Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for taking your time to visit my school. It will be my pleasure to share with you my classroom and the public education system of Canada. Although we are a Canadian school that reflects upon the values of our public school system, there are still many standards and values that we can improve upon in order to enhance our Canadian identity. While the curriculum content may vary across regions in Canada, I believe that our core values and our social morals are at the heart of education.
Canadian children are encouraged at a young age to be creative, to be independent and to be responsible for one’s actions.
Creativity is promoted through constant encouragement by the teacher for the students to think critically and innovatively about learning. Often there is no right or wrong answer, and the students are encouraged to discover their own, personal perspective and to defend it.
Creativity is partially related to the idea of “independence”, where students are molded to be independent and are exposed to a Canadian society which reflects “individualistic values”. Students will do their own work, learn to take care of oneself, discover their own interests and strengths and learn to engage in competition. For example, a mandatory course in school called Career and Personal Planning helps each student discover their strengths and possibilities for future higher education.
Lastly, every student must learn to be responsible for one’s actions. If we have hurt somebody at school or have done a poor job on an assignment, we must learn to take full responsibility. Teachers will inform the students of their wrongdoings and the expectations in which he/she has for their future behavior.
Although the Canadian education system teaches its students about fairness, kindness, independence and hard work, there are still many areas in which it can improve upon. Perhaps combining some values and methods such as interdependency and harmony from oriental education may benefit today’s Canadian youths. As much as it is important to be independent and to earn one’s success, it is just as important to be put others before yourself and to succeed together.
Regards,
Andy Chou