Dear colleague,
In anticipation for your arrival in our classroom, I thought a brief explanation of Canadian educational values may be of help. In Canada, the core curriculum includes Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies. As a bilingual country, students are also taught a second language in their elementary schools years, either french or english, with varying degrees of emphasis. Some schools choose to place a great deal of importance on second language acquisition, whereas others do not.
In modern day Canada, certain themes are integrated into the elementary classroom in hopes of educating the next generation on social responsibility. To begin with, environmental studies and the importance of practices such as recycling are highly emphasized. Other strong themes of Canadian culture which are introduced in elementary school are cultural awareness and multiculturalism. Throughout Canadian history, the country’s composition has always been composed of many cultural groups. It is therefore important for students to understand the roles these culturally diverse settlers played in the formation of our country. The modern Canadian curriculum also aims to highlight the importance of First Nations peoples in Canadian history and teach respect of their cultural heritage. Finally, with health and weight issues on the rise among Canadian children, educators believe it is their responsibility to educate children on the importance of daily physical activity and nutrition. This is done with the aid of daily activity logs as well as other tools.
I hope this message was able to clarify some of the more important themes in Canadian education for you.