Forget educational fads — let’s get the basics right

Re: “Our public-school system is thriving, thank you,” comment, Aug. 6.

Agood friend of mine has always said that sunlight is the best disinfectant. This is particularly relevant when discussing reform efforts for our public-education system.

The recent commentary by trustee Diane McNally lavishly praised the latest B.C. education reforms, quoting the latest rhetoric about how 21st-century learning helps prepare kids for jobs that haven’t even been invented yet, by teaching them valuable problem-solving skills, collaborating with other students and the use of technology. Lots and lots of laptops and shiny things.

Following this logic, should we assume, then, that educators of the 20th and previous centuries were lacking when their students’ accomplishments included sending a rocket ship to space?

Any changes to the status quo must first ensure successful outcomes, based on solid evidence reviewed by experts. It must uphold the same professional code of ethics when dabbling with experimental techniques that involve children and frontline teachers, and all policy changes should undergo years of rigorous trials and practice to ensure success is met to uphold these changes.

None of this has happened in British Columbia. These latest education reforms have already been tried, and failed, in every jurisdiction where they have been implemented.

Sweden is just one example. That nation has already seen the devastating consequences of child-centred, inquiry/projectbased learning across the entire country, and their lead pedagogy professor acknowledges they were wrong.

Another myth involves the success of technology in our schools. The Victoria School District recently invested more than $1.2 million in Chromebooks and other computers, but hasn’t commented on what the ongoing costs would be for maintenance and repair work.

Furthermore, no empirical data exists that supports the use of technology in our schools. A recent Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development study determined those nations that have a higher percentage of technology in the classroom perform much worse than countries that don’t.

Then there are the international assessments. Results indicate a significant decline in student math performance since 2003, and science has remained stagnant since 2006. This, despite skyrocketing increases in tutoring enrolment. Poorly written curricula are to blame.

You can thank our misinformed education leaders and their slavish commitment to educational fads for the decline. A historical review of British Columbia curricula also confirms a consistent and negligent dumbing-down of facts, all in pursuit of inquiry/21st-century learning.

Instead of being ahead of the pack, B.C. is falling further behind its global competitors.

As a trustee, it might behoove McNally to acknowledge the reality for many B.C. families, and why more and more parents are turning to the private system, more than any other province in Canada. Once upon a time, it was expected that the public system would teach kids the Three Rs without any parent intervention.

Ironically, the only way we can expect today’s kids to have a firm grasp of the basics is if parents heavily invest in tutoring or enrol them in private school. Homeschooling is increasing as well.

For those kids in foster care, the situation is much more grim. Very few have ever taken Math 12, disqualifying them from any further post-secondary schooling.

Our advocacy group has heard from thousands of families and teachers across British Columbia, and they are all saying the same thing: Fix this. The latest edubabble surrounding project/inquirybased learning is a myth. It has no supporting evidence, and there is no mention of success anywhere else in the world.

In order to prepare our children for an unknown future, as we have done in every previous generation since the beginning of time, we must ensure that our children have a firm grasp of knowledgeable facts. Never mind fanciful multimillion-dollar curricula or education fads.

Instead of lambasting those who are trying to make a difference by offering options to a system that is the second-highest expenditure in the province, let’s examine the empirical evidence about why this system is failing so many kids, and try to do something about it.

Tara Houle is a parent advocate who lives in North Saanich and is founder of WISE Math B.C.