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How does life in Canada compare to the UK

How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Old Apr 20th 2008, 8:33 pm
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Default How does life in Canada compare to the UK

My family and I are considering making the great move north to Canada.

To be honest we've never visited the country, but if we do decide to take the plunge then a trip to the land of the Maple Leaf would be the first item on our list.

Our reasons for considering the move as we are disenchanted with the UK; high crime, poor educational system, poor public servicies et al. Basically all the usual suspects.

So my question to you brave folks out there who have gone before us is this;

Are things any better in Canada?

I know that's a general question, so I'll try to narrow it down a tad. We are particulary thinking of moving to Alberta, Calgary if possible or maybe Edmonton.

We're not naive Canada is no doubt a beautiful country with lots to offer, but it isn't paradise and don't expect perfection, or that the streets are paved with gold, but we would hope to achieve a better quality of life.

Can anyone tell me anything about the education system in Alberta, we have a 3 year old who starts school next year. So are the schools in Alberta better than those in the UK (not hard to manage I know) We are appalled about what we have found out about the state of schools over here in the UK, so a good school system is a must.

By 'good' I mean can and do the teachers excert discipline in the classroom; are they allowed to do so. Do the schools rigoursly teach the 3 R's and useful facts about history and science as opposed to whating to teach your five year old about single sex relationships and global warming.

Is the crime rate in Alberta and in particular Calgary/Edmonton lower than large British cities. We live near Manchester and it is truely terrible!

Does Canada have the same yob culture that the UK does or are people in Canada more polite and considerate than in the UK.

In otherwords would it be worth it for us to move to Canada. We've done all the reading we can; you know all the 'Move to Canada/Life in Canada books we can. We've looked at offical Canadian websites and checked out crime figures et al. But how much can you trust these sources.

I appreciate that ultimately our proposed new life in Canada would be down to what we make it. But there would be no point in doing it unless Canada offers a better opportunity to us as a family, and a better future to our child than the UK.

Any help would be appreciated. In partiuclar if you're nurse what is working in the healtch system like (my wife is a nurse).

Thank you all in advance.
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 9:08 pm
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Well we are in Calgary and came in 2005 with 14 yr old and 19 yr old boys.

We are so glad we made the move. Everybody in the family seems a lot happier, especially myself.

There is info on schooling system in the wiki (see the blue tabs at the top of the page), so I won't go into a lot of that.

Regarding discipline, there generally seems to be a lot more respect (both ways) between adults and kids, and it does appear to me that schoolroom discipline per se is not nearly the issue that it is in the UK.

There are others who'll give examples here, but if for instance a group of kids are being rowdy in the street or on the C-train, people here are quite likely to ask them to tone it down, and the response would much more likely be an apology and compliance than a fist sandwich or mouthful of abuse that one might expect in the UK!

There is, however, especially downtown, a failrly visible problem with homelessness and drug/mental health problems, and there is some gangland activity and drugs/gang-related shootings on a fairly regular basis. Check out the local papers eg Calgary Herald http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/index.html

Regarding nursing in Calgary (I'm a Physiotherapist and have worked in the region), the health service is perceived as being severely over-stretched and under-resourced, much as in the UK. There are not enough family doctors, and many of them work odd office hours so that "walk-in clinics" are widely used.

Nurses in the hospitals appear to be quite stressed unfortunately (in my experience) and over-worked. There are nurses who post on here who can tell you about that. They are certainly in high demand, and the hospitals are filled to overcapacity all the time.

There is a nice Home Care system which might work very well if only there were enough care-workers available in the community to look after folk. Often perceived needs are not met, and again stress levels are high!

People here, or in the nurses forum (if you go back to the main menu) can inform you of the process for British trained nurses to work here.

You don't say what your own occupation is, but you'd likely be quickly accepted here with your wife as principal applicant under the Provincial Nominee Program or on a temporary work permit.

Is that enough to be going on with? In short we've absolutely no regrets, coming here (well apart from leaving elderly parents), and materially as well as emotionally we are better off in countless ways.

Last edited by Alberta_Rose; Apr 20th 2008 at 9:12 pm.
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 9:17 pm
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by Morwenna
Well we are in Calgary and came in 2005 with 14 yr old and 19 yr old boys.

We are so glad we made the move. Everybody in the family seems a lot happier, especially myself.

There is info on schooling system in the wiki (see the blue tabs at the top of the page), so I won't go into a lot of that.

Regarding discipline, there generally seems to be a lot more respect (both ways) between adults and kids, and it does appear to me that schoolroom discipline per se is not nearly the issue that it is in the UK.

There are others who'll give examples here, but if for instance a group of kids are being rowdy in the street or on the C-train, people here are quite likely to ask them to tone it down, and the response would much more likely be an apology and compliance than a fist sandwich or mouthful of abuse that one might expect in the UK!

There is, however, especially downtown, a failrly visible problem with homelessness and drug/mental health problems, and there is some gangland activity and drugs/gang-related shootings on a fairly regular basis. Check out the local papers eg Calgary Herald http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/index.html

Regarding nursing in Calgary (I'm a Physiotherapist and have worked in the region), the health service is perceived as being severely over-stretched and under-resourced, much as in the UK. There are not enough family doctors, and many of them work odd office hours so that "walk-in clinics" are widely used.

Nurses in the hospitals appear to be quite stressed unfortunately (in my experience) and over-worked. There are nurses who post on here who can tell you about that. They are certainly in high demand, and the hospitals are filled to overcapacity all the time.

There is a nice Home Care system which might work very well if only there were enough care-workers available in the community to look after folk. Often perceived needs are not met, and again stress levels are high!

People here, or in the nurses forum (if you go back to the main menu) can inform you of the process for British trained nurses to work here.

You don't say what your own occupation is, but you'd likely be quickly accepted here with your wife as principal applicant under the Provincial Nominee Program or on a temporary work permit.

Is that enough to be going on with? In short we've absolutely no regrets, coming here (well apart from leaving elderly parents), and materially as well as emotionally we are better off in countless ways.
Morwenna,

Thanks for that.

To be honest that pretty much ties in with what we've found out so far.

Yes my wife would be the prinicipal applicant, for my sins I'm Civil Servant, but I only work for the British Government I don't believe in what they do there LOL so I really a nice guy (honest!).

My wife is a practice nurse so would be looking to work in a GP's surgery or a walk-in clinic. She left hospital nursing for the same reasons you have detailed. She finds things a lot better in primary care.

The general lack of yob culture and lower crime rate, would be a huge plus for us especially for our little girl.

I know canadian school children score very highly for subjects like maths, English and science when they sit international comparsion tests. British kids have fallen from 10th to 24th in the last six years - big surprise huh?

Anyway if we can confirm the Canadian school system is as good as we've heard that would probably swing the decision for us.

We've alreday arranged for a private school here in Blighty with my wife beinga nurse and myself a clerk in the civil service that tells you how rich we are.

Many thanks for the info!
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 11:09 pm
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by hawkman
My family and I are considering making the great move north to Canada.

To be honest we've never visited the country, but if we do decide to take the plunge then a trip to the land of the Maple Leaf would be the first item on our list.

Our reasons for considering the move as we are disenchanted with the UK; high crime, poor educational system, poor public servicies et al. Basically all the usual suspects.

So my question to you brave folks out there who have gone before us is this;

Are things any better in Canada?

I know that's a general question, so I'll try to narrow it down a tad. We are particulary thinking of moving to Alberta, Calgary if possible or maybe Edmonton.

We're not naive Canada is no doubt a beautiful country with lots to offer, but it isn't paradise and don't expect perfection, or that the streets are paved with gold, but we would hope to achieve a better quality of life.

Can anyone tell me anything about the education system in Alberta, we have a 3 year old who starts school next year. So are the schools in Alberta better than those in the UK (not hard to manage I know) We are appalled about what we have found out about the state of schools over here in the UK, so a good school system is a must.

By 'good' I mean can and do the teachers excert discipline in the classroom; are they allowed to do so. Do the schools rigoursly teach the 3 R's and useful facts about history and science as opposed to whating to teach your five year old about single sex relationships and global warming.

Is the crime rate in Alberta and in particular Calgary/Edmonton lower than large British cities. We live near Manchester and it is truely terrible!

Does Canada have the same yob culture that the UK does or are people in Canada more polite and considerate than in the UK.

In otherwords would it be worth it for us to move to Canada. We've done all the reading we can; you know all the 'Move to Canada/Life in Canada books we can. We've looked at offical Canadian websites and checked out crime figures et al. But how much can you trust these sources.

I appreciate that ultimately our proposed new life in Canada would be down to what we make it. But there would be no point in doing it unless Canada offers a better opportunity to us as a family, and a better future to our child than the UK.

Any help would be appreciated. In partiuclar if you're nurse what is working in the healtch system like (my wife is a nurse).

Thank you all in advance.

Hawkman

I moved to Calgary in 1997 from Suffolk and enjoyed our short time there. The issue for us then was lack of decent paid jobs to afford us to stay, so we ended up moving to Ontario. Found Calgary more expensive than Suffolk and struggled to live on less than half my UK income. So thats why we moved to Ontario.

We spent just over 8.5 years in Canada before returning back to the UK.

We found life not much different from the UK in reality. Unfortunately parts of Canada has similar social, health care, education problems that you find in some parts of the UK.

We actually returned to the UK for family reasons and so our sons could get an English education and attend UK unversities when they are older. We found the education was good for the 3 R's but lacked the breath that my sons have experienced in the last 2 years being in an English school.

What I read about Manchester, I would not live there either. We live in a sleepy village outside Oxford, so we do not any of the so called 'Daily Mail' issues. Little crime, no yobs, no bullying issues at the boys secondary school.

Moving to SE Kent next month and will live in a nice area and so my sons can attend the local Grammar school.

Crime not bad in Canada, though in Edmonton/Toronto you more likely to be murdered than in London or Oxford, but its nowhere like cities in the US or South Africa. We never really had crime issues in Canada where we lived and being back in England we not worried out it either.

It good experience moving overseas and does give broader outlook on life once you leave the UK.

regards

hudd
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 11:11 pm
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by hawkman

My wife is a practice nurse so would be looking to work in a GP's surgery or a walk-in clinic. She left hospital nursing for the same reasons you have detailed. She finds things a lot better in primary care.
Primary Care (a la UK) is a new concept here in Calgary. There some practices now being established, that have nursing and other auxiliary staff attached to them, and in general family doctors are getting quite excited about the idea.

Here's an example of one near us. http://www.cvfp.com/ complete with an advertised vacancy for a nurse!!!

Here's a linkie to the "Primary Care" web-pages of Calgary Health Region http://www.calgaryhealthregion.com/p...renetworks.htm

Last edited by Alberta_Rose; Apr 20th 2008 at 11:27 pm.
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 2:52 am
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by hawkman
Our reasons for considering the move as we are disenchanted with the UK; high crime, poor educational system, poor public servicies et al. Basically all the usual suspects.
As far as I can tell in Saskatoon, there's a fair amount of crime (e.g. one of the highest murder rates in Canada), but most of it is localised to certain areas and the rest of the city is far safer than most of the UK. Also, when we did call the police a few weeks ago, they arrived in five minutes; in the UK that would probably have been five hours, if they turned up at all.

Can't really comment on the school system, but otherwise the public services here seem to work a lot better than the UK. The one thing that might be worse is road maintenance, but when you consider that the province is probably several times the area of the UK with a few percent of the population, that's not too surprising.

Can't really comment on the rest of Canada, but Alberta seems similar to Saskatchewan (but with better roads) and overall I'm much better off here than I was in the UK, even though I earn 25% less. Some things cost the same in real terms as they do in the UK, but many things cost the same in dollars that they would have done in pounds, and the amount of tax I pay is lower too (when you add up all the income tax, national insurance, petrol tax, VAT, etc, I was working six months of the year for Gordon Brown).
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 5:13 am
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by hawkman
Do the schools rigoursly teach the 3 R's and useful facts about history and science as opposed to whating to teach your five year old about single sex relationships and global warming.
Why shouldn't they? Gay marriages are legal in Canada and homosexuality isn't a dirty word. Global warming is also a pretty major issue - and Canadians are certainly playing their part in helping it along.
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 6:55 am
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by Morwenna
Primary Care (a la UK) is a new concept here in Calgary. There some practices now being established, that have nursing and other auxiliary staff attached to them, and in general family doctors are getting quite excited about the idea.

Here's an example of one near us. http://www.cvfp.com/ complete with an advertised vacancy for a nurse!!!

Here's a linkie to the "Primary Care" web-pages of Calgary Health Region http://www.calgaryhealthregion.com/p...renetworks.htm
Morweena,

Thanks for that, it's a big help.

Cheers.

Hawkman
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 7:00 am
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by MarkG
As far as I can tell in Saskatoon, there's a fair amount of crime (e.g. one of the highest murder rates in Canada), but most of it is localised to certain areas and the rest of the city is far safer than most of the UK. Also, when we did call the police a few weeks ago, they arrived in five minutes; in the UK that would probably have been five hours, if they turned up at all.

Can't really comment on the school system, but otherwise the public services here seem to work a lot better than the UK. The one thing that might be worse is road maintenance, but when you consider that the province is probably several times the area of the UK with a few percent of the population, that's not too surprising.

Can't really comment on the rest of Canada, but Alberta seems similar to Saskatchewan (but with better roads) and overall I'm much better off here than I was in the UK, even though I earn 25% less. Some things cost the same in real terms as they do in the UK, but many things cost the same in dollars that they would have done in pounds, and the amount of tax I pay is lower too (when you add up all the income tax, national insurance, petrol tax, VAT, etc, I was working six months of the year for Gordon Brown).
MarkG

For some reason Sasketchewan and Manitoba seem to have much higher crime rights that other Canadian provencies.

We my wife applied for a job in Regina, and got an interview, but we cancelled when we took a closer look at Regina, it has the highest crime rate in the whole of Canada.

Maybe we we're a bit premature, I don't know, but we if we do need the move we want to get as many things right as possible.

Thanks for your post.
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 8:16 am
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by bazzz
Why shouldn't they? Gay marriages are legal in Canada and homosexuality isn't a dirty word. Global warming is also a pretty major issue - and Canadians are certainly playing their part in helping it along.
If you're happy is a parent for these topics to form part of your child's primary years schooling then fine.

As parents my wife and I are not.

Teaching children about sex and relationships gay, stright or otherwise is not healthy at five. We are quite happy for our child to be taught about such matters when she is old enough to put them into some form of context.

As for global warming, it's an unproven theory, and therefore we object to it being taught as fact.

The upshot of all these Psuedo subjects is that a third of all British School children leave primary school having failed to master the 3 R's, and a third of all British employers complain that school leavers lack basic skills in Enland Maths.

I won't be responding to any more of your posts, if you have your opinions we have ours. End of discussion.
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 8:38 am
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by hudd
Hawkman

I moved to Calgary in 1997 from Suffolk and enjoyed our short time there. The issue for us then was lack of decent paid jobs to afford us to stay, so we ended up moving to Ontario. Found Calgary more expensive than Suffolk and struggled to live on less than half my UK income. So thats why we moved to Ontario.

We spent just over 8.5 years in Canada before returning back to the UK.

We found life not much different from the UK in reality. Unfortunately parts of Canada has similar social, health care, education problems that you find in some parts of the UK.

We actually returned to the UK for family reasons and so our sons could get an English education and attend UK unversities when they are older. We found the education was good for the 3 R's but lacked the breath that my sons have experienced in the last 2 years being in an English school.

What I read about Manchester, I would not live there either. We live in a sleepy village outside Oxford, so we do not any of the so called 'Daily Mail' issues. Little crime, no yobs, no bullying issues at the boys secondary school.

Moving to SE Kent next month and will live in a nice area and so my sons can attend the local Grammar school.

Crime not bad in Canada, though in Edmonton/Toronto you more likely to be murdered than in London or Oxford, but its nowhere like cities in the US or South Africa. We never really had crime issues in Canada where we lived and being back in England we not worried out it either.

It good experience moving overseas and does give broader outlook on life once you leave the UK.

regards

hudd
Your experience sound very similar to ours mate. But we didnt move to Toronto in the end just had a look. Hard to live elsewhere in Canada when u lived in North Van.

You think your more likely to be murdered in TO or Edmonton than London, really? That surprises me. I never even saw a fight in Canada the 7 years we were there.
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 8:59 am
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Thumbs up Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

yes I too am surprised that you dont feel safe in Edmonton!
The first thing i noticed on moving here was how polite and friendly people are
they even move out of the front seats of the bus reserved for the elderly when someone in need gets on !!I know you wouldnt even get on a bus in Manchester espcially at night! I can only quote on what i,v found and so far its all posertive...We dont even lock our car up .....so long as you dont leave anything on full view i supose your alright..Or have we just been lucky ???
Either way from what i,v found so far i,ll stick to Edmonton thank you!!!!!
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 9:27 am
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by hawkman
If you're happy is a parent for these topics to form part of your child's primary years schooling then fine.

As parents my wife and I are not.

Teaching children about sex and relationships gay, stright or otherwise is not healthy at five. We are quite happy for our child to be taught about such matters when she is old enough to put them into some form of context.

As for global warming, it's an unproven theory, and therefore we object to it being taught as fact.

The upshot of all these Psuedo subjects is that a third of all British School children leave primary school having failed to master the 3 R's, and a third of all British employers complain that school leavers lack basic skills in Enland Maths.

I won't be responding to any more of your posts, if you have your opinions we have ours. End of discussion.

I have two children in the english education system and although i understand your fears, do not understand how you can misunderstand the basics of what is taught in it...My children have been taught about relationships and not in a sexual way, they are taught about respect and caring, being nice to each other and the love they have for their family, They are taught not to bully and to play with children who feel left out..these are relationships, and how to manage them, i.e if they have a falling out, they learn to make up. There is nothing wrong with reinforcing what should be taught at home.
As for global warming it is mentioned, but is often used as a tool to teach children to turn off lights, re cycle and take better care of our planet, if global warming is a myth at least my children will not be helping in deforestation, therefore wreaking havoc on the lives of many species of animals and plants, whilst at home they will not be litter bugs, all in the guise of global warming.. In my eyes thats not a bad thing.
If my child leaves school, any school without mastering the 3 R's that is not a failing of the government...it is my failing as a parent, my childrens' education rests squarely on my shoulders and I alone am responsible it is time people stopped blaming teachers for their kids failing and blamed themselves, it is them who sit back day after day complaining, but will they help with spellings..no, and they have one child not 30 to contend with.

OH and FYI no i'm not a teacher.
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 10:47 am
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by Littletashy
I have two children in the english education system and although i understand your fears, do not understand how you can misunderstand the basics of what is taught in it...My children have been taught about relationships and not in a sexual way, they are taught about respect and caring, being nice to each other and the love they have for their family, They are taught not to bully and to play with children who feel left out..these are relationships, and how to manage them, i.e if they have a falling out, they learn to make up. There is nothing wrong with reinforcing what should be taught at home.
As for global warming it is mentioned, but is often used as a tool to teach children to turn off lights, re cycle and take better care of our planet, if global warming is a myth at least my children will not be helping in deforestation, therefore wreaking havoc on the lives of many species of animals and plants, whilst at home they will not be litter bugs, all in the guise of global warming.. In my eyes thats not a bad thing.
If my child leaves school, any school without mastering the 3 R's that is not a failing of the government...it is my failing as a parent, my childrens' education rests squarely on my shoulders and I alone am responsible it is time people stopped blaming teachers for their kids failing and blamed themselves, it is them who sit back day after day complaining, but will they help with spellings..no, and they have one child not 30 to contend with.

OH and FYI no i'm not a teacher.
I agree 100% with what you just said

I have 2 children ages 9 and 11 both in Uk system ( at the moment) both are learning about looking after our planet, recycling, not littering, being energy efficient - i too think these are great things to teach our children and if nothing else it helps to teach them Respect - for our shared environment.
Regarding relationships ( aka sex education) as a NURSE i used to teach young offenders ( ages 12 and over) about sexual health and relationship education. The main problem I found with these youngsters was not the fact they didnt know what a condom was, but that they didnt know the basics of a Relationship - respect, communication and the ability to show affection say sorry etc. Alot of these kids ( not all) were from families whose relationships were based on verbal and physical violence. I found that alot of the work i did was based around this NOT around how to put a condom on. Had these kids been taught this in school it may somewhat have addressed half the issues i was dealing with - if you cant be considerate, respectful, and communicate well with your partner and dealing with an argument involves punching him / her in the mouth, how can they be expected to deal with day to day relationships in an acceptable way. So calling the local copper or a teacher at school a stupid &*%* is quite normal behaviour for some. Relationship education is NOT just about sex, its about relationships and how they are conducted - this is something we ALL use on a daily basis. If teaching about same sex relationships, wether you 'agree' with them or not, stops 'gay' people from being beaten up or living in fear thne how is that a bad thing - does it not address respect and understanding, tolerance of others beliefs and values.
In my personal opinion kids are more likely to use relationship skills that trigonometry - i mean hey im in nursing management, have a degree etc and ive never used it once - however i am involved in 'relationships' all day everyday!!!

so whilst the 3 primary scool R's are of course important - so too are the social R's - respect for others and positive relationships, just as important.

I also agree that its a 'cop out' blaming teachers, even if your child is in the school from hell, they can still be well educated - My kids do plenty of ' homework' not sit down and slave away boring stuff - my daughter writes a diary daily, they read books, they learn about money and time, just a few examples of reading, writing and math at home.

Im sorry you dont see relationship education or respect for our environment as important - thats quite sad really
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Old Apr 21st 2008, 11:09 am
  #15  
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Default Re: How does life in Canada compare to the UK

Originally Posted by Tanah
I agree 100% with what you just said

I have 2 children ages 9 and 11 both in Uk system ( at the moment) both are learning about looking after our planet, recycling, not littering, being energy efficient - i too think these are great things to teach our children and if nothing else it helps to teach them Respect - for our shared environment.
Regarding relationships ( aka sex education) as a NURSE i used to teach young offenders ( ages 12 and over) about sexual health and relationship education. The main problem I found with these youngsters was not the fact they didnt know what a condom was, but that they didnt know the basics of a Relationship - respect, communication and the ability to show affection say sorry etc. Alot of these kids ( not all) were from families whose relationships were based on verbal and physical violence. I found that alot of the work i did was based around this NOT around how to put a condom on. Had these kids been taught this in school it may somewhat have addressed half the issues i was dealing with - if you cant be considerate, respectful, and communicate well with your partner and dealing with an argument involves punching him / her in the mouth, how can they be expected to deal with day to day relationships in an acceptable way. So calling the local copper or a teacher at school a stupid &*%* is quite normal behaviour for some. Relationship education is NOT just about sex, its about relationships and how they are conducted - this is something we ALL use on a daily basis. If teaching about same sex relationships, wether you 'agree' with them or not, stops 'gay' people from being beaten up or living in fear thne how is that a bad thing - does it not address respect and understanding, tolerance of others beliefs and values.
In my personal opinion kids are more likely to use relationship skills that trigonometry - i mean hey im in nursing management, have a degree etc and ive never used it once - however i am involved in 'relationships' all day everyday!!!

so whilst the 3 primary scool R's are of course important - so too are the social R's - respect for others and positive relationships, just as important.

I also agree that its a 'cop out' blaming teachers, even if your child is in the school from hell, they can still be well educated - My kids do plenty of ' homework' not sit down and slave away boring stuff - my daughter writes a diary daily, they read books, they learn about money and time, just a few examples of reading, writing and math at home.

Im sorry you dont see relationship education or respect for our environment as important - thats quite sad really
Is this a Canada forum or a UK education big-it-up site?
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