Canada's 'alarming slide' in education

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In many countries - especially in Europe - companies and corporations
share their 'needs' with colleges and universities so that those who
graduate will be ready to start working with them immediately.
They share in the cost of education for those who commit to employment
with the firms and give them as much hands-on experience as possible.

Not in Canada. Here the full cost of education falls on the students
and the taxpayers. And there is little or no coordination between
prospective employers and the colleges. Once the students have
graduated, they are on their own to find jobs that they're suited for or
which have job openings. . . . while carrying massive debt loads from
their university years.

We need to get smarter, fast. And it won't happen under a Harper
government. Concentrate on voting for the party that has a keen
interest in turning this shameful state of education and employment around.
____________________________________________________________

Macleans/The Canadian Press - July 6, 2014


Report calls for national plan to halt ‘alarming slide’ in education quality

Report says only the federal government can lead and create a national
education and skills training strategy


OTTAWA – A new report urges Ottawa to work with the provinces and
industry to put a stop to what it calls an alarming slide in the quality
of Canada’s education and skills training.

The Canadian Council of Chief Executives-commissioned paper is being
released ahead of this week’s meeting of Canada’s provincial education
and labour ministers and industry representatives in Charlottetown.

The report says only the federal government can lead and create a
national education and skills training strategy.

It urges Ottawa, the provinces and the territories to form a body that’s
responsible for learning and training, which would set targets for all
learning phases.

The report recommends creating a separate body to keep track of how well
the country is meeting its learning goals.

The paper cites statistics from the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development and other sources that “point to the
irrefutable conclusion that Canada is slipping steadily down the
international learning curve.”

“The report we are publishing this week recommends a formal
federal-provincial body to oversee learning and training in Canada,”
council spokesman Ross Laver said in an email.

“Not everyone would go that far, but there’s no question we need a lot
more co-operation and collaboration between different levels of government.”

He also lamented the fact the country’s labour ministers have met only
once in the past four years, to discuss a job grant proposal at the
urging of federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney.

“The minister deserves a lot of credit for trying to get everyone around
the same table,” Laver said.

“The irony is that he and Canada’s provincial education ministers are
actually going to be staying this week in the same hotel in
Charlottetown — yet for the past four months the education ministers
have refused to meet him.

“How can Canada hope to maintain a world-class labour force when the
people who are in charge of developing education and training policy
won’t talk to one another?”

The report also says the private sector needs to invest in more programs
and training for their employees.
It contrasts the situation in Canada to that of Germany, where employers
work with governments and educators to create a highly skilled labour force.
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“The German system ensures close co-ordination and co-operation between
levels of government and with social partners. …,” it says.

“The close involvement of employers and employees at the national and
state level promotes a powerful sense of responsibility among
corporations that is reflected in their commitment to skills upgrading
in the workplace.”

Kenney has spoken highly of the German apprenticeship system. Earlier
this year, he led a delegation of Canadian politicians from five
provinces, along with business and labour union representatives, on a
trip to Germany and Great Britain to learn about their apprenticeship
programs.

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You realize of course that a liberal bureaucracy is in charge. I

I realize, of course, that you're an idiot to think that the Harper
government, which has been cutting education funding for almost 8 years,
is not "a liberal bureaucracy".

I know that as
as former student and teacher. It has been true ever since John Dewey, the
progressive who brought sweeping and detrimental changes to education in the
late 19th and early 20th century.

Could it also have to do with ineffectual, biased, uninformed teachers
being allowed into the front of our classrooms?
YOU should never, ever have been allowed to teach Canadian youth. I
shudder to think that they believed what you told them.

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The problem is that education is a Provincial responsibility, and the
Provinces can be very provincial.

The real problem is that Ottawa has been cutting education funding to
those provinces.
And rightwing governments Ottawa can be very punitive.

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Here's another example of why we have an "alarming slide in education
quality". Most of the kids in our Vancouver schools don't even have
English competency.
And our teachers are supposed to cope with that, on top of trying to
convey a subject?

Yeah, our provinces are responsible for our education system, but it's
the federal government that is responsible for loading up our schools
with kids who don't know our language.

Couple this with 'special needs' kids in those same classrooms - and you
know why our teachers are out on strike and looking for smaller class
sizes and higher wages. {Special needs can include any one of 12
different categories, including autism, blindness, learning disabilities
and behaviour problems.}

The Harper government just promised 'not to slash educational funding'
when they took office. They didn't say they would maintain educational
money transfers to meet the rising costs associated with the issues of
language, for which they bear a huge responsibility through their
immigration policies. Look at these numbers, and recognize why our
education system is in steep decline. . . . .
____________________________________
Vancouver Sun July 7, 2014

ESL students in the majority at more than 60 schools in Metro Vancouver

Use our interactive tool to compare rates of ESL, special needs and
gifted children


VANCOUVER -- ESL students are in the majority at more than 60 schools
across Metro Vancouver, according to data from B.C.’s Ministry of
Education. And at a dozen schools in the region, more than one in six
students has special needs.

At The Vancouver Sun’s request, the ministry provided data on the number
of English as a Second Language, special needs and gifted students at
each school district and public school in B.C.

Of the 560,000 students attending public schools in B.C., about one in
10 are classified as English Language Learners or ELL, the term the
ministry uses instead of ESL. Another one in 10 are classified as
“special needs.

But rates vary dramatically from district to district and school to school.

For example, almost 30 per cent of the students in Richmond are
classified as ELL, meaning they speak a language at home other than
English. And of the roughly 550 schools in Metro Vancouver, there are 65
— primarily in Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver — where more than half of
the students are English learners.

Rates also vary, though not as widely, for special-needs students.

In the Sunshine Coast school district, one in five students is
classified as special needs, double the provincial average. In contrast,
only seven per cent of students in Richmond have a special-needs
designation, one of the lowest rates in the province.

Using an interactive tool available here, you can look up your own
child’s school and district and see how its rate of ELL, special-needs
and gifted students compares to the provincial average.

If you're on a mobile device, please click here to see the interactive
graphic.

The ministry provides detailed written guidelines to school districts on
how and when to classify a student as ELL or special-needs. Special
needs can include any one of 12 different categories, including autism,
blindness, learning disabilities and behaviour problems.

Districts receive $1,340 a year in supplemental funding for up to five
years for each of their ELL students.
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The ministry also provides districts with extra funding for those with
the most serious special needs, such as $18,300 a year for those with
autism and $9,200 for those with severe behavioural problems.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That’s in addition to the $6,900 provided to districts for each enrolled
student.

Those with other special needs, such as learning disabilities, do not
receive any extra funds from the ministry, though school districts will
often provide additional services for them.

Patti Bacchus, chair of the Vancouver school board, said most districts
spend more on special-needs students, on things like teaching
assistants, than they receive in extra funding from the government.

The data provided by the ministry shows that some schools are dealing
with a lot more challenges in the classroom than others.

For example, fully 71 per cent of the students at Creekside Elementary
in north Surrey are classified as ELL.

And at Grandview Elementary in East Vancouver, 31 per cent of students
are classified as special needs, the highest rate in the district, and
more than half are ELL.

“If you’ve got 30 kids who speak English and are developmentally on
target and are well-supported at home, that’s a very different classroom
to teach than the reality in some schools, where more than half the kids
are still learning English and some … haven’t slept because they’re in a
chaotic environment and haven’t had breakfast and they’re anxious and
distracted,” said Bacchus.

At the same time, said Bacchus, schools with such challenges often have
more resources — in the form of extra staff and programs — than other
schools.

“You walk into a school like Grandview or Strathcona, it’s amazing the
stuff that’s going on,” she said. “Lots of students thrive because you
have so many people working in there, it’s focused and kids are getting
a lot of individual attention.”

Brad Bauman, director of instruction with the Surrey School District,
also noted that, especially in the younger grades, many of the
techniques teachers use to reach out to ELL students, such as using
pictures when teaching a new word, benefit native English speakers as well.

“These are instructional practices that only enhance learning for other
students,” said Bauman.

Not surprisingly, schools with high ELL rates tend to be clustered in
those areas with high rates of immigrants, such as East Vancouver, north
Surrey and Richmond.

There is no clear geographic pattern when it comes to special needs:
schools with higher-than-average rates can be found in virtually every
part of the province, including wealthy areas like West Vancouver and
south Surrey.

Bacchus said wealthier parents are often motivated to get their child’s
learning disability recognized by the district because, while it doesn’t
come with extra funding, it can entitle them to special accommodations,
such as extra time to write exams.

Such parents are also better able to afford the $2,500 or more it can
cost to have a formal psychoeducational assessment done privately,
rather than wait their turn in the public system, which Bacchus said can
take years.

The data provided by the ministry also includes figures on “gifted”
students, which the ministry defines as those with “exceptionally high”
intellectual or creative abilities. Only one per cent of students in the
province are classified as gifted and almost all districts have a gifted
rate of just two per cent or lower.

But there are two notable exceptions: Revelstoke and Coquitlam, both of
which have gifted rates of six per cent.

Reno Ciolfi, Coquitlam’s assistant superintendent, said his district has
put a special emphasis on gifted students for more than two decades and
offers gifted programs at the elementary, middle and high-school level.

“I would say it’s a pretty deeply ingrained part of our school district
culture,” he said. And that, in turn, has raised awareness among
parents, he said, who are more likely to ask for their child to be assessed.

[(ಠ_ಠ)РаОса]

Here's another example of why we have an "alarming slide in education
quality". Most of the kids in our Vancouver schools don't even have
English competency.
And our teachers are supposed to cope with that, on top of trying to
convey a subject?

Yeah, our provinces are responsible for our education system, but it's
the federal government that is responsible for loading up our schools
with kids who don't know our language.

Couple this with 'special needs' kids in those same classrooms - and you
know why our teachers are out on strike and looking for smaller class
sizes and higher wages. {Special needs can include any one of 12
different categories, including autism, blindness, learning disabilities
and behaviour problems.}

The Harper government just promised 'not to slash educational funding'
when they took office. They didn't say they would maintain educational
money transfers to meet the rising costs associated with the issues of
language, for which they bear a huge responsibility through their
immigration policies. Look at these numbers, and recognize why our
education system is in steep decline. . . . .
____________________________________
Vancouver Sun July 7, 2014

ESL students in the majority at more than 60 schools in Metro Vancouver

Use our interactive tool to compare rates of ESL, special needs and
gifted children


VANCOUVER -- ESL students are in the majority at more than 60 schools
across Metro Vancouver, according to data from B.C.’s Ministry of
Education. And at a dozen schools in the region, more than one in six
students has special needs.

At The Vancouver Sun’s request, the ministry provided data on the number
of English as a Second Language, special needs and gifted students at
each school district and public school in B.C.

Of the 560,000 students attending public schools in B.C., about one in
10 are classified as English Language Learners or ELL, the term the
ministry uses instead of ESL. Another one in 10 are classified as
“special needs.

But rates vary dramatically from district to district and school to school.

For example, almost 30 per cent of the students in Richmond are
classified as ELL, meaning they speak a language at home other than
English. And of the roughly 550 schools in Metro Vancouver, there are 65
— primarily in Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver — where more than half of
the students are English learners.

Rates also vary, though not as widely, for special-needs students.

In the Sunshine Coast school district, one in five students is
classified as special needs, double the provincial average. In contrast,
only seven per cent of students in Richmond have a special-needs
designation, one of the lowest rates in the province.

Using an interactive tool available here, you can look up your own
child’s school and district and see how its rate of ELL, special-needs
and gifted students compares to the provincial average.

If you're on a mobile device, please click here to see the interactive
graphic.

The ministry provides detailed written guidelines to school districts on
how and when to classify a student as ELL or special-needs. Special
needs can include any one of 12 different categories, including autism,
blindness, learning disabilities and behaviour problems.

Districts receive $1,340 a year in supplemental funding for up to five
years for each of their ELL students.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The ministry also provides districts with extra funding for those with
the most serious special needs, such as $18,300 a year for those with
autism and $9,200 for those with severe behavioural problems.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That’s in addition to the $6,900 provided to districts for each enrolled
student.

Those with other special needs, such as learning disabilities, do not
receive any extra funds from the ministry, though school districts will
often provide additional services for them.

Patti Bacchus, chair of the Vancouver school board, said most districts
spend more on special-needs students, on things like teaching
assistants, than they receive in extra funding from the government.

The data provided by the ministry shows that some schools are dealing
with a lot more challenges in the classroom than others.

For example, fully 71 per cent of the students at Creekside Elementary
in north Surrey are classified as ELL.

And at Grandview Elementary in East Vancouver, 31 per cent of students
are classified as special needs, the highest rate in the district, and
more than half are ELL.

“If you’ve got 30 kids who speak English and are developmentally on
target and are well-supported at home, that’s a very different classroom
to teach than the reality in some schools, where more than half the kids
are still learning English and some … haven’t slept because they’re in a
chaotic environment and haven’t had breakfast and they’re anxious and
distracted,” said Bacchus.

At the same time, said Bacchus, schools with such challenges often have
more resources — in the form of extra staff and programs — than other
schools.

“You walk into a school like Grandview or Strathcona, it’s amazing the
stuff that’s going on,” she said. “Lots of students thrive because you
have so many people working in there, it’s focused and kids are getting
a lot of individual attention.”

Brad Bauman, director of instruction with the Surrey School District,
also noted that, especially in the younger grades, many of the
techniques teachers use to reach out to ELL students, such as using
pictures when teaching a new word, benefit native English speakers as well.

“These are instructional practices that only enhance learning for other
students,” said Bauman.

Not surprisingly, schools with high ELL rates tend to be clustered in
those areas with high rates of immigrants, such as East Vancouver, north
Surrey and Richmond.

There is no clear geographic pattern when it comes to special needs:
schools with higher-than-average rates can be found in virtually every
part of the province, including wealthy areas like West Vancouver and
south Surrey.

Bacchus said wealthier parents are often motivated to get their child’s
learning disability recognized by the district because, while it doesn’t
come with extra funding, it can entitle them to special accommodations,
such as extra time to write exams.

Such parents are also better able to afford the $2,500 or more it can
cost to have a formal psychoeducational assessment done privately,
rather than wait their turn in the public system, which Bacchus said can
take years.

The data provided by the ministry also includes figures on “gifted”
students, which the ministry defines as those with “exceptionally high”
intellectual or creative abilities. Only one per cent of students in the
province are classified as gifted and almost all districts have a gifted
rate of just two per cent or lower.

But there are two notable exceptions: Revelstoke and Coquitlam, both of
which have gifted rates of six per cent.

Reno Ciolfi, Coquitlam’s assistant superintendent, said his district has
put a special emphasis on gifted students for more than two decades and
offers gifted programs at the elementary, middle and high-school level.

“I would say it’s a pretty deeply ingrained part of our school district
culture,” he said. And that, in turn, has raised awareness among
parents, he said, who are more likely to ask for their child to be assessed.