Blog based on the short documentary: For Richer or Poorer The story begins when we take a beautiful tour of the elite private school in Calgary Alberta named Webber Academy. It reminds me of the movies, the posh school where all the rich kids go, complete with iron gates and incredible landscaping. Webber Academy sits upon hundreds of acres of property that is used for outdoor training all year around. Their arts department is what I noticed the most, as I was a drama student and a musician in high school. The theatre is huge, almost better than Theatre Calgary. Upon seeing this, people’s faces turn green with envy, wondering why these children are so privileged. The principal of Webber said that the students receive about 70 percent of the funding that the public schools and Catholic schools receive. “So in essence [the] parents are paying the tax and paying the tuition…” in order to send their kids to this school. He also said that not everyone who sends their child to school at Webber is considered wealthy. Some parents make significant financial sacrifices in order to send their child to Webber. Our next stop is to one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Calgary, where we find the Patrick Airlie School. The difference between Webber and Patrick Airlie School is like night and day. It is not behind a grand gate on hundreds of acres of land, it is right by houses and strip malls. It appears to be like any other neighborhood school I have seen. The tour is almost depressing, however, as we walk the halls lit with a sad fluorescent glow. The principal of this school appears to be embarrassed when asked to show the storage room that contains the supplies needed for art, science, music, and drama. She said it was a bit messy. The teachers of Patrick Airlie must retrieve the supplies from this room that they need, there is no special art room or theatre here. The Principal also gave her opinion and felt that the government should not be funding the already privileged school.
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Karen Mullin
Edit 302
I grew up attending a private school from grade one all the way to graduation. My parents made financial sacrifices to send me there, as it was in their opinion that it was “worth it.” They valued the opportunity to send me to a school where I was able to receive a Christian education as well as regular curriculum. My school, however, was NOT like Webber Academy. Sure, there were several acres of land that the school sat on, as it was in the country, not in town. I suppose there were some wealthy families that attended there, but there were some poorer ones as well. We had the smallest gymnasium that I have ever seen, and we didn’t build an “arts room” until I was in grade 9. The primary focus of my old school was the Christian education. It was important that the teachers were all of the same view as well. If the school became publicly funded, the concern was that there may be less emphasis on Christian education, and less control of important decisions affecting the students and faculty.
My own children attend a Christian school that is part of the public school district, and is therefore publicly funded. Our children receive the same education as other kids in Alberta. The cost that we as parents pay is the Biblical curriculum. For us, this cost is one that we understand and sacrifice to pay for because it is important to us. So my question to the parents of Webber Academy would be: “What is so important about this school? Why do you think it is important to send your child here?” We may be surprised with the answers. There are reasons why they are willing to pay to send their children to Webber Academy. To the parents of
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Karen Mullin
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Patrick Airlie I ask: “What do you like about your school? Do you think that your children are receiving a good education?” These are the questions that we need to be asking. It’s not like Webber Academy receives the SAME funding as the public schools, it is actually receiving less. Maybe the government needs to look into these schools that are struggling financially. Maybe they should be adding facilities, providing older more run-down schools with some renovations and upgrades. They need to make sure students have what they need to have a good education. Maybe Webber Academy knows something we don’t, and instead of waiting for the government to provide financial assistance, they are looking to the parents to help out to create a learning environment that is critical to success. Why? Because it’s important to them.
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Karen Mullin
Edit 302