The State of Education In Canada

A few stories to discuss ...

 

Does class size matter?

In my experience, the younger the student, the smaller the class size should be. This is due to the age and inexperience of the students and what it takes to familiarise them with basic tasks, knowledge and protocols. As the students progress in age, ability and level, class sizes can be increased with a head teacher handling the lessons and teacher's aides offering support:

Amid calls from teachers and unions that represent them for more reasonable class sizes across Canada, a new study is suggesting “smaller class sizes” may not give students a boost after all.

The study found minimizing the number of students in classrooms did not lead to better grades, and suggests it may even decrease their odds at achieving the best results. The study looked at data from Macau, China and Japan, of  2,700 “disadvantaged” secondary school students with class sizes of 15 or fewer pupils to more than 50.

(Sidebar: one also has to keep in mind how different countries see and handle education on the whole. In countries where education is handled more seriously, it's more than likely that class size will be mostly irrelevant to educational outcomes. It also matters how much effort students, parents and teachers put into their work.)

It notes the quantity of teachers didn’t increase the odds for students from what they deemed the poorest backgrounds. Instead, students showing resilience and improvement was linked to the “quality” of teachers, which the study’s authors defined as those with high discipline standards and who use their expertise to improve learning.

The study also notes the negative impact misbehaviour can have in general on students.

While the study suggests small class sizes aren’t a benefit, educators say what’s needed to circumvent the issue of big classes is more supports for those teaching, so that assistance can be passed on to benefit students.

Simon Fraser University biological science senior lecturer Megan Barker, whose expertise includes teaching in large classrooms and active learning, told Global News she has taught classes as big as 500. Regardless of class size, she says having the targeted support in place for students is “crucial.”

 

Hence the need for teacher's aides and tutoring programs. 

 

 

Why even try in school where everyone can get a participation pin?:

A proposed change to the graduation ceremony policy of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) would see the board switch to equity-based commencement ceremonies and allow for students without passing grades to participate.

Under the proposed changes(opens in a new tab) to Policy P.038.SCO Graduation and Commencement Ceremonies and Awards, the board would be changing the policy's language to phase out graduation ceremonies in favour of commencement ceremonies.

"The main difference between a commencement ceremony and a graduation ceremony is that a commencement ceremony is more inclusive," the OCDSB in a statement(opens in a new tab) on its website. "This aligns with the Board's larger commitments to equity, inclusion, and diversity."

 

There it is!

Let's tell everyone that they can't succeed and phase out the recognition of success!

Well done, schools!

Furthermore, coddling the weaker students will ultimately not prepare them for future challenges but will make them bitter at not having the skills that the market-place needs.

 

 

Are the taxes too high? Are the jobs too scarce? Is funding these badly-managed programs affecting one's ability to look after one's self and one's family? Are people simply too lazy to make toast of a morning?:

YOU decide: 

Half of a tangerine instead of a whole one, half of a hard-boiled egg or an apple cut six ways — student nutrition programs across Ontario are finding ways to stretch increasingly insufficient dollars.

The province needs to double funding for such initiatives, and even that may not meet the rising demand those programs are seeing, student nutrition programs and advocates told the government ahead of the spring budget.

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“Soaring food inflation has played havoc on student nutrition across the province as the funding is too little to purchase a variety of foods in the amount and portion size required to feed a student,” Viviane Degagne, manager of the Student Nutrition Ontario network, told a pre-budget committee.

“Add to this the increased participation of students in our programs due to the effects of COVID, soaring inflation for families and the number of new immigrants across our province, and we now have a perfect storm,” she said.

 

(Sidebar: are the lockdowns STILL being blamed for the lack of toast?)