The school year is winding down. For elementary and secondary students, summer break is within reach. Final assignments and year field trips. Exams, locker clean outs, and report cards. Meanwhile those on summer break from college and university are earning income for the next semester or struggling to find work at a time when B.C.’s youth unemployment rate is 11.2 per cent.
Meanwhile the families of pre-schoolers born in 2020 are looking ahead to the start of kindergarten in the fall. It’s an exciting time for these kids – the transition to formal learning, new routines, and friends. To packed lunches, school buses, and daily agendas. To shared experiences with kids who won’t always look, think, or behave like they do. The start of their education journey.
Four- and five-year-olds have experienced big changes in their short lives – though most don’t realize this. Born and raised in a pandemic, they’ve been exposed to more screen time and succumbed to more food allergies than any generation before them. Some live in poverty; some are the children of immigrants seeking a better life. AI, virtual workplaces, and social media are the new reality and the climate crisis has ramped up.
The early school experiences of these so-called Generation Alpha kids will be very different from my own back in the 60s. There will be no hard-shelled school cases, writing slates, or dusty erasing cloths for these kids and few – if any – hand-knitted sweaters and leather shoes. Instead, they will wear leggings and jeans, dinosaur and Bluey t-shirts, and backpacks branded with images of popular Disney characters.
Technology will assist their learning. Little fingers will swipe screens, tap keyboards, and manipulate some AI-generated materials. Thankfully, teachers will better address their individual learning needs and deliver curriculum sensitive to diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation.
I’ve been reflecting on the value of education recently as I know two dear boys who will attend kindergarten this fall. I met one of the boys last month when he arrived with his Sudanese family at Cranbrook airport. They had travelled from Africa, sponsored by the Creston Refugee Committee. Shy initially, with no understanding of English, he quickly relaxed when the family was warmly welcomed.
When he saw his new bedroom a few hours later – complete with toy trucks, picture books, and a soccer ball – his young face lit up. “Canada," he said, waving his small arms to mean everything in sight. “Yes, Canada,” I said smiling. “Your new home.”
This little newcomer is excited about starting school in September and is practicing a few English words and gestures in preparation. He likes to high five and give a thumbs up. He’s mastered a few numbers and important words like please, thank you, and hello.
The other little boy who will start kindergarten in September is my grandson. I held him soon after his birth and have loved him all his life. My grandson is very articulate, with a great command of English. He understands a few Cantonese expressions as well, as his maternal grandparents are Chinese.
My young grandson is also looking forward to starting school. He loves books and is curious about space, construction, and machines with wheels. He was surprised to discover there could be 22 children in his kindergarten class. “Wow, Nanna, that’s a lot of kids! There are 11 at pre-school when everyone’s there.”
My grandson will also be exposed to a new language this fall as he’s enroled in a public K-6 French Immersion school. This doesn’t appear to faze him. His Mom went to a French Immersion school and he overhears different languages in the multi-cultural city where he lives. He’s getting ready too, practicing numbers and important new words like s’il vous plait, merci and bonjour.
I care about these boys and hope their school experiences ignite a life-long love of learning. They will journey through elementary school and secondary school at the same time and, if all goes well, graduate from high school in 2038, ready to move onto the next exciting stage in their life journeys.
Go boys!
Margaret Miller is a long time resident of Creston Valley.
