BREAKOUT TIME FOR BC EDUCATION
Parents cannot stand idly by while their children’s education development languishes. In their wisdom parents probably had already made plans for their children’s registration in a public school come Sept. All that remained was to get supplies and legally sign them in.
Mike de Jong, Minister of Finance, announced, that if the teacher strike prevents regular public school attendance come this Fall, the government would fund parents at the rate of $40 a day to “utilize that money to acquire tutoring for their children, they can use the money to explore other educational opportunities as they see fit and for some parents, it’ll be basic daycare.”
That was not just a ploy to get collective bargaining back on track. There are some very sound public policy and governance principles supporting this move. There is every reason, without much restrictions, why we can’t break out and do some creative problem-solving here, knowing that good principles are at work.
1 Financial – This is a Finance Matter, not an Education Matter. Taxpayers provide dollars for education to happen. Who better than Finance to distribute the money to qualified clients and provide accountability for the money?
2 Money – Follows The Child – It is actually parental responsibility in the first instance to see that their child is educated and the parent will be held responsible for proper use of that money.
3 Devolution In Practice – Why should a central government operate a near-monopoly service when those closest to the action can best administer and manage?
4 Citizens As Self-Determining, Self-Sufficient – Even as public monies are used for the purpose of a well-educated public, the aggregate effect of assorted independent efforts are just as likely, economically, to produce as good results as something organized from afar. This leads to self-reliance rather than dependency on the state.
5 Diversity, Not One-Size-Fits-All – Parents can choose from choices already available (tutoring, independent schools, on-line service, etc.) or help in developing new schools, free schools, or other learning networks. Customizing as necessary for special needs of the student can be encouraged.
6 Innovation – There is a great stimulus for innovation and entrepreneurship once money is freed up. The government and public at large should be very pleased when modernization and experimentation is initiated at the grassroots level rather than by bureaucrats top-down.
7 Political Principle Of People Having A Voice In Decisions That Affect Them Is Put Into Practice – Parents should be genuinely included in decision-making about their children and their prudent use of the $40 day will likely meet the trust placed on them. The book by Seymour Sarason — Parental Involvement and the Political Principle — goes so far as to propose abolishing the existing governance system that deters parents. Pasi Salhberg, a leading international speaker on behalf of the Finnish Model of Education says that in a group of 10 discussing education policies only one should be a teacher, and that parents should be involved.
http://eltorofulbright.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-interview-with-pasi-sahlberg.html
The distribution to parents of pre-teens of the education dollar at the rate of $40 day, in the aggregate, would likely produce exemplary results at least equal to the present centralized program.
FREE SCHOOLS — Turning Crisis Into Opportunity
What’s to stop a burst of innovation and versatility due to the shutdown of government schools? Don’t young people still need an education?
The old standby for home educators, if they had no other plan or program, was simply to follow the syllabus. This is the carefully prepared Typical Course of Study of the World Book encyclopedia people. Every level, from Preschool to Grade 12, is here.http://worldbook.com/typical-course-of-study
The outlines for BC curriculum are also available from Ministry website. Correspondence courses also available.
$40 a day per student can easily initiate learning pods operated by either parents or teachers or both. Used textbooks are easily available from online used book outfits and delivery is quick. Online learning would also help meet the challenge. The possibilities are limitless.
The Free Schools movement of the 60s had great passion and created hundreds of small independent schools without all the technology we now have.
Go for it! Education is a continuous, developmentally urgent activity. It need not stop for a teacher strike and government lockout!
Is anyone scoping out the possibilities — sites, notices, personnel, accountability & mission statement — yet?
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21st Century Learning Under Challenge
Three provinces in Canada have so far been pressured to embrace 21st Century Learning — a broad term for “transforming” whole systems toward shifting to “competencies” and squeezing out skills and content. Constructivism is the new “teaching” style — basically non-teaching — or discovery or child-centered inquiry.
Gurus have travelled across the globe bringing in the principles and procedures for whole system change — similar to the Common Core initiatives in the United States where already major objections are raised by parents.
In Canada we have BC with its Personalized Learning Plan ready to roll out. Ontario has a 21st Century initiative.
But it is Alberta that’s worth watching. The same gurus travelled back and forth to develop Alberta’s plan — Inspiring Education. Of course, public was typically not involved.
Why Alberta is important is that there is currently a contest amongst the ruling Conservative Party for a new leader. As the three rivals travel across the province, they are hearing about concerns and discontent from parents about these new plans. It’s gone so far that one candidate, Jim Prentice, has already “pledged to halt all major education curriculum overhauls under his premiership.” None of these concerns would have been exposed so forcefully if these politicians had not been glad-handing with the grassroots in their communities. The first voting is Sept 6.
It’s too bad there is no similar opportunity in BC for parents to be examining our Personalized Learning Plan as it’s full of the same gobbledygook as Alberta’s plan. See http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/
That’s why, at $40 a day, parents should grab the chance to snag alternatives to what’s coming down the pike.