As school systems appear to drift away from an exclusive
focus on the 3 Rs, we are left with the question, “what really are the basics
of our contemporary education system?” It may seem a rather trite question, but
the most recent survey published in our city suggests that, right at the top of
voters’ priorities, is to “get back to basics.” That phrase never has had a
precise and immutable definition. It has evolved as our education needs have
evolved, and what one person defines as a basic may be irrelevant to another.
One consistent element of our education, whether we are
adolescent, teenaged, young adult or aging adult, is that education is not
confined to four walls and a clanging school bell. Yet, we sometimes turn to
the traditional schoolroom as the panacea for all our youths’ learning needs,
and point the finger when that institution fails to meet our demands and
expectations. Still, school divisions
and the provincial education department should bear responsibility for a sizeable
majority of the formal education of our young people, which, in turn, requires
that our educators and all of our elected officials have a clear idea and solid
plan to provide that structured learning platform.
Interestingly, while many voters still insist on a focus on
the basics, those same people recognize a need to anticipate the future,
respond to emerging needs and provide the proper environment for learning. It
may be that, concealed in the obvious definition of basics is the belief that
basics are far more than the 3 Rs, after all.
Recently, merging problems have included the issue of
bullying, the need to adapt to changing demographics in our community and
within our schools, the need for (or perceived lack thereof) expanded
extra-curricular offerings, the catchment areas of schools, whether homework
should be assigned to certain grades and the misperceptions surrounding “No
fail” policies. All of these concerns are valid, and are dealt with as part of
the regular business of school systems across the province, even though many of
the items fall partially or fully within the jurisdiction of the provincial
government. No education concern, however, is the exclusive domain of the
province, the school division or even the parent. It is an issue important to
the community at large, or, at least, it should be.
Seven Oaks, like many school divisions, has specific
policies to address local issues, and more general policies to address generic
concerns. Our anti-bullying policy states in part “that harassing, abusive or
bullying behaviour, whether physical, sexual, psychological or electronic will
not be tolerated.” The policy is a blend
of unique responses to unique situations and comprehensive responses to more universal
aspects. We recognize that bullying, and the very
definition of bullying is not only a sensitive topic, but a complex one, with
the behaviours in question having myriad origins. Bullying, as
well as being addressed specifically, is dealt with as part of a strategy to
encourage – no, demand – that each of us, from educator to student, behave in
ways that are respectful, considerate and safe. To play up the topic of
bullying as an election issue would be inappropriate, since all of us,
regardless of the methodology we choose, desire to change such negative
behaviours into positive ones. There is no one correct solution, but there
definitely are appropriate solutions (many of which are correct) to each
particular situation. Similarly,
foresight and progress toward meeting our education goals requires cooperative
effort.
In Seven Oaks, we have invested heavily in professional
development programs for all our educators and administrators, including our school
board members. That is not a cost of education: it is a savings plan, and it
has paid huge dividends over the past few decades, as we continue to improve the
end result of our efforts (well educated, productive and responsible young
adults) over many other divisions in Manitoba and across the country.
One of the most effective strategies that we have adopted in
our planning is to recognize that our schools are more than bricks and mortar,
and that our youth need more than “what was good enough for my great
grandfather.” We need "what will be good enough for our great grandchildren," today! Basics never have been the core subjects. Whether it was the one-room
schoolhouse administering to the needs of twelve grades and an enrolment of
thirty students, or satellite classrooms and online learning for those without
easy access to a bricks-and-mortar building, Manitoba’s education system is
built on the understanding that we need
to deliver core subjects, but we need to deliver core values and core
opportunities for every individual. Most often, those basics are not
deliverable by one institution, but by a cooperative effort, from parents to
community to school systems. It is the effective delivery of those
opportunities that needs to be at the core of our planning, and effective use
of the resources that we have available.
In other blogs, I have discussed extra-curricular
programming, funding issues, responsibilities of our educators and
administrators and unique challenges of Seven Oaks. But, at the heart of the
election on October 22 is the question, “what do I, the voter, want from my
trustees and school system?”
I agree that the basics are important. I disagree, however,
that the 3 Rs are the only basics that we need to focus upon. We need to
prepare our youth for the very rapidly changing job market, in a way that will
benefit them and benefit our community the most. That is a basic demand. We
need to prepare our youth to be moral, contributing respectful members of the
family that is Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and the world at large. That is a
basic criterion. We need to allow each individual to be just that: an
individual, with unique talents that we help them to explore, and unique
frailties that we help them to overcome. That is a basic. We need to allow our
students – the future of our neighbourhoods – to fit into the world around them
in the most positive manner. That is a basic.
But there is one basic that governs and guides all the rest
of the basics. That is the need to deal with learning, not as a job, a chore or
a punishment, but as a never-ending source of pleasure, by instilling into the
minds of our students more than the basic facts and figures. We need to instil
in them the love of learning, and the opportunity to be the best each person
can be. That is my most basic education requirement!