school year.

You can find a complete list of the new schools to offer the program in 2011 here.

I've been answering questions on twitter today about why I think this program is great. I'll outline a few of them briefly here:

1) Quality education before the primary grades is a great equalizer. It helps put kids whose parents can't afford top-quality daycare, preschool programs or attentive nannies on the same playing field with those whose can. And it helps level things out between kids raised by single parents juggling two jobs with those from families that can afford to keep one parent at home.

Charles Pascal, co-author of the report upon which the program is modeled, points out that one third of children enter Grade 1 without the necessary skills. Assuring that all children have the same access to a stimulating and nurturing environment for two years before their primary years is the best way to address this.

2) It helps lower the burden of childcare costs on families. Yes, we choose to have children, but our economic system doesn't do much to assist with the cost of raising a flock of future tax payers. Progressive governments do more to support growing families than ours does (Sweden? The Netherlands? Quebec?!), and without their economies crumbling. Some will argue that many single-income households simply go without fancy clothes and vacations to afford to keep one parent at home. But when you're a single parent with only the choice to work or go on welfare, that's simply unfathomable. And even for those who live well, well above the threshold of working poverty, it's not easy to raise a family on one income in a city with an average house price of $446,593. Particularly one where infant child care can run up to $1800 a month, and childcare for the hours outside a "half-day" kindergarten can easily reach $1,000 a month.)

3) "Half-day" kindergarten is not a half-day. It's 2.5 hours. That's not even a terribly long playdate. The logistics of providing childcare for the hours outside of the morning or afternoon program are a nightmare. Who with a job outside of the home can easily dash to the school at 11:30 a.m.? Or to daycare at lunchtime and then to school in the afternoon? There is limited selection among daycares that provide transportation to and from school, and sometimes that leads to "choosing" sub-par, unlicensed care. Busing these tiny kids to and from their daycares is also not an easy thing to carry out, or a fantastically good idea (what if you lose a few?). And where alternating full days are offered instead of half days, it's not only difficult to find childcare that will take your child Tuesday and Thursday of one week and Monday, Wednesday, Friday of the next, but it can be discombobulating for the small child who wakes up each morning and asks where they're going that day.

There's lots more to discuss about the merits of full-day learning. You can read more on our Early Learning page.

Comments

[Cynthia Hill]

I agree with you completely. It's amazing how many parents I've heard bitching about all-day kindergarten being too much for kids. I think it must be parents who've never actually had kids in the kindergarten program. My third child is about enter JK in the fall (one of his older sisters will be in SK) and I really wish that our school was one of the ones offering full days. They love school and have learned SO much. Plus, as you say, with four kids, one parent has to stay home at this stage, because daycare would be completely unreasonable. And yes, we chose to have four kids, but I honestly believe that kids can and do thrive in a GOOD daycare setting.

I actually wrote about this back in January, when the first schools were announced. http://www.climbinguptheslide.com/2010/01/ontario-announces-schools-for-first.html

[M. White]

I disagree with mandating full day kindergarten without the CHOICE to have your child half day, as was originally recommended
"Children’s participation would be by parental choice, with parents having the option of a half, full (school hours), or fee-based extended day of programming;". (http://www.ontario.ca/en/initiatives/early_learning/ONT06_018870#3.1)
Small children can only absorb so much information. Especially with the distractions that will occur in the larger class sizes. They say there will be an ECE, but the class:teacher ratio will still be higher as that is to be the person marking/assessing the children.
Many parents are able and willing to provide 1:1 or small group time to teach their children, that is why my grade 1 son read in JK and is gr1 reading gr 3 level! Not all families have choosen to have extra cars/fancier clothes/bigger houses. Some choose a smaller budget to be able to invest that time to the children.
Will they push the "balanced day" on the children, meaning only 2 small snacks for the whole day. They dont comment on that at all.
What preparation has occurred to date? Our teachers were going to hold many info meetings for us (principal thinks they already have) and they have decided to hold off on meetings about Full Day until September to tell us their plans. AKA, THERE ARE NONE! Now off to summer break!
Sure, many schools only provide (dont really call this an offer) full day every other day/every day. The CHOICE should still be there. Instead it's being ripped out of our hands. Why not put them in at 18mos, 6mos...provide only formula to "equal out" the nutrtioin, their atmosphere, their influences for all. Not like the parents wouldnt rather be at work after all!!!
(What a messed up society!)

[E.M]

Both my kids are missing this opportunity as our school was not on the list selected by the Ministry of Education. They only picked 1 catholic elementary only in the east end of our city and bypassed the other catholic elementary schools in the west end where we live. It wasn't fair to just pick and choose the schools.

[123BigRed]

I agree equalling out means taking some up and some down. what about parental choice!

[Kay Mack]

As an elementary teacher with 30 years experience, I have yet to see students being "equalized" by being in any large group setting. The ones that have had a solid background are far more ready to learn for a whole host of reasons. The ones who aren't, have emotional and health issues which being with a crowd of children all day, whatever you call it, doesn't fix. You can see who has problems in Kindergarten, but there aren't anywhere near the resources to help needy kids of any stripe. I guess I'm saying daycare/all day Kindergarten doesn't cancel out the effects of poor parenting. That being said, for ESL students and others for whom only a lack of learning opportunities, such as hearing English, is the issue, it could be a benefit. Let's be honest....it's subsidized daycare, with a more educated person in charge, but a lot worse pupil/adult ratio than regular daycare. And it scores political points for Dalton McGuinty.

[Lil]

I have been teaching Kindergarten for 8 years. Over the course of these years, I have had the opportunity to teach in all of the different arrangements (all day every other day, 1/2 day, blended/not blended). I also taught full day, every day kindergarten for 3 years while working at a private school. I support the full day program. As the Ontario curriculum has intensified, the academic demands can be felt as early as the kindergarten years (and many would argue earlier as parents feel pressure to prepare their young ones for the increasing demands of kindergarten). The result of the more demanding curriculum has resulted in the gradual phasing out of play - whether this is intentional or unintentional is open to debate. The social/emotional education that children gain through play in a structured environment while being supported and guided by a qualified professional is invaluable. Full day kindergarten could allow teachers to use the morning hours as prime academic time. The afternoon is an opportune time for structured play and more traditional Kindergarten learning opportunities that speak to the wonder and innocence of this age level. This enriched program can provide a more balanced and developmentally appropriate day and, ultimately, more well-rounded students.
It will certainly be interesting to see what the government and school boards mandate teachers to do with the increased hours with the children - obviously, at the end of the day, that will determine the worth of the full day program. It is my genuine hope that they will allow us to slow the day down and find a balance of academics and play.

[Radioink]

The argument is flawed. You complain Canada doesn't offer as supportive a parenting milieu as other countries- presumably in part because our working culture is so demanding and inflexible. You therefore choose to bend to this inflexible working culture and its demands and cheer on full day kindergarten as a solution. This is addressing the symptoms and not the disease.
Would it not be more logical -and dare I say effective- to adapt our working culture to meet our families' needs, rather than to adapt our children's natural learning processes to suit our working culture?
If you love big institutions, working all the time and don't value your own autonomy as a parent-full day kindergarten will look as good as McGuinty says it does.
If you and your kids want better: let's ask our employers for change.
They created the work week and working day as it is. It is not conducive to a family friendly society.
Employers need to be part of the solution here- and take responsibility. I'm tired of the discussion being a ping pong match between government and parents.

[cori]

I am a mother of a special needs child that just entered full day kindergarten, yr round school( my child will go 9 weeks, then off for 3 weeks for an entire school year). I think that they need full day, b/c it keeps them structured, focused and busy all day.

[anne]

This is a program put out there to close the gap between children from low socioeconomic status with those from more advantaged backgrounds. It is also a grab by the liberals at the immigrant vote. It's going to cost the government and tax payers an absurd amount of money which quite simply isn't there. Other areas will suffer.
The lack of choice is disgusting. I have an older child with health problems who can't handle a school switch or full day school right now and my younger one had the misfortune of being born late in the year and will be 3 and a half when starting school, crammed in a class of 26 with kids from 3 to 5. That's hardly a benefit. I quit my job to stay home with my kids while they are little. So my younger child definitely won't be going but she'll still need some kind of program part time which we will pay for ourselves, further burdening our single income household. Thanks so much Dalton.
I am really tired of having to apologize for my choice to stay home with my kids because working mothers have no other choice. Some of them don't and that's really unfortunate and I hope this program makes your life easier. But most take a good hard look at your life, did you really need the DVD player in the car and 2 celphone bills, not likely.
I had a good job, but I think one on one time with my kids is more important, and I want them with me for a little longer. I would also like to point out that when my older daughter was starting jk last year in a jk/sk split class she was already at an SK level, because I take the time with her. This whole thing is so undemocratic.

[Gale Hooverman]

I would certainly hope that the jk/sk programs would have a strong play component in them. The Ontario government academic expectations for young children are often out of sync with their development. Play allows children to learn to socialize with other children in positive ways. As a veteran teacher I have watched JK/SK classrooms change dramatically over the years and I am glad my children went when sand, water and play were still an integral part of the half day (then) program.

[FreeThinker]

I see lots of complaints from all quarters. When are ppl going to realize that Left Wing Socialists wanna run your life, and if you don`t want them running your life then QUIT VOTING FOR THEM!!! (yes, Conservatives are by far the lesser of the evils)

[Meghan]

I think that there is an over exaggeration on the subject of full-day kindergarten. I personally went to school through the french school's system that has always implemented full-day kindergarten and was absolutely fine at school. I never had the half-day option, but at that age, all you do is learn through play anyhow and have story books read aloud to you. It also can be beneficial for children to interact with others and get over the homesick phase. I see many pros to this option.

[Brooke]

3 Reasons why Full Day Kindergarten is NOT a good idea:

1. Ontario tax payers could provide their children with 'quality education' before the primary years through educated, trained and underutilized Early Childhood Educators. This would be less of a tax burden and would tap into an underutilized resource this province has.

2. Paying teachers to babysit decreases direct childcare costs to families but is a cover up for not putting in the time and effort needed to create a sustainable and efficient early childhood education program.

3. Does your 3/4 year old ever focus for more than 2.5 hours? NO!

Thank you - Brooke Beney.

[Anita Lewis]

I have 2 children 13 and 15.When smaller class sizes were brought in for k to 3 the classes in grades 4 to 8 were mad larger. My kids have been in classes of 35 more than once.Now with full day kindergarten the classes will be larger where do you think the money will come from?You don't renovate your kitchen with a brand new subzero fridge when your roof is leaking.Until caps are put on class sizes in middle and high school I can't support this.

[Rob]

I dont agree with full day, this is not a fix for the cause, its a fix for the symptons. Parents these days should think twice about whats more important, their lavious lifestyle or their kids. This is just an easy way out for lazy parents. One more thing,who is going to make sure that the kids are eating right all day long when there are 30 kids