Over the past several weeks many people have commented on a broad range of questions about personalized learning. We’ve gone through all of your comments (more than 1000!) and have updated this wrap-up to share back with you what we’ve heard since the engagement forum began. What was originally a Questions 1-3 Wrap-Up now includes a summary for Questions 4-6 as well. We now have a much clearer picture of what issues are important to you and what suggestions you have for us as we move forward with education transformation in BC.
Below are the key themes from Question 1-6. Review each one to learn more and read comments from the site.
Key themes:
- Details of the Plan
- Competencies
- Fewer Curriculum Outcomes
- Curriculum Integration
- Class Composition
- Professional Development
- Funding
- Class Size
- Digital Technology
- Assessment
- Reporting
- Role of Parent
- Role of Student
- Independent Schools
- Post-Secondary Transition
- Implementation
These ideas have now been amalgamated into our individual summaries to date for Questions 1-6. Please visit these questions for more details or to comment further. This post is now closed to further comments.
In response to Question 3, What do you think is important for our education system in the future?
In the future, I think it is important for our education system, and our democracy, that we have and use more effective deterents to repeated government abuse of power. The Supreme Court does not seem to be enough.
The Liberal government in BC enacted Bills 27 and 28 about 11 years ago, and it took 10 years until the BC Supreme Court ruled against the constitutionality of those laws.
But what about all the citizens who were negatively impacted by those unconstitutional Bills during those 10 years?
And now the BC Liberal government has recently enacted Bill 22, and we are starting the process all over again!
Is it acceptable for us to wait another 10 years, for another Supreme Court ruling, while the government continues to trample on our constitutional rights and continues to disrespect the rule of law? And is it acceptable for citizens to continue to be negatively impacted for another 10 years?
Would a class action lawsuit against the BC Liberal government, on behalf of citizens who were negatively impacted due to Bills 27 and 28, help deter future governments from trampling on constitutional rights and otherwise not respecting the rule of law?
Here’s another example of the same sort of behavior by the BC Liberal government.
The Liberal government in BC introduced Bill 42 in May 2008, one year before the last provincial election. That “Gag Law” imposed advertising restrictions regarding political issues for 60 days before the 28 day election period. The BC Supreme court ruled against the constitutionality of that law as well. A CBC news article ( http://bit.ly/rkG3QO) at that time stated, “B.C.’s Court of Appeal agrees the government has no right to impose advertising restrictions outside a 28-day election period.”
And now, the BC Liberal government is at it again! Again, it is one year before the next provincial election, and despite the previous ruling of the BC Supreme Court, the BC Liberal government has introduced another “Gag Law” as part of the Miscellaneous Statues Amendment Act, this time imposing advertising restrictions regarding political issues for 40 days before the 28 day election period.
These kinds of attacks against our constitutional rights, against the rule of law, and against pillars of our society (education and healthcare) are very disruptive and damaging. There should be consequences, with teeth, for the kinds of repeated abuses of power we have been enduring in BC, so that future governments will think twice before going down that path.
What can we do to deter the Liberal government in BC, and all future governments, from trampling on our constitutional rights and otherwise not respecting the rule of law? I don’t know if class action lawsuits would help, but we clearly need more than just our Supreme Courts, and more than our vote at the polling station.
If we don’t have or use a big enough stick to deter and defend against these kinds of repeated attacks then we shouldn’t be surprised if such attacks continue or worsen.
It’s well past time to speak out against, stand up against, and otherwise put a stop to such damaging behavior.
The new curcilum sonuds exacting.
Fairly comprehensive, and an interesting premise. I would love to see some of these ideas implemented; however, this is clearly only possible if class size and composition, and/or number of teachers/teachers’ aides for a class, was adjusted and fitted accordingly. The budget for education would have to increase, as well as ongoing (and funded) training for educators.
Technology needs to be embraced as a tool for learning. In the past students needed to be taught to use computers, nowadays I feel that they know how to make theses devices function, but don’t know how to use them as educational tools. Lets show them programs/aps/sites that open their minds.
I am pleased to hear that there will be an increased emphasis on the teaching of competencies like creativity, critical, thinking, emotional literacy, interpersonal skills and problem solving as long as core curriculum isn’t sacrificed in the process.
I sincerely hope this effort improves our children’s education. It certainly would be a shame to see all this “thinking” time and thought go to waste. This is where the government has another opportunity to prove it listens and is willing to take the right path, make the right choices and serve the public.
Our children deserve a rich cultural background and schools are one of the places they should learn about this. BC is not only privileged in having many cultures living closely, but also has the chance to instill this in our children, tolerance and the history of the many nations and cultures that have shaped our world. After all, if we don’t study our history we are doomed to repeat it.
As well, the advancements in technology are everyday pushing our kids towards their phones and tablets. I’d like to see teachers well versed in these technologies so they can then pass on to the kids the “dangers” and positives of a technology heavy world. Kids will learn how to use technology quickly enough, but I would like to see teachers support the parent’s efforts in guiding the use of all these social sites that are coming up faster than we can keep track of.
Being from another country, as parents we constantly compare our children’s education with that of their cousins and other friends from back-home. And it is sad to a certain point to see that we are falling behind, not only in the content that is taught but also in preparing our kids for the real world. A world that is much, much more competitive, where not only is it required to “master” basic skills (math, reading and speaking the language, chemistry, physics, etc) but also new skills that will prepare them for their future roles, such as public speaking, negotiation, dealing with problems (people or situations), etc, etc.
In closing, as the world gets more complex our children not only need the basic skills that we use to learn years ago, they need these PLUS the skills to survive our society as it evolves. This certainly does not spawn on its own, and it definitely will not be there with less days of school, light homework, unprepared teachers, inadequate supplies, etc.
Please dig through these opinions and ensure our future society has the required preparation to become a better society.
I’ve spent nearly 25 years working in the K-14 education system. I am good at what I do. I now have two children in the public school system.
I teach physics and general science and I don’t really see how for instance ‘the digestive system’ can be personalized, or what benefit such personalization might incur….”Bobby, please write a song about how you feel about your pancreas”
It is of course possible to build in some elements of student personal interest in projects, but the bulk of classroom instruction needs to be directed. This is especially true in grades 7-10 where I believe many students would fall astray if left to their own devices.
As a professor, you can chat with a graduate student for a few minutes and then send them away to do some work and count on them making some progress and figuring out something for themselves. BUT – the students are 25 years old AND the professor only has a few such students AND the professor is not responsible for socializing these students.
Let’s not go too far down this road of personalization.
The most vital task of schools is to create the desire to learn. Without that, teaching is futile. In Internet terms I like to think of teaching as “uploading” and learning as “downloading”. If you have ever run any of the free “Internet Speed Test” apps, you will recognize that downloading runs about ten times faster than uploading. Commercial controls aside, when you upload you are forcing a single defined entity to a destination. When you download, you have already decided to accept whatever surprise might be associated with your choice, and it all comes fast!!! Effective education comes when the learning desire leads the process.
I am excited that there is a forum for us to share our thoughts and concerns. I have one son graduating this year and one in Grade 9. I feel that we need to revisit the curriculum. I feel this for a number of reasons. One being technology….the internet and technology have allowed us to have instant information at our finger tips. Our children need to obviously have a be taught the fundamentals ( math,reading,writing)but we are I feel wasting a lot of time teaching them things they will most likely never use and if they ever did need the information they would learn it during their specialized post secondary education or they can look it up on the internet. I feel we are missing out on the basics that they need to enter the world as young adults. We should be teaching our high school kids drivers ed, how to utilize and create spreadsheets, how to create a budget and the importance of doing so both for personal and professional. The danger of credit cards and living beyond your means, how to communicate effectively, problem solve, critical thinking, etiquette , manners, how to cook, time management,customer service, and the list goes on. We are sending our kids into a world that we expect them to be productive citizens in and even go as far as to put the future in these young kids hands…yet they are not even close to being ready for what adult life is really like.
Each grade is designed to prepare them for the next… the problem is they are not prepared for what comes after grade 12.
Times have changed, jobs have changed, technology has changed and our education system must do the same.
The common thing that I hear from the kids is “school is so stupid, I am never going to use this”. Whenever I can show my child that what they are being taught can be applied to real life… they are excited to learn….But please tell me what do I do or say when I agree? I agree it is nothing they will ever use and it does seem like a waste of time.
The reality is our teachers are raising our children (god bless them), but we as parents can have a voice in what they are being taught….a great place to start is engage in a conversation with your child and ask them what they are currently learning, how they feel about it and what they feel is missing.
I wish this government would stop wasting taxpayers money on pointless advertising and these silly forums when they are going to do as they like anyway. The liberals are more interested in promoting their political agenda than improving education in the province. What bullies the are.
I work at a private post secondary institution and I am amazed at the living skills that are overlooked by the clients that I meet.
These areas are so basic and potentially damaging if not addressed, that I am in absolute shock that our society can still function.
Credit card debt, personal relationships, and the art of mortgage management and negotiations should absolutely have a semester of their own. I see on a daily basis kids getting sucked in to the way our banking system is designed. The system is all about control and keeping them in debt for their entire adult life. It’s not even a fair fight!
Looking for other comments regarding this question?
Just click the “« Older Comments” link near the top left corner of the first comment on each webpage, or in this case you can simply click here.
Just curious: Has anyone been having trouble finding the old comments?
I did, especially after the page number links on each webpage disappeared and after the search function stopped working properly. So I thought it would be helpful to others to point out the “« Older Comments” link just above the first comment on each page.
I hope it helps
There are related threads here, here and here.
As the costs for materials and other essential needs increase more funding should be channeled into that direction. For example more teachers and smaller class sizes are important. How ever teachers are already compensated fairly for what they do. In this time of restraint very few people are going to receive a pay raise for the foreseeable future and teachers should not be exempt from this reality. Of course we would all like to earn more money but if there is very limited money to spread around lets focus on the more important aspects of teaching.
It is interesting to read critical comments about the lack of participation by parents in consultations. What usually happens in an education consultation is that aligned participants attend the consultation while they are being paid by their employer or association. Parents wanting to participate frequently have to do this on their own time and dime. It may be that they have to take a leave of absence or holiday from their place of work in order to attend a function where they are greatly outnumbered by aligned people.
In my view parents and the non-aligned public should be paid to attend and have their expenses covered just as the aligned participants have.
If such equal treatment is not feasible then consultations should be held on week-ends when more non-aligned people have the flexibility to participate.
FUNDING…where to start???
First off, how much did the govt spend on the TV ads trying to win the public support? That money could have been better directed to the education system.
We are in tough financial times…we all know it. However, forcing net zero on the teachers, or anyone else for that matter is criminal. If the govt said ‘hey times are tough, we all need to cut back a bit’, and they led by example by taking 0%, then fine I would be happy to take 0%. I just looked back through the public accounts..average MLA salary 2005-6 was just over 59k. 2010-11 base salary is 101,859. That is a 70% increase in the last 5 years. Telling people they have to take zero because there is no money when they have had an increase like that is a slap in the face.
I also work for an employer who gave 0% to the working stiff, while management enjoyed raises, and bonuses to boot.
Honestly, I am happy with the money I make; if I make more, the govt just takes it in taxes. I don’t want a raise, but I don’t want to go backwards again. If inflation is 3% and I got 0, I have taken a pay cut because my purchasing power is less. Every time the govt says to people they get zero, in effect what they are saying ( in my opinion ) is not ‘ you get zero’, but ‘we are going to pay you less this year’.
Premier and MLAs, lead by example, and stop being pigs at the public trough, and maybe you will find labour peace.
Earl said, “…how much did the govt spend on the TV ads trying to win the public support? That money could have been better directed to the education system…”
You might be interested in related discussion here and here.
I don’t really understand how more individualized learning is going to be implemented (with large class sizes) other than having students do self-directed assignments on computers. I have a major problem with more technology being used in schools. Our youth are already spending way too much time on technology outside of school time. Now we are going to give them more computer time during the school day? I think we need to think of the implications of this to our students health, attention spans, ability to communicate and socialize, etc. I think the school system should be investing in more outdoor education and quality physical education (especially if we are increasing their computer time at schools). And have a limit on the amount of time each student will be spending on computers each day.
Two points in response to the independent school issue. First, national surveys demonstrate that provinces with the most choice have the most satisfied parents while those with the least choice have the least satisfied parents. BC does not do well in regard to parent satisfaction relative to other provinces.
Second, independent schools save taxpayers a lot of money. If the small amount of funding given to independent schools was reduced or even removed and many of these parents then elected to enter the public system, the cost to taxpayers would increase substantially not only to pay operating costs but also the capital costs of building more classrooms. There would also be the issue of even more negativity by the system’s clients.
The way to save money and increase parent satisfaction is to accommodate clients and increase opportunity for choice.
While my son was in high school, he had three months of non-stop substitutes. He was in french immersion and they couldn’t speak the language, but certainly knew how to put movies on. Yes, we paid top dollar for someone to play movies. Is there anybody out there that knows how much we spend on substitutes on a yearly basis?
Unless the Province is willing to commit in a MEANINGFUL way (financially), this “plan” and this “conversation” are nothing more than propaganda. Oh – and a criminal waste of money that should be going toward–drum roll, please–educating kids.
I’m sorry, but this is bogus. In this political climate, no reasonable parents will encourage their graduating children to pursue a career in education, and no young people with intelligence and creativity would even consider becoming teachers.
If you truly want to support education, support TEACHERS. Otherwise, in short order, the only teachers we’ll have left will be a handful of incompetent, untalented ones who don’t have any other options.
I understand that the whole world is in dire financial times and we should all tighten our belts to make it through the storm. So, the ‘Net Zero’ plan does make sense. And of course all MLAs and the Premier want to do their part and do have the very same ‘Net Zero’ clause attached to their salaries, right?
Teachers are as deserving, if not more, than our MLAs and Premier. They are the educators of the future MLAs and Premiers! So, if EVERYBODY, including all high rank Government officials, is bound by the ‘Net Zero’ policy, we should all support it. However, if this not the case, why should the teachers, and other civil servants be so unfairly stuck with it?
Our children deserve the best possible education. It is not done by over-crowding classrooms and underpaying our teachers… (please excuse my poor English, it is not my main language).
Correct me if I am wrong, but from my sources, debt-to-GDP ratios for BC and Canada hover around 30%, which is a far cry from the 150% ratios that countries like Greece has. Please correct listeners when they mention these issues!
I cannot believe how frequently I have been inundated with BC Ed Plan ads on CTV’s video streaming and on the TV. Instead of advertising basically how the teachers do not deserve a raise, the government could have easily paid for their increase in salary and downsize class sizes. Also, the propaganda talks about hiring more teachers and assistants — how can the government afford to hire more teachers and assistants if they can’t fairly afford the numbers they already have? I really do not think that people, including government, fully comprehend how much teachers do and what goes into preparing classes and making a child’s education experience meaningful. Teachers also spend endless hours of personal time to mark papers, etc. Many stay after school hours on their own time to help with extra-curricular activities and sports. How many people in other professions would spend that amount of unpaid time? Not too many. And the importance of what they do is way beyond what anyone can pay them—they are entrusted with the welfare and education of our youth—nothing is more critical than that, other than healthcare. As a healthcare worker, I could go on about how the BC government has failed our healthcare system too but I won’t go into that here.
Measure what the teachers make against what politicians make (including expense accounts, etc.)? It is not fair to say the very least.
I am insulted by what I see as the government’s “propaganda” at the time that the teachers are attempting to negotiate their contract.
You might be interested in related discussion here and here.
I LOVE the emphasis on 21st learning with subject integration and technology. I have been waiting and trying to do this for 10 years. I can’t wait for the influx of computers to my school so I can actually have access to computers that work and so we can constantly and immediately access the information we need as I, and anyone else operating in the 21st century does now. Of course, I can’t do this now at school because in order for my class to use oomputers I have to book them days or weeks in advance. But I’m sure this is going to change soon!! The other thing I am looking forward to is the leadership in subject integration and all the new curriculum materials that the government will be writing for us that explain how to do this. So far, I have found it very difficult to reconcile the checklist IRP documents (especially in math- my subject) with inter-subject integration because it is very hard to connect the disparate subject topics at grade level as they exist now. There is simply not that much to connect them and still be sure that the students are thoroughly learning all the bits and pieces we must teach now. I know the government is going to work very hard to rewrite all the curriculum documents to reflect integrated learning and get rid of the disintegrated skills and tasks as they exist now. But what would the FSA look like?? Hmmm… will this be changed to reflect 21C learning? And on the topic of changing the way we learn- why is the teacher, in the government’s TV ad, who is going on the AMAZING government controlled and directed Pro-D sitting alone at a table with a book and a guy at the chalkboard with a pointer? I haven’t been in that kind of a Pro-D session since I started 20+ years ago. My Pro-D has been from other teachers who have become experts in their area and who teach and engage other teachers in the ways we want to engage and empower the students. And of course the Pro-D I select for myself (which usually occurs on a Friday, my day off, and I go anyway) is different from the Pro-D I selected when I first started since my skills and knowledge have grown and the Pro-D I require is increasingly refined. I wonder how the government will decide what I need vs. what a beginning teacher will need? Maybe the diverisified, student-centered learning is just for the kids but us “life-long learners” will be treated like a homogeneous group with no diversity of needs- just like education back in the 50′s. Hey- now I get why the teacher was sitting alone with a book while the lecturer was at the chalkboard with the pointer!
I am appalled at how this Government doesn’t seem to understand that cutting the funding required for education is going to hurt the students. This Government seems to be able to find the money to give government employees incentive gifts for doing a good job, and tell the teachers there is no money. How much of their own money must a teacher spend to to prep the classroom, or work all those extra hours without getting paid. Think about it Mr. Abbott.
Unlike private schools, Public schools are for all children regardless of economic status and academic ability. Education for children should be free for all children. So I wonder why we even have private schools? You live in B.C. in Canada your child is welcome to attend their neighbourhood public school. However, this is not the case in most private schools. Parents are interviewed there is a selection process. Unlike public schools, private schools select their families / students. How many special need students do you find in a private school? Zero. Why should the government fund private schools at all? In Vancouver alone many private schools cost over $1000/month i.e. $1600/month York house / Crofton House. How many B.C. families can afford that? If you have two children? Three children? and if a parent can afford that why on earth should the government be giving those who prefer to send their child to an elitest school that only caters to those with a lot of money? When the government supports those elitest private schools …All this does is increase the inequallity among privatea and public schools. Public schools depend on the government to adequately fund a school in order to fully support all kids where private schools increase their tuition to parents who prefer to send their children to elite schools when funds are needed. Public schools could use the money the government is already throwing away to private schools to help fund more support for special need children in this province. Now when talking about private schools I need to clarify that there are public schools, public religious schools and then independent private schools… it is only those independent private schools that exclude fmailies who are not in the top economic brackets. … t religious schools are not the same as they offer religious freddom to families and students and most are still inclusive to all children. However the ridiculous overpriced schools that only allow family of a high economic status why continue to fund them provincially? Give more money to the Rich by taking more money from the not so rich and the poor?
There is some good language on both the Ministry’s website (http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/independentschools/) and on FISA’s website (http://www.fisabc.ca/) about independent schools offering parents and students choice in education programming. Independent schools allow parents and students to make choices with respect to religious, cultural and pedagogical approaches. Many members of the public view Independent Schools as largely the elite university prep schools when these schools actually make up the minority of independent schools. Approximately 60% of independent schools are faith based and many of these have relatively modest tuition fees. All public schools in BC are non-secular. There are also other independent schools such as the 12 that offer services almost exclusively to students with special needs.
Why does the BC Government fund private/independent schools? It is my understanding that in return for meeting accreditation standards set by the Ministry of Education, private/independent schools receive a minimum of 30% government funding. Why? If you wish to give your child a different experience than that of the public education system, why should BC taxpayers fund that decision? Every penny spent in private/independent schools is a penny witheld from an already underfunded public system. If the BC Government truly believes that every citizen of British Columbia deserves the right to be educated then it should be building the strongest public education system possible – not undercutting it by diverting funds to the private system.
In response to your question, the BC Government funds independent schools because it believes in providing parents and children with choice in education. To read the rationale, please refer to page 5 of this document: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/independentschools/geninfo.pdf
As a public school teacher that has taught in the private school I think you misunderstand the economics being presented to the government. The government pays ONLY 1/3 of the cost to educate most private school children. The education does conform to the Ministries standards. All children in BC deserve an education. While I know that the level of education in public and private schools in BC are both good, parents choose private schools for their own reasons. My kids have been in both. They both will graduate university with honors… because they work hard, not because they went to one system or the other. Seriously? the education is similar… either way it is up to the kids to do well (with a little help from their parents.)
That little help from the parents is not as little as you make it to be, though! Not all parents have the time or the expertise that you have. This makes a huge difference and might make the system looks better than it really is!
I am most familiar with university teaching. At the very best schools, class size is small, 10 to 15 students. When the class size is larger, it becomes like a production line in which some students do OK, but most do not.
By “doing OK” I mean having gaining tremendous benefit from the class. Mediocre results have no place in any education system, and it is an inescapable fact that excellence in education requires resources. A government whose goal is to minimize the expenditure of money is going to have mediocre results.
This is simply the reality.
I remember 30 or 40 years ago, the education minister of BC declared, as part of his announcements of new substantial budget cuts, that “BC has the best educational system in the world. After these new cuts to the education budget, our system will be even better!” This appeared on the front page of the Vancouver Sun.
Sadly, our government always seems to believe (do they really believe this??) that every budget, no matter how tight, can always be reduced further.
I am acquainted with a fair number of people with European backgrounds, who find it simply astounding that so little money is spent on education in BC.
I couldn’t agree more. School boards are already cut to the bone and government,in a state of denial, expects them to make even further cuts. The minister of education professes to be concerned about students, but his concern is not sincere in my opinion.
Why on earth do we have so many school boards? Why on earth do we have school boards – period? If all the pay is negotiated by one group, all the benefits, all the curriculum……..then it seems to me that all these fat cats are just making work for themselves. Somebody needs to address this. Can you imagine how much we would save? By the way, on the North Shore, we have three school boards.
That is incorrect actually. There are two school boards on the North Shore: Sd44, North Vancouver and sd45, West Vancouver.