You’ve got to hand it to Ontario MPP Michael Prue. As Moira MacDonald of the Toronto Sun writes in her column today, Prue (who is getting ready to replace Howard Hampton as leader) is openly suggesting that Ontario have just one publicly funded school system. As MacDonald wrote:

“Instead of the news being that Prue was the first to throw his hat into the leadership ring, what rang out was Prue had suggested it might be time for a rethink on his party’s support for two school systems — Catholic and public.”

Frankly, as a supporter of the faith-based funding proposal brought forward in last October’s Ontario election by conservative leader John Tory, I am very surprised this topic is being brought up. Credit where credit is due for Prue having the guts to speak his mind. 

But, what exactly would one system look like and how would it be about equality? For example, MacDonald quotes Nelson Wiseman, a U of T political science professor, as saying: ”I suspect the majority sentiment in the party is to move toward equality, not on the basis of being anti-Catholic, but on the basis of not favouring any one religion.”

How is not favouring any one religion about equality? That notion is actually about inequality because it would force conformity on everyone — into the same melting pot.  How would that type of system be inclusive? Or, would it only be inclusive in certain “politically correct” instances?  

Would there be, for example, schools where Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Baptist kids could go to school? Would there be schools where Aboriginal students could study, or where there was an Africentric emphasis? Would there be schools where kids would be able to study visual art, dance and drama?

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On Sunday mornings, one of the first things I do is read John Snobelen’s column in the Toronto Sun. His topics are usually current and right on target. Today is no exception as he gives a knock out punch to Ontario’s teachers’ unions.

Think back to the period 1995 to 1999. How did the public sector unions, including the teachers’ unions act? On the day the Harris government was sworn in sometime in late June, 1995, I was at Queen’s Park to observe the ceremony. Before, during and after, there was a line of protesters marching around the legislative building screaming, “shame, shame on Mike Harris.”  Remember, that was even before the Harris government had done anything!

Fast forward to 2008. Negotiations have apparently broken off between the government and ETFO, the elementary teachers’ assocation, which wants parity with secondary school per pupil grants plus a lot of other things. And, we find out that the government could be in a conflict of interest with the teachers’ unions due to campaign donations during both the 2003 and 2007 provincial elections.

Yet, there are no protests in Toronto or elsewhere in Ontario. In fact, since the McGuinty government was first elected in the fall of 2003, apart from the CUPE disagreement over the role of education assistants which tellingly was settled just before the start of the 2007 election campaign, what protests have there been?

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When families move into new communities, what is one of the first things parents ask their real estate agent?  You guessed it. They ask: Where are the best schools and how do you know they are the best?  And, on the basis of the answer, the parents decide then and there where they want to rent or purchase housing.

Now, just how do people find out where the best schools are located? In the past, they speak to everyone they know who lives in the community where they are moving. Then, they make an informed decision. Now, it seems, the Fraser Institute’s school rankings is the primary source parents are using.

But, is that all there is to a school? Do the rankings alone “really” reflect the quality of a school?  Or, should other criteria be used as well? For example:

• Is there a strong emphasis on academics?
• Is there a good sports program?
• Are there extra-curricular activities in the arts?
• Is there a school choir or band?
• Is there a strong school spirit?
• Do children like attending?
• Do the teachers communicate well with the parents?
• Are the staff dedicated?
• Do the staff undertake professional development?
• Is the principal approachable?
• Does the principal treat parents with respect?
• Are there a lot of parent volunteers?
• Is the school council effective?

And, so on. Or, do the rankings themselves mean enough — as in – if the children do well in the annual tests, then that means there are good teachers and the school is good. Is that a fair analysis? Or, is this whole process a self-fulfilling prophecy? 

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During the October 2007 Ontario election, Canadians will no doubt remember the yelling and screaming about the John Tory proposal to provide public funding to some faith-based schools. You would have thought the sky was falling.

We were told that to provide independent schools with any amount of public money, and parents with school choice, would be divisive and, quite possibly, even destroy the public school system as we know it?

Destroy the system as we know it?  Dare I ask: Would that be such a bad thing, particularly since the system as we know it is a system entrenched in educational practices that do not necessarily meet the needs of many children? The system as we know it also means maintaining the status quo for the benefit of teachers’ unions, trustee associations and board administrations.

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There are a lot of parents in Canada and the U.S. who home school because they don’t feel the public system is geared towards academic achievement and excellence or when their children have special needs that are not being met in the public system. While the purpose of this article is not to question the choice to home school, I do wonder what qualifies a parent to take over the job of teacher in the home.

First and foremost, I respect parents who choose this route. Home schooling cannot be for the faint hearted. In my opinion, it must be very stressful, even while simultaneously rewarding, to spend all day, every day with ones own children, no matter how much we love them. That truly is 24/7 parenting. 

Moreover, teaching is an extremely technical job no matter who is doing it. In Ontario, for example, a parent who is the home schooler has to provide the local board of education with proof they are doing a good job. As such, they have to complete the same day plans, curriculum units, exams and marking, as any teacher would do. Specifically, Ontario Ministry guidelines stipulate that home schoolers be able to answer the following types of questions:

• Do you have an instructional plan, regularly planned instructional time, and a daily work schedule? Please provide details.
• What subjects are you teaching?
• What do you expect to accomplish with your child in English, mathematics, and other subjects this year?
• Is your instructional program based on the Ontario curriculum or on a different curriculum?
• If you follow the Ontario curriculum, which documents do you use?
• If you do not use Ontario curriculum documents, please describe the curriculum documents you do use.
• Please describe the typical kinds of activities that you provide for your child in the subjects you are teaching. Please provide samples of your child’s work in each subject area.
• What types of materials do you use to assist you in accomplishing your plans (e.g., encyclopaedias, textbooks, magazines, newspapers, television programs, materials on the Internet, computer programs)?
• Please describe the techniques you use to assess your child’s learning.
• Do you use community resources to support your instruction? If so, which ones?
• Do you network with other parents who provide home schooling? How?
• Please feel free to provide any other information that would help the board determine whether instruction is satisfactory.

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It’s time to call a truce on school choice in Ontario, where it is obviously a policy long past due. Not only can it work, it does work — in several other provinces. While I have written posts that support the idea, I have also written posts that question it. And, the ensuing debate has been extensive and helpful. My thanks to everyone who has put so much time and effort into their comments on the topic.

Now, let’s look at this issue of “school choice” realistically. While I can’t study every single province and territory in Canada, I have looked at British Columbia and Alberta. No problems are being experienced in either place. Most notably for Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal supporters (they know who they are), the sky has not fallen. And, the teachers’ unions have somehow adapted!
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Rarely, do classroom teachers and public school administrators leave comments on this blog. Let’s change that right now. I want to hear from them. If they want to contribute to the debate about why public education is the best model for parents and their offspring, this is the time to do it. 

But, this debate should not be left up to me. I too was a parent and had major problems with dealing with teachers — people I taught with in fact. Moreover, the problems and anger that people have now with the Ontario system cannot be unique to this province alone.

That said, I simply cannot believe that everything about the publicly funded systems, secular, French or Catholic, are all negative. Most of us of adult age today managed to survive our school years. In fact, some of us thrived. But, if parents want choices, beyond the “system” as we know it, what do today’s  educators say to them?

The bottom line is that I would like to hear from educators AND parents. What parents need to know is: What do teachers have to say about the school choice option (as in charter schools, vouchers, etc)?  If visitors have any doubt about what the term “school choice” has come to mean, I would suggest they visit an excellent site called the Society for Quality Education. 

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Note: Revised and shortened slightly after initial posting.

The purpose of this entry is to throw some ideas around about what I think “school choice” really means. First and foremost, I do not want to destroy the current publicly funded system (English and French), whether the secular public system or the Catholic system — that would simply be throwing the baby out with the bathwater and change is possible without doing that.

Recently, the Toronto District Board of Education (TDSB) approved a black-focused or Africentric school. I was completely against that decision because I saw it as a type of segregation and demeaning to the students who I think deserve better — particularly given the multicultural society we live in. What surprised me, however, was the fact that school choice advocates saw it as a good idea — that if that was what a group of parents wanted, then that was fine by them.

I am still bothered by that rationale.  To me it is a slippery slope to segregating all manner of children. Haven’t we moved beyond that by being inclusive of children with special needs, for example. Wasn’t that what parents fought for during the 1980’s — to have their exceptional children integrated into regular classrooms. Now, we have parents wanting to segregate children on the basis of culture and colour.

The bottom line is that we now have two publicly funded systems and within those systems, we have alternative schools. Then, apart from both those systems, we have independent or private schools — some which have been around seventy-five or more years. At the same time, we are also hearing a lot about school choice and how ideal it would be for parents to be able to choose the best school for their children based on their academic and/or special needs. 

Examples of school choice are usually the kind of charter schools they have in Alberta and the U.S. – where the funding apparently follows the student. Which seems to suggest that charter schools are sort of public because there is government funding and curriculum accountability and expectations.

So, what would choice look like in Ontario? How disruptive would it be to the current public systems? And, as a conservative, I have to ask the obvious question — would it cost taxpayers even more money? And, in the final analysis, would that kind of expense and multi-choice system be a good thing? Just wondering.

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Further to my earlier article posted here, I have learned of a charitable foundation I had never heard of before. It is called the “Children’s First Foundation” and is funded by several sources.

(1) The Fraser Institute, which is an independent public policy organization dedicated to raising the level of understanding and discussion about economic and social policy. Learn more at www.fraserinstitute.ca.

(2) The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, which is a private Canadian charitable foundation known for its pioneering programs in education and the environment. It has a long-standing tradition of support for educational scholarships at the school, college and university levels. Learn more at www.westonfoundation.org.

(3) The Templeton Freedom Award for Social Entrepreneurship, which was awarded to Children First by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in 2004. Children First was selected from more than 140 programs from over 50 countries for its creative and groundbreaking work meeting the needs of families through private initiative. Learn more at…

The amazing message is that the mandate of Childrens First is to provide parents, who cannot afford it, with funding to send their children to any independent school of their choice. Up to $4000.00 a child!

In other words, if the publicly funded systems won’t change (both public and separate), then this foundation may be the type of innovation and competition that is necessary to force change.

[...]

Note: H/T to Cathy Cove for the “Childrens First” link.

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Earlier today I talked about an article I had written earlier this week that asked the question: What is wrong with our provincial education systems? I talked about a couple of possible reasons for where we are at today, such as expecting the system to be all things to all people and the long term effects of the paradigm shift in the late 1960’s. A good debate resulted in more questions than answers, chief among them was: Why do almost all parents feel alienated from their child’s school experiences?

Then, to follow up on that question, yesterday, I asked parents and teaching professionals to comment on public school parent councils — no matter where in Canada they lived. Are they measuring up to be what they were supposed to be? Certainly not in Ontario given the e-mail and comments I have received. What I heard the most were that Ontario’s school councils had become little more than fundraising groups and that no one wanted to be seen as rocking the boat — meaning they feel intimidated to speak out.

What exactly is going on? While there has always been tension between politicians, the general public, parents and teachers’ unions, it seems to be much different now which became very obvious during the most recent Ontario election campaign — an election that centered almost exclusively on funding for faith-based schools. It was a strange reaction given that several other Canadian provinces already offer some kind of faith-based funding, such as in B.C. and Alberta (e.g., vouchers and charter schools).

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