Two more days and schools out for the summer. FREEDOM!!
However, not one elementary school teacher in this province will be leaving for a much deserved rest knowing what grade level or even what school they will be working in come September. They are forced to hold their breath, books and belongings and wait...........until the magic date of August 5th. That's when our illustrious and eternally bull-headed Education Minister will pull together 6 weeks of (insert sarcasm )well considered judicially enforced feedback from concerned voters only to announce that he will continue with his plan of scrapping the french immersion program as well as the daily french lessons children in the English program receive from Grade 1 on in this province. Instead, every single kid entering Grade 5 will be funneled into an intense french immersion program (to be developed, tested and implement between August 5th and September 2nd.) no matter what their personal learning levels reveal.
After that? Who knows?? The kids have a choice to enter middle school in an English stream or carry on in French immersion?
It's all a bit murky....but be prepared for a cold water dunk in the Bay of Fundy. That's how it's going to feel. An immersion into a whole new delivery of curriculum by teachers who pride themselves on their hard work in the preparation and implementation......who won't have a moment to catch their breath while they move and groove to the new twists thrown at them LESS THAN A MONTH before the first day of school, all in the name of being perceived as proactive. Despite today's Ombudsman report indicating that the public engagement or lack thereof was the worst example ever witnessed, Minister Lamrock has dismissed the recommendation of putting any changes off for a year in order to consider other avenues, in order to give the "system," particularly the Principals and teachers some breathing room. Why?? Methinks this has to do with the timing when another election would be looming and all that political silly stuff..........so much for long term visioning.
What's the rush? What's one more year in the bargain basement??
Quality of Learning my ass. ooops, sorry wrong party. Kids Come First........uhuh.....there we go. Kids Come First. And based on my reading and listening of the Minister's speeches since the onset of this cabinet, including the speeches and media comments (oh and personally written emails) targetted at the parents concerned when he decided to rip Albert Street school, nestled in the heart of the city, in arms reach of community programs, university student tutors, and many other amenities to learning, he knows best. Yes, the "father" of our children in this province knows best...........dripping in sincerity it was too. Who gives a flying fig in the process of public consultation when it's obvious that the answers are already known??
In all my sincerity, the approach of this man and the lack of process he followed in his heavy handed manner has completely stripped him of trust and integrity. Humble isn't in the picture here despite a scathing report. Today, he had the audacity to once again dismiss the "people's" representative, basically told Monsieur Richard to piss off because as the "apostle" of education, Monsieur Lamrock knows better because he speaks for the poor neglected children who all seem to be orphaned by parents unable to consider what is best for their own children. It's a slap in the face.
And guess what? Here's the kicker!! I AGREE with his recommendations except I believe french should be taught as a subject starting in Grade 1. Big changes have to be made. French immersion isn't working as it should. Children ARE dropping out of the program in record numbers when they enter high school. Bilingualism is not being met upon graduation. Our assessment scores nationally sit in the bottom of the barrel. Our overall provincial literacy and numeracy scores are still appalling compare to other provinces. (however the testing process is also a complete mess and comparing our test results with that of Alberta or Ontario is like comparing apples to orangutans........AND THAT is most definately another subject for another time). Our school systems DO need an overhaul. Streaming is most definately a problem. So is the fact that we have a multi-tiered delivery of subjects, where some areas don't even have access to french language training (or other really really important subjects for that matter)
What I cannot ignore or not comment on is the fact that fairness was neglected and respect was completely thrown out with the used duotangs and pencil stubs. Our teachers need our respect and support. Our teachers deserve our respect and support and if they are flailing under the stress of implementing the brainfart of a group of individuals who don't know how to follow a democratic process, then we need to speak out on their behalf. Are you hearing any of them voice their concerns and personal anxieties? NO! You know why?? They have been TOLD to be quiet!! Can you imagine?? They aren't speaking out because they have been told they aren't allowed to. Unbelievable.
We place HUGE expectations on the teachers, support staff AND the principals who pursue their calling working with our young ones at the elementary school level because of the importance of developing the solid foundation for lifelong learning. Their jobs are not for the faint of heart, and they aren't doing it for the money! Excellent teachers work beyond the end of school bell ringing. They put in long hours, and deal with many many issues outside of the realm of their vocation. They deserve the respect of the Minister of Education. They deserve to express their expert opinions, and to have the proper time to be able to accomodate any changes expected of them.
If this debacle turns into a reality on August 5th, WHO are the people who will suffer the most? The children! Kids Come First?? Can someone please explain to me what this means?
13 comments:
You know I can't.
The man is a buffoon. But I don't know whats worse... Lamrock's smug self righteous arrogance, his contempt for the court and his disdain of the ombudsman (geesh sounds like the Frederal Liberals) or Graham's acceptance of Lamrock as defacto leader of his Government.
Kit....it's a big wash out isn't it? The last thing this province needs is another catchy phrase which amounts to nothing.....Kids Come First? How about Monkeys in the Middle?
You summed up my sentiments well here......even the bit about the federal liberals.
And where is our Premier? I CANT believe the response today after the report was released. Do they think they have the market cornered on what is right for this province?? Maybe they do have good ideas, but the way this whole issue has been communicated (or not) both before AND after the Croll report came out at the end of February has completely smeared their plans with hierarchical arrogance.
And why do they let this man write his own emails??? didn't they learn from the ones he sent out during the Albert Street debacle?
I agree, the process is a sham, he's just going to do what he wants. He is putting our education system in a turmoil, teachers can't possibly be ready in less than a month. And that's those who get a month. In the pototo belt, children will be in classrooms 6 DAYS after he makes the announcement! 6 DAYS!
I agree with part of your 'rant', and of course its horrible when people are denied their freedom of speech. However, teachers are like any other person in any other profession. Some are good, some bad, some mediocre. Some shine it on til retirement, some would rather be administrators. Some do it for the money. Some got their jobs from outright patronage, etc.
Nobody 'deserves' respect simply because of their occupation. And if those test scores are as bad as mentioned, then teachers deserve a lions share of the blame-as its THEIR specific responsibility that a child is taught. There are other issues of course, when you have thirty kids in a class you can't spend much time on one, you have administrators to deal with, etc.
From my memories there were few teachers who really excelled, and no doubt its the 'culture'. I know people who supply taught and can tell you which schools are outstanding, and which they avoided like the plague. When there are problems with the educational system you can't simply give teachers a pass. They need as much, even more, criticism than policy changes.
In Sweden kids get to 'grade' their teachers as well and parents organizations do the hiring in Switzerland. I won't mention names, but I know of schools in NB whose administrators got in trouble because only teachers of a very specific religion were getting hired (of course they simply were told to 'stop it'). The problems go all the way through and teachers CAN be part of it.
I say off with his head!!! He should be forced to resign. As far as I'm concerned he has destroyed any glimmer of a political career he may have had for himself beyond this year. Sure the program needs tweeking and yes he does have a few people who agree 100% with him but more of us don't. Teachers don't.
Good luck Monsieur Lamrock in the next election....you're going to need it.
I also think people should not forget that Shawn Graham is allowing this fiasco to happen. He's watching it behind Louis' desk and letting it all go down without a word. He wouldn't want to go down with Lamrock's ship too. Best not to say anything and hope that in 2009 people forget that he had anything to do with it.
I say let the heads roll!!!!!
How distressing all of this is.
One of the things I love *most* about NB is the fact that it is officially bilingual --- and that kids I knew thrumptysevix years ago seemed to thrive in the immersion program.
I proudly take money from americans by challenging them to name the bilingual province (they all name the obvious Quebec...)
This just sounds like an absolute mess, and one that could lead to division and derision. Not what the province needs in either case.
N.
Christina....welcome and thank you for pointing out THAT FACT! I had forgotten that the kids in Carleton County and up river return to school mid August. That makes it even crazier.
Mike.....you are absolutely right. Respect isn't inherent...all human beings need to earn it.
Respectfully, however, it is in our best interest to support all teachers since, especially the mediocre and crappy ones because they are going to need our encouragement and support more than the bright shining lights who can make it on their own volition.
Now, this doesn't mean that I believe all can become better teachers.....there are some people, in all occupations, who are completely ill-suited for the job they hold.....gee, am thinking of a couple right now.....scary thoughts......
anyways........it's also our responsibility on behalf of the kids and the good teachers to be engaged, connected and interactive with our school communities for many reasons.
Sunny! let 'er rip......feeling your punches here. I know this is a personally heated issue and I encourage you to keep blogging and speaking out on it. Bon chance, mon ami.
N. I know you can imagine how this has raised the barn roofs around here! It's sacred territory and is being mishandled by lack of due process and common politeness.....the "I know better than you do" attitude is felt by many across the province. Not good at all.
I think you said it well. "One more year in the bargain basement"
That just seems unacceptable to subject another year of students to a system known to be broken. There has to be some middle compromise that improves the system in the short term at least moderately but holds off radical changes for at least a year.
I don't know your education system but understand your passion. In NZ and also in Holland numeracy and litaracy is in decline and not only in one provence. Classes are too big , multi cultural and in both countries every child gets mainstreamed. This is good when you put resources in place to help teachers and children with disabilities, but this is minimal.
Therefore teachers get overburdened. They also have to produce heaps of paperwork.
But I could go on forever. Hope things don't get to bad. BTW NZ is officially bilangual (Maori and english) but english is spoken and mostly taught
Hey Spinks....it's too late to forge ahead on any big changes. Tomorrow is the last day of school. I agree.....changes have to be made, but it's too late for that, and it's frightening to think that the bureaucratic machine is going to push for change within such a short timeframe and expect it to be accepted and implemented properly.
Also, I have big trepidations and questions about the whole assessment process anyways.....it is different in every province, right down to who is "allowed" to write the exams..... Consequently, I question the validity of the result of us coming last scholastically when we are compared to other provinces.
Marja.....I wonder if the decline is felt in most countries? Our systems are not set up to support the teachers.
I can remember a really horrible high school chemistry teacher-he had TONS of support-namely a union and an educational system that ensured that he could never be replaced and no complaints were listened to. Year after year virtually every kid in that town lost interest in one of the most fascinating subjects (OK, there's a little hyperbole there). I can add the same about university profs. In the US teachers don't even make enough to survive the year without taking other jobs during the summer. That IS support.
What is saddest about this is that without this change the government had a beautiful setup for the next election-the largest spending increase and most number of teachers hired in history. As Lamrock told Charles, they had just hired a whole bunch of music teachers (ours was this old alcoholic who terrified students).
The system was far from 'broken', and without this change there WAS serious effort to deal with the problem-sensibly. And thats class sizes. Study after study after study says the most important element is class sizes, class sizes, class sizes. People need to ram that into their heads and this government made a serious address of this problem.
Of course the problem is so acute that any increase is not enough, but its a start. At the CBC site one commentor said that with the new changes 'class sizes were down to a 'manageable 18'. I've mentioned elsewhere that Vermont put serious bucks into their education department and got class sizes down to 8 and saw their test scores increase inside a decade.
With a class size of 8 it also means less need of TA's and volunteeers. It also means a manageable size where a teacher can have students helping one another as 8 is a 'group' number and 18 or 25 is a 'class' size.
THAT is where teachers need support, however, PARENTS also 'need support' and again, not every teacher is a patron saint. I also had one of those wonderful teachers mentioned above, but he wasn't wonderful for everybody, and making a DVD doesn't actually 'teach' much-showing HOW to make a DVD would (sorry to be so cynical:)
Parents ARE getting more vocal, but there needs to be more support there as well, as surveys show especially low income, high workload, and special needs kids often have parents who are 'too shy' (for lack of a better phrase) to question their kids' teachers. And those are the parents who can be 'coaxed' into having their kids switch out of EFI. Anybody who has dealt with the medical system knows that years of education don't necessarily produce great doctors, and there has to be checks and balances on them. I agree that that's a separate issue and probably not as important (when class sizes are down to 8 then that subject could be more appropriate).
Mike.....you have brought up some excellent points....and have stirred a few of my own teacher from hell memories. It makes me wonder if we went to the same high school, except my music teacher had throat surgery and couldn't carry a tune. To this day, I sing off key.
I had a math teacher who sexually harrassed me to a point where I was so psyched out by the time I wrote my Calculus exam that I ended up completely blanking.....because of the experience, I didn't graduate with my friends and had to return to high school the following fall (another high school) to get my credits. To this day, I could STILL write out the 5 step limit process....though don't get me to tell you WTF it is for!
yes, there are many (and still are) who should be given the HEAVE HO....but unions and incompetent administration who don't know how to document inappropriate skills and behaviour keep them floating in our system. My eldest daughter did not leave elementary school completely unscathed.
Parents do need to be more engaged in the system and in the process......I work with many you mention.....the ones who are struggling day to day just to put food on the table, who often have had very jarring experiences when they were in school, who are not confident enough to fight some battles, or even get involved at a grass roots level with their local schools. They perceive things as too authoritarian.
I am also well aware of the studies on class sizes....especially in the lower grades. Recently there has been a group of researchers who are disputing this. However, personally I believe we should at least pave the way for K-3 to have a ratio of 1-15. That way, literacy and numeracy issues would be identified and intervened upon at the moment of awareness.
I believe the Ontario govt tried to implement a smaller ratio a while back, but am not aware of how far they went with it.
Both music and phys ed will benefit from the changes.....don't know where this is right now given every thing else is on hold, though I know one has been hired to begin in Sept. at my son's school
And for the record? The teacher not only taught his class how to use the technology for DVD, presentations.....powerpoint and excel as part of an enrichment project he had put a proposal in for extra money (every teacher in the province had the right to do this.....) He used the smart board every day, integrating it into his teaching toolbox. When we were invited in to see the presentation of their yearlong enrichment projects, all of the technology they had learned was incorporated into their individual components of the project.
Now, I would like to see THAT in every single classroom in this province.....and across the country.
Thanks for your feedback and comments.
I really believe every schoolchild should have the opportunity to learn two languages from day one in school. Much of the rest of the world is way ahead of us North Americans. It is dismaying to read of yet another example when bureaucracy and money interferes with educational opportunities.
Post a Comment