Poor student test scores no surprise

Re: School trustees need to be held accountable, by Anne Jarvis, March 11.

There are multiple reasons for these results, and let’s be clear: this situation has been years in the making.

Parents do not demand that their children receive a comprehensive and challenging curriculum. Yes, that means longer school days, fewer holidays, a tougher curriculum, fair and balanced teacher evaluations, and accountability. Parents need to demand this and it will mean a change in our priorities — like maybe skipping school the day before Christmas break and March Break to go shopping isn’t so funny.

We got what we deserved. The blame starts at home but ends at Queen’s Park. The teachers’ unions were allowed to hijack the school system back in the late 1970s and the results are showing. When teachers are allowed to strike over a dispute over an extra 20 minutes per week of prep time, then we have our priorities all screwed up. Match that with an ironclad job security guarantee and you see the narrative.

The people with high incomes wouldn’t dare send their children to a public school and that is why private schools thrive. There is plenty of blame to go around, but until you place dedicated educators in charge of the school system and allow them to make the changes necessary it will remain as it is.