Recently SPERD held the Fine Arts Showcase at Racette featuring talent from across the division. Hundreds of parents and community members came to view pictures on display and hear kids perform. It was awesome. Most commercial artists would give their left arm to have an audience like that.
One of the best things that public education has to offer is variety and expertise. There is no way I could teach my daughter to play alto sax at home or giver her the opportunity to play in front of a crowd. Although my daughter didn't participate in this showcase, she will have similar chances in the future through public education.
While computers offer education anytime, anyplace, a computer program can't replace hands on teaching in areas such as fine arts.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
How much is too much
Yup the peanut allergy issue. If a child has a serious life threatening allergy or condition of any sort, how far can we expect the public school system to accommodate? My daughter could not have peanut butter sandwiches in elementary school, which was not a big problem. However, sometimes I would forget and put nuts in the banana bread or in a muffin. My daughter said that she hid under the slide on the playground once to eat the banana bread I put in her lunch forgetting about the nut issue. The thought of it made me laugh but I promised her I would try to remember to leave the nuts out of the banana bread, even though it disappointed other members of my family.
I have often wondered why only nuts seem to be banned. Are other allergies less serious? People can be allergic to so many things, like eggs, milk, gluten, and MSG. What if there were two different kids with different allergies? Would all parents in the classroom be expected to provide gluten free and nut free food for their children? That would really make planning lunches complicated.
What if you had three different kids and each was in a classroom with different forbidden substances? One child had a no nuts rule, another no MSG and the third, no milk products. Geezz the parent would have a real chore planning to accommodate all of those and make sure their own child had a healthy lunch.
The problem is people are not perfect and we sometimes forget to check the package of granola bars to see if there are nuts or other substances. If we make a mistake who is responsible? The parent who chose to send their child to public school? The school for not checking the lunches? The parent of the child who forgot or didn’t notice that there was nuts in the food?
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/peanut-allergy-stirs-controversy-florida-school-20110322-143328-250.html
I have often wondered why only nuts seem to be banned. Are other allergies less serious? People can be allergic to so many things, like eggs, milk, gluten, and MSG. What if there were two different kids with different allergies? Would all parents in the classroom be expected to provide gluten free and nut free food for their children? That would really make planning lunches complicated.
What if you had three different kids and each was in a classroom with different forbidden substances? One child had a no nuts rule, another no MSG and the third, no milk products. Geezz the parent would have a real chore planning to accommodate all of those and make sure their own child had a healthy lunch.
The problem is people are not perfect and we sometimes forget to check the package of granola bars to see if there are nuts or other substances. If we make a mistake who is responsible? The parent who chose to send their child to public school? The school for not checking the lunches? The parent of the child who forgot or didn’t notice that there was nuts in the food?
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/peanut-allergy-stirs-controversy-florida-school-20110322-143328-250.html
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
What do we "need to know"
Since the government is considering cutting back the curriculum to "need to know" rather then "nice to know" so they can then cut back classroom time and teacher wages. I have one comment ...
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN
Warning
The government has not completely abandoned the idea of negotiating a settlement with teachers, trying to cut classroom time in exchange for lower wages.
Government officials have been heard making comments like "Its not the quantity of time that matters its quality," and "We need to consider what is necessary to learn and what is nice to learn." The latter is referring to cutting back the curriculum content.
All this does is download the financial responsibility directly onto parents and will ultimately result in a two tier education system. You can bet if this goes through a number of "programs" will come forward to fill the void because parents can't leave their children at home alone. Children in the city will likely have access to things like "Telus World of Science" camps, or "University of Alberta" camps where as rural children will not. Parents who do not have much money will simply leave their kids at home unsupervised.
One of the nice things about public education is that it brings some equality to learning. Every child has the same "opportunity" to learn. Many do not take full advantage of the opportunity but at least they have a chance. I believe education is a basic human right, which should not be pared back to put a few more dollars in the pockets of the wealthy.
Increase the taxes and provide the education!
Government officials have been heard making comments like "Its not the quantity of time that matters its quality," and "We need to consider what is necessary to learn and what is nice to learn." The latter is referring to cutting back the curriculum content.
All this does is download the financial responsibility directly onto parents and will ultimately result in a two tier education system. You can bet if this goes through a number of "programs" will come forward to fill the void because parents can't leave their children at home alone. Children in the city will likely have access to things like "Telus World of Science" camps, or "University of Alberta" camps where as rural children will not. Parents who do not have much money will simply leave their kids at home unsupervised.
One of the nice things about public education is that it brings some equality to learning. Every child has the same "opportunity" to learn. Many do not take full advantage of the opportunity but at least they have a chance. I believe education is a basic human right, which should not be pared back to put a few more dollars in the pockets of the wealthy.
Increase the taxes and provide the education!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Time for teachers to speak up for themselves
I have been out of the classroom for a while so have to some extent lost contact with the day to day struggles of teachers. I come from one of those families where it seemed like everyone was a teacher and I grew up hearing debates at the dinner table about educational philosophy and teaching methods. You would be surprised about how the same issues come up over and over again. Many of the "new" ideas in education are not really all that new. I feel very comfortable discussing and/or debating any topic in education and I happen to be lucky enough to have a job where I can express my opinions publicly.
I find that while teachers have strong, passionate and intelligent ideas they lack the courage to speak out. The other day I was approached by a teacher who said that she was "disappointed" that I am no longer writing passionate columns about education. I asked her what she thought would make a good topic and she replied, the lack of morale for teachers in the division. Explaining that I was no longer in the staff rooms to hear the day to day concerns, I asked her why teacher morale is low.
She seemed to sense that I was wearing a reporter cap and refused to provide details. I think it is very important to do a column on teacher morale, but I can't if no-one will explain it to me. When I send my daughter off to school, it would be nice to know that the teacher who is helping her learn, is feeling good about their job. I want her to be surrounded by people who love learning not people who feel exhausted, beat up and just are hanging in until summer break.
I would very much like to help change a system that is draining the enthusiasm from dedicated teachers, driving many of them away from the system. In my job I have some freedom to speak up and voice an opinion and I am not afraid of feedback, in fact I welcome debate publicly or privately. However, if I am to take on an issue, I need to fully understand what I am talking about.
If teachers in the division lack the courage to say why morale is lacking, you can't expect me to guess what is bothering you. It is time for teachers to learn to speak up for themselves, at least a little bit because if you don't nothing will change.
I find that while teachers have strong, passionate and intelligent ideas they lack the courage to speak out. The other day I was approached by a teacher who said that she was "disappointed" that I am no longer writing passionate columns about education. I asked her what she thought would make a good topic and she replied, the lack of morale for teachers in the division. Explaining that I was no longer in the staff rooms to hear the day to day concerns, I asked her why teacher morale is low.
She seemed to sense that I was wearing a reporter cap and refused to provide details. I think it is very important to do a column on teacher morale, but I can't if no-one will explain it to me. When I send my daughter off to school, it would be nice to know that the teacher who is helping her learn, is feeling good about their job. I want her to be surrounded by people who love learning not people who feel exhausted, beat up and just are hanging in until summer break.
I would very much like to help change a system that is draining the enthusiasm from dedicated teachers, driving many of them away from the system. In my job I have some freedom to speak up and voice an opinion and I am not afraid of feedback, in fact I welcome debate publicly or privately. However, if I am to take on an issue, I need to fully understand what I am talking about.
If teachers in the division lack the courage to say why morale is lacking, you can't expect me to guess what is bothering you. It is time for teachers to learn to speak up for themselves, at least a little bit because if you don't nothing will change.
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