Archive for the ‘Education Debates’ Category
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OCUFA’s Adamson responds to Globe and Mail columnist Wente
Dec. 7, 2011
Ms. Wente is dead wrong when she claims that the rising cost of tuition is due to unfunded pension liabilities. Tuition has gone up because governments are no longer funding higher education adequately, and students have been asked to pick up the slack. Per-student government funding in Ontario is now 25 per cent less than it was in 1990. Over the same period, enrolment has increased by nearly 60 per cent. It doesn’t take a math major to figure out why students are paying more.
Tags: budget, participation, pensions, standard of living, youth
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Pension ponzi is a raw deal for students
Dec. 06, 2011
Across the country, universities are cutting back on programs to pay for soaring operating costs. The fastest-growing cost is frequently the pension fund. Cumulatively, university pension funds are billions in the hole. And in order to bail them out, or at least get them back above water, universities are being forced to divert substantial chunks of money from their operating funds. In effect, the students and taxpayers are on the hook for the generous pension promises made to faculty, staff and retirees. And they have pension deals the younger generation can only dream of.
Tags: budget, pensions, standard of living, youth
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Ontario’s PSE record is world class
Dec. 7, 2011
Ontario’s attainment rate for higher education has risen from 44 per cent in 1999 to a 56 per cent in 2009… Ontario’s – and Canada’s – higher attainment rates are mostly owing to the number of people who have completed college… But Ontario’s 28 per cent university attainment is also higher than the OECD’s 21 per cent average… the rate at which first-time university students are graduating is four percentage points higher in Ontario than the OECD. The OECD graduation rate for those with advanced research degrees (typically doctorates), however, is 1.5 per cent, compared to 1.2 per cent in Ontario.
Tags: globalization, participation, standard of living, youth
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Attawapiskat exposes urgent need for native education reforms
Nov. 30, 2011
Native education in Canada is simply a string of disasters. There’s no need here to recite again the ills of the residential schools system; its replacement – on-reserve schools funded by Ottawa and run by local band councils – haven’t done much better… But… [In NS and BC] native school boards are pooling resources, supervising on-reserve schools and overseeing a curriculum that meets provincial standards while also emphasizing native languages, culture and history.
Tags: crime prevention, disabilities, Native, poverty, rights, standard of living, youth
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IQ level changes over the years: study
Oct. 20, 2011
a new study suggests that IQ levels may actually change over time – rising in some and falling in others… It’s possible the change in scores is due to some kids being early or late bloomers… But it is also possible that education played a role in altering IQ… “We have to be careful not to write off poorer performers at an early stage when, in fact, their IQ may improve significantly given a few more years.”
Tags: standard of living, youth
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Universities get an F for failing undergrads
Oct. 21, 2011
For a generation or so, universities have been powered by two drives: make themselves stronger in research, and chase money from governments that rewarded institutions for accepting more students. The results were bad for the quality of undergraduate education… More students meant bigger classes, because government funding didn’t keep pace with enrolment while professors taught fewer undergraduate classes… Governments… stuffed the students into these universities, raised their fees and sent money for new buildings, then forgot about the quality of their instruction.
Tags: budget, standard of living, youth
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Mining magnate’s $100M gift launches ‘Canadian Rhodes’
Oct 14, 2011
“It’s about trying to create leaders,” said Mr. Schulich, 71. “If you call people leaders and give them 60 grand, some of them are going to turn into leaders.” … The award will work by a complex nomination process wherein each of Canada’s 1,300 high schools selects a single Schulich nominee. Of those, a selection committee will peg 75 students (60 Canadian, 15 Israeli) for the award… The Schulich Leader Scholarships will be administered by Toronto’s United Jewish Appeal.
Tags: philanthropy, youth
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Liberals promise ‘summer school’ for primary grades
Sep 01 2011
Children in Grades 1 to 3 who are struggling with reading, writing and math could go to summer school next year if the Liberal government is re-elected… The voluntary $9 million program would create spaces in 250 schools across Ontario for 7,500 pupils who rank below the provincial average in their test scores. The tutoring would last two weeks and be offered free of charge. Teachers will help get kids “over the hump” with more solid skills on the basics as they move to higher grades.
Tags: standard of living, youth
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More school, better teachers
Aug 31 2011
Now, teachers must figure out the best way to reach – and teach – each of their students whether they get straight As or are struggling to learn basic English.
That’s why the Ontario Liberals’ election promise to extend teacher college from one year to two years “with an emphasis on in-classroom learning” makes good sense. An increasing number of students have a learning disability, a behavioral problem or come to school hungry. Problems in a student’s home or community often spill into the classroom affecting their ability to do well. Teachers are expected to juggle all this.
Tags: standard of living, youth
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Dropout chiefs imperil a generation of kids
Aug. 17, 2011
Chiefs representing about 230 first nations in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan have decided to boycott a three-person panel charged with finding fixes for the broken first nations education system. Native children will pay the price for this stiff-necked opposition, based on ancient animosities and petty political ambition. Right now, the federal government sends education grants to reserves, with chiefs using the money as they see fit. Some build and staff schools; some don’t. Only 40 per cent of on-reserve students graduate from high school, half the rate of the general population.
Tags: budget, Native, participation, standard of living, youth
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