‘Education Reform’ Category
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Is “citizenship’ teaching like a new religion?
April 29, 2014 by Tunya
Category Education Reform, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments
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Proper Professional Development Needed
April 24, 2014 by Tunya
Proper Professional Development Needed for the “Transformation” Plan
At the BCTF AGM this March I heard President Jim Iker say that Professional Development would be a major undertaking in the next year for the union. He said the Ministry of Education has designated a new position of Superintendent of Professional Development, but so far (as of Mar 15) had not hired anyone.
Frankly, from what I’m seeing and hearing we are poorly prepared in BC for the proposed “Transformation” to “Personalized Learning” of the BC Ed Plan. I’m even wondering how far the Consultation has come along. I have not seen any notices or invitations for the public to be involved. How far along is the so-called shift?
I note that Nova Scotia today has announced a public Review of education and is asking the public for responses. Why haven't we been invited to feed-back about BC’s radical curricular changes?
From the massive changes and shifts proposed the regular 6 professional development days per year will certainly not be sufficient to prepare teachers. If there is ill-prepared or botched implementation this could possibly result in harm to students.
Is part of McKay’s new assignment perhaps to help in transitioning to “transformation”? Certainly professional development should not be an exclusive responsibility of the BCTF!
[posted in Surrey Now on story of Mike McKay, ex supt Surrey, hired by Ministry of Education http://www.thenownewspaper.com/news/former-surrey-superintendent-joins-ministry-of-education-1.981548# ]
Category Education Reform, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments
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Education Takeover — Where To Start ?
April 23, 2014 by Tunya
Education Takeover — Where To Start?
I don’t use the word “takeover” lightly. Yes, it also has these other tones of meaning — invasion, conquest, penetration, capture . . .
I had my “awakening” one year ago when an Education Ministry Official told a small group of parents — one month before our provincial election that the “transformation” of BC education (being planned for several years already) was a go ahead, regardless of which political party would win the election (May 13, 2013). “It’s international!” we were told.
I was astonished because we had left, right, and center parties running. How could it be that the public and an elected government would have no say in this radical “transformation” called Personalized Learning?
I researched and found this was indeed part of a global effort, related to the Common Core in the US and 21st Century Learning under various names in other places. So far, it’s a go-ahead in BC, Alberta and Ontario.
Some features of this international shift are: quiet implementation; parents and public and everyday teachers not consulted; shift from content and knowledge to competencies that include collaboration, inquiry-based learning and critical thinking; cross curricular themes such as sustainability and social justice embedded into most subjects; social/emotional emphasis in classrooms.
While some people have become concerned because the methods of implementation themselves are suspect and foreign to our democratic expectations, it’s emerged that Math is becoming a flashpoint for gathering alarm. Math is not a “soft” “abstract” subject easily sabotaged and it is here where parents and some educators are starting to challenge this “transformation” by stealth.
This is no small-time politics. Even the UN with its Agenda 21 is mixed in. It is seen as indispensable that “human (which may include spiritual) development should be integrated in all disciplines”. (Ch.36)
I wish I could recommend one place to start. Of course, the Internet will provide both pros and cons for the topics I’ve touched upon.
This cartoon will help us understand the Big Shift http://www.parentsteachingparents.net/2013/11/zack-hill/
To Edmonton Journal http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/04/22/manitobas-education-minister-take-a-swipe-at-albertas-not-as-successful-math-curriclum/
Category Education Reform, Obstacles, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | 1 Comment
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Cowardice Allows Alberta To Slide In School Scores
April 16, 2014 by Tunya
History Of Alberta Education Illustrates A Slide To Cowardice
[This post is in response to Michael Zwaagstra column in Calgary Herald http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/op-ed/Zwaagstra+ways+teaching+math+pass+test/9738237/story.html ]
Alberta education, notably the choice, charter and school-based management model, has been written up in Economics textbooks. Noted is that competition not only enabled innovation but also resulted in measurable positive results for the whole system — all schools demonstrated improved scores. http://truthinamericaneducation.com/education-at-state-level/school-based-management/
For 4 decades Alberta was noted for highest scores in Canada as well as in international reports. Serious slippage in ratings, however, was seen in the last round of international reports.
Internationally, teacher unions are renowned for solidarity with each other and with left wing politics — equality, fraternity, but NOT liberty. I had read that ATA (Alberta Teachers’ Assoc) had been sponsoring, or co-sponsoring, gurus in the last 5 years — change-agents, turnaround consultants, the promoter of the Finnish style of education. This did not bode well for high-achieving Alberta Ed.
Was the tall poppy to be cut down to size?
There was the story that Alison Redford was elected to premiership because of an influx of teacher voters to her campaign. It was said she had made 3 promises — to immediately restore $107 M to education funds (done), scrap standardized testing in Gr 3 & 6 (done), and repeal parental veto to withdraw their children from controversial lessons (not done — opposed by parents). http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=422b83a5-51cc-4442-a86e-d5e90e9c07ec&sponsor=
Well, the tall poppy has been cut down. The left campaign has been successful. Alberta is now more equal than ever.
But, parents and some education supporters are rising up to restore some sense to at least the straightforward task of teaching Mathematics.
But, we are seeing, Math is no longer clear-cut and up-front. There are hidden agendas. A textbook in the field is titled: “Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice”. Perhaps this is the personal constructivist preference the Minister of Education is committed to instead of research evidence and the informed preferences of thousands of parents. Seems like his stance is simple subservience to the establishment and their vested interests.
Accomplices and cowards, it seems, are running the show. This episode in Alberta history fully illustrates that while there are clear political masters they are still slaves to a philosophy that is ineffective, dysfunctional and counterproductive.
Wikipedia reporting is ominous: “Discovery learning, personalized learning and reform mathematics are being implemented by the education ministry, accompanied by much controversy.”
Who will break away and tell us how this shaping of the Discovery Math agenda happened? Then maybe commonsense can be prevailed upon to give parents at least a choice in the matter.
Category Education Reform, Parent Tribal Memory, Teacher Unions | Tags: | No Comments
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It’s all about ideology in BC Education – more
April 5, 2014 by Tunya
It’s All About IDEOLOGY In BC — Part THREE
I’ve sent this essay to more people than just this blog. This is what I attached as background.
[ Disclosure: As a veteran of 40+ years in parent rights issues in education I wish to pass on to young parents some of my observations. My eyes were opened wide when in my early involvement with BC party politics (NDP) I found that the teacher union had considerable influence with the Ministry of Education. Also, suddenly, “new members” overwhelmed our Youth Wing when it was preparing a submission to government on widening choices in education and that proposal was defeated. It became clear that the teacher union opposed choice and was generally unsympathetic to parents. I soon left the socialist party for efforts where choice enjoys a positive reception and now have a libertarian point-of-view. Young parents tend to be very trusting of authorities. My intent is to — hopefully — update parents about the very political and power-hungry atmosphere in public education so that parent voice can still carry some influence in decision-making before it is too late. ]
So, to continue: But first I must say this to Tara and other young parents struggling to find common sense in education today. Please don’t give up. Easy to say, and parents don’t usually have an appetite for conflict and are too busy raising families. The system’s first priority is its own survival but parents have their children’s survival as a priority. And accountability from our overseers — the government and boards — is, unfortunately, tied up with compromises. That is why these Math Wars are important and parents cannot give up on this.
Furthermore, nothing can more outrageous and meant to bully than for a unionist to say political interference in schools is none of parents’ business. If ideology dominates teacher behavior — this is just not acceptable.
Now, to add more information about the volatile and precarious state of education affairs in BC. Today, we heard that Phase One of job action is being planned. So, what else is new? 40 years in the wilderness is not just in the Bible!
In my earlier essays I mentioned how important Professional Development is — in the right hands. But, in BC much is in the hands of the teacher union. They say it is an “autonomy” issue. Teachers are the drivers, not the driven.
I stated how PD seems to be a taboo topic — no-one seems to have correct answers. In fact, there seems to be a lot of buck-passing, which just strengthens my suspicion that something sneaky is going on. Perhaps PD HAS been passed to the BCTF on a silver platter. I’ve asked, but any information provided is obsolete because our College of Teachers has been abolished, and it NEVER did get involved in PD — perhaps because the union was shown in investigation to have generally run the agenda. “Regrettably, it must be said that the disruption and dysfunction that has dominated the attention of the College Council, particularly since 2004, has put the core public interest, and the interest of students, at risk . . . “ (6)
So, I will be looking further, to find out who is responsible for a) ensuring currency of teachers in their “professionalism” and b) VERY IMPORTANT, since a radical shift — a transformation — is being proposed in curriculum and practice — just how is “re-education” to take place. This second part can’t be stressed too strongly because for unprepared teachers to try and bluff and bluster their way through this is to invite serious psychological and cognitive damage to kids. Iatrogenic damage induced by the practitioners. Won’t there be cause for legal remedies for negligence and malpractice?
That PD is a bargaining chip in current negotiations tells me how cheaply held is this important matter. I heard the BCTF president at their recent AGM declare (from my notes) — “our commitment to Professional Development has never been greater, teacher-led Professional Development has never been more important . . . The Ministry of Education has created a new position — Superintendent of Professional Development — but that’s still not been filled.”
I can only interpret that Jim Iker was signaling strongly to his constituency that PD would be big-time. I’m sure I noted his seeming satisfaction that the Ministry had not yet filled this PD position.
In comparison to another well-functioning Teaching Council (Scotland) another report stated that BCCT “failed utterly . . . the blame for this failure rests squarely on the attitude of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, which rejected the professional aspect of the College’s mandate in favour of its own agenda, and put the interests of its members and its own ideology ahead of the public interest.” The report goes on to conclude that there is little to expect by way of positive change, because of “their [BCTF] constant and costly recourse to the judicial system, their apparent failure to learn from experience, and their stubborn refusal to adopt anything but confrontational tactics.”
(6) A College Divided: Report of the Fact Finder on the BC College of Teachers, 2010, Donald J Avison http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/pubs/2010_factfinder_report_bcct.pdf
(7) The British Columbia College of Teachers: An Obituary, Alastair Glegg, Historical Studies in Education, Fall 2013
Category Education Reform, Parent Tribal Memory, Teacher Unions | Tags: | No Comments
DON’T FORGET THE THIRD “C” — CITIZENSHIP !
The original documents on Common Core always had three Cs — Career, College and Citizenship Readiness.
The BIG QUESTION is — Why was “citizenship” dropped from much of the narrative when it is really THE MAIN AGENDA of all these 21st C Learning projects?
It’s been dropped, I surmise, because it was taking on an appearance, a perception, of “proselytizing”, and we know that’s WRONG. Public education is supposed to be secular — free of religion — at least in Western developed democratic nations.
So, Marxism (a political ideology acting like a religion), Social Emotional Learning, spirituality, and even the totalitarian “oneness” of certain established faiths are minimized while banging away at College and Career Readiness.
Yet, OBEDIENCE, mass obedience to one central command system — a New World Order — is still the assumption governing these high level conferences, their reports, etc. “Sustainability “ just happens to be the most acceptable excuse around with which to align formation and compliance with a rent-seeking society — citizens enslaved to public-centric jobs, services, and a dumbed-down Grade 6 education. Why Grade 6? Because that’s the target level of slick propaganda. Because Dummies books are at that level. And, because Grade 6 can be monitored and tracked through technology — all our games, phones, assessments . . . Somewhere it was established that a Grade 6 level would be most pliable and manageable! A small, educated elite can thus manage a two-tier populace.
What’s the quality of life in an unfree world? How can one be free when all is programmed? Figuratively, and biblically, why was the Tower of Babel split asunder into many languages and many nations? Doesn’t that make sense, today, when biological, economic, and psychological survival demands diversity and choice? “What shall we do?” I, for one, am seeking counter-measures to this mixmaster education transformation now being engineered.
So, I have a story to tell. Remember how our blog author feels so excluded from all these high level conferences? Well, I got invited to one, and can still register before tomorrow. Here is the item.
EdSource symposium to tackle ‘seminal’ public school reforms (about public ed reforms in California, in partnership with California State PTA — to bring everyone up-to-date with Common Core implementation).
http://edsource.org/2014/edsource-symposium-to-tackle-seminal-public-school-reforms/61134#.U17E_q1dVNK
Now, here’s the clincher, the keystone to make this conference really, really credible. One of the main speakers is Michael Fullan and here is how he’s described:
“ . . .school reform expert Michael Fullan, the former dean at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto who is credited with leading a whole scale transformation of the Ontario, Canada school system. He’ll keynote a session on what it will take to reform education in California.”
Now, I’m from Canada, and a professor in a teacher education faculty asked me a question to something I had written. Now, professors, are in a privileged level of knowledge about things educational, and he said, to this effect: “ I didn’t know Ontario was on board for 21st Century Learning, along with Alberta and British Columbia. Where can I find out about this?”
I pointed him to a document, APRIL, 2014, The Ontario Report is called — Achieving Excellence – A Renewed Vision for Education in Ontario, April 2014
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/about/excellent.html
The irony of this Ontario exercise and this announcement and report is that it’s all PRO FORMA — an accomplished fact. Without real public knowledge or involvement Ontario has a new transformative education plan laid out.
A 1976 OECD report on Canadian education said Canada’s public consultations are largely “pro forma “ exercises, — done as a formality, perfunctory.
This’s how most of 21st Century Learning projects — world-wide — seem to be going. Does anyone feel “used”?