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Education Through the Looking Glass
BCTF Teacher Newsmagazine: Volume 24, Number 3, November/December 2011
Like lambs to the slaughter: The erosion of the cultured citizen
By Sean M. Douglas
“I have never let school interfere with my education” wrote Mark Twain as he considered his own understanding of the world; but how long before someone holds a mirror up to public education and realizes that the reflection of the students staring back is not the one they thought they would see? It is a shame to see Mr. Clemens’ (Twains’ dual persona) fears become a reality as education becomes lost within the school.
Perhaps what first needs to be asked is, what should an education look like, versus what kind of learning is currently shaping the next generation?
One can hardly deny that education has changed since, say, the days of Socrates, and it is clear that the age of texting and self-corrective technology has led to a decline in communication skills, and while the decline of such proficiency is unfortunate, it will not be “the way to a dusty death.” What is unfortunate, however, is education’s digression from culture in the classroom, for it is through the process of being cultured that all skills follow; “ay, there’s the rub!”
There is, however, a great irony in such a digression of culture, for what often brings culture to a standstill is what occurs in the school itself, the same institution that one would assume seeks to shape the hearts and minds of the future. Then again, it is the ministry whose three objectives “focus on establishing high levels of student achievement; reducing the gaps in student achievement; and ensuring high levels of public confidence in public education.” When the emphasis of education is based around statistics and external perception, it is no wonder that students are not developing a sense of personal identity, citizenship, and culture.
Perhaps schools no longer know how to effectively implement the values of culture, for now that we have become so immersed in politics, we are so overwrought with tensions that our sensitivity and our fear of being unpolitically correct has eroded culture itself. One’s ability to teach classic literature, art, music, history, philosophy, and theory, is successfully being eroded, and it is these disciplines that are necessary for students to become cultured citizens.
British Columbia Teachers’ Federation Teacher Newsmagazine, Nov-Dec 2011
B.C. College of Teachers is No More
The Vancouver Sun
January 9, 2012. 3:41 pm • Section: Report Card, STAFF
The B.C. College of Teachers is now history, and a new teacher regulation branch of government opened its doors Monday. Find its website here.
The branch has issued a call for nominations of teachers from five regions to serve as members of a new 15-member B.C. Teachers’ Council. In addition to five elected members, the council will have three members appointed by the BCTF and seven selected by partner groups (trustees, superintendents, principals, parents, education deans, independent schools and first nations).
The deadline for teacher nominations is Feb. 1, 2012. Get details here.
The council will set standards for teachers. Nine of its members will also handle discipline issues, under the direction of a commissioner appointed by cabinet. That has yet to happen.
Staff from the former college have transferred to the ministry and will continue to process complaints and certify teachers, says a story in the Victoria Times Colonist.
**UPDATE: For the first time, independent-school teachers will be treated the same as public-school teachers. This is good news. Previously, discipline of teachers who were certified by the B.C. independent schools branch was not included in the B.C. College of Teacher (BCCT) public registry because those teachers were not BCCT members. This was not helpful. Nor were the uninformative reports by the independent schools branch, which you can find here.**
By Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
The Reggio Emilia Approach comes to Coquitlam
A Coquitlam school is planning to experiment this fall with an unusual approach to education that’s already won high praise from researchers and academics. Meadowbrook elementary is preparing to open a Reggio Emilia classroom for children in primary grades, following a vote of support late last year from the board of education. It is believed to be only the second such experiment in a B.C. public school, with the other starting quietly in 2010 for K-3 students attending Burnaby’s new University Highlands school.
Superintendent Tom Grant said the Coquitlam proposal is part of a broader effort to provide a range of programs that appeal to different types of students. And it’s the second time in recent years that his district has introduced a groundbreaking program, following the launch of a K-1 bilingual Mandarin program in 2010.
Although the Reggio Emilia philosophy is rare in the B.C. public school system, it is practised in some independent schools and preschools, such as Childgarden Preschool in Coquitlam, which has been operating since 2007. Director Sue Woodward said one of the defining features of Reggio Emilia is the “emergent” curriculum, which is created according to student interests, rather than a “canned” curriculum that is taught year after year without change.
Sometimes the students’ interests reflect what is happening in the community, such as at Christmas or Halloween, but at other times simple curiosity, for instance about tape or movement, can be turned into lessons, she explained. The Reggio Emilia approach was developed in Italy after the Second World War in an effort to reconstruct society and help students become more resilient and creative. It is similar to Montessori education, another Italian import, in that it encourages students to be actively involved in their personal development, but has a less formal structure.
To read the entire article by Janet Steffenhagen, click here.
The Must Read on BC Schools You Won’t Like
UVic historian of education paints a bleak political picture, and blames all sides.
By Crawford Kilian, 3 Jan 2012, TheTyee.ca
Title: Worlds Apart: British Columbia Schools, Politics, and Labour Relations Before and After 1972
Author: Thomas Fleming
Published by Bendall Books (2011)
Just about everyone with an interest in B.C. schools will have to read this book — parents, teachers, trustees, administrators, politicians, the media. None of them are going to like it.
That’s because Thomas Fleming, a professor emeritus at UVic, has studied our schools for many years; he knows the system we set up back in 1849. He knows how it’s changed, not always for the better. With energetic impartiality, he finds fault with teachers, trustees, civil servants, and politicians, especially since the first NDP government took power 40 years ago.
From his earlier books and articles, I was familiar with his thesis: B.C. education had been effectively nonpolitical from 1872 until 1972. A handful of dedicated ministry officials had run the schools in an “imperial” style from Victoria, while sending equally dedicated inspectors out to make sure the system was running well. Those inspectors were often veterans of rural and urban schools who had risen through the ranks.
Vancouver Board of Education Launches Website
The Vancouver board of education commenced a review of its schools and services Thursday with the launch of a new website intended to be a one-stop shop of information for parents, students, staff and community members.
The website, called Your Schools, Your Community, Our Future (http://ourfuture.vsb.bc.ca), marks the start of an extensive review and public consultation process to determine what programs and opportunities Vancouver students need now and into the future, deputy superintendent Jordan Tinney said in a release. The review will also include public hearings at a later date.
The website will provide an array of information about alternative and special-needs programs, enrolments, seismic and heritage rankings, staffing numbers and student catchment charts, the release says.
The board approved the sectoral review after voting in late 2010 not to close five small east-side schools that had been targeted due to low enrolments. At that time, the board instructed staff to prepare a report outlining the educational opportunities available in the district.
“The question of whether the [district] has the necessary facilities and resources to support its programs in all areas of the district will be a key consideration when the final report is presented to the board in March 2012,” the release says.
Despite declining enrolments, Vancouver has closed only one school: a small annex in 2003. Vision Vancouver and COPE trustees, who form a majority on the board, have said they do not intend to close any schools.
Story by: Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun