Archive
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The Indian Act – Three Simples Pages Say it All!
Comments Off on The Indian Act – Three Simples Pages Say it All!Three simple pages say it all! That’s the length, in its entirety, of the sections in the Indian Act that govern education on reserves for First Nations. Contrast this to the over 150 pages of the provincially-controlled Public Schools Act and Education Administration Act in Manitoba. From this perspective alone, is it any wonder that the most pressing social crisis facing our nation today is the inequitable state of education between students in our First Nations communities and those in mainstream Canada?
Where the Indian Act is silent, the Public Schools Act legislates critical issues such as minimum teaching days, board governance, and teacher certification. It also holds government accountable and gives parents guaranteed rights. Even in its limited capacity, there are no such mechanisms in place for First Nations parents, thus rendering the Indian Act all but irrelevant.
Compounding this problem is a lack of adequate funding for on-reserve schools that receive between $2,000 and $3,000 LESS per student than their provincial counterparts. In some cases, schools in remote communities suffer with $9,000 less per student. The fall-out includes:
- Higher pupil-teacher ratios;
- Lower pay and less benefits for teachers;
- Limited ability to keep up with curricular advances;
- Lack of ICT advances, and;
- Overcrowded schools.
Is it any wonder that our students, our communities, and our country are suffering both socially and economically? The truth is there’s a price to be paid – both socially and economically – if we all fail to address and correct these educational inequities. Just look at on-reserve graduation rates, which are as low as 29% in some areas of Canada. It’s a statistic that would cause an uproar were it to happen in mainstream Canadian schools.
Is it any wonder that our students, our communities, and our country are suffering both socially and economically? The truth is there’s a price to be paid – both socially and economically – if we all fail to address and correct these educational inequities. Just look at on-reserve graduation rates, which are as low as 29% in some areas of Canada. It’s a statistic that would cause an uproar were it to happen in mainstream Canadian schools. From a financial perspective, the Canadian Council on Learning estimates the 10-year cost of high school attrition on-reserve exceeds 1 billion dollars with an estimated cost to Canada of $4,750 per year for every student who drops out of high school.
The first step in addressing educational inequities is to acknowledge that this is a Canadian issue, not just a First Nations issue.
The first step in addressing educational inequities is to acknowledge that this is a Canadian issue, not just a First Nations issue. Other steps for consideration include:
- Encouraging First Nations Education Directors to become full members of provincial associations, as the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents has done. This has had a lasting beneficial impact on capacity building (at the same time recognizing First Nations control of First Nations education).
- Fostering relationships between First Nations people, school boards, and governments in order to build trust and encourage staff to tackle some of the most challenging issues. If a Board is afraid to act based on fear of being labelled or of making mistakes, the poor outcomes of First Nations learners will continue.
Now’s the time for action because, sadly, if we do not begin to deal with this problem, we will relegate generations of students to disadvantage, furthering the mess of residential schools and harming Canada’s economy.
Related Education Canada article:
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The greatest opportunity for advancing equity lies in leadership
Comments Off on The greatest opportunity for advancing equity lies in leadershipAnin Sikwa, Tansi, Et-lan-eh-tay, Ho…
As I have reflected on my experience with equity both as an individual and as a professional working in the educational field – I am struck by the lack of appreciation of those inside and outside of the school system – of the definition of equity.
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‘Outing’ the Conversation About LGBTQ Issues in our Schools
Comments Off on ‘Outing’ the Conversation About LGBTQ Issues in our SchoolsIt’s time to really ‘out’ the conversation about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) realities in our schools and beyond. Not just a paragraph or two in an equity policy, but steps must be taken that result in real change like mandatory LGBTQ Positive Space Training for all staff , Positive Space Groups in every school and changes in curricula that include LGBTQ content.
Having spent the last three years outing the conversation about the need for LGBTQ Positive Space in personal, organizational and political spheres with hundreds of teachers in many Ontario communities, one thing is always clear – teachers are individuals who present at work with intersections of their identity that seem to make them unable to interrupt homophobic, biphobic, or transphobic comments. Whether it’s their faith, culture, lack of exposure and understanding, or something else, it is time to implement serious training conversations about the responsibility of staff in this area.
EGALE is Canada’s LGBTQ Rights Organization and last year they produced a study on LGBTQ students in Canada. According to Every Class in Every School, almost two thirds (64%) of LGBTQ students and 61% of students with LGBTQ parents reported that they feel unsafe at school. In fact, although LBGTQ students will hear homophobic slurs 26 times in a day, only 3% of those will be interrupted by faculty. This is unacceptable and is part and parcel of the high rate of suicide for our LGBTQ youth.
I spent the lunch period recently with an LGBTQ Positive Space Group at a local high school in Hamilton. What a resilient group of students! Some had been kicked out of their homes for their sexual orientation; others were living in fear about telling their parents who they love; still others were too afraid to come to a place where they could identify their sexual orientation to themselves let alone others.
I spent the lunch period recently with an LGBTQ Positive Space Group at a local high school in Hamilton. What a resilient group of students! Some had been kicked out of their homes for their sexual orientation; others were living in fear about telling their parents who they love; still others were too afraid to come to a place where they could identify their sexual orientation to themselves let alone others.
In September, a public school teacher approached me at the end of a training session and was very concerned about how she could possibly interrupt homophobia when she belongs to a Christian church that teaches that homosexuality is a sin. This is a conversation that needs to happen.
It must be a very conflicting place to be but it is time to have it out. How do you do your job of making the school environment safe for everyone when you look at 10 – 15% of your student population and any of your queer staff as sinners?
By the time we finished our conversation, the teacher had come to a point where she realized her views were standing in the way of student safety and achievement. She agreed she needed to spend time reflecting and learning about LGBTQ people. She is the possibility of transformation but without that conversation she would be another teacher standing in silence as a student says, “That’s so gay” within earshot of an LGBTQ student or a student with a gay parent.
I always like to ask teachers what they would do if they heard a student say, “That’s so Christian” or “That’s so Muslim”? I doubt if there’d be much hesitation before that was interrupted. What do you think needs to happen to create positive space for LGBTQ staff and students in your school?
I always like to ask teachers what they would do if they heard a student say, “That’s so Christian” or “That’s so Muslim”? I doubt if there’d be much hesitation before that was interrupted. What do you think needs to happen to create positive space for LGBTQ staff and students in your school?
Related Education Canada articles:
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Watch Your Tongue!
Comments Off on Watch Your Tongue!There are many barriers that prevent us from reaching the visions of equity we have for our society and, in particular, for our schools. I have come to believe, however, that the language and terminology we use to talk about educational improvement and change is one of the greatest barriers to entering into the type of conversation for which other bloggers here are so passionately and eloquently advocating.
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Equity is Happiness
Comments Off on Equity is HappinessEquity is happiness. In order to ensure student achievement, it is critical to employ equitable practices in schools, both inside and outside the classroom walls. Being the main place of socialization for students, from a young age until their years as emerging young adults, one’s school experience can make or break the futures of students who feel threatened or uncomfortable at school. Just to think that the smallest things that one’s peers might do has the potential to make another’s life completely miserable is a daunting thought that, personally, redefines my priorities as a student leader. Not Long ago, I might have had organizing school dances and spirit days at the top of my extra-curricular to-do list, but now I find myself looking at things with a lens tinted with thoughts of equity and inclusion.
Not Long ago, I might have had organizing school dances and spirit days at the top of my extra-curricular to-do list, but now I find myself looking at things with a lens tinted with thoughts of equity and inclusion.
Although they are incomparable to each other, students face a wide variety of inequities at school. Whether it is based on one’s faith, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age or gender, I am confident that every student can relate to having felt excluded or unfairly treated at some point over the course of their schooling. A small, yet significant example of how a student may feel inequitably treated at school could be regarding religious holidays. The fact that our school systems, like the rest of our society, officially acknowledge only select religious holidays, while the rest are simply mentioned, represents a huge inequity. When a student takes multiple days off of school during their faith-specific religious holiday, upon their return to school, they will have to work doubly hard to catch up on the work they missed. Another example of inequity is when the travel time between classes may not be sufficient for students with physical disabilities (i.e. wheelchairs, walkers, etc.). Although some of these difficulties may seem avoidable, the first step in the right direction is certainly awareness and education on these diverse topics.
The fact that our school systems, like the rest of our society, officially acknowledge only select religious holidays, while the rest are simply mentioned, represents a huge inequity. When a student takes multiple days off of school during their faith-specific religious holiday, upon their return to school, they will have to work doubly hard to catch up on the work they missed.
By tackling this issue from every facet of the school, from staff to students to administration, school culture improves significantly and this makes a statement on how the school, as a whole, feels about equity. When a student can look to any school authority for guidance, support or information, and receive more than they need, we know that we are making a fantastic, pro-equity effort in school.
As a student, I can see that teachers play a huge role in students’ lives, encountering them on a daily basis for multiple hours at a time, both inside and outside the classroom. By ensuring that teachers are also aware of these equity-related issues, we provide students with both an alternate source of potential support, coupled with a better education on the topic of equity. The efforts made by students outside the classroom are also vital in this plight for equity in schools, and certainly have an impact on their peers, but I believe that an all-encompassing approach would be much more efficient. By tackling this issue from every facet of the school, from staff to students to administration, school culture improves significantly and this makes a statement on how the school, as a whole, feels about equity. When a student can look to any school authority for guidance, support or information, and receive more than they need, we know that we are making a fantastic, pro-equity effort in school. Integrating it into classroom practices and potentially also into aspects of the curriculum would go a long way in reaching out to uninformed students. Adolescence in particular, is a difficult time for most students as it is; so ensuring that support and well-informed staff can always be found at school would make all the difference to many students who find themselves frustrated with equity-related issues. Students need to know about equity, and they need to know that their entire school community is there to support them – we cannot afford to ignore or improperly tend to these needs.
Related Education Canada article:
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The Multi-Faith Secular: Changing the Discourse on Religious Accommodation in Schools
Comments Off on The Multi-Faith Secular: Changing the Discourse on Religious Accommodation in SchoolsIn the 2007 Ontario Provincial Election there was a great uproar of the idea of funding faith based schools as comparable to Roman Catholic schools. The Liberals, who opposed the idea, defeated the Conservatives (or rather John Tory), who were pushing this concept on a principal of fairness. Yet what is often missed in that analysis was that many parents in the province were actually saying that they wanted to keep their kids in public schools – but
to have the schools and the education system recognize that religion, faith, and spirituality were deeply intertwined with their childrens’ identities.To their credit, the Ontario Ministry of Education, previously led by Kathleen Wynne, consulted with best practices and made religious accommodation a tenant of the Ontario Inclusive Education Strategy. Unfortunately, religious accommodation is a deeply legal term that doesn’t speak to the shifting nature of a new generation of Canadian students and spiritual identity – and the discourse of religious accommodation doesn’t protect schools and boards when they make an “accommodation” based on a public backlash.
An example of this was the recent manufactured controversy over Friday Prayers in Valley Park Schools in the summer of 2011 when Toronto District School Board trustees and leadership were put on the defensive on issues ranging from gender discrimination, proselytizing, to the secular nature of education.
The entire public education system in Canada needs to accept that how people make meaning (read here: people not just Muslims) in their lives, is as much a part of their identities as issues of race, class, culture, sexual orientation, gender, and disability.
The entire public education system in Canada needs to accept that how people make meaning (read here: people not just Muslims) in their lives, is as much a part of their identities as issues of race, class, culture, sexual orientation, gender, and disability. For example, the University of Toronto, in creating their Multi-Faith Centre for Spiritual Study and Practice states that while the institution is secular in nature, it recognizes that their students, staff, and faculty bring their whole selves wherever they go.
The problem with religious accommodation as a framework is that it waits for students, or in some cases staff, to make a request rather than putting the responsibility on the board and school from designing institutions that take into account the need for students to authentically express themselves.
The problem with religious accommodation as a framework is that it waits for students, or in some cases staff, to make a request rather than putting the responsibility on the board and school from designing institutions that take into account the need for students to authentically express themselves.
To do this, school boards will have to be brave and forge into uncharted territory because the mere mention of topics of spirituality – or faith images of domination by one faith – and forced conversions are conjured up. Muslim students are the most visible example, as their needs, combined with the rampant culture of ‘Islamaphobia’, makes for splashy front-page headlines.
Yet I would argue that every student makes meaning and has a right to explore that meaning. As educators, we need to get over our fears and push forth a more inclusive and equitable framework that embeds meaning-making as a part of identity.
To create spiritually inclusive schools, we will need to create a set of ground rules about spirituality in public education settings, and by extension public society. We will need to wade into the thorny issues of:
- faith and sexual orientation
- faith and gender equity
- opposition of different faiths
- freedom of religion and freedom from religion
- people switching world views after getting exposure to others
- people who don’t define their meaning-making in one category or another
No one person has the solution here but differing and contrary viewpoints are needed to find a solution for a challenge that is not going away. The Multi-Faith Secular is more than creating a prayer space in schools it’s about creating a space for questions of meaning that every human contends with. As educators, we owe our students a better future than lumping them into categories of religious and secular, a framework that will fail them in a global multi-faith world.
The author’s view does not represent the views of the University of Toronto.
Related Education Canada articles:
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Equity: The Tarnish on the Golden Rule
Comments Off on Equity: The Tarnish on the Golden RuleThe world’s major religions all include some version of the Golden Rule – treat others the way you would like to be treated – and it has become a conventional wisdom that this is the standard for fairness. The problem is that its not a very good one!
When we treat people the way we want to be treated we are assuming they want what we want, which means we are assuming they are the same as us. What if they aren’t? Would it not be better to ask people how they want to be treated and then treat them that way, whether or not it would be our preference?
If we like jazz does that mean everyone does? How about spicy food? Silence? Snow? Stephen Colbert? Clearly, tastes, priorities and sensitivities vary. It is egotistical, and ethnocentric, to assume that our view is the common view. I mean, my wife watched the Grey Cup, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t experience it quite the way I did.
I once met a woman in Finland who was preparing engineers going to Viet Nam to get along in that culture. She told me it was easy to teach someone about the food, dress and behavioural differences in another culture. What was hard was to get people not to think of those differences as quirky, and perhaps a bit abnormal. The difficulty, she said, was not getting those engineers to realize that they were entering a different culture, but to get them to realize that they had a culture themselves and that what they were encountering in Viet Nam was not a strange way of doing things but a different way of doing things. The hard part was to get them to realize that their own food, dress and behavioural preferences were idiosyncratic rather than the norm; that it made more sense to see the Finnish way as the oddity. Running straight from the sauna into the snow and calling it fun just isn’t normal for most folks.
Our tendency to see the familiar as normal means that the unfamiliar must be abnormal, perhaps even deviant. Its not far from that inclination to being uncomfortable, condescending or fearful around people who are different from ourselves and that’s hardly a way to enter an equitable communion.
If we truly want to treat other people as equals, we have to start by getting outside ourselves and trying to see them in their own terms rather than ours. Then we will be better able to respond to them as equals, to learn from them and, perhaps, to better understand ourselves.
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Building a Better Sense of the Equity Picture
Comments Off on Building a Better Sense of the Equity PictureIn recent weeks I’ve been bringing up the metaphor of the six blind men and the elephant quite a bit, often getting a blank-faced stare in return. The story tells of the six men coming in contact with a (presumably very patient) elephant, whom they all grasp to get a sense of what the creature is like. One, holding on to an ear, says the elephant is like a fan. Another, holding the tusk, says the elephant is like a spear. Another, on the trunk, calls out, “snake!” And so on.
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CEA’s Focus on Equity Blogs – Week 1 in Review
Comments Off on CEA’s Focus on Equity Blogs – Week 1 in ReviewThe focus ranged from high level equity policy and practice reflections, to the responsibilities of education systems to ensure equity, to the need to increasing access to postsecondary, for more integration of technology in classrooms to level the playing field, and a call for the expansion of specialized programs tailored to the unique needs of many learners before they fall through the cracks. If you missed any of last week’s blog posts, scroll down the list below and click on the links to get caught up.
Week 2 contributors will share First Nations, LGBT, and racialized minority perspectives and continue to provoke reflection on how we can do better for all of our children.
Parents please BYOD
By Lorna Costantini, Co-host of Classroom 2.0 Live“When parents become active participants in their child’s learning – something that is made amazingly easy with mobile devices – everyone benefits. Home and school partnerships are strengthened. Classroom teachers start feeling supported. Everyone on the same page. All students benefit. My kind of school.”
Equity in Education and the Digital Age
By John Kershaw, President of 21st Century Learning Associates, Inc.“A 21st Century model of learning offers the potential to realize this vision, when learning is enabled by ICT rich learning and teaching environments. Equity in education will only be realized when learning is personalized and every student has the ability to access information at their individual speed of learning.”
Equity Begins with Education
By Harvey Weingarten, President and CEO of The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario“More than 80 per cent of Ontario secondary school students enrol in some type of postsecondary institution by age 21, but gaps in access remain for some – most notably those who identify as Aboriginal or whose parents have no postsecondary experience. In fact, our research shows that having no family history of college or university is the most significant obstacle to postsecondary education for those students who would most benefit from it.”
Yes, we can eradicate child and family poverty!
By Laurel Rothman, Director of Social Reform at the Family Service Toronto“With 639,000 children and their families living in low income, it’s no wonder that school drop-out rates persist and many young children enter the formal education system already somewhat behind in social and cognitive learning.”
Much-needed specialized school programs that build equity must expand
By John Campey, Executive Director of Social Planning Toronto“I’m frustrated, angry, and sad that our school systems do not – yet – clearly and fully acknowledge the continued, pervasive and corrosive impact of discrimination, economic inequality, and homophobia.”
Restoring Our Schools: The Quest for Equity in the United States
By Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education at Stanford University and Co-director of SCOPE at Stanford University“Canada and many nations in Asia and Europe are pouring resources into forward-looking systems that educate all their citizens to much higher levels—and the gap between the United States and these high-achieving nations is growing.”
Investing in human development
By Penny Milton, Former CEO of the Canadian Education Association“What I’ve learned from parental, political and professional experience is that what is effective for poor children is what is effective for all children. And we know a lot about that. The difference is that poor children are more likely to depend on their school experience whereas the success of middle class children can often be in spite of it.”
The time is Now: Excellence and Equity for All
By Avis Glaze, President of Edu-quest International Inc.“As educators, the future of this country is in our hands. Schools are, indeed, be a laboratory of what effective human relationships can look like. Our diversity offers us the opportunity to be a model to the world of empathy and inclusiveness across the lines that often divide us in society.”
Equity: After the Poetry Comes the Prose
By Bruce Beairsto, Retired Superintendent of Schools in Richmond, British Columbia“If we are committed to equity then we are committed to eliminating inequity, and that means be willing to change the way schools function and the way we behave in order to eliminate, or at least minimize, it. Equity does not result from equality.”
Equity in education is not rocket science
By Peter H. Hennessy, Retired Professor of Education at Queen’s University“Historically, people assumed that children of privileged parents would shine at school and those of under- privileged families would languish, quit and get a job after Grade 10. So long fella! Good luck Susie! The computer revolution has changed all that. Technological unemployment steadily worsens the prospects for unskilled labour. Success in school is now part of the job hunt; success referring primarily to measurable competence in language, science, and mathematics. Standardized testing has become the practical means of ensuring these competencies – paired with accountability (the cold-hearted flip side of the coin). In the outcome, about a quarter of high school students fail to graduate and are adrift in the ‘Mc-job’ market. Adult education and training-on-the-job offer longer-term hope for some.”
What will it take to achieve equity in and through educational improvement?
By Carol Campbell, Associate Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto“Although Canada is faring the economic crisis globally better than some countries; rising income inequalities, fiscal restraint, budget deficits, unemployment and other challenges ahead are very present. Locally, we can identify students, families, communities and schools experiencing serious disadvantages and inequities. So we need to be vigilant about arguing and advocating for equity.”
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Parents Please BYOD
Comments Off on Parents Please BYODRight, another acronym you have to remember. On the slim chance the term BYOD has not cropped in your conversations, I’m referring to the use of mobile devices in the classroom thus ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD). I know I said parents BYOD so let me explain.
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Equity in Education and the Digital Age
Comments Off on Equity in Education and the Digital AgeCanada is well known for its efforts to ensure an equitable education opportunity for its citizens. The inclusive education model is one expression of Canadian values in this regard; an underlying principle that all children should have equitable access to Canada’s learning systems. Canada’s ongoing efforts to successfully integrate children with disabilities into the regular classroom are to be lauded and emulated.
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Equity Begins with Education
Comments Off on Equity Begins with EducationEquity begins with education – because everything we know about a high quality of life and a robust economy points to the need for well-educated, skilled, and innovative people. Economic analyses repeatedly confirms that those with postsecondary education have higher employment levels, are more buffered in times of job loss and earn more than those without these credentials.
More than 80 per cent of Ontario secondary school students enrol in some type of postsecondary institution by age 21, but gaps in access remain for some – most notably those who identify as Aboriginal or whose parents have no postsecondary experience. In fact, our research shows that having no family history of college or university is the most significant obstacle to postsecondary education for those students who would most benefit from it.
More than 80 per cent of Ontario secondary school students enrol in some type of postsecondary institution by age 21, but gaps in access remain for some – most notably those who identify as Aboriginal or whose parents have no postsecondary experience. In fact, our research shows that having no family history of college or university is the most significant obstacle to postsecondary education for those students who would most benefit from it.
The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) is Canada’s only provincially-funded research organization focused on postsecondary access, quality, and accountability. While our mandate is higher education, our research clearly indicates that the influences encouraging or discouraging participation in higher education are at work long before a student is thinking (or not) of enrolling in a college, university or apprenticeship program.
A different approach is required to increase participation rates, as money alone will not work. We used to think the accessibility gap was relatively easy to solve: just make sure there is lots of financial assistance to support these students and they would pursue higher education. The research shows, though, that putting more money on the table is a necessary but insufficient solution. Students often make decisions about higher education early in life and there are a host of socio-cultural and attitudinal factors that make students from under-represented groups reluctant to pursue higher education.
Their reluctance, I’m sorry to say, is aggravated of late by what I call the postsecondary contrarians (most of them holding postsecondary credentials) who overstate the economic costs and risks, understate the benefits, ignore the effects of a recessionary economy on graduate job prospects and celebrate a handful of postsecondary dropouts for their entrepreneurial bravado. The fact is we should be talking a lot more about getting under-represented students into postsecondary education and a lot less about who can get by without it.
We need to focus on the barriers and find more effective ways of educating students about the costs and benefits of higher education. We need accurate and easy-to-understand information on the financial and other support available, more assistance in understanding the complex array of educational choices available and guidance on how to navigate application and registration processes. And we need to start well before high school. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we need better communication between the secondary and postsecondary sectors to create smoother pathways for students. If equity begins with education, it really begins with us.
Additional HEQCO Information Resources
- HEQCO Community Report
- Financial Literacy of Low-income Students: Literature Review and Environmental Scan
- Access to Post-secondary Education: How Ontario Compares
- Educational Financial Literacy: Organizations on the ground and making a difference
Related Education Canada article:
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Yes, we can eradicate child and family poverty!
Comments Off on Yes, we can eradicate child and family poverty!This week we mark the 20th report card from Campaign 2000, a cross-Canada, non-partisan coalition raising awareness about child and family poverty and promoting policies to implement the unanimous 1989 House of Commons’ resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. In 1992, the first report card was something new – a citizen’s monitoring report on government action – or inaction – in Canada. Many of you may know who we are and what we do. For those who are less familiar, Campaign 2000 is a diverse network of 120 groups representing low-income people, those providing key services including affordable housing, health care, and child care. These are the faith communities and service organizations, social planning councils, food banks, social workers, teachers, school boards, unions, women’s groups and many more in every province.
I doubt that those energetic activists back in 1992 thought that a report card would still be needed after 20 years. As Campaign 2000 issues its 20th monitoring report on child and family poverty, we are struck by the lack of progress over two decades. With 639,000 children and their families living in low income, it’s no wonder that school drop-out rates persist and many young children enter the formal education system already somewhat behind in social and cognitive learning. The economy has more than doubled in size, yet the incomes of families in the lowest decile have virtually stagnated. The gap between rich and poor families has continued to widen, leaving average-income families also struggling to keep up. With considerable evidence from academic, community-based and government research, and from extensive testimony from people with lived experience of poverty, we probably know more about how to eradicate poverty in Canada than we did twenty years ago. Yet, structural barriers hinder significant progress on eradicating poverty.
With 639,000 children and their families living in low income, it’s no wonder that school drop-out rates persist and many young children enter the formal education system already somewhat behind in social and cognitive learning.
At the same time, the younger generation – children of the baby boomers – is struggling more than their parents. They carry a heavy debt burden if they have pursued postsecondary education and often put off establishing long-term relationships and family formation. Many young people are unemployed or underemployed.
Postsecondary education, which has always been seen as a pathway out of poverty and a means to prevent poverty, is a pre-requisite for 70% of newly listed jobs. This academic necessity comes with a large price tag, averaging $5,366 per year for a full-time undergraduate degree in Canada and resulting in more and more postsecondary graduates finding themselves deeper in debt on leaving college and university. Currently, over $13.5 billion is owed to the federal government in student loans – the overall student debt, however, is estimated to be much higher if we include provincial loans, private lines of credits, credit cards and personal loans.
Many low-income students find themselves struggling to make ends meet and must take multiple jobs while pursuing their studies. Postsecondary graduates who have to borrow are at a higher risk of falling into low income and poverty as they seek to meet their debt repayment commitments. A number of these students choose to pursue any employment opportunity on graduation for financial purposes – potentially forgoing good jobs that help them establish their careers.
Canada has the know-how and the resources to make real progress on eradicating poverty. To start, we need a federal action plan that involves the provinces, territories, Aboriginal governments, the community sector, the private sector and people living in poverty. Secured in legislation, such as Bill C-233, An Act to Eliminate Poverty in Canada, a wise federal plan that will identify key roles for all of us and will recognize the particularities of how Quebec pursues social policy in the Canadian context.
Related Education Canada articles:
- Oh Canada! Too Many Children in Poverty for Too Long
- Which Way to the Good Life? The Social Policy Implications of Child and Family Well-Being
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Much-needed specialized school programs that build equity must expand
Comments Off on Much-needed specialized school programs that build equity must expandThe “Occupy” movement – with its focus on the dramatic economic inequality that is promoted by our political and economic system – is, sadly, reflected in our education system, where underfunding has led to a culture of school fundraising where some schools in Toronto raise tens of thousands of dollars (in some cases over a thousand dollars per student) to provide a “private school” education – within the public system.
At the same time, inner city schools have been denuded of the resources that used to at least attempt to offset the barriers to learning created by poverty. This inequality – to the tune of $600 million fund-raised dollars annually in Ontario – was documented in Social Planning Toronto’s Public Schools, Private Money report released this past September. I n Toronto, the “Learning Opportunities Grant” from the Province largely goes to keep the lights on, rather than to targeted interventions challenging the impact of poverty on education, such as the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB’s) successful Model Schools initiative.
Last month, while schools scrambled to respond to tragic suicides resulting from the bullying and discrimination that is an everyday reality for lesbian, gay, bi, and trans youth, I participated in a celebration of the Triangle Program – which provides a safe, positive learning environment for LGBT students in Toronto. I am thrilled that Triangle Program has, over its 16 years, provided a haven for over 600 students. I am profoundly saddened and disappointed by the fact that – despite being a program that is more necessary than ever – that no other Board of Education in Canada has adopted this successful model. I am outraged by the fact that some Boards of Education, condoned by the Ontario Ministry of Education, still refuse permit the existence of clearly identified Gay/Straight Alliances in their schools. In Ontario. In 2011.
I am thrilled that Triangle Program has, over its 16 years, provided a haven for over 600 students. I am profoundly saddened and disappointed by the fact that – despite being a program that is more necessary than ever – that no other Board of Education in Canada has adopted this successful model.
The TDSB has just voted to establish an Africentric Secondary School – a response to the fact that there is still an inexcusable gap between the potential of too many black students and their academic outcomes, and recognition of the success of the elementary Africentric program in dramatically improving student achievement.
Inequities grounded in race, sexual orientation, gender, poverty, and class still haunt our education system. They must be much more explicitly and vigorously challenged through a significant, dedicated allocation of resources, backed up by policies and practices that actively challenge the status quo.
I’m frustrated, angry, and sad that our school systems do not – yet – clearly and fully acknowledge the continued, pervasive and corrosive impact of discrimination, economic inequality, and homophobia.I’m frustrated, angry, and sad that our school systems do not – yet – clearly and fully acknowledge the continued, pervasive and corrosive impact of discrimination, economic inequality, and homophobia. I know that there is no single “magic bullet” to overcome these ills – they are, after all, reflections of the communities in which they are situated. And I recognize that an Africentric school, a Triangle Program, or a Model School will not solve these systemic problems. It is easy – and tempting – to dismiss them as ‘band-aid’ solutions. It may, however, be useful to remember that band-aids can have more than a surface impact – their very existence continues to remind us that there remain deeper wounds that still need to be healed.
Related Education Canada article:
Immigrant Children in our Classrooms: Beyond ESL -
Restoring Our Schools: The Quest for Equity in the United States
Comments Off on Restoring Our Schools: The Quest for Equity in the United StatesA visit to Nan Chiau Primary School in Singapore finds fourth and fifth graders eagerly displaying the science projects they have designed and conducted in an “experience, investigate, and create” cycle that is repeated throughout the year. Students study plants, animals, and insects in the school’s eco-garden; they run their own recycling centre; they write and edit scripts for the Internet radio program they produce; and they use handheld computers to play games and create mathematical models. Teachers, meanwhile, engage in research sponsored by the government to evaluate and continually improve their teaching.
Contrast the picture of this typical school in Singapore with the description of a California school, from a lawsuit filed recently on behalf of low-income students of colour in schools like it throughout the state:
At Luther Burbank, students cannot take textbooks home for homework in any core subject because their teachers have enough textbooks for use in class only… One dead rodent has remained, decomposing, in a corner in the gymnasium since the beginning of the school year…. The school library is rarely open, has no librarian…the latest version of the encyclopedia in the library was published in approximately 1988…. Classrooms do not have computers…. The school no longer offers any art classes…. Eleven of the 35 teachers at Luther Burbank have not yet obtained full, non-emergency teaching credentials, and 17 of the 35 teachers only began teaching at Luther Burbank this school year.
Certainly not all schools in the United States look like this, but what distinguishes high-achieving nations like Singapore from the United States is that the high quality of education in Singapore is replicated systemically throughout the entire nation. And Singapore is not alone. Canada and many nations in Asia and Europe are pouring resources into forward-looking systems that educate all their citizens to much higher levels—and the gap between the United States and these high-achieving nations is growing.
Canada and many nations in Asia and Europe are pouring resources into forward-looking systems that educate all their citizens to much higher levels—and the gap between the United States and these high-achieving nations is growing.
Inequality has an enormous influence on U.S. performance, far more than most nations. The impact of socio-economic factors on variance in U.S. student performance in Programme in International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 results is 16.8%—almost double of that in Canada. In Canada, the majority of students attend “mixed” schools, rather than highly advantaged or disadvantaged, and there is greater equity of access to resources within and across schools.
For a brief period in the mid-1970s, when the United States worked to reduce poverty, desegregate schools, and enhance funding in poor districts, the United States saw achievement gaps close substantially. To regain lost ground, the United States must make strong investments in children’s welfare—adequate healthcare, housing and food security — so that children can come to school each day ready to learn, and level the playing field in schools.
In education, the United States must roll back the theory of reform developed during the Regan years that focused on outcomes rather than inputs – that is, high-stakes testing without investing. Instead, investments must be made in high-quality preschool to close achievement gaps that already exist when children enter kindergarten; equitably funded schools that provide quality educators and learning materials; a system that ensures that teachers and leaders in every community are extremely well prepared and are supported to be effective on the job; standards, curricula, and assessments focused on 21st century learning goals; and schools organized for in-depth student and teacher learning and equipped to address children’s social needs.
Achieving these conditions will require as much federal attention to opportunity-to-learn standards as to assessments of academic progress, and greater equalization of federal funding across states. It will require incentives for states to provide comparable funding to students across districts. Finally, an equitable and high-achieving system will need to address the supply of well-prepared educators—the most fundamental of all resources—by building an infrastructure that ensures high-quality preparation for all educators and ensures that well-trained teachers are available to all students in all communities.
Related Education Canada articles:
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Investing in human development
Comments Off on Investing in human developmentIt is odd that the mantra of ‘raising the bar and closing the gap’, is a policy imperative in Canada, yet claims made about overall improvement (raising the bar) are generally not accompanied by any assessment of whether we’re closing the gap. The important census work of the Toronto District School Board would suggest that we have not[1]. The achievement hierarchy is the same as it was some forty years ago.
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The time is Now: Excellence and Equity for All
Comments Off on The time is Now: Excellence and Equity for AllIn 2009, The Ontario Ministry of Education published its new strategy on equity, entitled: (more…) -
Equity: After the Poetry Comes the Prose
Comments Off on Equity: After the Poetry Comes the ProseI think everyone is in favour of equity, right? But what does that mean? Rather than just wax eloquent about ideals perhaps we should talk about what inequity we will not tolerate. Specifically, what inequity in educational outcomes is unacceptable and what are we prepared to do to eliminate it?
Only in Lake Wobegon are the children all above average, so there is no inherent inequity in differences in educational achievement. Some students simply do school better than others. That is an issue to be sure but its not the big issue. The bigger issues is systemic inequity. When a particular group of students (by gender, wealth, ethnicity etc.) consistently lag behind, something more than human diversity is at play – something inequitable in the school system, and perhaps in society as well. But even in these cases, there are always counter-examples of students who excel, which means that the inequity is more insidious than overt. This creates a plausible deniability to the inequity and makes it easy to blame the victim.
If a student from a dysfunctional home that is captured in a cycle of abuse is poorly mannered at school, occasionally violent with other students and inattentive to his studies is that his fault or ours? If it is, at least in part, a social problem rather than merely an individual character flaw, then how far are we prepared to go to fix it? Of course, in this case the response would necessarily have to include elements beyond the school so perhaps that is too complex for starters.
How about those students who just don’t do well in the standardized and passive, compliance-focussed environment of a school? One example would be students whom we have come to label with ADHD. For the most part, their difference becomes a dysfunction primarily because school requires behaviour of which they are less capable than other students. This leads to all sorts of problems, often including lower academic achievement. Is that their problem or ours?
If we are committed to equity then we are committed to eliminating inequity, and that means be willing to change the way schools function and the way we behave in order to eliminate, or at least minimize, it. Equity does not result from equality. Treating everyone the same – no matter how kindly and encouraging that may be – perpetuates, and often exacerbates, inequity. Only when we are prepared to redistribute resources, including our own time and attention, to differentially address the characteristics and needs of any group of students who are not succeeding under current conditions will we be able to increase equity in student experience and achievement in schools.
In issues of equity, if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem and excuses don’t change that.
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Equity in education is not rocket science
Comments Off on Equity in education is not rocket scienceEquity in education is a philosophical problem prompted by inequalities in student outcomes. Most of these inequalities result from the vagaries of personal financial circumstances, ethnic background, physical and mental health and the accident of dwelling place. (Quality of instruction could be added to the list of variables but is much more elusive as a significant factor). Inequalities in some measure will always be with us. Greater equity, on the other hand, is always possible and entirely manageable.
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What will it take to achieve equity in and through educational improvement?
Comments Off on What will it take to achieve equity in and through educational improvement?The rhetoric of ‘equity and excellence’ is pervasive across education systems with associated policies and practices. Yet the reality remains mixed of actually delivering on the promise of equity in and through education.
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