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Fulltime kindergarten teachers the best investment

Re: "ETFO not on board," June 16, 2009 Herald

June 23, 2009 22:06

The headline of your editorial implies that the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario does not support the Liberal government's plan to introduce a full-day early learning program for four- and five-year-olds. Far from it. We have advocated full-day early learning for some time and are pleased to see a commitment from the government to make it a reality across Ontario.

However, we are concerned that the full-day learning program as proposed by Dr. Pascal will not result in the best learning environment for young children.

Research has shown that the foundation of a student's success is developed in the early years. The daily efforts of kindergarten teachers can help to build that foundation by creating and nurturing the best environment for early learning.

Kindergarten teachers, who have qualifications recognized by the Ontario College of Teachers, have the most appropriate training and skills to prepare four- and five-year- olds for the more formal schooling that begins with grade 1. And, they have the training which enables them to identify and address learning problems, so that young children can become the best learners they can be.

In Ontario, teachers must complete three or four years of university education and a year at a faculty of education. Kindergarten teachers have qualifications to teach in both the Primary and Junior division (kindergarten to Grade 6). In addition to these minimum requirements, 22 percent of ETFO's members who teach kindergarten have Primary Specialist qualifications, while nine percent hold a master's degree.

Yet Dr. Pascal's model for full-day early learning would have four and five-year olds spending only half a day with these dedicated teaching professionals. This is not the full-day kindergarten program that Premier Dalton McGuinty promised during the last election campaign and that parents should expect for their children.

Your editorial dismisses our concerns, belittles the daily work done by kindergarten teachers, and charges that our real objective is to protect their jobs.

Kindergarten teachers are highly skilled professionals with one of the most important and rewarding jobs in elementary education. Their work is honourable and rewarding and a credit to the teaching profession. Their jobs should not only be protected, they should be encouraged.

The fulltime involvement of kindergarten teachers in Ontario's early learning program would be one of the best investments the Ontario government could make in the education of four and five-year-old children.

David Clegg, president,
Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario

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