Posted: 09/25/2013 12:29 pm EDT Updated: 11/25/2013 5:12 am EST
Does six hours of school a day instil a love of learning in four-year-olds?
Most people would probably scoff at a parent who forces their young child to practise piano or dance for six hours a day. Ditto when it comes to gymnastics or swimming or even Canada’s sentimental favourite, hockey. Thankfully, most moms and dads realize that for little kids, an hour or so is more than enough for most activities and any longer will only result in your child loathing the sport or hobby you hoped they would love.
So why the push for full-day kindergarten?
As a mother to three small children, one would think that I would be an ardent cheerleader for full-day kindergarten. In reality, I’m actually booing from the sidelines.
We are fooling ourselves if we think that full-day kindergarten is anything more than a glorified babysitting service. A four- or five-year-old child may benefit from a few hours of schooling each day, but six hours straight? Most kids that age have trouble staying focused more than 20 minutes. And this doesn’t even take into account the before and after school programs. Some of these kids are spending eight or 10 hours per day at school.
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/lydia-lovric/full-day-kindergarten-benefits_b_3988019.html
Vote NO!