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  1. Time to talk about Vouchers

    December 9, 2020 by Tunya

    Today I had a letter to the editor published in the National Post.

    Revive school vouchers
    Re: Let’s have a reset to competition in schools, Matthew Lau, Dec. 2

    Yes, it’s time to revive the dreaded “V” word — vouchers. Dreaded by the education establishment, but not by consumers — the families and taxpayers.

    Here are some of the reasons school vouchers make sense:

    • Support from The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.”

    • Students with special needs, talents or interests can find schools that fit.

    • Families are strengthened by committing to a school of their choice.

    • Students at risk of being left behind due to pandemic disruptions can find private tutoring to meet shortfalls.

    • Voucher systems are appreciably less costly than government monopoly systems.

    There are dozens more good reasons. Hopefully both public and politicians can embrace this sensible approach.

    Tunya Audain, West Vancouver

    The article by Matthew Lau is here:

    https://financialpost.com/opinion/matthew-lau-lets-have-a-reset-to-competition-in-schools

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  2. Flabby families or choice in education

    December 16, 2018 by Tunya

    Flabby Families OR Family Choice in Education

    Families should be able to find the best fit of education for their children — yet that is a far off dream. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) recognized the significance of this principle: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” Parents who are not involved in choice questions regarding their children become “flabby”. See how this conclusion arises:

    In a 2002 interview Berkeley Law professor emeritus John E. Coons, a pioneer advocate for school choice, said:

    “There are a lot of benign effects of school choice but, for me, choice is family policy. It is one of the most important things we could possibly do as therapy for the institution of the family, for which we have no substitute. The relationship between the parent and child is very damaged if the parent loses all authority over the child for six hours a day, five days a week, and over the content that is put into the child’s mind.”

    “What must it be like for people who have raised their children until they’re five years old, and suddenly, in this most important decision about their education, they have no say at all? They’re stripped of their sovereignty over their child.”

    “And what must it be like for the child who finds that his parents don’t have any power to help him out if he doesn’t like the school? We are always complaining about the lack of responsibility in low-income families. But, the truth is, we have taken the authority away from them in this most important aspect of their child’s life….”

    “It’s a shame that there are no social science studies on the effect of choicelessness on the family. If you are stripped of power—kept out of the decision-making loop—you are likely to experience degeneration of your own capacity to be effective, because you have nothing to do. If you don’t have any responsibilities, you get flabby. And what we have are flabby families at the bottom end of the income scale.”

    Dr. Coons was talking in the context of poverty and families. But, we can see that his remarks also apply to all families who can become flabby when unconnected from decisions about their children’s education.

    [to FB, ECC]

    Category Education Reform, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  3. postal code school funding discrepancies

    November 26, 2018 by Tunya

    If there ever was a case to be made for family choice in education it is now. In this second decade of the 21st Century — in a prosperous country such as Canada — we still see the hand wringing and agonizing about the blatant unfairness of education quality by postal code! Shameful, isn’t it?

    Of course, the ed honchos are right up front there with their turnaround formulas. The achievement gaps persist and the question is asked: “So, what can be done to break the cycle?” Can the life chances of currently underserved students be improved?

    How about flipping the whole mess over and let the self-interest of the consumer be the guide, not the self-serving producers? Bring in a GI Bill type of program where the family chooses which school or programs would best fit their child, without bureaucratic strings attached?

    Yes, the voucher idea has been around a long time but there is now a more appealing plan — Education Savings Accounts. Families vote with their feet to find the education programs or schools that fit the unique needs of their children. ESAs are now of growing interest in the United States and we should get to know more about this concept.

    The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” Poor parents are as capable of making choices for their children as their higher income neighbors — if they had some control over “their” education dollars!

     

    [to Educhatter]

    Category Absurdities, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  4. Dark Omens in New Curriculum

    September 29, 2016 by Tunya

    Dark Omens Emerge From Hurried School Change

    In eagerness to get on the latest education bandwagon people in gung-ho schools could lose all sense of correctness. The global education arms race, undoubtedly accelerating, is pushing normal boundaries!

    “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold . . . The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” (Yeats, The Second Coming)

    If it wasn’t for one parent sensing creepy implications, a dubious school experiment would have run for 4-6 weeks with 12-13 year old students. The parent notified a national newspaper, which ran a front-page story. The project was suspended. A hush has settled in.

    Here are the brief details and links will amplify. From day one of Sept school start the students were assigned numbers, told they were “followers” and involved in arbitrary discipline. This was to be an experience in critical thinking. Neither the students nor parents were informed and asked for consent. In fact, parents received an email asking them to keep this project “confidential” but “debrief” students as usual about school. Comments to the newspaper stories brought forward professional and every-day reader reservations about human subject experimentation and depersonalization.

    2 links —
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/role-playing-experiment-at-vancouver-school-aims-to-nurture-critical-thinking/article31785408/

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/vancouver-school-suspends-process-drama-role-playing-exercise/article31822423/

    As a grandparent of school-age children and a long-ago psychology major I as offended in many ways by the news. But the biggest disappointment and dismay was with the presumption that parents would be an easy pushover — that they would both trust and accept this project and, furthermore, agree to betray their children by allowing them to participate in an unexamined project without consent.

    That one parent recognized the magnitude of this incident was remarkable! Not a pushover, this parent went beyond the local media for attention, and did not fall like a predictable domino.

    The challenge is — Just how do we help parents become aware of the looming dangers inherent in this headlong shift from standard education practices and protocols toward untested 21st Century Learning schemes? How can parents reclaim an instrumental voice in the education of their children?

    [ to Invisible Serfs Collar http://invisibleserfscollar.com/chocolate-cities-strangled-by-white-nooses-hacking-out-the-rights-of-the-citizen/#comment-765617 ]

    Category Absurdities, Education Reform, Obstacles, Opinions in media, Uncategorized | Tags: | 1 Comment

  5. Public Education Fraud – Chapter 2

    January 17, 2016 by Tunya

    Is Public Education A Fraud? — Chapter Two — A Professor’s Doubts

    Here is a skeptical professor who speaks out about our new curriculum in BC. What he says applies substantially to the rest of Canada, US with its Common Core problems, and anywhere else in the world that is facing “21st Century Transformations”. He feels students will find “the whole exercise is pointless.”

    Here is Prof David Livingstone’s Opinion Piece in the Vancouver Sun yesterday with the title — BC kids guinea pigs in dubious public school experiment. The title is different in the online story — Brave New World is in the title — http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/editorials/opinion+revised+public+school+curriculum+preparing/11655627/story.html

    “ . . . few parents I have talked with know their children are about to become the subjects in a very ambitious social experiment based on some questionable hypotheses.”

    “The new curriculum is designed for the “21st century learner” for whom, we are told by the Ministry of Education, learning facts will become less important.”

    Dr Livingstone is correct in noting that parents are largely unaware. On top of this “the system” itself is going into uncharted territory. And “personalized learning” in its fullest implementation opens up serious questions of privacy, womb-to-tomb data collection and social engineering suspicions.

    Human experimentation should have strict protocols in place to protect subjects — especially young children who are yet unable to stand up for themselves.

    I think this expose by Dr Livingstone is a good time to start developing a consciousness about the harm that can occur when radically new, untested and unproven, techniques are to be used in teaching and learning. Parents need written safeguards against which they can check whether their full permission should be granted to have their children participate. Example: The program has qualified, well-prepared personnel. The program is supported by research with supporting references. Parents are part of the feedback and evaluation of the new program.

    I haven’t seen any such safeguards enunciated anywhere in these sweeping international education “transformations” and “paradigm shifts”. I think these illuminating observations by Dr Livingstone could be the spur to develop statements about the rights and responsibilities of those involved in the education of young children.

    Category Absurdities, Education Reform, Obstacles, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

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