CRITICISM OF PREVIOUS LETTER OFF BASE
Re: ‘Inclusion and diversity valued in a well-rounded society,’ Cape Breton Post letter to the editor, Sept. 7.
In the above, Veronica Merryfield seemed to think I took aim at inclusive education in my Aug. 31 letter titled ‘Education system I steep decline.’
I did state that I thought a new model might be needed, but that was hardly a condemnation. In 2017, the Cape Breton-victoria Regional School Board decided to change its educational model; making elementary level grades P-5, middle school grades 6-8 and high school grades 9-12. Yet, inclusive education exists in those classrooms, just as it did in its previous model.
My letter listed numerous changes that have contributed to a cycle of low achievement; one of which was below-grade courses that were intended for students who couldn’t handle grade-level courses. It became a problem when all students were allowed to take those courses for easy credits, and universities accepted those courses as the basis of admission.
The allure of easy credits has resulted in increasing numbers of students taking below-grade courses while avoiding honours and academic preparation courses that are intended to better prepare them for postsecondary education and life.
The effects extend far beyond who get As and who get Fs; who has perfect attendance and who missed 10 school days by November, but is still promoted; the number of students being suspended; or the number of college students forced to take remedial/ bridge courses.
It is also a good predictor of what researchers call “life outcomes” - long-term health, employment, a career rather than a job, owning a home, poverty and homelessness. Yes, our lives are shaped by the choices we make, and educational choices are among the biggest shapers.
According to the American Institute for Research and a Youth and Crime study in Vancouver, the achievement gap is especially damaging for males. They receive the majority of Ds and Fs, make up 80 per cent of the behaviour and discipline problems, and 70 per cent of the learning disabilities. Their first serious encounter with the law occurs at 15.5 years of age; their last grade placement was 9th grade, but their average reading level was 4th grade with 1/3 reading below 4th grade (I wonder why there is such a gap.)
Males make up 70 per cent of assaults and 80 per cent of homicide victims. The majority of adolescent alcoholics and drug addicts are males and most of our homeless are males who are suffering from drug addiction and mental illness.
The commission on inclusive education recommended hiring between 600 and 700 additional specialists and support staff by 2022 to handle the educational and behavioral demands of inclusive classrooms. The previous provincial government made a 5-year, $70-million commitment to that end, hiring 173 specialists for students with extra needs in 2019. That combined with the 190 professionals hired in 2018 amounted to a total of 360 specialists and support staff.
Clearly, inclusive education needs are being addressed and just as clearly the needs of others are not. Ms. Merryfield should be far more concerned about the present government’s willingness to honour those commitments than the content of my letter.
Al Moore Glace Bay