Full day kindergarten

I couldn't be sure that I didn't write this column on Ontario's full-day kindergarten plan by Rosie Dimanno (published in The Star) myself. I mean it expresses everything I wanted to say and has been saying to a few of my friends about the province's full-day kindergarten plan. All I do now is shake my head at what is to become of our children who came into this world just four years ago, some even less for example, those with birthdates in November, December etc. I feel such pity for these wee ones. They are still so little and JK is the first time some of them will be away from home. This is the first time they are learning to understand the existence of others outside of family and home. This is the first time they are learning how to share and get along with other children. However, they can do this only a little at a time. They need unstructured downtime where they can just be themselves and lie down if they are tired. But in all the talks about the full-day plan, no one mentioned if there will be accomodations made for these children to have maybe a short nap during the class hours.
So, their day would go like this - wake up at 5:30 a.m. every morning, bundled off to school at 7:30 a.m., begin some sort of structured activities until the actual school hours start at 8:50 a.m. The school hours continue till 3:10 p.m. for example - all through they will have teacher-directed things to do. Then the next phase of the afternoon, still in the classroom where there are only tables and chairs till 5:30 p.m. or so. Then they will repeat the routine the next day. I ask you, have you known even adults to be at work for these many hours a day? I say the whole plan is insane. Anyway, if you have time and interest, read this column by Rosie Dimanno published in the Toronto Star.

http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/653420