Weekend in Meadow Lake

I would like to comment about some of the topics that were discussed by our cohort this weekend. I found it interesting that some members believe that children enter the school system too early. It was suggested that boys in particular need more time to play in an unstructured environment. I believe that 5 is a reasonable age for children to enter into Kindergarten. During this year there is a strong emphasis on play, yet students are learning how to socially interact with others and acquiring basic skills. Many children come from homes where both parents work so if school started at a later age it would mean more time with the babysitter not necessarily more time being educated by parents.

I also want to respond to a comment about change being implemented with greater ease if a staff consisted of all first year teachers. As a beginning teacher I disagree that change is more easily embraced by someone new to the profession. In my first few years of teaching I have been somewhat resistant to change. There are so many new tasks to learn as you enter into teaching that when someone tells you what you just learned is no longer relevant it is easy to become overwhelmed. As I am progressing along in my teaching career, and feel I have a basic understanding of the principles of teaching, I am more prepared to change.

I found it interesting to look at the new curriculum guides. I like their abbreviated style. They give the teacher more academic freedom to teach in their own manner.