I love the movie You've Got Mail. There are so many observations or, as Nora Ephron (writer and director of the movie) put it, mini-essays, about life in the movie. It is fantastic. One of the mini-essays that I relate to is when they were discussing the ability to zing people. Tom Hanks character is very good at zinging while Meg Ryan's mind goes blank.
While I myself don't have a problem coming up with zingers, what I do have a hard time is coming up with an articulate way of expressing my opinion when it goes against others. For example, on facebook people are always putting up articles about potentially contraversial topics. Most people are in one camp, and while I may agree partially, there are things I feel they miss, yet if I tried to put it in a comment it wouldn't work, so I end up not putting anything and feeling rather miffed the whole time. Does that ever happen? It is not until days later, when the topic or post is already old news that I have formed some sort of response. So I share it with my husband, Poor guy, having to put up with all my musings, but it's his job. I need the response to be out there in the cosmos.
Well, this happened to me this week. I decided to share my response on the blog. Please bear with me.
The topic was on the supposed waste of money on full day kindergarten in Ontario. Everyone (on the facebook post) was on board with it being a waste as studies show it doesn't help the children later academically. If we are looking at the issue from a pure academic stand point, then yes, it is a waste of money. But the thing with this issue is that you have to look at it from a broader angle, not just an academic slant.
We are living in a society that is making it harder and harder for families to get by on one income. While some of us are willing and able to make the sacrifices and lifestyle changes necessary to stick to one income, it is still hard. Parents are then left to scramble to find responsible childcare at a reasonable price. That is not always easy. Governments promise universal childcare but that is a reality that is not going to happen anytime soon. What they can do though is create all day everyday (aka Full Day) kindergarten. Is it the best solution, perhaps not, but it one less monetary constrant on the economics of working parents. As well, for those children who comes from a lower socioeconomic reality, there are benefits to this solution.
One of the commenters said that the best indication of how well a child will do academically was whether that child stayedwith a parent/primary caregiver until age 6. While that would be great in ideal world, the world is not ideal. Of course we would like it if our children could have more one on one attention whether with us, as their parent, or a nanny or a constant care provider, but that can be hard to have happen too. While most of those who were commenting were stay at home with their children and come from that slant already, it really doesn't give the whole picture of the situation. It is easy for us to comment on things when we are in the comfort of our own home and are able to provide that stability of care to our children, but not all are so lucky.
We live in a socialized government system. We are giving of our taxes to help as a whole. If you are not in need of that help yourself, great! Others may need that help and it is great for those services to be there. You never know when you may need to access them. I am definitely more centre/left in my thinking. I like to see things as a whole society not just me. While I'm still not sure if I will send Miss P. to Full Day Junior kindergarten, it's nice to know that others who aren't as blessed as I am and need help with safe and affordable childcare, can get it for their 4 year olds. Miss V. went to Full Day kindergarten when she was 4 and she flourished and really came out of her shell a bit more. The next year we moved and switched to a school that hadn't gotten the Full Day program yet, so she went every other day. Once again that was perfect and I was happy to have her home to be with Miss G. more. Miss G. started junior kindergarten every other day and this year, in senior kindergarten, she goes everyday. She has had so much fun and it has been a great experience for her. The teachers are fun, they are still learning things, and she is able to experience things that I might not be able to offer. I'm exhausted and just not organized enough to pull something like that off. I might be someday but I'm not now so I am so grateful that she is able to do all that fun stuff with her friends.
Should school be looked at as merely child care, of course not. But, in a way it is. We are trusting the teachers and other education workers to help our children become who they are going to be. Education is not purely academic anymore. Education is about society, it about helping those who need a little extra help and making sure all children are given opportunities to be their best selves, both academically and socially. So to me, money spent on that, whatever the academic results, is not a waste. If this is a waste then I should think that all money spent on allergy testing is a waste since I don't need it and personally wouldn't benefit from it. (Just to be clear, I do not actually think that... it was just the first example to come into my head.) All government spending could be seen as wasteful, and believe me there is a lot of waste in the system, but sometimes we need to look at the societal good and not just what's in it for me.
I truly do live a blessed life, and I don't want to ever take that for granted. I think that when things are going well or easily for us it is easy for us to look down on others or their situation. We need to always be grateful for what is going good in our life and do what we can to help others who may need some help.
Thank you for putting up with this long winded opinion peace. This topic can be very touchy, as all topics seem to be lately. I just wanted to get some of my thoughts out there into the cosmos.
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