Canadian Schools Verses USA Schools.....

[Harlie]

Reading some of the posts about curriculum for schools in the US (since most poster here are mainly Americans) I am just so interested in the huge differences there are. I understand that Kindergarten in the US States all have different guidelines and cut offs for when children start and it just shocks me. Here in Canada all the kids start at age 5 and as long as they turn on or before December 31 they can start. Holding kids back is also something that is not done.

I was really surprized when I read that grade 3 in the US also has kids doing division like they have for a few years!

It seems to me that since our kids(canadian) start younger that our grades Curriculum are a year behind. So our grade 3 is more like your(US) grade 2.

Does any one have any thoughts or does anyone actually know all the differences> Or am I completely wrong.

It's just after reading about some of the Grade 3 curriculm in the states I know my DD8 is really behind (she was an August baby).

Does the age really matter. Will my end of year children have a disadvantage because of the way our system is run? So far My DD8 has been struggling but she is ADD and stuggling on a lot of things. I often wonder if it would have been more benefical to her to be in a school where there is a Cut of date in the middle of the year?

 

[gibsontrio]

I live in NY. I think it typically depends on the maturity and development of the child. My DD has a birthday in oct so she could either start Kindergarten at 4 then turn 5 , or be 5 turning 6. I feel I will choose the later that way in case she isnt ready she will not be held back later and have to be separated. My son is starting kindergarten in the fall. He is turning 5 next month so he will be more than ready to go. I was told Kindergarten is the new first grade, so on and so forth. He will be reading fully by the end of Kindergarten.
I think as far as your child , since that is the way canada does it he/she shall be up to par with his/her peers due to everyone being the same, if you were moving to the US it might be a different story.

 

[Aliceacc]

Each state has its own standards and its own requirements.

Two states (California and Texas) order textbooks on a statewide basis, as opposed to individual districts. So many of the big textbook publishers gear their materials to those two states and their standards.

As to the rest, I'm not sure. I teach high school.

 

[TheDizMom]

Yes, each state is very different and none of the school districts even within the same state have to use the same curriculum. My son has been in 2 different districts in our state and when we moved into the one we are in now they were much farther ahead in some things then they were in our other one. It is very difficult. I don't know what it's like in Canada but here parents are so obsessed with teaching their children everything they can before they hit school many of our kids are way ahead of the curve. God forbid your best friends kids are more advanced then yours. When I was in kindergarten it was rare for a child to go in knowing how to write their names much less read, and kindergarten was a glorified pre-school. Now if your child can't do that stuff going into kindergarten they are behind also many schools now have all day kindergarten instead of half-day. Our parents are always thinking about having the perfect kid and are thinking about college and a possible scholarship when their kids are in diapers. I am not trying to insight a riot, but like it or not that is the mentality we have in this country. We forget our kids need an opportunity to be kids, and have them enrolled in so may activities trying to broaden their horizons, they are never home to just hang out and play like kids are supposed to. My poor nieces and nephews are constantly being shuttled from one activity to the other, don't get enough sleep and spend what seems like a good portion of their day in a car getting dinner on the go, or very late. I just don't understand that. For these reasons I think that is probably why our schools seem like they are way ahead of Canadian schools. I personally wish ours were more like yours, but I also think with your system of government, which is more nationalized then ours in many ways, means that all schools are the same. I also think your system enables anyone to go to college and for a reasonable tuition. Here our middle class is constantly worried about affording it, so they push their children to excel in hopes they will get a scholarship to help pay for it.

As for the age thing it is different in every state. In Minnesota you must be 5 by September 1 to start kindergarten, although some schools do allow early enrollment. My DS is a mid-December birthday and I was thrilled he would not be able to start until he was almost 6. For boys especially they just aren't mature enough to start at 4 in my opinion, not that that is true for all of them. I started school in California where the cut off was Dec. 1. I had a Sept 15 birthday, my brother a Oct 8th, and for me it was OK overall, but because I was younger then so many of my friends I was left out in the cold when they were allowed to do things like drive and legally drink way before I was. For my brother it was a disaster. He never did well mentally or academically even though he could read Newsweek at 5. Many of our parents hold their kids back because they just don't feel they are ready maturity wise. I have no idea if you have the option of holding your DD another year or not, but all you can do is work with her issues the best you can and get her additional help if she needs it. Would she be better if she had been able to wait another year, who knows, but if you are really concerned talk to her teacher. Maybe she should be held back. Maybe that would help her maybe not. Talk to her teacher and determine what if anything should be done. If you feel she should stay where she is great. Maybe we are ahead of your schools academically, but that doesn't mean we are better or worse, we are just do things differently. I have no doubt that regardless your DD is getting a great education there, and in all honesty Canadian kids seem to have a much better knowledge about not only their own country but ours as well. I would be willing to bet our kids would have no clue who your Prime Minister is, but your kids would know who our President is. Our news station did a story on that several years ago and your kids all got it right, most of ours didn't.

 

[pooh4evr]

The early grades have changed alot over the past 10 yrs or so probably because so many kids are coming from a daycare backround or they start preschool at 3yrs old - by the time they reach Kindergarten many already have the basics - colors, letters, numbers..- so I guess they move pretty quickly through- and they are ready for a full day because many have been in full time school type settings since they were a few weeks old. Mine have gone to preschool starting with 3 half days then 3 full days because kindergarten is a full schedule- they both have been reading before K because of everyhting they get at school and at home. Our district is very different from most that I know of- the school year starts in the middle July around the 17th and ends by June 1 - they have 3 week breaks after every quarter, and they have to be 5 by August 1 to enter Kindergarten.