Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
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Ontario must stop educators from limiting low-income students’ options
… teens from low-income homes are being sent into the non-academic credit programs when they enter high school, limiting their options for post-secondary education… People for Education found that in schools where the average family income is just $60,000, more than half the students are enrolled in “applied” math, instead of the academic program targeted to university education… It is true that poverty creates a host of social problems, but a proclivity for math or English has nothing to do with a parent’s income.
Tags: ideology, poverty, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
Low-income ‘streaming’ in Ontario high schools alive and well
“Unless we assume that wealthier students are inherently more academically capable, this correlation (between family income and academic streaming) is disturbing, all the more so given the evidence that suggests that taking applied courses itself may not merely reproduce disadvantage but actively exacerbate the risk of problematic academic outcomes.”
Tags: ideology, poverty, standard of living, youth
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No Rich Child Left Behind
… widening disparities are not confined to academic outcomes… rich-poor gaps in student participation in sports, extracurricular activities, volunteer work and church attendance have grown sharply as well… It boils down to this: The academic gap is widening because rich students are increasingly entering kindergarten much better prepared to succeed in school than middle-class students… one part of the explanation for this is rising income inequality.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Debates | 1 Comment »
HEQCO finds that Ontario’s universities are productive, efficient
… the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) reviews the performance of Ontario’s postsecondary education system in terms of access, quality, productivity, and social impact. It confirms … (that) our universities are efficient, productive, and accessible (though more work is needed to ensure participation for under-represented groups, such as Aboriginal and first-generation students)… The paper also continues HEQCO’s narrow focus on labour market outcomes.
Tags: ideology, participation, standard of living, youth
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Short-term, applied research won’t win Canada any Nobel prizes
Mar. 27 2013
There’s a popular myth about universities as ivory towers full of fat-cat academics and loopy students asking unanswerable questions. Their willful irrelevance is a waste of taxpayers’ money, so the critics say; get them out of the public trough and doing things Canadian business can really use. I call it a Zombie idea. It’s dangerous, because it has infected some decision-makers.
Tags: economy, ideology, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Reducing Ontario post-secondary tuition fees is the only fair option
Apr 05 2013
Government underfunding has resulted in skyrocketing tuition fees in Ontario. At $7,180, undergraduate tuition in Ontario is more than eight times higher than what average tuition fees were in 1980… The plan presented to government by students would see tuition fees cut by 30 per cent over three years, including a 17-per-cent reduction next year at no additional cost to government. These policy changes would help ensure today’s young people have the same opportunity their parents were given: access to affordable post-secondary education.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, privatization, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
High-school grade inflation balloon ready to pop
Mar. 29 2013
High-school grades are no longer accurate assessments of students’ learning. Grades are pushed up, especially in senior years, by increasingly high entrance requirements for university programs… To a certain extent, we are locked in a vicious cycle. Universities keep publishing ever-higher admissions averages, and high schools keep raising their marks accordingly… High schools need to have some kind of standardization… At its core, the problem with grade inflation is that it does not accurately assess students’ learning.
Tags: standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
OCUFA releases its 2013 Budget recommendations
March 27, 2013
OCUFA made its official submission to the Government of Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (SCFEA). Titled Preserving the Gains We’ve Made, the submission contains a plan to dramatically increase the quality and affordability of Ontario’s universities by 2020.
Tags: budget, economy, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Debates, Equality Debates | No Comments »
Groundbreaking Toronto survey on student mental health can create change
Feb 14 2013
… students from grades 7 to 12 reported surprisingly high levels of stress, ranging from anxiousness to loss of confidence and loneliness… many of whom are watching parents live through tough economic times while obsessing about their own uncertain future… 46 per cent of high school students (and 34 per cent of upper elementary students) said they were not comfortable seeking help from any adult in their school… Student-led programs cost little but the board also needs to address its funding for school social workers and youth workers. Their specialized training and insight can help turn lives around.
Tags: mental Health, participation, youth
Posted in Education Debates | 1 Comment »
Boys will be boys – schools need to understand that
Feb. 14 2013
It’s no surprise that schools subtly discriminate against boys. After all, they are increasingly run by women – women who, as girls, were extremely good at sitting still, paying attention and co-operating. The schools have become more and more hostile to boys’ inclinations and interests. They have abolished competition in favour of co-operation – even though boys thrive on competition. They’ve outlawed rough-and-tumble play… In high school, they bore boys to death instead of teaching them how to make and build stuff.
Tags: youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
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