School - Is it for kids or parents?



First day of school, 2010

 Recently, a survey went out, from my children's school, to all the parents of children who are signed up for kindergarten next year.  The survey offered two options:  children attend school for half a day, each day (the traditional/current method), or they attend every other day for a full day.  Based on the response received, the school would change/not change the current system.

I was surprised and saddened by the results.

The response was overwhelmingly in favour of change.

In talking to many different people (parents in our school, parents of children attending other schools, staff, etc),  a few pros to the new system repeatedly emerge:

1)  It will save the school division money because there will be no noon bus run.
2)  Teachers will have more time to teach because they will not need to do morning exercises every day with the same students.

and, without fail, the number one seller is:

3)  It's so convenient for us as parents.  You know, it cuts down on our daycare costs.  We can be gone all day, instead of being home at the noon hour.  It opens up more opportunity and freedom for both mom and dad to work or play. That sort of thing.  Right on.  Freedom one year sooner.  How lucky!  Woohoo!

I am saddened because these three reasons, in my opinion, do not address the needs of the ones for whom the school system was created - the children!  The division benefits, the teachers benefit, the parents benefit.  In my experience, that's where the conversation ends.  Sure, we can always justify our arguments, showing ways that the students are better off in the new system.  We humans are great at gathering evidence to support the way we think, aren't we? I sure am. But, in all honesty, are we really considering what is in the best interest of the kids?  Really?  Or, in our more vulnerable moments, would we consider the suggestion that our choices may be motivated by self interest and convenience at times?  That it would help make our kids fit better into our life, either as it now is, or as we would like it to be.

Sometimes kids are so inconvenient.

I don't know who voted for the change in our school, as I don't even know more than one or two students who are going to kindergarten next year (and one of those is mine:)). Without knowing, however, I believe they are moms and dads who love their kids and are making a tonne of decisions for their family regularly, just like me.  I acknowledge that some families have a unique situation, and parents have different considerations when making decisions.  I recognize that some situations are more delicate, and parents are required to make hard choices - choices that they don't want to make.  I get that.  And my heart goes out to these families.  I am not seeking to place more guilt on their weary shoulders.

I am simply asking the questions that I have not heard being asked.  And challenging us to think for ourselves, and not allow ourselves to be swept away by the current school of thought (pun intended).

I've not heard anyone consider if being inside a school for 7.5 hours on a warm spring day is the best thing for a typical, energetic 5-year-old boy.  I've not heard anyone challenge the idea that an extra half hour of "learning time" per day is the best thing for our kids.  I have not heard the question "Do our kids NEED to learn more?"  I learned my abc's in kindergarten and started reading simple words in Grade 1.  My kids knew their abc's by the time they reach their fourth birthday, and were reading three months into kindergarten and chapter books by the end of grade one.  Why are we pushing our kids to achieve more?  Let's not forget that they are five little, short years old.

And at the forefront of my mind, I am really curious to know....what's really propelling this change?