fuschiagirl

Interesting survey for parents of school age children. Canadian provinces compare VERY favourably with England.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7117230.stm

iaink

They score better, but there doesnt seem to be all that much in it to me? Only a few points really.

cov-canuck

It looks to me like Canadian provinces outperform England in almost every category. A good thing in my opinion, especially when I read something on the BBC website the other day that said that they want to increase the age that children start to read in the UK - they said that children shouldn't even learn the alphabet until they are 5.5.

dingbat

What nonsense. BC kids are still doing the basics in Grade 1. I taught my kids to read by the age of four/five, it isn't hard, it requires patience, practice and repeat. Does that mean my generation and beyond are somehow handicapped by the fact that we could all read and write fluently before we turned six? Standards of literacy have taken a nose-dive anyway, if they implement this hair-brained scheme, it will just add to it. What next? Communication in text message lingo only? :curse:

scrubbedexpat074

The Canadian kids have been at school for a year less at the time of testing though.

fuschiagirl

The Canadian ALSO have a lower mean age (on average they are several months younger).

iaink

In reality they have been at school since they are 4 though...by the time they are 10 they have had JK, SK G1, G2, G3 & G4... so really not much difference?

Purley

I really wonder if there is any evidence that children who are taught to read or whatever earlier are really ahead of the other kids when they get to (say) age 10? I remember when my younger son was about 7 months old, saying to an older babysitter that I thought my older son could turn from his front to his back at that age. This wise woman said "Don't worry about it - by the time he is 5 you won't care about who could do what when! And she was right.

I mean, you can by those Baby classical music and stuff the kids' heads full of learning when they are still babies --- but does it REALLY make a difference to their smartness when they are older? Or is it just for the parents' benefit that they think they are producing little geniuses? I wonder!

Biiiiink

Wasn't there a recent study that showed babies who watched Baby Einstein actually understood far fewer words than those who didn't?

iaink

Parents who are engaged enough to look into that kind of thing are probably still going to take an active interest in their childs welfare and development as they get older, so its hard to say cos you cant isolate one factor over the other.

Probably the biggest single factor in reading ability is people taking the time at home to reinforce and develop those skills rather than just dumping kids in front of the TV or Gameboy? Teachers at school dont have the time to give enough one on one attention, it needs to be done at home too.

iaink

Again, dumping a kid in front of the TV or an "interactive" toy, is not the same thing as a parent actually spending real time with their child.

I hate those interactive toys with a passion...have you ever actually seen a kid play with one for more than the 5 minutes it takes for the novelty to wear off? Me neither. Kids want people to play with, not $100+ "smart" toys

Oakvillian

Not all provinces provide universal JK and SK, though, do they? I heard that Dalton McGuinty is promising 5 full days of kindergarten per week for all Ontario kids by 2010 [for those that don't live here, currently provision is 5 half-days, often as full-day Mon/Wed/every-other-Fri etc]. Just in time for Miss Oakvillian to take advantage - yipee!

Quite agree. I would consider I was neglecting my parental responsibilities if I didn't help teach my kids to read and write. Sure, the bulk of the work is done in school/nursery/kindergarten, but practice, support, encouragement etc at home are vital. This morning my son, who likes dinosaurs, wanted to know why "pterodactyl" has a "silly letter you don't even say" at the beginning. Try explaining "silent pee" to a 4-year-old without both of you collapsing in fits of giggles

iaink

Im really not looking forward to that. My youngest will just be starting then, and I know that her sister needed the days off in between to decompress and get used to the alien environment. Going from nursery school to 5 full days at the age of three as she was at the time would have just been a total mess.

I swear the only reason its popular is cos working parents wont have to find as much daycare.

Oakvillian

I hate them too, especially the TV show character spin-off ones that talk back when you squeeze them, or whatever. I heard a developmental psychologist on the radio a month or so back have a good rant at these, too - her take was this:

Give a child a box of bricks, or a teddy bear or rag doll, a teaset, and they will use their imagination - give the bear a name, invent things he says and does, build a house, a train, invite all their soft toys to a tea party...

Give a child a character toy that already has a name, already has a fixed vocabulary, already has a defined set of adventures from the TV show, and you have severly curtailed the ability of the child to imagine and develop new ideas.

scrubbedexpat074

Er mine wasn't, she's 6 and a half and started last September. Oh, I'm commenting on the NS figures BTW.