Day Five: Full Day Kindergarten? A Step Towards Ending the Cycle of Poverty or a Step Towards Fully Subsidized Daycare?

Most days with a (nearly) 4 year-old girl can be a struggle. Add in a 2 year-old sister & I have to admit that I look forward to full-day kindergarten. I know that once that moment arrives I will look back fondly on the days of going a daytrip on a whim, sleeping in, playing outside without being bound to a school schedule. I may be opening a can of worms by entering into the full-day kindergarten "debate", but a sidebar link on a website got me thinking about the connection full-day kindergarten plays in reducing poverty.

In doing some further reading and looking at some statistics, Canada is missing the mark in providing (er, forking out the $ for) quality early childhood programs. Specifically, the Unicef Innocenti Report Card 8 looks at early childhood and childcare in 25 of the richest countries (unicef.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=2250 *look at the summary chart 1/2 way down the page & check out Report Card 7 which looks specifically at child well-being including poverty & education) and examines Canada's shameful ranking in detail. Canada is one of the most affluent countries (based on GDP), yet spends only 0.2% of the GDP on programs for 0-6 years. The countries who rank higher on the report card offer much more progressive childcare and education programs and have spending rates closer to 2% [of their GDP]. So what do all these numbers mean with regards to full-day kindergarten (FDK)?

Study after study conclude that a developmentally appropriate FDK offers many benefits for all students. Some of these benefits include; higher academic scores (primarily between K and Gr.3), improved social skills and early intervention for students with behavioural challenges and learning disabilities. Without a doubt, FDK provides the most benefit for children from low-income families. Some direct benefits that fight poverty include:
- allowing parents to work full-time, reducing the amount paid for childcare (reducing on average ~$500/month based on quality childcare) = more money for necessities
- allowing parents to attend school (upgrade their education & skills)= potentially higher family income
- higher levels of academic and social success = reduced drop out rates = more high school graduates
- more children in safe, supervised spaces with developmentally appropriate, educationally enriching activities and potential access to meal programs and social service connections

If those benefits aren't compelling enough, then the simple financial facts may say it all. In Canada's Chief Public Health Officer's report (2008) he states that, for every $1 spent on a child's well-being now it saves the equivalent of $3-$9 in health, criminal and social assistance costs later on. How can our government not fund full-day kindergarten?

In our house the perspective on FDK is a little skewed, since my husband is a kindergarten teacher (as well as my mother-in-law & sister-in-law) & I worked for 8 years as an elementary school teacher. I don't want to come across as anti-family. I can hardly be accused of that position since I've been fortunate to choose to be a stay-at-home parent for the majority of the last 4 years. I also currently run a LNR childcare "business" (I have 2 girls I provide daycare for on a part-time basis) registered with the local Childcare Resource and Referral (CCRR) agency. So I'm aware of the desperate need for quality childcare spaces.

Jason's front-line experience in FDK speaks volumes. This year, he feels that he is able to create a developmentally appropriate program that gives the time to allow the students to get fully engaged in the activities and learn at their own pace. He doesn't feel like he needs to rush through the curriculum and take "shortcuts" that may not be child-centered. The students are able to interact with their peers and have a positive school experience.


So where's the hope and inspiration in today's post? Kudos to the BC government for taking the risk on FDK and thank you to Mr.Hodgins (aka The Shape Sheriff) who had a posse of 19 five and six year old kindergarten deputies creating "Wanted" posters for 3-D objects and hunting them down all over their classroom. Thank you to all teachers for working so hard to create positive school experiences for your students. You may never know what an impact you have on their lives!