Perspectives of a Traveled Canuck

… or at least that’s what teachers in British Columbia are being told now.

It seems the provincial government is implementing a program that many school administrators are adopting – a policy where students are never given zeros, can hand in assignments as late as they want, and have an unlimited number of chances to pass the exams they are given (link).

There are so many issues regarding how best to educate our youth yet our politicians continue to take a unified approach. Let’s implement standardized testing for every student so we know who and who isn’t meeting our expectations. Oh, but let’s not allow any failures for these tests, or any tests conducted in public education. This makes sense because all students learn the same way, think the same way, have the same interests, and develop at the same rate. Right? And everyone screws up so let’s give them as many chances as they need to succeed. Does any of this sound a bit contradictory? Does any of this even make sense to do? The entire system needs an overhaul. That’s the only way to fix our educational system.

There are some who say that teachers are whining and have no right to complain; that teachers are not held accountable because the union is too strong. I agree. The teacher’s union is in many ways, too strong. As a former teacher, I was frustrated seeing teachers who shouldn’t be in the classroom being protected by the union. However, teachers are under attack like few professions are. In a day, assuming 4 classes per day on a semester system, a teacher has 30 students per class or 120 students every day. The teacher is accountable to all their parents and all their expectations (both high and low). On the low side, uninvolved parents often have uninvolved children and thus, unmotivated learners. On the high side, parents can be unreasonably demanding and critical, some even threatening the teacher’s careers and reputations if they do not do what the parent demands. Without the teacher’s union, it would be open season on teachers. Based on what the public often says about teachers, it pretty much already is.

Remember, teachers are taking a stand mostly for the benefit of students’ success. Do you really think it’s a good idea to give students’ unlimited chances to pass tests, with no real repercussions? It’s unfortunate that some think so poorly of our public schools and teachers. Mostly, this happens because of bad experiences with ineffective teachers. However, there are some extremely caring and passionate teachers and it is unfair to paint all teachers with the same brush. So no, teachers are doing this for their own benefit. Think about it.

So back to my point. To fix the educational system, what we need are customized programs that allow for options based on the individual’s needs and aptitudes. Some students learn early on they have little or no interest or aptitude for certain subjects. A highly creative and artistic person may not have a need to learn the periodic table. It would be nice to have the ability to better tailor programs for such individuals. Schools, after a thorough evaluative process and in consultation with the teachers, parents and students, should have the ability to allow students to “opt out” of certain courses. However, the decision to do so should not be made lightly, For someone like myself, I had so many interests and affinities that I had a really hard time figuring out what I should be doing career-wise. It would not have made sense for me to drop certain courses just because I didn’t feel like taking them at the time. Despite being artistic, I stopped taking art as soon as I had the option, choosing academic courses instead. This is a decision I have long regretted. I also regret that, as a student, I did not take social studies seriously as I find I have a lot of interest in world events, history and different cultures and societies. I also regret completely dismissing business electives, something I did out of pure ignorance of what business was about.

A key to the success of such a system will be to require parents to start taking responsibility for their own child’s learning. Why are teachers the only ones ever held accountable for student learning? Without the involvement of the parents, teachers can only do so much. And ultimately, should we not expect that parents care more about their own children and to care enough to be more involved? A more tailored education system with greater parent involvement is what will keep kids in school and encourage overall success. To not allow teachers to fail students will only teach our kids one thing – that they don’t have to try very hard because they will always be given a second, third, fourth, and fifth chance.

… but hey, that’s what we seem to be doing for criminals, but I guess that’s a subject for a different post.