Michelle Bamford’s afternoon kindergarten students are sitting at her feet looking up at her in that open, starry-eyed kind of way that five-year-olds do.
These 19 students at West Springs Elementary School in southwest Calgary will spend about two and a half hours in her class this day and every week day, but that could change next year for kindergarten students, if Premier Alison Redford lives up to her leadership campaign promise to bring in full-day kindergarten across the province.
So the natural question is: Does full-day kindergarten make sense? Will it benefit children or just be an added convenience for parents who work outside the home — eliminating the need for additional daycare? Is the cost-benefit analysis of spending an additional $200 million worth it in the long run? Should full-day kindergarten be mandatory or optional?
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Full day kindergarten should absolutely be optional. If manditory, full day kindergarten exists when my youngest starts school, he will have a very poor record of attendance!!
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