The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Education opinions and practices An often mentioned opinion, held by many, is that students in Asia do better than Canadians because their school year is longer and the courses more difficult. Some include Europeans in this reasoning. They propose a longer school year, tougher courses, fewer spares Ð- more work, less fun Ñ to make Manitoba kids smarter and achieve better. There really is no proof that Asian and European students do better than Manitobans, in fact there is some evidence that the opposite is true. Students enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program (known as I.B.) write international exams at the end of grade 12 (now senior 4) in each subject. The same exam is written worldwide at approximately the same time. Exams are centrally marked, graded and the results published, comparing schools and countries. In most years, Manitoba students do better than those in other countries. By the way, all five high schools with I.B. program are public, not private schools. I.B. programs are designed for bright, high-achieving students. Courses are difficult, a second language is required as are a number of hours of community service. Graduating students are well trained for university and are generally placed in second year in most faculties. The program is expensive, requires special training for teachers and administrators, is rigid and difficult, but it does give students a different opportunity and a change from the "treat them all the same philosophy." In September, a 500 page international survey released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, shows Canada's teenagers scored some of the highest marks among Western nations in math, science and reading. We also had the highest number of students attending post-secondary education Ð all this in spite of a significant drop in education spending. In reading, Canada ranked second behind Finland, with Alberta the top province and New Brunswick at the bottom (while still at the O.E.C.D. average.) The study also reported that Canada is second on post-secondary spending, that females were 30% better than males in reading literacy and 2% better in science, while males scored 10% better in math. On another front, in this corner's opinion, one of the colossal blunders in Manitoba education was including "behaviourally disadvantaged" (translation: bad, deranged disruptive) students when integrating "special needs" students into regular classrooms. In the high school this is not a major problem as disruptive students can be removed, suspended or dropped out of classes, but it is a difficulty for elementary and junior high teachers as one "behaviourally disadvantaged" student can ruin the learning situation for the rest of the class. One teacher friend had a student in his grade 4 class who constantly ran around the room biting other children. It practically took an act of the Legislature to remove the disturbed youngster from the room. Primarily disadvantaged by disruptive students is the "average student" who gets little extra attention in the classroom compared to the superior and inferior learners. Parents of bad behaving students often blame the school or teacher for their child's bad behaviour, accepting no responsibility for their child's actions, in fact often threatening lawsuits if their child is treated or taught differently. This is of course absolute nonsense. Students who constantly disrupt the classroom should be removed and if necessary sent home for the parents to educate Ñ a good argument for home schooling! Education Manitoba's policy of integrating such students into regular classrooms under the guise of "special needs" should be changed. If not, the teachers and the average students will continue to suffer. Speaking of suffering, a hilarious (from a right- thinking point of view) situation has developed in Manitoba's largest school division where the Winnipeg school board and local teacher's association have each filed unfair labour practise accusations with the Manitoba Labor Board. What is this all about? Winnipeg School Division does not believe in exams, particularly since their students did poorly in the Filmon government's province-wide tests. They replaced exams for young children in 1999 with an assessment program called CAP. Teachers do individual assessments on nursery to grade 5 students early in each school year to assess their ability in math, reading, social and emotional skills plus motor skills. Teachers claim they lose 20 to 30 days of instruction and threatened to go public with their rebellion. The board threatened them with firing and accusations were flying by both side's lawyers at the labor board's hearings in late December. Why hilarious? The Winnipeg School Board and the W.T.A have long been dominated by a majority of NDP members and supporters, and both constantly attacked the Filmon government's education policies, especially the policy of exams, as did the now president of the Manitoba Teacher's Society, who is aghast at the dispute. Their battle, which is a long way from over, is providing a good argument for exams.
