education

Thursday March 28, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 28, 2019

Fact-checking Lisa Thompson’s controversial comments on class size in Ontario

Bigger class sizes make students more resilient.

That was just one of several eyebrow-raising claims that Ontario Education Minister Lisa Thompson made during an interview last week. Her comments quickly provoked a deluge of criticism from many members of the public, educators and the opposition parties.

In an interview with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning, Thompson said that businesses and post-secondary educators relayed to her during recent consultations that students are “lacking coping skills and they’re lacking resiliency.

“By increasing class sizes in high school, we’re preparing them for the reality of post-secondary as well as the world of work.”

Thompson was defending the government’s recent decision to increase high school class sizes in the province from 22 students to 28. Since that’s a board-wide average, some classes — especially important pre-requisites — could swell to as many as 38 or 40 students, educators have warned.

Grades 4 to 8 will see a more moderate average increase of one student per class, while earlier grades will remain the same.

So does the government’s plan make sense? CBC Toronto took a deeper look.

The impact of class size on students has been debated for decades, both in the halls of academia and among policymakers. Numerous studies, conducted worldwide, have produced varied results.

Generally, there is scholarly consensus that smaller class sizes improve academic achievement, particularly among vulnerable student populations. But the extent, scope and ultimate value of those improvements is limited, and the benefits diminish as students get older. And it is far from a magic bullet.

In her interview, Thompson said: “The biggest factor in student success is actually how effective the teacher is” — and there is research that supports this assertion when it comes to high school-aged children. (Source: CBC) 

 

Tuesday March 19, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 19, 2019

Education changes are more and less than they seem

If you were among those who felt anxiety about the Ford government’s education reforms, you probably heaved a sigh of relief when they were finally rolled out last week.

March 13, 2019

The government made noises about changing or even killing all-day kindergarten, but ultimately ended up supporting it, at least so far. It didn’t mandate larger class sizes for early year students.

After vilifying and killing the previous government’s sex education curriculum, the government ended up restoring virtually all of the elements from the curriculum it professed to hate. The new-not-new curriculum covers most of the same ground, which is bound to make social conservatives angry, since they threw their support behind Ford’s PC party leadership in part because he pledged to kill sex-ed. But while that segment of Ford’s base must feel betrayed, students will be better served, and parents — most of whom supported the modern curriculum — will be happy with the outcome.

A “back to basics” math curriculum is also in the reforms. There are mixed opinions on that, but the fact is math scores were trending downward, so some changes are appropriate.

February 8, 2019

Then there’s the classroom cellphone ban, which is almost entirely symbolic since most school boards have local policies that are working. It’s also probably unenforceable, but if it does no real good, it also does no real harm.

Although maintaining current class size caps from kindergarten to Grade 3, Education Minister Lisa Thompson announced that an average of one student will be added to classes in Grades 4 to 8, which average high school class sizes increasing from 22 to 28. That sounds reasonable.

Not so fast. While Thompson said “Not one teacher — not one — will lose their job because of our class size strategy,” many education experts disagree. The government says any teacher reductions will be realized through retirement and attrition, but the fact remains that at the end of the rollout, there will be thousands fewer teachers in the system than there are today.

In fact, a Toronto District School Board document reveals the class sizes will mean the loss of approximately 800 high school teaching positions, along with 216 in Grades 4 through 8. The same report states that with the government’s earlier round of cuts — $25 million for special programs — 82 high school positions will disappear. Estimates are that total job losses through attrition will be between 16,000 and 18,000.

Then there’s the fact that class sizes aren’t what the seem. While the government funds for an average of 22 students, the reality is that classes often reach 30 or more to accommodate smaller specialized classes. Union officials are predicting these changes will mean class sizes of 40 in some cases.

Then there’s this. Arbitrarily increasing class sizes will lead to collective bargaining with teacher unions and boards getting off to a terrible start before negotiations even begin. In many cases local agreements include class size provisions, so unions will be fighting the provincial-controlled changes from the start.

These reforms may not be all bad, but they’re certainly not all good, and they open the door to stormy weather in our education system. (Source: Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Thursday March 28, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 28, 2019

Fact-checking Lisa Thompson’s controversial comments on class size in Ontario

Bigger class sizes make students more resilient.

March 13, 2019

That was just one of several eyebrow-raising claims that Ontario Education Minister Lisa Thompson made during an interview last week. Her comments quickly provoked a deluge of criticism from many members of the public, educators and the opposition parties.

In an interview with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning, Thompson said that businesses and post-secondary educators relayed to her during recent consultations that students are “lacking coping skills and they’re lacking resiliency.

“By increasing class sizes in high school, we’re preparing them for the reality of post-secondary as well as the world of work.”

Thompson was defending the government’s recent decision to increase high school class sizes in the province from 22 students to 28. Since that’s a board-wide average, some classes — especially important pre-requisites — could swell to as many as 38 or 40 students, educators have warned.

Grades 4 to 8 will see a more moderate average increase of one student per class, while earlier grades will remain the same.

So does the government’s plan make sense? CBC Toronto took a deeper look.

Animated!

The impact of class size on students has been debated for decades, both in the halls of academia and among policymakers. Numerous studies, conducted worldwide, have produced varied results.

Generally, there is scholarly consensus that smaller class sizes improve academic achievement, particularly among vulnerable student populations. But the extent, scope and ultimate value of those improvements is limited, and the benefits diminish as students get older. And it is far from a magic bullet.

In her interview, Thompson said: “The biggest factor in student success is actually how effective the teacher is” — and there is research that supports this assertion when it comes to high school-aged children. (Source: CBC) 

 

Friday February 8, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 8, 2019

Ford government autism program overhaul met with outrage by some parents who fear kids will lose out

The Ford government’s plan to overhaul Ontario’s autism program has sparked anger among parents — including a PC political staffer and father of two autistic teens who quit in disgust over the changes Wednesday.

January 25, 2019

Under the revamp, aimed at clearing a therapy wait list of 23,000 kids, parents will be given funding and the power to choose the services they want. But families will face a lifetime limit of $140,000 per child and high-earners will no longer be eligible.

Parents, who say funding should be based on need and not on age or arbitrary cut-offs, were devastated by the move.

“In light of today’s announcement, I told my minister I did not feel I could continue in my role as legislative assistant,” said Bruce McIntosh, who joined Progressive Conservative MPP Amy Fee’s political staff when the Ford government was elected last spring.

McIntosh is the former president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, a parent advocacy group that has pushed for more government support but has been critical of age-based funding.

November 17, 2018

Fee (Kitchener South—Hespeler) is parliamentary assistant for Lisa MacLeod, minister of children, community and social services, who announced the autism overhaul at Toronto’s Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

Fee, the mother of two children with autism, spoke about her own family’s experiences during the news conference.

An estimated 40,000 children in Ontario have autism, a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication. About 2,400 of them are waiting for a diagnosis, 23,000 are on a wait list for behavioural therapies and just 8,400 are receiving services.

MacLeod said the government will double funding for diagnostic hubs to $5.5 million a year for the next two years, clear the therapy wait lists and ensure families get their funding within the next 18 months.

The program under the previous Liberal government was inefficient and did not address children’s needs, she said. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

Letter to the Editor, The Hamilton Spectator, February 19, 2019 – A cartoon worth a thousand words

RE: MacKay cartoon (Feb. 8)

I want to commend Graeme MacKay for his Feb. 8, 2019, cartoon. His depiction of Premier Ford providing a mere drop of assistance to the families of those on the autism spectrum is proof once again that a picture is worth a thousand words. As the accompanying piece explained, cutting the same-sized pie into smaller pieces will not address the needs of the families who have been waiting for the services their children require. I thought Premier Ford’s platform promised that he would not be cutting services for Ontario’s citizens. It seems the Conservative politicians have forgotten this. Higher education support, elementary school class sizes, workers’ rights, services to children with autism, who will be next? Health care recipients?

Theresa Flynn-Purchase, Hamilton

Friday January 25, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 25, 2019

Ontario education minister says no decisions made yet on removing class size caps

Ontario teacher and education worker groups raised concerns Thursday that the government’s consideration of removing kindergarten and primary class size caps sets the stage for vast cuts.

The Progressive Conservative government met with education partners Wednesday to launch consultations on class sizes and teacher hiring practices.

A government consultation document poses questions such as whether hard caps on class sizes should continue, and if they were removed, what would be an appropriate way to set effective class sizes.

Ontario teacher and education worker groups raised concerns Thursday that the government’s consideration of removing kindergarten and primary class size caps sets the stage for vast cuts.

The Progressive Conservative government met with education partners Wednesday to launch consultations on class sizes and teacher hiring practices.

A government consultation document poses questions such as whether hard caps on class sizes should continue, and if they were removed, what would be an appropriate way to set effective class sizes. (Source: Global News)