Navigating The Swampy River Is Hard To Do
The current pickle the BCCPAC boat is in reminds me of a treacherous swampy river. It would be so easy to find a safe harbor on either side, retreat, and forget the parent struggle. With two sides in this nasty impasse and the teachers’ strike this means choosing either the teacher union side or the government side. But, please, let’s not forget, BOTH are of one mind when it comes to the question of who should educate children and how — the state.
Shouldn’t parents be involved in meaningful ways? This is where BCCPAC comes in. They are a third force promoting the parent voice on behalf of their children.
I am reminded of the Sullivan Commission Report on Education, 1989, which made this profound comment:
*** ”The home schooling issue clearly contains within it some of the most fundamental tensions between competing ideals and values to be found in educational and social policy today. It involves the question of parental rights in schooling versus those of the state, questions about where the public good should supersede private interest, questions about who should be accountable for children’s education and well-being, and questions about the limits of individual choice and participation in schooling.”
The School Act was amended to provide for home schooling as a legal choice. What remains to this day, however, is the right of all parents to have a voice and choice in their children’s education. The state schools still gather 88% of students with a mainly one-size-fits-all mentality.
The stalemate in this dispute is largely about how schools will be managed. Will the status quo prevail with rigid formulas about staffing or will local management decisions be made at the school level? This is where BCCPAC has a third point of view to offer whereby parents would be involved so that individual needs can be met with flexibility and funds available at the local level. This plan is worth close attention, especially since it is acknowledged that competency in working with special needs students is sadly lacking in many cases. There is so much current new information that is simply not being welcomed or embraced by the industry and which needs strong advocacy from parents to see benefits for children in their lifetimes.
The history of parent involvement in education has a long, sad history. First, there was the PTA model where teachers swayed discussions away from competency and relevancy to student needs. Then various consultative models were tried, which had no clout. Now the BC School Act provides for an advisory role for parents The BCCPAC steadfastness in steering through the current quagmire of obstacles — and in spite of being swamped by organized teacher detractors — is commendable.
And certainly the time will come — the sooner the better — when parents will have a voice in changing the status quo which throws up these teacher strikes that harm students so frequently.