Archive for the ‘Education Debates’ Category
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Better tech, better technicians
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
Oct. 19, 2010
… male learners in Canada are falling behind, with unfortunate results for them individually and for the country’s productivity and human capital… gender imbalance is reflected through many phases of learning, with far-reaching and largely negative consequences down the line for our economy and society… Those who maintain and improve progressive infrastructure for the public good are the skilled workers and technicians of advanced economies… overwhelmingly male… They are affirmed. They are valued. And they are motivated – even if their school-based education may not be the same as their female counterparts
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, youth
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Tories get smart on native education
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
Oct. 19, 2010
… many Canadians would be shocked to learn the legislation governing education on most reserves remains the Indian Act of 1867… The Indian Act’s provisions regarding education are completely obsolete, colonialist and an embarrassment to Canada,” said Michael Mendelson, senior scholar at the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, who has long advocated a First Nations Education Act to fill the legislative void… it seems the Conservative government is coming around to the idea.
Tags: Indigenous, rights, standard of living
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Half of Ontario kindergarten kids in full-day by 2012
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
October 6, 2010
Almost half of Ontario kindergarten students will be in a full-day program by the fall of 2012, say ministry documents… just three years into the new program and a jump from 20 per cent in 2011-12… Next year, with another 200 schools added, the cost will be $300 million… given the surge in enrolment and the fact that 2012 is the first time boards can get money for additions and renovations to create extra space.
Tags: child care, standard of living
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Student debt more than doubled in last 20 years
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
Sept. 22, 2010
… the average debt for a university graduate more than doubled between 1990 and 2000, rising to $24,706 from $12,271. By 2009, that number had risen to $26,680 for university graduates… “This report points to some of the long-term consequences of incurring large debts, sometimes involving postponement of milestones of life, like having children or owning a house. They can also impact choice of career, possibly to public detriment,” said CCL president Paul Cappon.
Tags: standard of living
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Data Check: The arithmetic behind Ontario’s declining university quality
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
September 21, 2010
More than half the Ontario faculty and librarians surveyed this year reported the quality of education at their institutions had declined in the last year. As many reported teaching larger classes than the previous year, and half reported that courses and programs had been eliminated. Here’s the math behind the survey results.
Tags: budget, standard of living
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Ontario professors worried that quality of education is dropping
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Sep. 13, 2010
An analysis of a survey of faculty and librarians also cites larger classes and the cancellation of programs for their perception that the quality of post-secondary education, particularly at the undergraduate level, is falling… a tendency to replace retiring or full-time faculty with part-time or contract help is also impacting how professors and students interact, the survey indicates.
Tags: budget
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All-day kindergarten is a waste of money
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
September 8, 2010
… the truth is that the main benefit of a longer kindergarten day is free childcare for working parents. Which is fine, if that is what the government hopes to accomplish. However, they should come clean about what they are doing and why — an act that would allow costs to be cut by hiring qualified caregivers rather than qualified teachers for the added “school time.” An even more efficient way to achieve the free child care would be to simply give parents the equivalent cash, to spent on the childcare arrangement of their choice.
Tags: child care, ideology, participation
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Funding public schools
Saturday, September 4th, 2010
Sep 04 2010
According to a new report by the parent advocacy group People for Education, Ontario’s public schools now rely on nearly $600 million from private fundraising, user fees, corporate donations and other revenue sources, including vending machines and cafeterias… “What we will not and cannot accept here in Ontario is that kids are out there fundraising for the basics,” acknowledges Premier Dalton McGuinty. In 2005, his government promised a policy to address fundraising and limit the need for it by “ensuring education essentials are provided.” Five years, later, though, we’re still waiting for the policy.
Tags: budget, rights, standard of living
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Accept it: Poverty hurts learning
Friday, September 3rd, 2010
September 2nd 2010
There is abundant evidence that in schools in the poorest communities, achievement is considerably lower than in schools with more socioeconomic diversity… Under both Presidents Obama and George W. Bush, the federal Education Department has largely avoided addressing the socioeconomic challenges that impact schools. Instead, they’ve championed reforms like performance pay for teachers, raising academic standards and creating charter schools… schools alone – not even the very best schools – cannot erase the effects of poverty.
Tags: poverty, standard of living
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All-day kindergarten ‘extraordinary’ and ‘ground-breaking’ says minister
Friday, September 3rd, 2010
Sept. 1, 2010
All-day kindergarten, the first program of its kind in North America, will be launched at several county schools on Sept. 7… “Investing” in four-and five-year-olds is the key to their success as they progress through elementary and secondary school, Dombrowsky said… The minister says the McGuinty government wants to phase in the program so that the areas where the need is greatest–such as a higher incidence of low-income families — are addressed first. Where there is demand, extended day programs will also be offered, she said.
Tags: budget, child care, poverty
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