RIGHT NOW THE EDUCATION SYSTEM NEEDS A SHAKEDOWN

NIAGARA

The Education System Needs a Shakedown

Taking a drive throughout town you cannot help but notice the sprawling of lawn signs celebrating students as they close out another school year. Across the nation, children and students of all ages are grieving the loss of cancelled proms, end-of-year class trips and longa waited graduation ceremonies.

Looking at those lawn signs brings a sense of joy and a warm smile as you pass by, knowing that a family is celebrating something special. It also brings some sadness, as the reality sets in for those secondary and post-secondary students that have missed their chance to walk across a stage and celebrate that once in a lifetime moment.

For post-secondary graduates, it is historically an anxious time preparing to enter the very real working world. With all that the world has gone through, those anxieties are now met with greater obstacles, adding more worry to securing employment or in some cases, more permanent residency.

These students are our children, they are our future, and they all deserve better than what they have been given for this past year and a half.

With the next provincial election less than a year away, we are interested to know how our current and prospective elected leaders plan to fix education, addressing both new and existing challenges that were further exasperated and exposed in the pandemic. It is not to say that anyone on either side of the coin is doing anything wrong, or to point blame in any direction, but to take what we know and challenge ourselves to rebuild a better system.

Prior to the pandemic, the “modernized classroom” proposal put forth by the province included increased class sizes and a blend of physical and remote classroom learning time. After living the past 15 months with no choice but to rely heavily on digital ways of teaching, we must collectively acknowledge that it is not as easy to modify our system and inject remote learning as some may have thought. A modernized approach to the classroom is going to take far more planning, and investment, than that previous plan had included.

There is evidence of required funding being directed to make necessary changes, with one of the more familiar changes being to enhancing education in math. In June 2021, the first update to the math curriculum since 2005 was announced, emphasizing real-world applications and financial literacy. “We are better preparing students with the life and job skills they require – with a focus on financial literacy, coding, and data literacy – to ensure Ontario students succeed,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education within the Ontario press release.

In September 2021 throughout all of Ontario’s publicly funded schools, the new curriculum will replace the current Grade 9 course material. As part of a $200 Million investment, this is one of many steps in the 4-year strategy designed specifically to address the 10-year decline in math performance throughout Ontario.

Speaking of funding and investments, several economists share that education is an essential resource that drives our future, and as a result should be more heavily invested in, yet according to OECD, most governments typically invest between 2% and 4.5% of GDP education.

While much discussion has been had about provincial cuts to education, there are investments are being made. Recently in June, District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) announced the passing of the 2021/2022 budget of $522+ million, which is a reported increase of $22 Million from the previous year.

In the DSBN press release on June 21st, Warren Hoshizaki, Director of Education, stated “As we look toward in-person learning for the 2021/2022 school year, one of our core priorities is student mental health and well-being. Investing in the skills and strategies that will be applied by staff is an important part of supporting student mental health and well-being.”

As we speak about the prospect of investing more into education, it is only fair to immediately wonder if giving more money to a system that appears to be failing is truly the right answer.

You may recall our Premier Doug Ford earlier this year expressing anger and frustration when it was uncovered that $11 million in COVID-19 relief aid was allegedly stolen by Sanjay Madan, Director of the Ministry of Education’s iAccess Solutions Branch.

Captured by YYZ Times, Premier Doug Ford states “I think all systems

should be tightened up right across the board. I can’t say too much. This is in front of the courts, but misappropriation of any taxpayers’ money is unacceptable.”

Hitting much closer to home, look at the recent story that broke Niagara news where former educators were charged and recently arrested for defrauding the District School Board of Niagara. For nearly 20 years, respectable and trusted employees at the schoolboard were reportedly committing fraud through false invoicing and diverted revenue.

While official charges have yet to be laid in court for both of these occurrences, it does verify the one resounding theme that many can agree on: the system itself needs to change.

No matter what side of the fence you sit, the never-ending debates between teachers, political parties and unions will truly never end until those with the power to do so are prepared to shakedown our entire system.

We have been given a unique circumstance, where the entire world sits together at a juncture that forks to the future. On one path, we can return our previous education systems as they were before the pandemic. On the other path, we can seek new ideas, challenge the system, and rebuild a brighter future for our children.

Sources: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1000301/modernized-math-course-prepares-students-for-jobs-ofthe-future-and-life-skills https://www.dsbn.org/news-release/2021/06/22/dsbn-trustees-pass-$522-650-999-million-budget https://yyztimes.ca/index.php/2021/02/09/it-absolutely-infuriates-me-doug-ford-angry-about-allegedlystolen-covid-19-cash/ JUNE 2021 | 13 SMALL BUSINESS