Universal Education: Daycare -BA

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Universal Education: Daycare to BA

Education, Education, It's all about Education!

Who cares? –25% of secondary school students are at risk of not graduating.

Who cares? -all provinces continue to cut education funding on a per capita basis?

Who cares? -most education cuts are to special needs programs?

We all must care!

Canada's main focus must be on education. Academic training plus life skills plus social development.

“More than three out of four of those on welfare, 85 percent of unwed mothers and 68 percent of those arrested are functionally illiterate.” National Center for Policy Analysis

The following statement is from the Summary Conclusion of the Submission of the Ontario Teachers' Federation/Fédération des enseignantes et des enseignants de l'Ontario to the Standing Committee on Budget and Finance, February 13, 2004.

“Today the expectation is that all students have both a responsibility and a right to learn, to acquire the skills and knowledge that will enable them to participate fully in society.”

If the above statement is true and should be true for all education departments across Canada, then they are failing miserably. Following this statement must then be the disclosure that education departments therefore are under obligation to provide all necessary funding for resources to ensure that no student need be at risk of failure, after all they, the students, have the RIGHT to learn. Yet, by education board statistics, 25% of secondary students are at risk of not graduating.

Where Does Education Begin?

Our education systems in Canada need to be much broader based to include all aspects of our children's education from day care through to university and adult education.

No better place to start than Day Care.

We need universal daycare for every preschooler. Both the federal and provincial governments are being pressured these days to provide a universal daycare program in Canada. In some form this will probably become a reality over the next few years. The present Federal Government's paltry sum of $100 to every preschool child is a farce and totally inadequate to supply the daycare required in Canada.

There is much empirical evidence that shows learning problems can be discovered in very young children along with aggressive characteristics which in later years could lead to antisocial behavior. Since these children will be placed into the school system a year or three down the road, it seems only sense to have daycare under the auspices of the Departments of Education from the beginning.

Who better to address the problems?

Who better to provide the training and certification of daycare workers?

Who better to provide and inspect facilities and quality of care?

Who better to handle Adult child care courses for the parents?

The only drawback to the school systems becoming responsible for daycare- is funding.

The biggest problem is that many parents may look to universal daycare as a free-bee. It's not. And neither is it a baby sitting service. Along with a guaranteed livable income for all Canadians, – must come responsibility.

All parents should be required to attend parenting classes one day or evening per week, no exceptions. See, we have now expanded education far beyond grades 1 – 12, and got the parents involved. It is worth the investment.

A disproportionate number, nearly all, youths involved in criminal activity come from dis-functional families. Parents who have never been taught how to raise children, how to teach children, how to discipline children at the various stages of development. And it's not just lower income families in crisis.

Many readers will argue that children cannot be raised to fit into one universal mold.

I concur completely. What mandatory parenting classes can do is give opportunity for parents to become involved, a forum to ask questions, to reach out for more specific professional help and guidance. It will also give counselors the means to be able to identify families with problems where other forms of intervention may be needed. Marital problems, drug and alcohol abuse, violent temperament, spousal abuse to name a few. These are services that can be provided by schools and social service agencies through early intervention rather than the justice system being called upon to provide later, all too often, after the fact.

Daycare will need to be a 12 months of the year program operating from 7 am to 5 pm to be effective. This actually fits in well with operating school systems economically. How can we justify a multi million dollar facility, paid for out of taxpayer money, to sit idle for four months each year?

Many complain that class sizes are too large.

Let's reduce class size by 33%.

Have schools run 12 months of the year divided into 4 semesters of 55 instructional days each, 11 weeks. This would allow 2 full weeks off between semesters giving time for teachers professional days and families to plan vacation periods while still allowing for holidays. Interim classes could still be held during the semester breaks to teach specialized short courses and remedial programs such as hygiene, health, family life, computer safety, playground safety, sex ed, first aid, drivers ed, child watch, etc.

Students would be required to attend three of the four semesters each year. For secondary schools, not all subjects need be taught in each semester, but in any two semesters allowing the students some leeway in making up their academic schedule.

To make up for the instructional days lost from the regular 190 day school year an additional 1 1/2 hrs would be added to each school day. For secondary schools, instead of 5, 1 hr classes each day, the day would be 3, 1 1/2 hr classes with 1 1/2 hr per day devoted to physical fitness and arts programs compulsory for all students each semester.

Many will argue that this school day is too long.

It is not too long, it is just not what teachers and students are used to.

Take for instance, day care. Most parents require day care from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, oft times a bit longer. This to fit in with their working day. If it is not too long for toddlers? – well, need I say more.

The main focus is on education. Academic training plus life skills plus social development.

The main expense to year round schooling is hiring more teachers and teacher aids; but, it is for our children and Canada's future. The extra costs are worth the price; we will save dollars in just a few short years, save many lives and greatly add to the quality of life for a huge portion of the population.

Let us next encourage students to further their education by giving free post secondary education , be it trade school, college, or university up to a BA degree. Most job vacancies in Canada require some level of trade certification, and often employers are looking to other countries to fill those jobs.

For Education Resources, see; Canadian Concerns in Education

Let's prepare our children for a better world.
A world of hope. A Canada without poverty.

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